Yum- I just love Bruschetta!

I've been craving Bruschetta lately...with my basil in full bloom and fresh tomatoes finally available! I decided to go all out and make my own bread too!

I made French Bread...which only contains Yeast, All Purpose Flour, Salt and Water.

You begin by mixing 5 tsp of yeast with 2 cups of flour and 2 cups of warm water. Mix until smooth.

Continue adding flour until you can no longer mix it in. Dump onto a clean surface and continue kneading until you have added as much flour as necessary. Mine took 5 cups.

Once your dough forms a smooth and elastic ball, place in an oiled bowl, and allow to double in size. This took about 40 minutes.

Robyn was helping- she had flour everywhere! She is trying to brush it off her cheeks :)

After 40 minutes- dump the dough onto a floured surface and degas.

Divide into 2 portions and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

With a rolling pin (a wine bottle would work in a pinch!), roll the dough into a semi-rectangle.

On the long edge, begin folding over the dough rolling into a log. Seal the bottom seam with water and tuck the ends under.

Brush with an egg white beaten with a little water. I covered mine with plastic wrap that I sprayed with cooking spray. Allow to double in size- approx 30-40 minutes.

Cut slices in the top of your bread before baking. Place in 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, brush again with the egg white mixture. I put the loaves back in the oven and threw 5 ice cubes in the bottom to create some steam!

After baking for another 15-20 minutes, the loaves were done!

Chewy inside with a beautiful, golden crust!

Usually, when I make Bruschetta I just start throwing in what I like. This time, I used a recipe that intrigued me (Bruschetta I). It called for fresh basil, chives and parsley...all of which are growing in my garden.

I chopped about 20 grape tomatoes and used my micro plane to grate one gigantic clove of garlic.

The micro plane makes the garlic super fine...so you don't bite into chunks of raw garlic.

Bundle all your herbs into a tight pile. This makes them much easier to chop.

Chop until fine and no large leaves remain. Add to tomato and garlic.

Dress with olive oil, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Slice bread into thin pieces and place on a cookie sheet. Spray with cooking spray or olive oil and sprinkle with garlic salt. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes...until crisp.

Top with Bruschetta and enjoy! I love this for lunch or dinner in the summer :)