1 : qt Milk
1 : pt Heavy cream
1/2 : ts Salt
1 : Vanilla bean
3/4 : c Long-grained rice
1 : c Granulated sugar
1 : Egg yolk
1 : /2 c Whipped cream
Raisins : Raisins (optional)
0: In large bowl of electric mixer, dissolve yeast in 2-1/2 c water
1: Add 2-1/2 to 3 c flour; stir 1 minute
2: Batter will have consistency of soft pudding
3: Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap
4: Let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, overnight or at least 8 hours
5: The longer the sponge ferments, the better the flavor will be
6: The next day, stir in salt and 1 to 1-1/2 c of remaining flour
7: Beat at medium speed with electric mixer 6 minutes, or beat 600 vigorous strokes by hand
8: Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough
9: Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface
10: Clean and lightly flour bowl
11: Knead dough 15 to 20 minutes or until smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky
12: Place dough in floured bowl
13: Dust surface lightly with flour; cover with a slightly damp towel
14: Let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until tripled in bulk, about 1-1/2 hours
15: Grease 2 large baking sheets or 4 French-bread pans
16: Punch down dough
17: Knead 2 minutes
18: Cover and let rest 10 minutes
19: For oblong loaves, divide dough into 3 or 4 pieces, depending on desired thickness of loaves
20: On a lightly floured surface, shape each piece into a smooth log, gently tapering ends
21: For round loaves, divide dough in half
22: Shape each half into a smooth ball
23: Place shaped dough on prepared baking sheets
24: Cover with a dry towel
25: Let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour
26: Adjust oven racks to 2 lowest positions
27: Place a shallow roasting pan on lowest shelf; pour in 2 c boiling water
28: Preheat oven 15 minutes to 425-degrees
29: Slash tops of oblong loaves with 5 diagonal slashes each
30: Slash tops of each round loaf with 3 horizontal slashes and 3 vertical slashes in a tic-tac-toe design
31: Brush loaves with cold water
32: Bake 15 minutes
33: Brush loaves with egg-white glaze; bake 10 minutes longer
34: Brush again with egg-white glaze
35: Remove roasting pan from oven
36: Bake loaves 10 to 15 minutes longer, for a total of 35 to 40 minutes, or until bread sounds hollow when tapped on bottom
37: Remove from pans; place loaves directly on oven rack
38: Bake 5 minutes longer
39: Cool on racks
40: Makes 2 to 4 loaves
41: From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www
42: synapse
43: com/~gemini