French loaf

Ingredients
•Active dry yeast...............................................................¼ oz or 7 gm
•Warm water.................................................................... 1 C
•Sugar.............................................................................. 2 Tsp
•Olive oil.......................................................................... ½ C
•Salt................................................................................. 1 ½ Tsp
•Yellow asafetida powder................................................ 1 Tsp
•Dried oregano.................................................................1 Tsp
•Italian seasoning............................................................. 1 Tsp
•(mixed dried herbs like marjoram, thyme, basil, rosemary, sage etc.)
•Bread flour...................................................................... 3 C
•(if unavailable, substitute with all purpose flour)
Preparation
1) In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and ½ C of warm water.
Leave for 10 minutes until frothy. Add 1/3 C of oil, salt, asafetida powder, all
the dried herbs and the remaining water; stir to blend nicely. Stir in the flour
and form a smooth dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in
size, about 1 hour.
2) Punch down the dough, turn on to a floured surface, and roll in to a 10-inch
x 8-inch rectangle. Starting from the long side, roll up the rectangle to form a
10-inch long log. Pinch seam to seal. Place seam side down on a greased
baking sheet. Brush top with oil, cover and let rise until doubled in size, about
45-50 minutes.
3) With a knife make diagonal cuts 1-inch apart, on the top of loaf. Bake in a
preheated oven at 400 F/ 200 C for 25-30 minutes or until the top is
browned. Brush the top of the loaf with the remaining oil and remove on wire
racks to cool completely. Cut into slices along the diagonal marks.
Yield
1 loaf