Growing up in France, I've always been somewhat of a bread snob. I grew up in a household of 'real food' - My mom cooked everything from scratch, no cans, no frozen food, no microwave. Food was her obsession, as it is mine today. When I was little, she once bought store bought sliced sandwich bread and squished it flat in front of me, just to show me that it wasn't real bread, just full of air. Real bread will not flatten paper thin if you press on it I was told, which is why we always bought our bread straight from the Boulangerie, where bread had substance.

Now that I'm an adult and a parent, I make all our own bread so that my son can know what real bread is (and also, I enjoy it)! I think I have succeeded thus far, as he's almost 3 and he already prefers my bread to any others. 'I want mamas bread!' he shouts when we're traveling and he has to eat store bought bread. Makes me feel good knowing that he's already appreciating real food.

This recipe makes a medium sized loaf. It may not seem like a lot once it's out of the oven but this is a serious loaf of bread; sturdy and filling, you won't need more than one piece of this! It's wonderful with soup, toasted with jam, or eaten as my little guy does, slathered with hummus!