Instructions: This is a wonderful recipe I came across posted at Culinary.com. I have made these many times; preparing the dough in my bread machine then shaping into two baguettes. They truly are the best french breads I have ever made...the closest to a true french...and they LOOK smashing!

French Bread Extraordinaire and it really is.

1. Place dough ingredients in bread pan, select DOUGH setting and press start.

2. When dough cycle ends the machine will beep. Set a timer and allow the dough to rise I more hour. Open the machine, punch down the dough, set the timer again and let dough rise another hour in the machine. Turn off bread machine, remove bread pan, and turnout dough onto a lightly floured countertop or cutting board. Form into a smooth, round ball then flatten it with your hands.

3. Place a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth) in a round wicker basket thats at least twice the size of the dough. Dust the towel liberally with flour. Place the round dough in the center of the basket. Place basket in a warmer place and let dough rise, uncovered, about 45 minutes until double in size.

4. Gently turn dough out of basket upside down onto a greased baking sheet. With a knife held almost parallel to the loaf, carefully slash the top of the dough at a sharp angles in a # pattern.

5. Preheat oven to 450 F. Place a small pan on the floor or bottom shelf of the oven and carefully add at least 1 C. boiling water to the pan. Place dough in oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and place on cake rack to cool 1 hour before slicing. To preserve the crisp crust, do not store in plastic wrap or bag. Bread can be loosely covered or left out for up to two days before it dries out completely.

Note: Panasonic users: do not use the Crisp Dough cycle This method though time-consuming, produces an exceptional loaf of French bread much like the ones baked in the boulangeries of Paris. The extra risings fully develop the breads flavor. The finished loaf will have a crisp crust and very moist, chewy interior.

My notes: Sometimes I substitute 1/4 C. Whole Wheat flour for 1/4 C. of the unbleached flour. Likewise, with Rye Flour. Sometimes I take out 1/2 C. unbleached and add both WW and Rye (1/4 C. each)... My normal method of baking the loaf is in a Clay Cooker, but its only because I really like the crust that the soaked Clay Cooker gives any French loaf. Sometimes I add a couple of tablespoons of sesame seeds to the dough as it is kneading (for flavor). Sometimes I use an egg wash, then seeds of some sort before I bake it. I also add 1 T. Gluten to the ingredients, but I am a gluten person!!! Lots you can do with this simple loaf.

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