Recipe of the Week
French Bread Baguette
May 24, 2012

Here it is. This is my go-to recipe for bread. I have baked hundreds of loaves of this bread and it always leaves them asking for more.

This is one of the easiest breads that can be made. There are only a five ingredients but the result is opulent. Make sure to enjoy the bread within a day or two if possible as there are no preservatives. Although, quite frankly, I’ll be surprised if you have leftovers!

Ingredients:
*¾ Cup water
*1 ¼ Tablespoons sugar
*1 teaspoon salt
*2 Cups all purpose flour
*1 teaspoon bread machine yeast
*1 egg

Directions:
Place all of the ingredients except the egg into the bread machine in the order listed above. Place your bread machine on the dough cycle.

When the cycle is complete, remove the dough from the bread machine and place it on a lightly floured surface.

Cut the dough in half and carefully shape each piece into a long baguette. You could also cut and shape them into the size of buns or rolls. Place each baguette onto a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with a towel. Let the bread rise undisturbed for 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Ten minutes before you are ready to bake, reduce the heat to 325 degrees.

Prepare an egg wash with 1 beaten egg and a little water. Beat with a fork until fully incorporated. Gently paint the mixture over each baguette.

Bake at 325 degrees for 27 minutes.

When finished, place on a wire cooling rack until ready to use.