I have made this recipe again for the second time. This time I used just two packets of yeast and prooved it first. I initially decided to follow the advice of several reviewers and use only 5 cups of flour. However, it was way to sloppy and it took up the full six cups without any trouble. The first time I made the recipe, I followed it exactly, including the damp teatowel ... this stuck to the bread (should have known this would happen) after it's second rising and deflated it. Hence I decided to try again, this time I covered the shaped loaves with oiled clingfilm and that was better. However, I agree with one of the reviewers who said that you really need to have the proper shaped bread pans for baggettes as, even though mine rose well, they still splayed out across the flat pan. Still at the end of the day, even with less yeast, the bread is nothing like a french loaf, it is far too dense as had already been said. I think it is going to be difficult to achieve the right result, fluffy and crusty at the same time, somehow this recipe needs to get more air into it ... I will try it one more time, using 5 cups of flour and one packet of yeast, and really try pulling and turning during the initial kneading to get the air into it ... watch this space. p.s. if the bread is not as edible as you would like, don't throw it out - turn it into breadcrumbs - much better than store bought.

Reviewed On: Nov. 3, 2009