Crusty French Bread

Great dough!! Just a tip to those who do not make bread often or are just begining to make bread, use the amount of flour the recipe calls for and really knead it well. This does 2 things, it helps to develope the gluten in the flour and it also helps the flour to soak in all the water. If you have a kitchen aid or something similer this is the time to use it. I needed about 2 rounded T. of more flour but that can be due to the fact that it was a wet rainy day out. The weather will alter the dough so if you are not used to working with yeast bread try it on a dry day first. This should be a soft spongy dough that is very elastic not a firm dry dough. Also, even with the mixer I still do the last 2 min. of kneading by hand. You have to FEEL the dough to get it just right. This will hold true for any yeast dough that you work with. I didn't make a traditional baton or round loaf either. I rolled it out a bit and made long cuts almost to the edge and spread the dough out to make it a bread that is a rip and dip. I coated the top with olive oil and sea salt. It came out very light with a great texture. If you like a soft crust place a damp clean dish towel over it as soon as it comes out of the oven. If you like it really crisp throw some ice cubes in the bottom of the oven to create steam, it will first soften the outside and then get really crisp. If it doesn't work out for you the first time keep trying. It is worth it. BTW, keep altitude in mind as well. Good luck.

Excellent! Made a beautiful loaf. Followed recipe exactly, except I did not use the egg wash. Brushed with melted butter. Taste was perfection!

Very good. Nice and tender. I use a KitchenAid mixer to do all the work. I sometimes use Rapid Rise yeast and can get this on the table within two hours. Taste the same as regular yeast. I like to use one cup of whole wheat flour for the white to make it a little healthier.

it must have been at least my tenth attempt at making my own bread, all previous attempts failed dismally, but this one WORKED!! and it was lovely, a sweet taste to it and nice and crusty, just what i like from a loaf of bread!

This was a good, basic recipe. Instead of vegetable oil, I used Extra Virgin and I put a pan of hot water in the oven to give it a crispier crust. The overall density of the bread was too heavy for me, but it was extremely tasty.

Great bread! Not the crustiest in the world, but this made for a great way to enjoy the extra sauce from the Thai Steamed Mussels we made from this site. The entire loaf was consumed by just two people :) I used someones tip of letting the dough rise in the oven with the light on, and that worked perfectly. I will use this tip for future loaves as well. I did have to use more flour than called for, but my loaf wasn't too dense at all, as some have complained. All in all a great, versatile loaf of bread. I would have just liked a bit more crustiness.

I decided to add to this recipe. For the first mixing stage I added a half of a minced onion, and about 3 tbls. of minced garlic. When it was ready to roll out and be formed into loaves, I rolled up a mixture of crumbled 3 cheese blend. I put cornmeal on both the top and the bottom. Wow. Talk about yummy.

This baguette might have the crunchiest crust of any bread I've made -I've been looking for such a crust for quite a while! I also like the soft texture of the inside, and the taste too, although it might be a little bit sweet for me. I baked it for 25 mn and it was slightly overcooked, so next time I'll have to remember that. A good bread all in all, not quite like my favorite baguettes as for the taste and appearance, but definitely a keeper.

This is an easy and reliable recipe. I have made bagettes several times using this recipe and they always taste good! Makes great toast in the morning too. Toast is especially good with real butter and a smear of "natural" peanut butter on it. Yum-Yum

Yum! This was my first attempt at making bread without the help of a breadmachine. This recipe was easy and turned out great! I added a bit of garlic powder to the dough and it tasted wonderful. I gave it four stars instead of five because the inside was a little denser than I had expected (although that could be totally my fault)