French Bread

This is not my recipe. It came with our bread maker.

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cups bread flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons butter
• ¾ cup water
• 1 teaspoon dry yeast

Instructions

1. Mix ingredients above in bread dough pan. Press "Select" until "Basic bread dough 2:25" is reached on the display. Press "Start". (I use 2 tsp butter, 2 tsp sugar, 1 ¼ tsp dry yeast. Check for paddle in dough pan.)
2. Remove the dough from bread maker and divide into two equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball.
3. Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover. Rest about 20 minutes.
4. Roll each ball into a rectangle, using a rolling pin.
5. Starting at one short edge, roll the dough up tightly into a thin log, pinching the edges to seal. Taper and round edges.
6. Place on a greased baking pan. Spray water on top. Proof at 90°F for 60 minutes or until nearly doubled.
7. Brush with water. With a sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about ¼ in oven inch deep across the top of each loaf.
8. Place a metal tray in oven with about a ¼ inch of water to steam the bread while cooking.
9. Bake in 375°F oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.