French Bread Baguettes using Dough Function of Bread Machine


1 cup water

4 cups flour

1 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. active dry yeast.

Add to bread machine and choose Dough Only function. When cycle completes remove from machine and put in a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Allow to rise an 1 1/2 hrs. Punch down.

Rest dough for 10 minutes. Divide dough into portions for baguettes. Determine how long you want them and then the width to calculate how many baguettes you can make.

Width will double while rising after shaping, so take that into consideration for final sizing.

Place shaped baguettes on parchment paper lined cookie sheets, allow to double in size, then bake as directed below.

Place an oven-safe dish with at least 2 cups of hot water into the bottom of the oven. Turn the heat to 350 degrees F. When oven is ready, quickly (to avoid losing more moisture than you want to) move the cookie sheets into the oven’s middle racks and allow to bake for about 20 minutes, more or less as needed, until baguettes are golden and have a hollow sound when bottom is tapped.