Basic Machine French Bread

This is one AWESOME bread! I made it on the dough cycle, and then took it out, rolled it out into a 15x8 rectangle and then rolled it up on the 15 inch sides. Then I pinched the edges together to be "seamless" and then rolled it back and forth, gently, to taper the ends (bring to almost a point) and then put it on a greased baking sheet with a little cornmeal. I put a few slits in the top about 1/4 inch deep and brushed on a little bit of cold water all over the top of the loaf. Let it rise for another hour and then used 1 egg white to brush over the top of it, and then baked it at 350 for 25-35 minutes (when it was a golden brown and sounded hollow when I thunked it). This turned out to be one of the best tasting loafs I have ever had! I will make this again and again....no more buying french bread for me!!!

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This is Tammiev, not sure why I was logged in as DH - This bread is great.. I love it hot out of the bread maker.. when I can get away with it. It is wonderful for sandwiches too. I am not kidding,the wonderful yeasty taste and dense structure takes sandwiches to another level. Try cutting it with a bow knife. It makes cutting perfect slices either thick or thin effortless

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AWESOME BREAD!!! So easy to make!! Great crispy crust...nice and fluffy on the inside!! I followed Diggy's suggestion, by making the bread machine do all the kneading (hard work), and i finished it off in the oven. No more store bought french loaf for my family!!! Went really well with Mean Chef's Linguine with White Clam Sauce #42310. It really soaked up all the wonderful juices of the pasta. Wouldn't change this recipe one bit!!

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Oh my gosh! Anyone with fears about making bread totaly needs to try this recipe! I will never buy store bought french bread again! I made the dough in my bread maker and then followed diggy's tip about cooking it in the oven. Thank you so much for posting this! It is soooooo good!

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Just loved this....perfect 2lb loaf. Thanks

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I used the flour I had lingering in the back of the pantry. You know the one: you think it came with the house. It was 3g of protein a serving but I used it because that's what I had. I cooked it in the bread maker instead of rolling it out and it was great. For the record, my order was: water first, flour, salt and yeast on top. I set it for french, rapid (I was in a hurry), and light on the crust. The hardest part of this was getting it out of the breadmaker's tray. The second hardest part was trying to cut it without smooshing it down. Very good. Very easy. No eggs or milk (which the mixes had). Fantastic! Thank you so much for posting it! Served this with minestrone soup (#77585).

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Good bread. I subbed some wheat and added a little vital wheat gluten to compensate for that. Made it in the ABM on dough cycle. Brushed with melted butter. Baked at 350 for about 35 min. Next time will use water to get a crisp crust and will make into sub rolls for sandwiches.

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This was a really good loaf of French Bread! I followed Miss Diggy's instructions and it came out very nice. Great texture. I brushed a little melted butter on top and it was a nice non-fattening touch for flavoring the crust! Thank you! I will be making this again! Jelly :)

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I made 2 of the most beautiful loaves of bread from this recipe, I set the timer on the dough cycle, then shaped them, let them rise, sliced a few slits and brushed with egg and water and baked for 30 min. The results were fantastic, no more buying french bread for me! Thankyou so much for this simple but great recipe

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I make this all the time following Diggy's recipe. It comes out nice and crispy. Well, yesterday I ran out of eggs, so I used half and half as the prebake wash. I baked it for 20-25 minutes, and when I took it out of the oven, I melted butter on top of it. Then I returned it to the oven, placing it directly on the oven rack, and left it for 3-5 more minutes. This is the softest bread ever! So if you want a soft bread, I would suggest the cream wash, if you want a crispy crust, go with the egg wash. They are both great.

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I concur with all the other reviewers! This bread is fabulous! Excellent texture and flavor for a French Bread! I baked as directed, but next time, I will follow Diggy's excellent instructions! Thank you Ricky, for posting this on Zaar for all of us to enjoy!

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Fantastic recipe! I also rolled out and baked my loaves using the "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" technique. Thanks for sharing!

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This made a great, basic loaf of bread! I used 3 cups whole wheat, 1 cup white flour. I set my bread maker to whole wheat - light setting and removed it about 15 minutes before the timer. Perfect for sandwiches. Update: I made this today with 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 regular flour.. what a difference from my first attempts at this bread! With 3 cups of whole wheat, the bread alway sunk, what a difference with the extra cup of white flour. Also I set my bread machine on medium crust.

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I can't get enough of this bread! I will be making this often. I did as Miss Diggy instructed, put it in my bread machine for the dough cycle, rolled it out, shaped it into a long loaf, let it rise for another hour, brushed with egg and then baked it. It made a very large loaf so next time I think I will make it into two loaves. The ingredients were just right for my bread machine, I didn't have to add any thing, the dough came out looking like a dream. It is such a simple sturdy bread, I can't get over how much I like it, I keep going back and cutting myself another slice!

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This bread was excellent. I made an error in that I didn't see the part about it being a 2 lb loaf so I set my machine for 1.5 lb. I was concerned it would be underdone but it came out almost perfect. Next time I will use the right setting and see if there's a difference. I love the crispy crust. I will def. make this again and try just using the dough setting and baking in the oven. This time I just let the machine do all the work.

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This recipe made the best french bread I have ever had from my machine.
and so easy and fast to make. I used my rapid setting, worked great.
Thank you so much rickv for posting this, I found it in the reviews, sure happy I looked that day.

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I used regular active dry yeast and the quick setting and the bread came out super! Will definitely use this recipe again!

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I baked this bread about 3 times and loved it. The last 4 times I tried (yes, I really wanted it to work) the bread has been flat and wide. It did rise in the bread machine, but flattened after rising a bit during the rising stage. Any ideas. I want it to work like it did the first times. Thanks.

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This is really a great recipe! Love it, love it! Thank you for sharing.

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Excellent! Prepared and baked in my bread machine. Perfection! Will make again and again and love that it is super simple for fabulous taste. Thanks!

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