French Baguettes

You have to make these..they are devine!! We ate alot of baguettes when we were in France and this recipe comes pretty close.

The secret is long rising time..overnight if you are organised. For dinner I usually get it to a dough and rising after breaky and then forget it till about 4pm.

* 1 T yeast
* 1 T sugar
* 1 T salt
* 5 - 6 cups of bread flour
* 2 cups warm water

Mix yeast, sugar, salt, water and 4 cups of flour till a sticky dough forms.
Then knead in the rest of the flour to get a soft and satiny dough. I usually end up using 5 cups of flour.

Put it in a oiled bowl and let it rise for at least 2 hours (or overnight)

Divide dough into 3 or 4 ball and flatten out into a oven shape and then roll up tightly to form a log. Roll the log back and forth to lengthen.

Put them onto a oiled baking tray and sprinkle water or brush surface with a beaten egg white. Slash the tops diagonally at 10cm intervals and let to rise till double size
Put the oven on to preheat to 220'c.

Bake for 20 - 30 minutes till crisp and golden.
Eat warm and if you have leftovers, toast in the morning is delish.

I hope it all makes sense..it is very easy!