French Baguettes

Thank goodness the doctor told me I could eat gluten again. It was incredibly difficult. (After about 3 days your body feels like it's entering starvation mode.) You can only eat so much fruit and nuts... He thinks I have IBS. I don't know if I completely agree, but I do know that I have had gluten for a few days now and feel fine. I am almost positive one of my issues is lactose intolerance. I'm just going to back off for a while and slowly try to add it back into my diet in a couple months.

I found this recipe on Tasty Kitchen. I will use them tomorrow to make homemade croutons in our caesar salads. I don't think I'll ever buy baguettes again! They even taste better than the ones fresh from the store. They do take a few hours to make, but they are very hands off. Enjoy!

French Baguettes
Tasty Kitchen member ThoroughlyModernHousewife

Ingredients
1 cup warm water
2 ½ cups bread flour
1 Tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
1 whole egg yolk
1 Tablespoon water

Directions
1. Place 1 cup water, bread flour, sugar, salt and yeast into bread machine pan in the order recommended by manufacturer. Select Dough Cycle, and press start.

2. When the cycle has completed, place dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover, and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in bulk. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.

3. Punch down dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 16×12 inch rectangle. Cut dough in half, creating two 8×12 inch rectangles. Roll up each half of dough tightly, beginning at 12 inch side, pounding out any air bubbles as you go. Roll gently back and forth to taper end (into a baguette shape). Place 3 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Make deep diagonal slashes across loaves every 2 inches, or make one lengthwise slash on each loaf. Cover, and let rise in a warm place for 30 to 40 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Mix egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water; brush over tops of loaves.

5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.