Quick and Easy French Baguettes

What's better than warm, crispy french bread? Being able to make it yourself! This is a recipe I have used for a long time. It is pretty amazing. Simple. Easy. And Quick! It only needs to rise once! The last few months I have made it almost weekly. It makes two baguettes and sometimes I just freeze one for another meal. We LOVE to dip this bread in this Alfredo Sauce as a dinner meal appetizer, use it to make sub sandwiches, crispen up for garlic bread, and use it in the morning for french toast! Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 tsp brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbl (2 pkts) active dry yeast
3 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp salt
melted butter (to brush bread while baking)

Directions:
Mix warm water, sugar, and yeast in a large mixing bowl
Let it sit for 5 minutes
When yeast has started to activate, gradually add the flour, and salt
With a mixer dough hook (Kitchen Aid), or a wooden spoon by hand, mix until the dough becomes nice and smooth
Knead for 5-8 minutes
Cut the dough in half and shape into 2 baguettes
Easiest way to do this is to roll out each half into a large rectangle and roll up lengthwise
Pinch the edges to seal and place on lightly greased baking sheet (or baking pad/Silpat) with the seam side down
Cover with a cotton towel and let rise for 30 minutes
Preheat oven to 450 degrees
Gently make a slash down the length of each baguette with a sharp knife
Bake bread for 15 minutes
Halfway through baking (7.5 minutes), brush with some melted butter