Bread Machine Sesame French Bread

Total Time: 3 hrs 38 mins Preparation Time: 8 mins Cook Time: 3 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

• 7 ounces warm water (14 tbs.)
• 1 tablespoon butter or 1 tablespoon margarine, softened
• 2 3/4-3 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons yeast
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds (toast lightly before adding if desired for a slightly more intense flavor, but it's good either way)

Recipe

• 1 place all the ingredients into the bread machine according to manufacturer's directions.
• 2 bake using french bread cycle if your machine has it.
• 3 if not, use the dark crust cycle.
• 4 start with 2 3/4 cups flour, you might need more depending on a lot of factors.
• 5 my favorite way to get the texture i like is about 10 minutes into the knead cycle i will pinch a good size chunk of dough between my thumb and two or three fingers.
• 6 if it feels just moist and some dough sticks to my fingers, it's just right.
• 7 if no dough sticks, it's a bit dry and add a few teaspoons of water.
• 8 if it feels too soft and very sticky, add more flour until you get the right consistency after about another 5 minutes of kneading.