Baguettes

Baguettes

Ingredients:
leavening agents, yeast, baker's, active dry
water, bottled, generic
wheat flour, white, all-purpose, unenriched
salt, table

Directions:
Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.
Stir with a fork.
Set aside for 10 minutes.
Combine flour and salt.
Add the yeast mixture, and stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups water.
Mix the dough until it's sticky enough to knead.
On a lightly-floured surface knead for 6-10 minutes.
The dough will be sticky and smooth.
Put the dough in a bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size (about 1 hour).
Punch down the dough and divide into 4 equal parts.
Shape each into a baguette, and transfer teh loaves to a lightly-greased baking sheet (you can use butter to grease).
Let rise until doubled.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Pour 2 cups of hot water into a pyrex dish or pan and set in preheated oven next to the baguettes.
Bake 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 400 and bake another 5 minutes until golden brown.
Allow to cool before slicing.