Bread Maker French Bread

Ingredients

• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons
• warm water
• 3 1/2 s bread flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine, cut into 4 pieces
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast OR 1 1/2 teaspoons fast rise yeast
• 1 egg white, slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon water
• poppy or sesame seeds for garnish

Directions

Add water to bread pan. Add bread flour, sugar and salt to pan. Tap pan to settle dry ingredients; level dry ingredients, pushing some of flour mixture into corners. Place pieces of butter into corners of pan on top of dry ingredients.
Make slight well in center of dry ingredients and add yeast. Place bread pan into oven chamber, twist to lock pan in place and close cover. Program machine for DOUGH. When dough is done remove pan from bread maker; remove dough, placing onto floured surface. Let rest 15 minutes.
Roll dough into 15x 12-inch rectangle. Roll up tightly from long side, seal and taper ends. Place seam side down on greased baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise in warm, draft-free place 45 to 55 minutes or until nearly double in size. With sharp knife, make 3 or 4 1/4-inch deep diagonal cuts on top of loaf. Combine egg white with water and brush mixture on top of loaf. Sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds if desired. Bake in preheated 375° oven 40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly before slicing. Makes 1 large loaf.