French bread baguettes

MAKES 2 LARGE BAGUETTES

Will Clower solved the age-old problem of never having enough time to bake fresh bread. He uses this basic French bread recipe, but treats it like something he would make in a slow cooker. He does the time-consuming tasks in the morning, then lets the dough rise while he's at work, finishing it up in the evening. By dinnertime he has a loaf of freshly baked bread on the table.

1 teaspoon instant yeast

1-1/4 cups warm water, divided

3 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

Add yeast and 1/4 cup of warm water to a small bowl. Let this sit, warm itself, and come alive while you are preparing the rest of the ingredients.

In a food processor or mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Add rest of water and mix. Add the yeast water to flour and process until it forms a slightly sticky ball. Be sure to knead long enough so that it is smooth when you stretch it by hand (maybe a full minute in a processor, 10 minutes by hand).

Lay dough out onto a board lightly dusted with flour, and knead into a nice round ball. Place dough in a bowl rubbed with a smear of olive oil; cover with a cloth and let sit until it has doubled in volume, about an hour, depending on the warmth of your kitchen. If you want to break up the bread-making tasks, now is the time to let the bread sit.

When you come home from work, deflate dough and form into 2 long thin loaves. Place both loaves in baking pan. Cover and allow to rise again for an hour or so.

Preheat oven to 450.

Before putting loaves into the oven, moisten your hands and rub over the bread. Put loaves into the oven for 30 minutes. When it's finished, the crust should be firm and the inside light and fluffy. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a rack for at least 10 minutes.

Nutrition facts per slice: 86 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 18 g carbohydrates, 3 g protein, 219 mg sodium, 1 g fiber