Almost no-knead baguettes

I've been making this fun french bread recipe twice in the past 2 days, it's such a fun, easy recipe, I had to share! I first made it a few years ago when it was featured on La Fuji Mama.  I completely forgot about it until a few days ago when I needed to bring some fresh bread to a playdate but didn't have any time to squeeze a batch of my regular whole wheat bread between my exercise class and the playdate. This recipe was perfect because all the work is done the night before! All I needed to do the next morning was to take the dough out of the fridge and let it raise for a few hours while I was exercising. Perfect! Tadd commented that it was better than a bakery, and with only 3 ingredients, well 4 if you count water, and basically no kneading, it's a definite winner, and will be on the menu often.

Almost no-knead baguettes

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt

Stir all the ingredients together with a wooden spoon, turn onto counter and knead a few times (I found that I needed to add a tablespoon or two of water to my dough, it was too stiff), place back in the bowl, cover and let raise on your counter for 2 hours. Then place in the fridge overnight or for up to 7 days. When you're ready to bake, remove the bread from the fridge and turn out to a greased counter. Press down and let sit for 15 minutes. Shape into 2 long skinny loaves (mine were maybe 15 inches long) and lay on a greased cookie sheet, cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for about 1 1/2 hours or until very puffy. Mine had to raise 2 hours. When the loaves are ready to bake, preheat oven to 450 degrees, make a few diagonal slashes with a knife, spritz with water, and place in preheated oven to bake. Bake for 25-30 minutes, then cool completely before serving. (I spread some butter on the tops of the bread when they came out of the oven to give them a pretty color, but this is optional, and may take away from the crusty outside.)

This is a really great basic recipe, and your family will think they've stepped into a bakery when these are coming out of the oven! Enjoy!