Our Favorite French Bread

1C + 1T. warm water
3 cups bread flour (I use all-purpose because I don't have any)
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 T. butter (you can use half if you want)
2 tsp. active dry yeast (OR 1 1/2 tsp. bread machine/fast rise yeast)

Place ingredients in your bread machine in this order:
1) Water
2) Butter, cut into chunks
3) Salt
4) Flour
5) Sugar
6) Yeast

Set the bread machine on the dough setting and allow dough to knead. My setting takes 1.4 hours. After the dough cycle ends, remove dough and place on a floured surface. Cover and allow dough to sit for 15 minutes.

Knead dough just a bit, and shape into a loaf. Cover, and let dough rise for 30 minutes. (if you have to let it rise a little longer, it's ok).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a cookie sheet (no need if you have a baking stone), and bake for 15-25 minutes or until slightly browned on the top.

Sherah's Notes:
The first time I baked this bread, I waited until it truly was a bit brown on the top - about 25 minutes. The crust came out crunchy and a little too hard for my children to chew. So for my family with lots of littles, I now bake it 20 minutes tops, and the top is not browned at all. But it's more soft and chewy instead of hard and crunchy - they devoured it and wished out loud that there was more! It rivals any grocery store's "hot at 4pm" type french bread.