Easy Italian Bread - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup water (120 to 130 F)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups bread flour
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Preparation

Place all the ingredients in bread machine pan. Process on dough setting.
At the end of the cycle, remove dough from machine; place it on parchment paper. Punch down dough. Shape dough into baguete-shaped loaf about 12 inches long.
Place loaf on cornmeal-coated cookie sheet and with sharp knife, make 1 deep lenghtwise slash in top of loaf. Cover; let rise in warm place for about 1 hour.
Brush loaf with egg white, if desired. Heat oven to 375\u00b0 F. Bake loaf for 25 to 35 minutes.
Variation: You can add 1 tsp dark sesame oil to the recipe if you desire. Sprinkle the loaf with same sesame seeds before putting it in the oven.