Bread Machine French Bread

Place the warm water into your bread pan. Be sure the kneading paddle is in place. Then add the olive oil, the salt, and the sugar, in this order. Add the flour, covering the liguid. Make a small indentation on top of the center of the flour, but not deep enough to reach the liquid. Add the yeast to this indentation. (Adding the ingredients in this order is important, especially when using the timer. It keeps the yeast away from the liquid ingredients until it is time to knead them together. Liquid ingredients will prematurely activate the yeast.) Now you are ready to set your bread pan in the machine and set the timer or choose the French Bread Cycle. This recipe makes a 2lb loaf.