'French' bread a la KitchenAid

Page 55 of my KitchenAid 'Recipe and Instructions' booklet looks like it might have been unearthed with King Tut.  Parchment-like in appearance with brown spots and stains, several watermarks - and some fingerprints.  No doubt mine, as I've been following this particular recipe for 'French Bread' for some 25 years now, on and off.  It's easy - the most tedious part being measuring the flour - and if you get the temperatures right (don't scald the yeast!) - pretty much foolproof.  You get to actually handle the dough so even though the KitchenAid does the kneading, the process still retains a bit of the romance of baking bread.  Unlike using a bread machine, I would think.

The results are invariably good and reliably so.  The bread can be baked either in a loaf format or it can be rolled to look a bit more like the real thing.  Of course I have no illusions about this being anything like a proper baguette-style loaf.  Some may differ but I think you only get those in France.  Preferably Paris.  To get a nice crust I spritz some water mist into the oven just before I slide in the baking stone or the bread pan, or both as was the case today.  Instead of the tablespoon of butter called for in the original recipe, I nowadays use a tablespoon of olive oil.  And instead of glazing the bread with the traditional egg-white wash, I simply spray the top with some Pam, 5 minutes before it comes out of the oven. This is best eaten fresh, tastes wonderful with a light smear of Marmite and toasts exceptionally well after a couple of days or so.  Who loves it even more than we do?  Our two Boxers.  I swear they can detect the sound of a bread knife being picked up in this household.