This Amagabeli nonstick French baguette pan is a favorite of mine and I use, it all the time for baking baguettes and French bread, but I also use it for rolls. I’ve had my pan for quite a few years but you can find one at kitchen stores and on Amazon for about $18.

March 21 is National French Bread Day, giving us a reason to try our hand at it. Every country makes a variety of different breads: harder and softer, rounder and flatter. In France, the focus is on loaves of bread, versus rolls, muffins or flatbreads. These loaves can have different-shapes but they always have a crusty exterior and a chewy crumb. A baguette is always a long stick of French bread, which by law has flour, water, yeast and salt—no added fat.

In the United States, supermarkets have done us no favors by labeling long thin loaves as “French” bread and thicker, squatter loaves “Italian.” All this said, if you make your own bread, it’s going to be tasty and it doesn’t matter what you call it.

This week though, I’ll be making my version of French bread, which I bake in my French baguette pan. This pan has tiny holes in it, which allows the bread to get a good crust all the way around. I use it for rolls as well, which I shape into four-inch torpedos, perfect for a sandwich.

I use a bread machine to mix up the dough but after the first rising (about 90 minutes) I take the dough out and shape it in my choice of pan. Let it rise till doubled in size, then bake in a 350 F oven for about 30 minutes. Bread is done when it is dry to the touch and has a hollow sound when you tap it. While a bread machine can do it all, down to the final baking, I prefer the shapes, crust, and texture I get from using different pans and baking it in the oven.

Here are some of my favorite bread machine recipes. Each of these recipes will make one standard loaf or two long “French” style loaves or 10-12 rolls. Add ingredients in the order given.

“French” bread

• 1-1/3 cups water
• 2 Tbsps. oil
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsps. sugar
• 4 cups flour
• 2 tsp. yeast

Honey whole wheat bread

• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsps. water
• 3 Tbsps. honey
• 2 Tbsps. canola oil
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1-1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 tsps. yeast

Honey cornmeal

• 1-1/4 cup buttermilk
• 3 Tbsps. honey
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1-1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 cups flour
• ½ cup cornmeal
• 2 tsps. yeast

Italian herb

• 1-1/4 cup milk
• 2 Tbsps. butter
• 2 Tbsps. sugar
• 1-1/2 tsps. salt
• 3 cups flour
• 2 Tbsps Parmesan cheese, dry
• 2 Tbsps. Italian herbs, dry
• 1 Tbsp. yeast

Multi-grain bread

• 1-1/3 cup water
• 2 Tbsps. honey
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat
• 1/3 cup oatmeal
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 3 Tbsps. wheat germ or ground flax seed
• 2 tsp. yeast

Oatmeal molasses bread

• 1-1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 Tbsps. oil
• 1 tsp. salt
• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 2-1/4 tsp. yeast                                      

Soft light rye bread

• 1-1/2 cups warm water
• 1-1/2 tsp. salt 
• 2 Tbsps. butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar    
• 1 cup rye flour
• 2-3/4 cups flour
• 2 tsps. caraway seeds
• 1-1/2 tsps. yeast