French bread, with variations

Ever since Paul got a bread machine for his birthday, we've been experimenting with different kinds of bread. Lately we've had a penchant for a really easy French bread recipe that lends itself to many variations. It's crusty on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside, just the way they should be. It's not as flavorful as the ones in France, yet.

Basic recipe:
2 cups flour
2/3 cup water
1 t salt
1 1/2 t yeast
Grease bread maker with Pam. Add water first, then flour and salt, and finally yeast. Set bread machine to 'dough' setting. When the machine beeps, remove dough (it's fine to leave it in there for a few hours) and form into desired shape (e.g. a baguette). Let rest on a baking pan for 30-40 minutes. Bake in 410F oven for 30-40 minutes. Enjoy the crackle.

I've added garlic powder (around a tablespoon) to the dry ingredients, and Paul's added cubed cheese and minced garlic to the shaped dough with excellent results. Next time I'm going to add some herbs to the dough along with the garlic powder.

To fill a baguette, split a line down the middle and stuff the crease with minced garlic, then cheese. Bring the sides back together above the filling to close the crease. Bake as usual, positioning the crease at the top of the baguette. This way, as the dough expands and the crease reopens, the cheese melts and spreads across the top of the baguette, and browns to a slight crispiness. A side benefit of this is that the garlic roasts and becomes buttery. We've been eating all this with glasses of Pizza Port's Sunny Bumber ale, a bright, golden summer ale that's easy to drink, quite refreshing, and gently wheaty.