Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine warm water, sugar, yeast, and salt. Allow to sit for a few minutes to bubble.

Add the softened butter and 1 cup of flour, and stir together with a wooden spoon or dough hook.

Then stir in the 2 cups of flour. Then add the last cup 1/4 cup at a time to see how much you need. The dough should be pulling away from the sides of the bowl but still sticky. Knead for 6-7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Prepare a baking sheet or baguette pan with nonstick spray.

Shape the dough into one large loaf that is about 12-14 inches, or 2 smaller loaves.Use a sharp serrated knife to make 3-4 half-inch slits on top.

Cover with a tea towel and let rise for 20 minutes.When the loaf or loaves have roughly doubled in size, remove the towel.

In a small bowl, whisk up 1 egg white if desired. This gives you a nice crisp crust. Make it nice and frothy. Use a pastry brush to coat the tops and sides of the bread. You can use all or most of the egg white.

Bake for about 20 minutes for 450 degrees until golden and the bottom of the loaf is browned. The longer you leave it in, the crispier your crust will be. Makes 1 -2 loaves.