I was amazed the first time I saw epi in Bouchon restaurant. I have read and looked at the pictures many time, but really could not grasp at what angle or how deep the cuts should be. Now, thank to Rouxbe, my path to conquer another bread mystery is wide open. Thank you again! Unrelated question though; what material the countertop in the video is made off?

So glad you liked the lesson Faye, let us know how it turns out for you. As for the counter-tops question I am going to direct you to another post where someone already asked this same question. Cheers!

I am definitely going to make one of those. Beautiful!

Made this yesterday - it was so much easier than it looks - but I'll never tell! It is great for our family - so easy to break off a piece. We're hooked - thanks!

I made a couple loaves of epi this week. It was excellent.

Thanks!

I have never made bread in my life! This does not look intimidating, rather it looks fun. I'm going to give it a go and make it tomorrow. We'll see how it goes!

I've made already two Epis. Taste great. Have to work on my cutting techniques and identifying the right time to place it in the oven though. But last night at a party nobody wanted to eat store bought bread. Too bad I only brought one Epi. Thank you Rouxbe!

I love this lesson! Very easy, ( although by the looks people think a lot of effort was put into it ) the end result is great :) I would love to see more bread recipes like this in the future.

I recently went with my family to an Italian restaurant where my brother fell in love with bread-sticks. He asked me if I could make bread-sticks at home, and I told him I probably could. So my question is, is making bread-sticks simply a matter of shaping "normal" bread, or do you have to make the dough differently?

While you can certainly shape this lean dough into many different shapes, it's hard to say whether or not you'll get the same results that you experienced. There are long, skinny bread sticks that are crunchy and then there are softer ones, both of which have different formulas. It's a matter of finding one you like and shaping accordingly. Go ahead and try it and see if you like them. Cheers!

I just made this with all-purpose flour and it came out good.. I baked and temped the bread @ 210 F as instructed, but the color of the bread wasn't a deep brown as the one shown in the video. My old electric oven isn't that great -- it baked for about 40 minutes, but it looked like it was getting close to being overdone.

Did you use wheat flour to get that deep brown color? If not, how do you think wheat flour would work for this recipe?

Thanks for your help.

All-purpose, bread, cake & pastry flour is all wheat flour. It might be helpful to review the lesson on Wheat & Gluten in the Cooking School. We used bread flour. Again, you may want to check out the lesson on Bread Basics as there is a lot of information in there regarding the ingredients used for bread.

There are several reasons why the color of the bread was too light. The oven temperature could have been too low, so you will need to test your oven by purchasing an oven thermometer. The dough also may have over-proofed, you could have added too much steam or simply you might not have baked it long enough. Keep practicing and making adjustments to perfect the results. Cheers!

Does the Epi bake faster than the normal loaf as it is cut that way?

Not that much faster. It all depends on your oven so make sure to keep an eye on it. Cheers!

I haven't tried this yet, but am planning to tonight. Just one question, though -- when making the scissor cuts at a 45-degree angle, does it cut all the way through the loaf -- with each piece sticking together simply by proximity to its neighbor -- or does cutting at that angle automatically leave a bit of the dough attached? I just didn't want to get into it and then, for instance, realize I was cutting all the way through and wonder whether I was doing it right.

Thanks!

No, the dough is not quite cut all the way through. There is just a little bit left at the base, but the dough will remain intact when you lift it to each side. Have fun! Cheers!

Made it earlier today for a dinner party tonight. It was a big success, both impressive looking and delicious. It is amazing how easy it was. Just watched the video a couple of times to memorize key steps. Thank you for your clear explanations!