“True French bread will lose its quality within hours.”
I am going to tell you how to revive true French bread to its just-baked freshness:
Sprinkle water on the crust and exposed bread then rub butter, ( melted butter is best, ) all over the loaf then place in the oven for a few minutes, ) with the oven on, of course, ) then.....
Voila! Fresh French bread!
Truth be told, this will work on any pastry, even stale donuts. ;-)
What oven temperature?