Directions: |
Directions:Step One: Combine the flour and the salt, stirring well. Divide the flour mixture in half, reserving half in a separate bowl. Place the other half of the flour mixture in a bowl large enough to allow for plenty of rise.
Step Two: Mix the yeast with the warm water until just incorporated. Add this to the flour-mixture in the big bowl. Stir until the flour and the water are incorporated nicely. Cover and leave somewhere nice and warm for 3 hours.
Step Three: After 3 hours of rising, add the remaining flour mixture to the big bowl. Knead for ten minutes, adding more flour as needed. When you’re finished, you should have a nice smooth dough. If it’s too sticky, simple add a wee bit more flour at a time until the dough is manageable and keep kneading until smooth. Let this dough rise for another hour in an oiled bowl.
Step Four: After the extra hour of rising, knead again. Separate the dough into 4-6 pieces, depending on how big you like your loafs. Sometimes, I want a crunchier bread – so I do smaller (thinner) loafs (more crust, less inside). Shape into a baguette (this part takes practice, and while I could try to explain, it may be easier just to find a video on YouTube – it’s taken me many-a-time to even come close to a baguette shape!). Place the shaped baguettes on a floured baking sheet (I do 2 or 3 per baking sheet and cook them one sheet at a time), careful to allow them plenty of room to rise without touching, and scoring with a knife or scissors if desired. Cover and allow the loafs to rest while the
oven preheats.
Step Five: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Here’s the tricky part: Put a cast iron skillet (or other appropriate baking-safe dish) in the oven with about 4 cups of warm water, allowing this to preheat as well. This will create steam in the oven, which will help to develop that nice, crunchy crust.
Step Six: Once the oven is preheated, bake the baguettes for 15 minutes with the water IN the oven. Then, remove the water dish, and bake for another 10-15 minutes (depending on how brown you like your baguettes). Note: I cook up a batch of these bad boys and just keep them in a bread bag in the kitchen – whenever we’re ready to eat some, we just preheat the oven to 300'ish degrees and pop a loaf in there for 15 or so minutes, until it’s nice and warm. These also freeze well.
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Personal
Notes: |
Personal
Notes: You can even add herbs or roasted garlic to spice it up, baby! It’s your bread, do with it whatever your little heart desires. This bread is perfect for the type of bread eating that we do – we need a bread that we can dunk into warm soups, smear with pear butter, grill into sandwiches, and serve with hummus – and this ‘ol baguette fits the bill. It’s wonderful.
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This recipe for FRENCH-STYLE BAGUETTES. is from