Baguette
🛒Ingredients (Grocery List)
1 1/2 cups + 2 tbsp Warm Water at 75 degrees
1 tsp instant Yeast
1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
4 cups all-purpose Flour
Vegetable Oil for Greasing the Bowl
1 tsp of Flour for dusting
🍴Serves: 3 Baguettes
⏰Prep Time: 25 min
⏱️Cook Time: 30 min
💤Resting Time: 3 Hours
🥣Instructions
1. Pour the warm Water into a large bowl of a stand mixer. Add the Yeast, Salt, and enough Flour to make a shaggy mass when stirred with a spoon (the dough should come together but will not be smooth). You may not need all the Flour.
2. Let the mixture sit for 20 to 30 minutes to rehydrate.
3. Mixing and First Rise: Place the bowl of dough on the mixer with the dough hook attached and mix on low speed for 8 to 10 minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead it a few times with your hands until smooth and springy. The dough should be a little sticky (wetter) rather than too dry to achieve a light crumb.
4. If you are mixing by hand, turn the rehydrated mixture onto a floured board and mix until the dough comes together in a ball, about 2 minutes. Knead for 10 to 12 minutes total. The dough should err on the slightly sticky side. The wetter the dough, the lighter the crumb.
5. Place the dough in a lightly Oiled bowl or another container. You may wish to mark your beginning dough height on the container so you can tell how far it has risen. Cover with plastic wrap to prevent the dough from drying out.
6. Let it rise at room temperature (about 75 degrees) for 45 minutes or until the dough has risen 25 to 50 percent from its original height (not doubled). If your house is cooler, this may take an hour or more.
7. Second Rise: Lightly dust the counter with flour and turn the dough out onto it. Pat it gently into a rectangle.
8. Fold the dough letter style by folding down the top 1/3 of the dough. Brushing off excess as you go.
9. Continue to fold letter style by folding the bottom 1/3 of the dough up.
10. Make a quarter turn, and repeat the letter fold process one more time, to form a square ball.
11. Place the dough back into the bowl or container, cover, and let rise to 1 1/2 times its size (not quite doubled), 45 minutes or more.
12. Third Rise and Shaping: Lightly dust the counter again with flour and turn the dough out onto it. Cut it with a knife or bench scraper into 3 equal pieces. The pieces should weigh about 10 ounces each.
13. Pat each piece into a rectangle, brush any excess flour, and fold the long edge toward you. Press to seal.
14. Fold over again and seal the seam by pinching the dough together.
15. Place both hands on the center of the dough and rock the baguette back and forth while applying slight pressure out toward the ends. Do this a couple of times until the baguette is about 15 inches long.
16. Make sur the seam is well sealed, then place the baguette on a lightly floured parchment paper-lined cookie sheet.
17. Prepare the other 2 loaves the same way. Place the loaves rise for 30 to 40 minutes or until they have increased in size by about 50 percent.
18. Scoring and Baking: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place a rectangle cake pan or another type of high-sided pan on the bottom rack to heat (avoid using glass). If you have a bread stone, place it on the top rack. Heat 2 cups of water in a kettle.
19. Once risen, slash the top of the baguettes with a lame, razor blade, or even a serrated bread knife. The cuts should be at an acute angle to the length of the loaf and parallel to each other.
20. If you have a baking stone, slide the loaves off of the cookie sheet and directly onto the stone. Otherwise, keep them on the lined cookie sheet and place in the oven on the top rack. Pour some hot water from the tea kettle into the pan at the bottom of the oven.
21. Close the oven door. If you like to spray the oven walls, do it within the first 5 to 10 minutes of baking.
22. Bake the loaves until they are golden brown, 15 to 25 minutes. Turn the loaves about halfway through the baking and remove the parchment paper if it’s getting too brown and crispy.
23. Remove the bread from the oven and cool on a wire rack for good air circulation.
24. Eat the baguettes within 4 hours of baking for the best taste or wrap in a layer of plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months.
💡Tips
Depending on the humidity and how dry the flour is, you will need to adjust the final dough by adding a bit more flour or working in some water with wet hands.
It is important how you to measure the flour. Flour that’s spooned lightly into the cup and then smoothed off weighs less than a cup that’s been dipped into the flour which is then packed down. So, if you do the latter method, you will need about 3 1/2 cups flour instead of 4 cups.
Chlorine in the water can affect the taste. You would get the best results if you used bottled water or even tap water that’s been sitting out overnight. Charcoal and other water filters can also remove chlorine
The best way to judge the doneness of a baguette is by crust color. Using an instant-read thermometer can be helpful, but if the temperature is 205 degrees and the crust is still pale, let it go 5 minutes or so, or until the crust is golden brown.
To freeze, let the baguette cool completely and then double wrap in plastic wrap. Alternatively, wrap the bread in heavy duty foil. Bread may be frozen up to 6 months but the flavor will be best if thawed and eaten within a month or two.
The steam from the pan of water is the key to a crusty baguette. A baking stone or specialty baguette pan help give you an even bake.
