French Baguettes
We all know that crunch of a perfect French Baguette and the soft crumb, it's perfect for so many things, simply dipped in Olive oil or with a good Brie or with Prosciutto or...It is actually not that intimidating once you get the hang of a few techniques. This is a home adapted recipe so no special tools or large oven is needed.
Ingredients
Poolish
- 300 g Wheat flour type 00
- 300 ml water
- 3-4 g dry yeast
Dough
- 700 g wheat flour type 00
- 400 ml water
- 14 g dry yeast
- 25 g sea salt
Instructions
Poolish
- in a bowl add the 300g of wheat flour type 00 and the yeast
- mix in dry
- add the water so the poolish is hydrated
- mix it with a spoon
- once combined cover it with a cling film and leave it at room temperature for one night
- to proof our yeast use a jar and add 1tbsp sugar
- add 400 ml lukewarm water and 14g yeast
- mix it with a spoon
- set aside and wait until foam and bubbles are formed on top
- add the poolish to the stand mixer
- add the water with the yeast
- break up the poolish with a spatula
- add 700g of wheat flour type 00
- add 25g of sea salt
- start the stand mixer on low until everything is fully combined
- switch it to medium and let it knead until the dough releases from the pole around 8-10 minutes
- transfer it to an oiled wider bowl and let it rest for 30-40 minutes until double in size
- flip and fold up and over itself until you have achieved a good gluten network in the dough
- let it rest for another 30 minutes
- lightly flour your work surface as well as your spatula
- take out of the bowl the dough and place it on your working surface
- divide the dough in equal parts
- side fold them over itself and stitch them together
- shape them into a round ball and let them rest for 15-20 minutes
- continue the same process for the rest of the dough balls
- flip the dough ball upside down and punch it out into a rectangular shape
- roll from the top and punch so to create a seam with your fingertips
- once you have that closed, roll it out to a baguette size
- in order to simulate the thick linen cloth (Kush) that the bakeries are using, fold baking paper in the shape of a baguette
- cover them with tea towels and let them proof for 45 minutes
- inside your oven place two pizza stones and in the bottom a cast iron pot that we will add hot water to create steamy environment for the baguettes to rise before they form a crust
- preheat your oven at 250℃ - 482℉
- score them using a scalpel or a sharp knife
- bake them for 15-20 minutes
- ready to serve