French Baguettes
photo by stephon
- Ready In:
- 2hrs 10mins
- Ingredients:
- 6
- Yields:
-
4-6 Baguettes
ingredients
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 2 cups warm water
- 4 -5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 egg, beaten and mixed with
- 1 tablespoon cold water
directions
- In a small bowl dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.
- Stir with a fork.
- Set aside for 10 minutes.
- Combine the flour and salt.
- Add the yeast mixture, and stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups water.
- Mix the dough until it is sticky enough to knead.
- On a lightly floured board, knead for 6 to 10 minutes; the dough should be sticky and smooth.
- Put the dough in a bowl, cover with a damp tea towel, and let rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
- Punch down the dough and divide into 4 pieces.
- Roll each into a ball and shape into a baguette.
- Transfer the loaves to a lightly greased baking sheet or baguette pan and let rise until nearly doubled.
- (I use 2 baking sheets, with 3 smaller loaves per sheet).
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Brush the baguettes with the egg-water mixture.
- Score the loaves diagonally across the top with a sharp knife.
- Pour 2 cups of hot water into a pan and place in the preheated oven next to the baguettes to provide moisture.
- Bake the baguettes for 15 minutes, and then lower the temperature to 400 degrees and bake for 5 to 10 minutes more, until golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and cool on a rack before slicing.
- Occasionally I burn the bottom of the bread, in which case I scrape it off with a sharp serrated knife and it remains my secret!
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Reviews
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I remember hearing "If you can read, you can cook", and truer words were never spoken. At present, I am completely dependent on the written recipe. I am partial to french and indian cooking; I love the complexity and blend of ingredients. I recently rented The French Chef with Julia Child of which I was very impressed. She was an absolutely fantastic person and I am truly saddened only to discover her after her death.