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How satisfying would it be to know how to bake our own baguettes at home?
Baguettes are one of the pillars of french food and are greatly appreciated around the world. So why not try to make our own?
Here’s a very simple recipe to make your own homemade baguettes.The bread should be as good as the baker’s – at least I hope so! In my opinion, a recipe for tasty baguettes should be simple and fast. I make my homemade bread twice a week and nothing is more pleasant than having successfully baked baguettes. And when the smell fills the house, it is pure bliss!
So let’s go!
Resting and preparation: 2h 30
Cooking time: 25 min
Baguette bread Ingredients list
For three baguettes
- 1 lb (500 g) bread flour
- 1 1/2 cup (350 ml) of lukewarm water
- 2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (approx. a 8g package)
- 2 teaspoons (10 g) salt
Baguette baking instructions
Put the flour, yeast, and water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Knead by hand or with the mixer for only 7 min and then add salt; continue kneading for 7 more minutes. The dough shouldn’t stick on the sides, but remain moist and elastic. Sprinkle with flour, cover, and let it stand from 1 hour to 1:20 in a warm place.
When the dough has doubled in volume, tip the dough onto a floured surface. Divide the dough into 3 loaves.
Roll out 1 dough piece into a long rectangle and fold it in threes. Place the opening (the key) in front of you, roll the dough into a large sausage and solder it by pinching the dough. Shape the dough by rolling it on the work pan from the center toward the end until you get a baguette the size of your baking tray.
Form the other two baguettes. Put them on a silicone or metal tray (check an example on amazon here). You can also lay the dough directly onto a slightly floured baking sheet.
Cover with a damp cloth so that a maximum amount of dough is in contact with the cloth. Let it stand for 30 minutes in a warm place away from air drafts.
The rods are now slightly inflated. If you leave it to swell more, the bread will deflate when you do the scoring, or in the oven. Also by inflating in the oven, you’ll get beautiful grignes on your baguettes.
Preheat oven to 460°F (240°C) with a small water container (tin can type) inside to create a mist. With my old oven, I use “pizza” baking mode. With my new oven, when I looked at the manual I noticed that it had the “intensive cooking” mode and it sticks perfectly. So you may need to find the right method of baking before you succeed.
Sprinkle a little flour on your baguettes (a tea ball diffuser is perfect for this) and incise them with a sharp knife or a razor blade; this is the scoring.
Put in the oven; lower the temperature to 430°F (220°C); sprinkle with a spray of water and cook for 25 minutes; watch the baguette’s crust color; stop cooking according to your taste.
Remove the baguettes from the oven and let it cool on a rack.
If you want fresh baked bread in the morning
Prepare the dough the day before, cover with a damp tea towel, and place the sticks in a refrigerator overnight. In the morning, there is nothing to do beyond baking the bread out of the fridge in advance.
You did it! Again, if you make these – Let me know how they turn out; since I created this recipe, I’d especially love to hear all about it. :)
When it comes to the art of the french baguette and baking bread in general, it’s always a good idea to keep a good reference book and some dedicated equipment. So here’s a selection of highly rated items on Amazon.com to help you to get started with making your own bread at home:
Update: check out our fresh tutorial How to Bake a Ring Bread.
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