I get so much satisfaction out of making bread at home. It always amazes me how a few simple ingredients can be combined to make so many varieties of bread. When I decide to make bread, it's almost always whole wheat sandwich bread. I love that bread, but sometimes it's fun to do something different. Something that isn't just going to be turned into a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
This bread takes some planning ahead and more time to make than sandwich bread, but here are a few reasons why I'm excited to keep making baguettes at home on occasion:
1. These taste SO GOOD when still warm from the oven. That is really reason enough.
2. I can get some whole wheat flour into my baguettes if I make them myself. The first time I made these I used all-purpose flour. The second time I used all-purpose for the sponge, and then experimented with using 5 ounces all-purpose and 5 ounces white whole wheat for the dough. I was happy with the result!
3. These are pennies on the dollar cheaper than buying them from the grocery store bakery.
When my husband took a bite of this freshly baked bread he exclaimed, "This is the best thing I've eaten all day!"
Now, normally that would not mean much since he skips breakfast and takes leftovers or PBJ sandwiches to eat for lunch at work. But the day I made this bread happened to be his nice once-a-month catered lunch at work, so I was quite pleased that he liked this bread better than the catered seafood he'd eaten for lunch. These are chewy, slightly crusty and so very tasty. I made these to serve alongside salad, but I can't wait until the weather turns cooler and I can have these with some kind of chunky soup.
This recipe comes from the Cook's Illustrated Cookbook. While I love the end product, the instructions they give are incredibly long, so I will condense them. They give two sets of instructions: one for baguettes baked in time for breakfast, and slightly different instructions to get them done in time for dinner. I will give the dinner instructions here, since that is when I normally want them done. The biggest thing to remember is to plan ahead! The sponge needs to be started the day before you want to serve these.
French Baguettes
Note: Start the sponge at about noon the DAY BEFORE you want to eat these for dinner. The instructions seem quite long, but most of the steps require very little time. The biggest chunk of time required is to mix and knead the dough by hand, which would be from about 6-6:30 am. Here is a rough time table:
12 or 1 pm: start sponge
6 pm: put sponge in refrigerator
6 am: Knead dough
6:30 am: let dough rest
7 am: deflate dough, then let rise
8:30 am: shape into torpedo shape, let rest 15 minutes
8:50 am: shape into baguette shape and put in refrigerator to rise
4 pm: remove from refrigerator
4:45 pm: remove plastic wrap, preheat oven
5:00 pm: bake
5:15 pm: cool slightly
(I accidentally let my sponge sit at room temperature for about 8 hours and everything was fine. These times are approximate!)
Ingredients:
For the sponge:
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons (6 ounces) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup water, heated to 75 degrees
1/8 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
For the dough:
1/2 cup water, heated to 110 degrees, plus extra as needed
1/2 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
2 cups (10 ounces) flour (I've used 5 ounces all-purpose and 5 ounces white whole wheat)
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg white, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Directions:
1. For the sponge: Stir flour, water, and yeast together in a medium bowl with wooden spoon to form thick batter. Cover with plastic wrap and punch holes in plastic with knife. Let stand at room temperature for 5 to 6 hours, then refrigerate overnight, 12 to 14 hours.
2. For the dough: Reserve 2 tablespoons water. Add remaining water and yeast to sponge and stir until incorporated. Stir in flour. Transfer dough to counter and knead by hand for about 2 minutes until dry bits are absorbed into dough. Stretch dough into a rectangle, make indentations on top and sprinkle 1 tablespoon reserved water. Fold edges of dough up toward center to encase water, and pinch edges to seal. Knead dough 30 seconds.
3. Begin "crashing" dough by flinging dough vigorously against counter in order for dough to absorb water more readily. Knead and crash dough alternately until soft and supple, about 7 minutes. Stretch dough again into a rectangle, make indentations, sprinkle dough with salt and remaining 1 tablespoon reserved water. Fold and seal edges and crash and knead dough again until soft and supple, about 7 minutes. If dough still feels tough and nonpliant, knead in 2 additional teaspoons water.
4. To determine if the dough is adequately kneaded, tear off a piece and stretch it until nearly translucent. If dough tears before stretching thin, knead 5 minutes longer and test again. Gather dough into ball, place in large, lightly greased bowl, and cover with plastic. Let sit for 30 minutes, then knead for 10 seconds to gently deflate. Reshape into a ball and replace plastic. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
5. Gently deflate dough. Transfer to counter, divide in half, and form into a rough torpedo shape with smooth, taught surface, about 6 1/2 inches long. Repeat with second piece of dough. Cover and let rest 15 to 20 minutes.
6. Top inverted rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Fold the torpedo shape in half lengthwise and pinch seam together to seal. Roll and stretch dough cylinder until it measure about 15 inches long by 2 1/2 inches wide. Place seam side down on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with second piece of dough and place on baking sheet about 6 inches from the first piece. Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap, place in refrigerator and let rise 7 to 10 hours.
7. Remove from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 45 minutes. Adjust oven racks to lower-middle and lowest position, place baking stone (or another inverted baking sheet) on upper rack. Place another rimmed baking sheet on lower rack. Fill the lower baking sheet about halfway with water. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
8. Remove the plastic wrap from the baguettes to let surface of dough dry, then let stand for 15 minutes longer. (Baguettes should have nearly doubled in size and feel springy to touch.) Make five diagonal slashes on each baguette. Brush baguettes with egg white mixture and mist with water. Working quickly, slide parchment with baguettes onto baking stone. If water is getting low in lower baking sheet, add more hot or boiling water. Quickly close oven door. Bake until crust is deep golden brown and baguettes register 210 degrees, about 15 minutes, rotating baguettes after first 10 minutes of baking. Transfer baguettes to wire rack to let cool slightly, about 30 minutes, before slicing and serving.
Source: Cook's Illustrated Cookbook via annies-eat.com (directions slightly simplified)
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