Baguettes

Flavours of France

From buttery pastries to bouncy white bread and delicate desserts, no one bakes with as much gusto as the French. Give your kitchen the buzz of a first rate boulangerie.

Baguettes

This long stick of bread is the epitome of French baking – a crisp golden crust, soft, springy white dough, and traditionally seven cuts along the top, The cuts let the expanding gas in the loaf escape, and give the baguette its signature look.

Fresh baguettes combined with good ham and a smudge of grainy mustard is the perfect recipe for lunch.

Baguettes recipe,

This recipe, a version of the French classic, is made with ferment. There are different types of ferment, but this one use fermented dough, where the ingredients for the ferment are mixed together into dough and then left for min 6 hours (better overnight) before being added to the rest of ingredients. This process of slow fermentation gives flavour filled bread.

Recipe for ferment,

10g fresh yeast

500g strong white bread flour

10g salt

350ml water

Rub the yeast into the flour using your fingertips, add the salt and the water and mix well until the dough begins to come together. Turn out onto a un floured work surface and work the dough for 10 min.

Return to a lightly floured mixing bowl. Cover with a baking cloth and leave to rest at room temperature for 6 hours or overnight. Until it has doubled in size. This will make around 900g dough. You only need 600g, so leave the rest in the fridge to use another time.

Recipe for baguettes,

950g strong white bread flour

50g dark rye flour

720 water

600g fermented white dough

20g salt

Mix the two flours in a large mixing bowl, and then stir in the water. Mix well until the dough comes together. Cover with a baking cloth and leave to rest for 30 min.

Add the fermented dough and mix well. When it comes together, use dough scraper to help you turn dough out onto an un floured work surface.

Work the dough until it becomes smooth and elastic. Sprinkle on the salt and work for 2-3 minutes more.

Lightly flour your work surface, and then fold the dough into a ball. Put back into your mixing bowl, cover with a baking cloth and leave to rest for 1 1/2 hours.

Lightly flour your surface, turn out the dough, fold and put back into the bowl. Leave to rest for another hour.

Lightly flour your work surface again, and turn the dough. Divide it into 12x185g pieces and cover with a baking cloth to stop then from drying out while you’re shaping them.

Preheat oven to 250C. Bake for 12 -15 minutes until golden brown.