French Baguette

⏳ Time

30 minutes

🥕 Ingredients

🍽️ Servings

Description

French baguettes are loved for their combination of a crispy crust and a soft, tender crumb. To achieve this result, use the special 'French Bread' setting on your bread maker.

Ingredients

Water - 10 fl oz
Wheat Flour - 15.9 oz
Salt - 2 teaspoons
Dry yeast - 3 teaspoons

Step by Step guide

Step 1

Add water to the bread pan. If your bread maker's instructions state that yeast should be added first, that's okay. Just change the order in which you add the dry and liquid ingredients.

Step 2

Pour in the flour so that it completely covers the water. Add salt to one corner. Make a small well in the center of the flour so that flour is at the bottom, not water, and add the yeast there. Set the bread maker to the 'French Dough' mode, specifying a medium crust. Start the bread maker.

Step 3

When the dough is ready, remove it from the bread maker, place it on a floured surface, and give it a sharp slap once. Divide the dough into two or three equal parts for individual baguettes.

Step 4

From each piece of dough, roll it into a ball, then roll them out with a rolling pin to form rectangles approximately 18x7.5 cm. Lift one third of the dough sheet and fold it over, then press at the crease. Repeat this operation two more times, trying not to tear the dough and allowing it to rest between folds.

Step 5

Carefully roll the dough into a log and stretch it lengthwise to form a baguette about 28–33 cm long. Place the baguette between a folded and floured cloth to maintain its shape, and wait for the dough to rise. Then cover the baguette with oiled plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place for 30–45 minutes.

Step 6

Preheat the oven to 446°F. Carefully, so the baguettes do not lose their shape, place them on a floured baking sheet, spacing them well apart. Make several diagonal slashes on top of each baguette. Place the baking sheet on the top rack of the oven and spray the oven walls with water from a spray bottle. Bake the baguettes for 15–20 minutes until golden brown. Remove the finished baguettes from the oven and let them cool.