Mother Bird: Baguettes

I know that my goal for this project was a new recipe every week and so far I've only posted once over almost a month. Rest assured, this is not because I haven't been trying new recipes; I've actually tried half a dozen or so since my last post. My real problem is that I stink at blogging. With that in mind, I'll save my excuses for not posting more on this blog (or any of my neglected blogs, for that matter) and get to the food.

A few weeks ago I found this book in my local library and decided to check it out. It contains a lot of detailed recipes for different kinds of bread from around the world. I decided that I'd start with a bread that I've eaten a lot so I would have a good reference point for judging the recipe, which is why I started with baguettes.

I've tried making French bread before and never has it turned out as great as this did. It had the signature crisp crust with a light, soft center. The recipe makes three smallish baguettes, but you could easily shape it into one larger French loaf or small rounds for bread bowls or sandwiches or whatever you want to make.

Here is the recipe which I've altered slightly in case you're like me and you hate it when a recipe calls for "French white flour" or "compressed yeast cakes" or "tepid water, either filtered or spring water." (I'm not making that up.) It may look like a lot of work, but it was really not too labor-intensive or complicated. It will definitely be my new go-to for French bread. Later I'll post some of the fun things I did with it.

Baguettes

Ingredients:
-3 c. all-purpose flour
-1 tsp. salt
-1 packet active dry yeast (or 2-1/4 tsp. *see note)
-1-1/3 c. lukewarm water

Put half of the flour and half of the salt into a large bowl with a lid.
Dissolve 1/2 tsp. of the yeast in the water and add it to the flour. Mix it with your hand to make a very smooth, thick batter. Cover tightly with the lid or plastic wrap and leave at room temperature until doubled in size and very bubbly, about 8 hours or overnight.

Next day, uncover the bowl and stir the mixture well. Add 1 tablespoon lukewarm water to remaining yeast and stir. Add to the batter, then work in the rest of the flour and the salt to make a firm dough. If the dough feels sticky, work in a little more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, if there are dry crumbs in the bowl, or the dough feels tough and dry, work in a little more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Turn dough onto a work surface and knead very thoroughly for 10 minutes until the dough feels very elastic. Put the dough back into the bowl, cover, and leave as before until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Carefully turn out the dough onto a work surface. Without punching it down or handling the dough too much, divide it into 3 equal pieces and shape each one into a rough ball. Cover with a dry cloth and let rest for 15 minutes.

Using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out each ball to about 9x12 inches, then starting on a long side, roll up tightly like a jelly roll. Tuck in the ends and pinch the seam together securely. Lightly flour a large, dry cloth and put it on a large tray or board. Carefully set each loaf on the cloth, pleating the cloth in between each loaf to make a barrier and support. Cover the tray with a large sheet of plastic and let rise as before until doubled in size, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile preheat the oven to its highest setting. Put a roasting pan of water on the bottom rack and put the baking sheet in to heat.

Gently and carefully roll the risen loaves onto the heated trays. Make four slashes along the loaves with a small sharp knife. Set the trays in the oven and spray with water. Shut the oven as quickly as possible. Bake for 20 minutes until very golden and crisp, spraying with water again after the first 5 minutes. Tip the loaves off the trays onto the oven racks and bake for 2-3 minutes more for a really crisp crust. Cool on a wire rack.

*Haha, whoops. I forgot to add this note. I just thought I'd share that Costco has the best deal I've seen on active dry yeast. I bought 32 oz. for just under $4 at Costco. I had previously been paying just over $1 for 0.75 oz. at Wal-Mart. !!!