30. Baguettes
Bread is just the best.
It’s such a staple of every day life. I mean, “give me this day our daily bread” is a line straight from the Lord’s prayer. Back in the day when only one out of a couple would go to work, they were the “breadwinner”. To “break bread with someone” means to share ANY meal with another person. And of course, something amazing is “the best thing since sliced bread”.
Unfortunately, this bread does not come pre-sliced. You will have to tear or cut off hunks of this to have with olive oil and balsamic vinegar yourself. Real shame that… (You could do the same with this focaccia recipe too if you wanted something slightly different.)
Having never made baguettes before, I didn’t have a recipe to use, so I went to the British king of bread (and Bake Off turncoat) Paul Hollywood. You can find his recipe and all his advice here. It might be a little more comprehensive than what I’m about to put below, but what I did turned out ok.
Makes 4 baguettes
Ingredients
500g (17.5oz) strong white flour, plus some for dusting.
10g (0.35oz) salt
7g (0.25oz) yeast (1 packet)
370ml water (cool/room temp. Not hot)
Olive oil
Method
USE A DOUGH HOOK ON A STAND MIXER. Your arms will get very tired… Add in the flour, salt and yeast to a bowl on your stand mixer, not putting the salt directly on top of the yeast or vice versa.
Add in about three quarters of your water and start it mixing. Once it has started to actually come together as a dough, add in the rest of your water.
Leave the stand mixer to do its thing for 5-7 minutes until your dough is glossy and elastic.
Lightly grease a square container with some olive oil.
Tip your dough into the oiled container, cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for an hour.
Whilst it’s proving, line your baking tray with some baking paper. I folded mine so that it would form little “beds” for my baguettes to keep them from spreading into each other.
Once your dough has doubled in size, tip it out of the container onto a lightly oiled surface and divide it into four. Fold two of the edges in on each square to make a rectangle, trying to keep as much air in as possible. Roll this into a long sausage, with the join on the bottom.
Start rolling each sausage to the length of your baking tray. Start with your hands in the middle and slowly work them outwards as you roll. DON’T pull your dough to the length of the tray. It seems like a shortcut, but will make your dough inconsistent and tough and your bread will not be as good.
Put your baguettes on your tray and, if you have one big enough, put your trays inside a plastic bag to prove for another hour.
When the hour is almost over, start preheating your oven to 220C and put a roasting tray/cake tin/something that will hold liquid and is oven proof, in the bottom of the oven to warm up.
When your baguettes have finished their second prove, slash them three times with a sharp knife in the iconic baguette style, and dust them with flour.
Fill your hot roasting tray at the bottom of your oven with water to make steam.
Bake your baguettes for 25-28 minutes, until golden brown. Leave them to cool on a cooling rack.
Enjoy with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, plenty of butter or even make your own bruschetta with chopped tomatoes.
Or wait until tomorrow’s recipe to get the most out of your leftover baguettes!