About this bread
Crusty French Baguettes are long, thin loaves characterized by a crispy crust, and a fluffy delicious crumb. These are the best-tasting baguettes I’ve ever had outside of Paris, and the recipe is adapted from Paul Hollywood’s 100 Great Breads. Baguette dough needs to be started the night before to ferment. You don’t need any special equipment–but if you have a couche, they will probably look more professional. Crusty French Baguettes are supposed to be cousin to their Italian cousin, the ciabatta. But they both have a entirely different crumb. Ciabattas have large uneven holes while baguettes are a tighter, moist crumb.
This recipe is quite easy to bake, but it does take a while. It’s worth it those. I could eat these every day. Here are the steps:
- Mix some flour with all of the yeast and some warm water to make a thick batter. Let rest for 6-8 hours or so. Overnight is good.
- Add the rest of the flour, water, salt, and butter. Mix well. (Remember that you want a slightly sticky dough. Val Stones, from Great British Bake off says in her instagram @valcake.walks “the wetter the better.” Check out some of her videos on instagram. Her voice is so soothing I could listen to her all day.) Let rest 1 hour.
- Shape into loaves. Let rest 1 hour.
- Make slashes across the top and bake 30 minutes.
NOTE: If you want crusty loaves, you have to add some steam to your oven. I do this by putting a pan of very hot water in the oven when I am pre-heating in. By the time my bread is ready to bake, the oven is steamy and perfect.
Crusty French Baguettes
Ingredients
- 4 cups white flour
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 1⅓ cups warm water
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup butter, softened
Instructions
- Combine 1⅓ cups flour and the yeast with 3/4 cups warm water until you have a thick batter. Mix well for two minutes or so. Let rest overnight, or at least 5 hours.
- Add the remaining 2⅔ cups of flour, the salt, butter, and 3/4 cups water. Mix well until you have a soft dough.Let rest 1 hour.
- Roll dough into 2 baguettes (or one long one if you have a large enough baking pan. Place on baking pan and let rest 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 425° F. Before putting in the oven, slash with lame in a diagonal across each loaf. Brush with water for a crispier crust. Bake 25-30 minutes. Cool on a rack.
