By: Sowmya:)
Yeast Breads, , , , ,

Baguette

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I have been planning to make baguettes for a long time but have postponed it simply because I was so scared I would mess up. Finally the French cuisine theme seemed the perfect time to finally try making the baguette.

I am happy to report that overall the baguette was not a failure. I would get ahead of myself if I called it a success but it got the crisp exterior and a chewy crumb. The only issue was that I ended up making it thinner than it should be and it looked more like a ficelle rather than a baguette. Well, that’s what second tries are for, I guess!

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Recipe adapted from here

Makes 2 baguettes

WHAT WE NEED

For the poolish

1/4 cup Water

A pinch of instant yeast

70 gms All purpose flour

For the dough

3/4 tsp Instant yeast

1/2 cup Warm water

All of the poolish

245 gms All purpose flour

1 tsp salt

WHAT TO DO

  • Mix all the ingredients for the poolish to form a soft dough
  • Cover and set it aside for 8-10 hours or till the poolish has doubled and become very bubbly
  • Add all the ingredients for the dough to the poolish and knead for 10 mins by hand / 3-4 mins with a mixer
  • Set it aside covered for 90 mins or till th dough is double in volume
  • Take out the dough and divide it into 2 pieces
  • Make a rough ball with each piece and set it aside for 15 mins to 1 hour
  • Roll each ball into a long rope. The length depends on the size of your baking tray
  • Ensure that the ends are pointy like a baguette usually is
  • Leave it on the baking tray / couche for 45 mins to an hour
  • If you don’t have a baguette pan then cut up any tubular cardboard into 2 pieces. Lay them on the baking tray and put a parchment paper on it. I used the cardboard available at the end of the kitchen tissue roll. You can even use a Pringles chips box.
  • Place one rolled dough between the two halves of the cardboard to rise for the final 45 mins to an hour
  • Preheat the oven to 230C with an empty tray at the bottom rack
  • Pour 1 1/2 cups of hot water on the empty tray
  • Make 3-5 slashes on top of the dough and then place the baguette tray on the middle rack
  • Bake for 24-28 minutes or the top is golden brown
  • Enjoy!

NOTES

  1. I made 3 baguettes instead of 2 and hence mine turned out very thin.

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This is my post for the Blogging Marathon under the theme, ‘French Cuisine’.

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Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

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