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French Baguette
With a lovely, crusty, crunch and soft crumb inside, these french baguette breads are a real treat. These baguettes are baked in a steamy oven at a high temperature with the oven fan off. Lovely served with fresh with butter.
Ingredients
- 250g Wessex Mill French Bread Flour
- 1 tsp quick yeast (we like to use Doves Farm)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 175ml tepid water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oil
- plus flour for dusting
Equipment
- 2 x mixing bowls
- 1 x double baguette tray or large oven tray
Method
220-240˚C, 475˚F, Gas 9
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Put the bread flour, yeast and sugar into a mixing bowl and blend them together.
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Stir in the water and when everything becomes craggy sprinkle the salt over the top.
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Continue stirring as everything comes together into a dough.
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Using your hands gather the dough into a ball and knead it in the bowl for half a minute.
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Sprinkle the oil over the top and knead the dough for another half a minute.
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Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave to double in size, about 1 hour.
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Stand a double baguette tray on a large oven tray OR fold a tea towel into two pleats 38cm/15” long and 5cm/2” deep and lay this on one side of a large oven tray.
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Dust baguette tray, or the inside of the pleats and the worktop liberally with flour.
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Tip the risen dough out of the bowl onto the work top and dust it with flour.
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Using your hands pull up and stretch the far side of the dough, as far as you can, then fold it forward onto the larger piece of dough.
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Give the dough a quarter turn to the left or right then as before, again pull up and stretch the far side of the dough as far as you can then fold it forward and down onto the dough.
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Turn the dough another quarter in the same direction and for a third time, follow the lifting stretching and folding action.
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For a final time turn the dough and repeat the lifting, stretching and folding.
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Cut the dough into two pieces and gently stretch each into 38cm/15” long cylinder without knocking out the air.
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Transfer the dough cylinders to the baguette tray or tea towel pleats.
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Using a very sharp knife, quickly and carefully make some cuts across the top of the baguettes.
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Cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 60 minutes.
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Pre-heat the oven.
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Put an oven tray into the oven, fill it with boiling water to make the oven steamy.
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If using the tea towel, gently roll the risen baguettes onto the baking tray.
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Open the oven door, taking care to avoid any rush of steam, and quickly insert the baguettes.
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Bake for 22- 25 minutes.
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Allow the bread to cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes before eating.
