Four Hour Baguettes Recipe 465 Food

HOMEMADE FRENCH BAGUETTES

Steps:

• Combine the honey, yeast and 1/2 cup warm water. Stir to combine and let the mixture stand until the yeast is activated and begins to foam, 5 minutes.
• Mix the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl with a dough hook and slowly add in the yeast mixture. Gradually add 1 cup warm water and mix until the dough comes together into a ball that is not too wet (you may not need all of the water). If the dough is sticky, add a little bit more flour. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, 2 to 6 minutes. You can do the thumbprint test: press in the dough with your thumb and it should bounce back when it's ready.
• Form the dough into a ball, place it in a lightly-oiled bowl and cover with a dishcloth, so it doesn't dry out. Let rest in a warm environment until doubled in size, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Punch down the dough and divide it in half. Shape into 2 baguettes by making a flat rectangle out of your dough, then folding the top and bottom towards the middle, like an envelope, and sealing the seam with your fingers. Keep repeating the folding and sealing, stretching the rectangle lengthwise as you go, until it's about 12 to 14 inches long and 2 inches wide. Fold and seal either end to round. Flip seam-side down and place on a sheet pan or baguette pan that has been dusted with cornmeal. Score the tops of the loaves, making deep diagonal slits 1/2-inch deep, cover with a dishcloth and let rise in a warm environment until they have doubled in size, 25 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and position your oven racks with one on the bottom and the other in the middle. Place an oven-safe (non-glass) bowl or pan on the bottom rack.
• When your bread has doubled for the second time, remove the towel and quickly and simultaneously, slide the sheet tray with the baguettes onto the middle rack while carefully throwing the ice cubes into the bowl on the bottom rack. The ice will create a burst of steam that will give you a nice crispy crust. Quickly shut the oven door so no steam escapes. Bake the baguettes until golden brown, 15 minutes.
• Cook's Note: If you have a glass window on your oven, place a towel over it when throwing the ice in, hot glass can shatter if ice touches it.
• Serving suggestions: ricotta cheese and acacia honey.

THE BAGUETTE

Steps:

• Combine the yeast and the warm water in a small bowl and stir with a fork to dissolve the yeast. Let stand for 3 minutes. Combine the flours and salt in a large bowl. Pour the cool water and the yeast mixture over the flour, and mix with your fingers to form a shaggy mass. Move the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead for 4 minutes. It should be supple and resilient, but not too smooth at this point. Let the dough rest on the work surface for 20 minutes, covered with plastic wrap or a light towel. (This rest period is the autolyse.)
• Knead the dough for 6 to 8 minutes. Don't overknead it: The dough should be smooth, stretchy, and resilient. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn it in the bowl to coat with oil, and cover it with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature ( 75 to 77 degrees F) for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until nearly doubled in volume.
• Gently deflate the dough and fold it over itself in the bowl. Reshape it into a ball and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise for 1 1/4 hours or until it has nearly doubled again. Gently deflate the dough again, reshape into a round, cover, and let rise for about 1 hour. Place the dough on a very lightly floured surface and divide it into 3 equal pieces (about 10 ounces each). Gently stretch one piece into a rectangle, leaving some large bubbles in the dough. Fold the top third down and the bottom third up as if you were folding a business letter. Now form the loaf into a log by rolling the dough over from left to right and sealing the seam with the heel of your palm. Fold the dough over about 1/ 3 of the way each time, seal the length of the loaf, then repeat. You want to gently draw the skin tight over the surface of the baguette while leaving some air bubbles in the dough. Seal the seam, being careful not to tear the skin of the dough or deflate its airy structure. Set aside on the work surface to relax before elongating it, and repeat the shaping process with remaining pieces of dough.
• Now elongate each baguette, starting with the first one you shaped, by rolling it back and forth on the work surface. Begin with both hands over the center of the loaf and work them out to the ends until the loaf reaches the desired length. (Don't get carried away, or the baguettes won't fit in your oven!) Place the finished loaves on a peel or upside down baking sheet lined with parchment paper and generously sprinkled with cornmeal or on a baguette pan. Cover the loaves with well oiled plastic or a floured cloth and let rise for 30 to 40 minutes until the loaves are slightly plump but still not doubled in volume. The final rise is short, because you want the baguettes to be slightly under proofed; this will give them a better oven spring, resulting in loaves with a light, airy crumb and more flared cuts.
• Thirty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Place a baking stone in the oven to preheat, and place an empty water pan directly under the stone. Use a very sharp razor blade or lame to make 3 to 5 slashes, depending on the length of your loaves, on the top of each baguette. The cuts should run from one end of the loaf to the other, rather than across it, and the blade should be held at a 30 degree angle to the loaf so that the cuts pop open in the oven. Be careful not to press down too hard, or you may deflate the loaves. Using a plant sprayer, mist the loaves.
• Gently slide the loaves onto the preheated stone, or place the baguette mold in the oven. Pour 1 cup of very hot water into the water pan and quickly close the oven door. After 1 minute, mist the loaves and oven walls 6 to 8 times and close the door. After 2 more minutes, spray the loaves and the oven walls again.
• Bake for 12 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees F and bake for 25 to 30 minutes longer until the loaves are golden brown and crisp. Move them to a rack to cool.
• Enjoy your baguettes still slightly warm with some soft, ripe French cheese and a glass of wine.
• Note: If cake flour is not available, you can use the same amount of unbleached allpurpose flour, but cake flour will give the baguette a lighter texture.

NOT-QUITE-WHOLE-GRAIN BAGUETTES

Steps:

• Combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. With the machine running, add water until a ball forms, about 30 seconds. (Start with 1 1/2 cups water; you may need a little more or less.) Then process for an additional 30 to 45 seconds. Put the dough ball in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let sit until risen, 2 to 3 hours.
• Cut the dough into 3 pieces, and using an absolute minimum of flour to prevent sticking, form each into a rough log. (You can make one large boule, or a ciabatta-shaped loaf or whatever else you like.) Cover with a towel and let sit about 20 minutes. Then shape into long baguettes; support their shape by letting them rise in baguette pans or a lightly floured piece of canvas. Set the oven to 465. (If you have a pizza stone, leave it in there.)
• The loaves will be ready to bake in 30 minutes or so. Slide in on a peel or in baguette pans. Slash or cut the top of the loaf. Bake, lowering heat if necessary to prevent browning, until the loaves read 210 internally (not more), 20 to 30 minutes. Cool on a rack.

FOUR HOUR BAGUETTES RECIPE - (4.6/5)

Steps:

• Whisk together water and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes. Add flour to water and yeast, and mix with a fork until a shaggy dough forms. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for about 20 minutes to hydrate the flour. Add the salt and loosely fold together. Transfer dough to a floured surface. Knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. The dough might be super sticky-just add flour a little bit at a time until the stickiness stops. Form the dough into a ball and transfer to an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. On a floured surface make an 8 by 6 inch rectangle. Fold the long edges of the dough to the middle, then fold the short edges. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.* Put a rimless baking sheet on the middle rack in an oven. Place a cast iron pan on the bottom rack. Form the baguette loaves. Cut the dough into 3 even pieces. Roll each piece into an even 14 inch long rope. Twist the ropes to help them maintain their shape in the oven. Place 1 loaf in the middle of a parchment lined baking sheet. Lift the parchment to create a ridge on either side of the middle loaf and place the other two loaves on either side. On either side of the loaves place a tightly rolled dish towel under the parchment paper. This will help the loaves rise up and not out. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cover the loaves loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until the loaves have doubled, about 50 minutes. Uncover the loaves, remove the towels, and flatten the parchment paper. Use scissors to slash each baguette in 4 spots. You could also use a super sharp knife or a bread lame. Slide the parchment paper and the loaves onto the baking sheet in the oven. Pull on the parchment paper as a guide. Put the ice cubes into the skillet and quickly shut the oven. Bake the baguettes until brown and crispy-about 18-20 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before moving to a cooling rack. Allow loaves to cool before cutting. *After this rise you can separate the dough into three pieces and freeze them in zip top bags. To bake the bread, allow dough to thaw, then continue through the recipe.