No Knead Baguette Food

BEST NO KNEAD BAGUETTE

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.
• Add sugar, salt, shortening, and 1 cup warm water; stir until dissolved.
• Add flour and stir until smooth.(you may knead, but it's not necessary).
• Cover and let rise in a draft-free, warm place for an hour or until doubled.
• Turn onto floured surface. Divide in half; let rest for 5 minutes.
• Roll each half into a 10"x8" rectangle. Roll up from the long side; pinch along seam edges to seal.
• Place seam side down on oiled baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover and let rise again until doubled, approximately 45 minutes.
• With a very sharp knife, make 5 diagonal cuts across the top of each loaf.
• Bake as directed or until lightly browned.
• Cool on wire racks.

NO-KNEAD SMALL BAGUETTE (STECCA)

Steps:

• In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, table salt, sugar, and yeast. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until you have a wet, sticky dough, about 30 seconds. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size, 12 to 18 hours.
• When the first rise is complete, generously dust a work surface with flour. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl in one piece. Fold the dough over itself two or three times and gently shape it into a somewhat flattened ball. Brush the surface of the dough with some of the olive oil and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of the coarse salt (which will gradually dissolve on the surface).
• Place a tea towel on your work surface and generously dust it with wheat bran, cornmeal, or flour. Gently place the dough on the towel, seam side down. If the dough is tacky, dust the top lightly with wheat bran, cornmeal, or flour. Fold the ends of the tea towel loosely over the dough to cover it and place in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1 to 2 hours. The dough is ready when it is almost doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger, it should hold the impression. If it springs back, let it rise for another 15 minutes.
• Half an hour before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C), with a rack in the center. Oil a 13-by-18-by-1-inch baking sheet.
• Cut the dough into quarters. Gently stretch each piece evenly into a stick shape approximately the length of the pan. Place on the pan, leaving at least 1 inch between the loaves. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt.
• Bake the baguettes for 15 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Keep an eye on them during the last few minutes of baking because the tips can get burnt very quickly. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then use a spatula to transfer the stecca to a rack to cool thoroughly.
• Note: The baguettes may become a bit soggy in just a few hours because of the salt on the surface. If that happens, reheat the loaves in a hot oven until crisp.
• Variation: (May skip the tomatoes and just use olives and garlic.).
• Stecca Pomodori, all'Olive, o al'Aglio (Stecca with Tomatoes, Olives, or Garlic).
• Push 10 cherry tomato halves, cut side up, 10 large pitted olives, or 10 lightly crushed garlic cloves into each formed stecca, taking care to space the additions evenly down the length of the dough. Brush each stecca with enough olive oil to create a thin coat of oil on the surface. For the tomato stecca, top each tomato half with a very thin slice of garlic and a couple of fresh thyme leaves, and sprinkle with salt. Sprinkle the garlic stecca with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Do not salt the olive stecca-it's already salty from the olives.

NO-KNEAD BAGUETTE -- USING RECIPE #309834

Steps:

• Refer to Recipe #309834 for instructions to prepare the dough necessary to make the baguette.
• Preheat Oven to 450 degrees with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty broiler try on any other shelf that won't interfere with the rising bread.
• With wet hands, pull up one end of the refrigerated dough (Recipe #309834). Using a serrated knife, cut off a 1-pound, or grapefruit-size, piece of dough.
• Lightly dust the ball of dough with flour and shape into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.
• Once it's cohesive, begin to stretch and elongate the dough, dusting with additional flour as necessary. You may find it helpful to roll it back and forth with your hands on a flour-dusted surface.
• Form a cylinder approximately 2 inches in diameter. If the loaf will not fit on your pizza peel or stone, cut it in half to make two smaller baguettes.
• Place the loaf/loaves on a pizza peel covered with whole wheat flour (do not use cornmeal as it's flavor is too strong for baguettes) and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes.
• After the dough has rested, paint water over the surface or the loaf using a pastry brush. Using a serrated bread knife slash the top with longitudinal cuts that move diagonally across the loaf.
• Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door.
• Bake for about 25 minutes or until deeply browned and makes a hollow sound when 'thumped'.
• Allow to cool on a rack before cutting.

NO KNEAD BAGUETTE

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients together. Cover with plastic wrap. Poke a few holes in it.
• Let rise in a warm place for 18 to 24 hours. It will look very wet.
• Scrape out of bowl with a spatula on a well floured surface and divide in half.
• Shape each into a flattened oval shape, cover with greased plastic wrap and let sit for 15 minutes.
• Fold dough length wise and seal with fingers. Fold length wise again and seal with fingers.
• Roll until it is about 15 inches.
• Place on Baguette pan or sheet pan.
• Let rise until very puffy.
• Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
• Slash baguettes with razor blade.
• Place a pan of water in your oven floor.
• Spritz baguette with water and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown and crispy.