I don't make these often. It's not that they're labor intensive. I mean, I use a bread machine, for Pete's sake. It's just you have to come back to them a couple of times during the rise process and I'm more of a get it done in one session kinda cook/baker. I had to develop a recipe for this crusty bread, because we eat it in lots of different ways here. Baguettes hold up well when we travel (you really just tear the bread off in pieces and eat it with butter, cheese, or on its own- hey, the French may be a lot of things, but they've got this whole baguette thing down pat); Mr. OFM likes to have cheese steak on them; I use them with a variety of apps; they are awesome to use as a bun for sausage dogs; and they are faboo for dipping in soups and stews. I simply can't pay over two bucks for something that costs about 50 cents to make at home and tastes so much better made by hand. The ingredients are not complex, but the success of the recipe depends on the method of rolling the dough out and forming the loaves, then allowing them to rise. We're eating a store bought frozen entree tonight that I picked up for a steal, so I thought I'd at least gussy it up a bit with some of my baguettes. Hope you enjoy it, friends. Peace, B.
This recipe makes two 16 inch long baguettes.
Place the following ingredients in this order into the pan of your bread machine:
one cup water
two and 3/4 bread flour
one tablespoon sugar
one teaspoon salt
one and 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Select the dough cycle on your machine and let it do its work! The dough cycle takes one and 1/2 hours in my bread machine.
Once your machine beeps, place the dough in a greased bowl. I flour my hands when I handle this dough. it's pretty sticky. make sure the dough is coated with the grease from the sides of the bowl. Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes. The dough should double in size.
Punch down the dough to deflate. Flour the counter and roll out the dough into a large rectangle. (My baguettes are about 16 inches long.) Cut the rectangle in half. Tightly roll up each half, beginning at the long side. Pinch the ends of the loaves to seal and roll back and forth to close the seam.
Place both loaves on a greased cookie sheet. You can make one long slash down the top of each loaf or a few diagonal slashes. Whichever. Cover the loaves and let rise again for 30 to 45 minutes. The loaves should double in size.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix one egg yolk with one tablespoon of water. Brush over the tops of both loaves. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. The color is golden brown. Eat them warm or cool on a wire rack.
Place the following ingredients in this order into the pan of your bread machine:
one cup water
two and 3/4 bread flour
one tablespoon sugar
one teaspoon salt
one and 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Select the dough cycle on your machine and let it do its work! The dough cycle takes one and 1/2 hours in my bread machine.
Once your machine beeps, place the dough in a greased bowl. I flour my hands when I handle this dough. it's pretty sticky. make sure the dough is coated with the grease from the sides of the bowl. Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes. The dough should double in size.
Punch down the dough to deflate. Flour the counter and roll out the dough into a large rectangle. (My baguettes are about 16 inches long.) Cut the rectangle in half. Tightly roll up each half, beginning at the long side. Pinch the ends of the loaves to seal and roll back and forth to close the seam.
Place both loaves on a greased cookie sheet. You can make one long slash down the top of each loaf or a few diagonal slashes. Whichever. Cover the loaves and let rise again for 30 to 45 minutes. The loaves should double in size.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix one egg yolk with one tablespoon of water. Brush over the tops of both loaves. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. The color is golden brown. Eat them warm or cool on a wire rack.
03.24.11 I found myself with no time to make yeast rolls yesterday. We were having cube steaks and my family expects my yeast rolls with this meal. Now, I had just made a couple of baguettes, but they never last long around my house, so I didn't even have any of that left to serve. I whipped another batch of this dough in the bread machine (90 minutes- time enough to finish some lessons and start naps). Instead of forming loaves, I braided the bread and let it rise. Just form three 13 inch rolls of bread and braid them together, pinching the ends to seal. Super yummy goodness. Light and airy. (I was thinking of how it is almost Easter and so I'll be making some sweet Easter bread soon and that was the inspiration.) So, if you want to change this up a bit, try braiding instead of making two loaves!
