Easy French Baguettes Recipes

FRENCH BAGUETTES

Steps:

• Place 1 cup water, bread flour, sugar, salt and yeast into bread machine pan in the order recommended by manufacturer. Select Dough cycle, and press Start.
• When the cycle has completed, place dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover, and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in bulk. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
• Punch down dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 16x12 inch rectangle. Cut dough in half, creating two 8x12 inch rectangles. Roll up each half of dough tightly, beginning at 12 inch side, pounding out any air bubbles as you go. Roll gently back and forth to taper end. Place 3 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Make deep diagonal slashes across loaves every 2 inches, or make one lengthwise slash on each loaf. Cover, and let rise in a warm place for 30 to 40 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Mix egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water; brush over tops of loaves.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

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.

HOW TO MAKE FRENCH BAGUETTES

Steps:

• Place yeast into the bottom of a large mixing bowl and stir with water; mix in salt. Beat flour into yeast mixture with a wooden spoon until dough is thick and sticky and pulls flour from the side of the bowl, 5 to 10 minutes.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let stand in a turned-off oven until doubled in size, 12 to 14 hours. Dough will be bubbly and very sticky.
• Place a silicone baking mat onto a baking sheet and dust generously with cornmeal.
• Use a floured spatula to scrape dough out onto a well-floured work surface and dust dough with flour. With well-floured hands, pat dough into a rectangle and cut into 4 equal-size pieces.
• Dust a piece of dough with flour and use your floured fingers to gently roll and stretch it out into a log about 10 inches long and 1 1/2 inches around. Gently transfer to prepared baking sheet. If desired, wipe off excess cornmeal with a damp paper towel. Repeat with another piece of dough. (Reserve remaining dough to bake later or prepare 2 baking sheets to bake all 4 at once). Dust loaves lightly with flour. Dust a large piece of plastic wrap with flour and drape plastic lightly over the baking sheet with floured side down.
• Let loaves rise, covered, until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hour.
• Move oven racks to the bottom and middle positions. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F (260 degrees C) or as high as your oven will go. Place an oven-safe baking dish full of water into bottom rack of the oven.
• Use a sharp kitchen shears to cut 4 or 5 angled slashes into the top of each loaf. Poke down the little sharp tips of dough left by the scissors. Spray loaves with water, using a spray bottle.
• Bake in the preheated oven until baguettes are browned, about 15 minutes, spraying loaves with water after 5 minutes and 10 minutes. Turn the pan around on the second spraying.
• Transfer baguettes to a cooling rack and let cool to room temperature before slicing with a serrated knife.

EASY FRENCH BAGUETTES

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast, water and honey' stir and let sit for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, especially during cold months, preheat oven to 350ºF for 2 minutes then shut off.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt; whisk until well combined, about 2 minutes.
• When time is up and yeast is alive, add dry ingredients to it. With the dough hook attachment, process on speed 2 for 2 minutes. Increase to speed 3 and process until dough forms a ball around the hook. If it's not sticky enough, add ½ tablespoons water. To find out if dough is done is when it bounces back when pressing down on it.
• Remove dough and pull under to form a ball. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and swirl dough around to coat it. Cover with a clean dish towel and transfer to a warm, draft-free area such as the oven. Let rise for 45 minutes or until it doubles in size.
• Later on, remove from oven and punch down to deflate the dough. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and fold the dough under to form a ball. Using a bench scraper, divide the dough into 2 and then form 2 balls by folding under.
• Taking one ball at a time gently spread to form a rectangular shape to about 3 X 6 inches. Fold it like an envelope by taking a 1/3 of the long side and fold it over then take the other side and fold it over (like an envelope). If dough is not supple, let the gluten relax for a few minutes before working with it again.
• Place dough on a baguette pan, cover and transfer back to the oven for another rise of 45 minutes.
• When proofing is done, remove from the oven and place a pan on the bottom rack; fill it with water. Preheat oven to 450ºF. Slash each dough 4 times at a 45º angle with a sharp knife. Brush with the egg wash. Transfer to the preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove baguettes and transfer them to a wire rack to cool off and prevent from getting soggy.

FRENCH BAGUETTES

Steps:

• In a small bowl dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.
• Stir with a fork.
• Set aside for 10 minutes.
• Combine the flour and salt.
• Add the yeast mixture, and stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups water.
• Mix the dough until it is sticky enough to knead.
• On a lightly floured board, knead for 6 to 10 minutes; the dough should be sticky and smooth.
• Put the dough in a bowl, cover with a damp tea towel, and let rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Punch down the dough and divide into 4 pieces.
• Roll each into a ball and shape into a baguette.
• Transfer the loaves to a lightly greased baking sheet or baguette pan and let rise until nearly doubled.
• (I use 2 baking sheets, with 3 smaller loaves per sheet).
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• Brush the baguettes with the egg-water mixture.
• Score the loaves diagonally across the top with a sharp knife.
• Pour 2 cups of hot water into a pan and place in the preheated oven next to the baguettes to provide moisture.
• Bake the baguettes for 15 minutes, and then lower the temperature to 400 degrees and bake for 5 to 10 minutes more, until golden brown.
• Remove from the oven and cool on a rack before slicing.
• Occasionally I burn the bottom of the bread, in which case I scrape it off with a sharp serrated knife and it remains my secret!