There’s nothing more satisfying than making your bread at home and seeing it turn out perfectly. Here’s THE recipe for the perfect baguette, crispy enough to last just the way you like it. But let’s start with the ingredients. For this recipe, you’ll need 24g of baker’s yeast, 500g of flour, 10g of salt, and 250 to 300 ml of warm water. You can even make your organic bread, provided you choose only organically grown ingredients!
Make the dough!
First, put 4 tablespoons of warm water in a small glass, to which you will add the yeast and mix everything until the yeast dissolves. Then, using a food processor or by hand, mix the flour and salt. This step is very important because if the salt comes into direct contact with the yeast, the latter will no longer have any effect.
Add the water and yeast solution to the mixture and add the remaining warm water while mixing without moderation. It would be preferable to use the second speed if you are using a stand mixer. The goal is to obtain a ball of dough that no longer sticks to the side of the bowl. You can add more warm water if you find the dough too dry or flour if it seems too sticky.
Kneading
Next comes the short muscle-building sequence (if you’re kneading your dough by hand), but your food processor can do the job just fine. For this “mechanical” option, opt for a medium speed for about five minutes. But if you’re a fan of the traditional option, here are some tips to help you successfully knead your dough. Keep in mind that the goal of this step is to aerate the dough.
To do this, flatten your dough using a rolling pin, making a rectangle. Then, take the edge closest to you and fold it over to the opposite side to trap the air. Repeat the operation for a quarter of an hour. If you want the crumb to be well aerated, work the dough well, but if you like it denser, you can very well skip this step.
Rest!
It’s then time to let the dough rest for an hour and a half. Once this time is up, give your dough a strong punch to eject all the carbon dioxide. Then, bring your dough back to the work surface and flatten it. Then, fold it over like puff pastry and repeat the process for five minutes so that the air can penetrate the dough. Then, cut the dough into two parts.
To shape it, roll each of the two pieces of dough with your hands, then take the piece by the ends, twirling them in the air until you get the desired length. Then place the baguettes in a mold, place a tea towel over them, and let them rest for 45 minutes, the time needed for the dough to rise well.
Cooking
The final step is to preheat your oven to 250°C. In the meantime, brush the top of the bread with flour. You can also sprinkle it with flour, but that’s entirely up to you. Then, make slits on the tops of your baguettes so the flour can bake without warping.
Don’t forget to place a mold filled with water in the bottom of the oven to humidify the air and allow you to have a crispy crust. After 25 to 35 minutes of baking (the time will depend on your oven), take the baguettes out and let them cool a little for a few minutes. You have beautiful, crispy baguettes that will have nothing to envy the breads from a bakery in Saint Herblain!
