Bakery Style Baguettes
How to make classic French bakery style baguettes at home without any special equipment or expensive oven.
Ingredients
- 475 grams all purpose flour
- 3 grams instant yeast
- 360 grams water lukewarm
- 9 grams Kosher salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine flour and instant yeast. Add water and mix together to form a shaggy dough. There should be no traces of dry flour. Cover bowl with a tea towel and rest for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, remove towel and sprinkle salt onto dough. Dip your fingers in a little cold water and sprinkle a few drops onto the salt. This will help dissolve it. Reach under the dough with your hand and stretch it as far as it will go without tearing then drop it onto itself. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Do 2 more stretch and folds after that for a total of 4. If your hands are sticking, dip them in cold water. Flip the dough upside down. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and allow the dough to rest for 25-30 minutes.
- Remove the towel and repeat another 4 stretch and folds. Give the bowl a quarter turn after each one. Flip the dough over on its other side again. Cover and allow to rest another 25-30 minutes. Repeat this process an additional 2 times, for a total of 4 sets of stretch and folds.
- After the 4th stretch and fold, lightly flour a surface and portion the dough into equal thirds. Sprinkle a little flour on top and cover. Allow these portions to bench rest for 15 minutes.
- Place a sheet of parchment paper onto a baking sheet or cutting board. Shape each dough portion into a baguette by patting it out into a 5"x7" rectangle and folding the long end over halfway. Pinch down the seam and roll it over again into a log with the seam down. Roll the log into a baguette, sealing the seam underneath. Make it as long as you like though 14" is an ideal size. Sprinkle a small amount of flour on the surface if the dough is sticking. Place baguette onto the parchment paper and repeat with remaining 2 dough portions. Leave a few inches of space in between each baguette. Cover with a towel and proof in a warm place until 1-1/2 times their size, about 45 minutes to 1-1/2 hours.
- About 15 minutes before baguettes are finished proofing, preheat oven to 450F/232C with the convection fan on. If you do not have a convection oven, preheat to 475F/246C. Place a baking pan filled halfway with water on the bottom rack and a baking sheet on the upper third to get hot. When oven is preheated, brush or spray the baguettes with water and make a few slashes across the tops with a lame or razor blade.
- Remove the preheated baking sheet from the oven and carefully slide the entire piece of parchment paper with the baguettes onto it. Place in the oven. After 5 minutes of baking, brush or spray baguettes again with water. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until baguettes are golden brown. They should sound hollow when tapped. Brush or spray with water a second time during baking.
- When baguettes are fully baked, transfer onto rack and allow to cool completely before serving.