10/18/2015

President's baguette...the best.

Recently, I stumbled upon a wonderful recipe for baguettes  on a blog; trouble is I don't remeber the blog's address!

President's baguette
290 g AP flour
70 g bread flour
240 g water
2 g fresh yeast or 1/4 tsp dry yeast
7 g salt or 1 tsp
2 g diastatic back malt (inactive enzyme) or 1 tsp sugar 
  1. Mix all ingredients by hand until smooth.
  2. Let rest covered in a warm place for 2 hours but stretch and fold every 40 minutes.
  3. Cover and refrigerate  for 48 hours (2 days).
  4. Divide into 3  pieces and roll out into oblongs and form simple short cylinders.
  5. Cover and let rest 30 minutes in a couche or on parchment paper.
  6. Now shape the baguettes remembering that they will rise a lot during baking and let rise for another 30 minutes, covered or until somewhat puffy.
  7. Preheat oven to 480°F (240°C) with a dish on bottom and have boiling water ready for steam.
  8. Slash baguettes quite deeply and bake with steam for 10 minutes, lower temperature to 400°F or 200°C and continue baking for another 10-15 minutes
  9. Cool on rack.