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
- Mix all ingredients by hand until smooth.
- Let rest covered in a warm place for 2 hours but stretch and fold every 40 minutes.
- Cover and refrigerate for 48 hours (2 days).
- Divide into 3 pieces and roll out into oblongs and form simple short cylinders.
- Cover and let rest 30 minutes in a couche or on parchment paper.
- 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.
- Preheat oven to 480°F (240°C) with a dish on bottom and have boiling water ready for steam.
- 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
- Cool on rack.