The Secret to the Perfect Baguette: A Recipe That Works for Everyone
With a few basic ingredients and a little patience, you'll get bread with a crispy crust and soft interior, just like from French bakeries.
With a few basic ingredients and a little patience, you'll get bread with a crispy crust and soft interior, just like from French bakeries.
The smell of freshly baked bread spreading through the home is hard to beat, and a homemade French baguette offers just that. Although the dough requires a longer rising time, the preparation itself doesn't demand special skills. The end result is bread with a golden, crispy crust and an airy interior, perfect for breakfast, sandwiches, or as an accompaniment to soups and salads.
To make three baguettes, you only need five ingredients that most kitchens already have:
In a large bowl, combine the flour with the sugar and salt. Then add the crumbled yeast and gradually pour in the water, mixing until the mixture becomes smooth and soft. Cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.
After that, without kneading again, fold the dough from all sides toward the center with your fingers. Repeat this process two more times, waiting 30 minutes each time. This develops the gluten and achieves a more airy structure. Then cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator for about 12 hours, ideally overnight.
Transfer the chilled dough to a floured surface and divide it into three equal parts. Shape each into a ball, cover with a cloth, and let it rest for another 30 minutes. Finally, roll each piece into a baguette shape, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and let them rise for an additional 15 minutes or so.
Before baking, lightly flour the baguettes and make several diagonal slashes on the surface with a sharp knife or razor blade. Cover them with paper, spray with water, and place in an oven preheated to 230°C (450°F). Bake for about 10 minutes, then remove the paper and continue baking for another 10 minutes, until the crust achieves a nice golden-brown color.
The Evening News advises serving them immediately while still hot: "Serve them warm with butter, cheese, homemade jam, or use them to make your favorite sandwiches, you'll find it hard to resist eating at least one as soon as it comes out of the oven."
