July 19, 2009
Wow! I finally found some time to get back into the kitchen to make bread. I used to bake bread almost every weekend. However, after I took a part-time job ...
Other Names: Baguette
Edited by: Helen Pitlick
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Wikipedia
A baguette () is a specific shape of bread, commonly made from basic lean dough, a simple guideline set down by French law, distinguishable by its length, very crisp crust, and slits cut into it to enable proper expansion of gasses and thus formation of the crumb, the inner soft part of bread. The standard diameter of a baguette is approximately 5 or 6 cm, but the bread itself can be up to a meter in length, though usually about 60 cm. A Parisian beguette typically weighs 250 grams (8.8 oz), but this is not legally regulated and varies by region. It is also known in English as a ''French stick'' or a ''French bread''.
Yield: 2 loaves
[edit] Ingredients
4 |
cups all-purpose flour |
2 |
teaspoons salt |
1 |
package active dry yeast |
1 ½ |
cups water, room temperature |
1 |
[edit] Preparation
Step 1 |
Mix flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in water. Stir thoroughly (by hand or in a mixer) until dough is soft and elastic, about 12 minutes on low speed. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise in a warm place (75 to 85 degrees) until doubled in size, about 2 hours. Punch down dough. |
Step 2 |
Divide dough in half on a floured board and shape into 2 equal rectangles. Form each into a baguette by rolling dough away from you. Continue rolling, pressing outward, until you have a long, thin loaf with slightly tapered ends. Place loaves on a greased baking sheet; loaves will double in size, so make sure there is adequate space between them. Cover the loaves with a floured, clean cloth and let rise until doubled. Score the tops of the loaves. |
Step 3 |
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. At the bottom of the oven, place a baking pan filled with 1 cup hot water; this will create steam. Bake the bread in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for another 30 minutes or until loaf is brown and sounds hollow when tapped. 5 minutes before the loaf is done, brush with the egg white mixture. |
[edit] Tools
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[edit] About French Bread
From The Joy of Cooking.
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