Baguette Baker - Emile Henry

Baguette Baker

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Ingredients

375 g (3/4 lb – 2 cups) plain flour type 55 (Bread flour)
215 g (7 floz – 1 cup) water
7 g (1 tsp) fine salt
5 g (1 tsp) dried yeast

The real French baguette

• Preparation : 10 + 60 mn
• Cooking : 25 mn

Warm the water to around 40°C/110°F.

Mix together the flour, salt and yeast in a salad bowl.

Pour in the warm water and mix all the ingredients together for about 5 minutes until you get a smooth ball of dough.

Cover the bowl with a teatowel and leave to rise for about 40 minutes at room temperature and away from any draughts.

Knead again to remove the carbon dioxide then divide the dough into 3 equal parts. Sprinkle over each part a little flour.

For each part, proceed in the following way: flatten out the dough using your hands, to form a rectangle (the size of your hand). Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough until you get a length which is slightly longer than the hole in the mould and about 10 cm wide.

Fold one side over to cover 2/3 of the surface, then fold the other side on top to form a cylinder shape. Turn this over so the fold is on the bottom.

Sprinkle some flour into the mould and place the dough into the holes. Cover with the lid and leave to rise for 20 minutes at room temperature, away from any draughts.

Pre-heat the oven to 250°C/475°F.

Brush some water over the surface of each baguette and make deep slashes across the top.

Cook for 25 minutes at 240°C/460°F. Remove the lid and cook for another 2 minutes so that the surface is nice and brown.