How to make Easy Baguettes

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There is nothing more comforting than fresh made bread. It makes the home smell delicious and is the perfect accompaniment to most meals. In this post I will show you how to make easy baguettes at home.

This recipe makes making baguettes super quick. Traditional baguettes can take hours, but this one is a cheats version. It means that I can throw a batch together in the morning before I head outside. When I come in from morning jobs on the farm they are ready for shaping, another break while I finish a couple of other jobs then straight in the oven. Hardly any work on my part.

How to make easy baguettes from scratch

For this cheats recipe just follow these simple steps and get great baguettes with hardly any effort.

• Measure out all of the dry ingredients into a bowl, then pour over the lukewarm water. The water should feel warm to your hand, but not hot.
• Combine the ingredients together into a sticky dough and lift and stretch it until it becomes elastic. This takes around 10 mins and is a nice therapeutic start to the day.
• Dust the counter with a small amount of flour and turn out the dough. give it a short stretch and knead on the counter then shape it into a ball and put it back into the bowl. Cover with a clean tea towel and leave it to do its thing for an hour whilst you get on with your morning jobs.
• After an hour knock back the nicely risen dough and turn it out onto a floured surface. Stretch it out into a square then with a dough scraper or knife, cut it into 8 pieces. stretch and roll these pieces into nice long sausages then score them with a sharp knife or razor blade.

• Transfer to baking sheets ( I usually dust the sheets with flour to prevent sticking) and cover with a clean tea towel to allow them to proof.
• After 20-30 mins they should have risen and be ready for the oven. If using an Aga then you will be baking in the baking oven or the roasting oven with a cold sheet installed. In a conventional oven, cook in a preheated oven at 180C for 15-20 mins depending on how your oven runs.

• Remove from the oven and allow to cool before cutting and serving with fresh butter. Delicious ?

Tips for the best baguettes

1. Use good quality flour – A high protein flour will alway produce better bread. I use a strong white bread flour for these and they are perfect ?
2. Use a sharp knife or blade to score the tops – Scoring the top of the baguette, or any bread for that matter, allows for and even rise. After you have shaped your bread the surface is smooth and taught so the scoring allows for the bread to rise without the gases causing an oven spring and ruining the shape of your bread.
3. Use fresh yeast – Old yeast just won’t work properly. It will mean that your bread won’t rise properly and you will end up with a stodgy flat loaf.
4. Water tray – If you like a crust bread then consider adding a water tray to the bottom of the oven. The steam will crisp up the crust and give a lite extra to your baguettes.

Serving suggestions

Baguettes are great with most meals. I especially love them with fresh butter and nothing else, but they can also go with soup, pasta dishes or as a sandwich. I made BLT subs with them recently and they were delicious

Related recipes

Sourdough bread rolls

Sourdough wraps

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Copper measuring cups

Copper measuring spoons

Mixing bowl

I hope you enjoy making your own baguettes. See you all soon

Happy making and happy baking

Sam

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