French Bread/Baguette

Abby Girl's Note:

I got this recipe from Gourmet years ago. The directions are for the traditional way, but with a little help, this baguette could be made in the bread machine with the dough cycle then baked in the oven. You can make one large french bread or 2 smaller baguettes. The relatively large amount of salt in this bread is the secret to a full-flavored baguette.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 2 hrs
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Yield: 1 - 2 loa ...

• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 4 -4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt

Directions:

1. In a large bowl sprinkle yeast and sugar over warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. With a wooden spoon stir in 2 cups flour until combined. Stir in salt and 2 cups of remaining flour until mixture forms a stiff dough. On a lightly floured surface knead dough with lightly floured hands 8 minutes, or until smooth and elastic, kneading in enough of remaining 1/2 cup flour to keep dough from sticking. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled deep bowl, turning to coat with oil, and let rise, bowl covered with plastic wrap, until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F
3. Punch down dough and form into a long slender loaf about 21 inches long and 3 inches wide. Put loaf diagonally on a lightly greased large or 17- by 14-inch baking sheet and let rise, uncovered, about 30 minutes. (Baguette may be made up to this point 4 hours ahead and chilled.)
4. Make 3 or 4 diagonal slashes on loaf with a sharp knife and lightly brush top with cool water. Bake loaf in middle of oven 30 minutes, or until golden, and transfer to a rack to cool.

Reviews

[Bonnie G #2]

Lovely recipe, I was looking for something that would go together fairly easy for dinner and this is it. Clear, easy to follow directions and the end result is a lovely baquette with a soft inside with a nice crumb and a lovely crunchy crust. I did spray the inside of the oven with water every 5 minutes for the first 15 minutes of baking as I've found this helps with the crust we like, but that's the only thing I did differant from the stated directions. The next day used this in Waffle Iron French Toast and it was perfect.