Marianne Baguette - Traditional Rustic French Bread

French Tart's Note:

A traditional style baguette de Campagne - rustic French bread, which is easy to make and has lots of body - it is NOT like the usual light, supermarket produced baguettes of today. This bread can be started off in a bread machine if you wish. Marianne is the national symbol of France; she personifies Liberty, Reason & the Triumph of the Republic. She appears on stamps, government forms, town halls, law courts and the former French franc coins & banknotes; she even appears on high quality Label Rouge Baguettes and Pain!! Therefore, I have called this homemade French Bread/Baguette recipe after her.....it seems only right and proper!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs
• Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

Serves: 4-6

Yield: 2.0 Baguettes

• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried yeast
• 500 g organic strong white bread flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons natural sea salt
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 25 g organic butter
• 350 ml milk

Directions:

1. Put the ingredients into the bread machine. Set to the dough programme and start. Grease a large baking tray & Pre-heat oven to 220C/400°F.
2. Once the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured surface and punch it down to deflate it. Shape dough into two long "baguette" shaped loaves and place on the baking sheet. Cover loosely with lightly oiled cling-film and leave to rise for about 30 minutes until doubled in size.
3. Meanwhile, place an oven proof bowl containing water on the bottom of the oven to heat up. (About 250mls).
4. Sprinkle top of dough with flour, then using a sharp knife cut 5 diagonal small slits across the tops of the baguettes.
5. Bake for 15 minutes then reduce temperature to 190C/375F and bake for a further 10 - 15 minutes. (If they start browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil on top.).
6. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
7. Eat immediately.

Reviews

[lightawake]

i made it by hand and it worked really well - just proofed the yeast, mixed everything together, gently kneaded it, and left it to rise for 2 hours, punched in, then an hour, before following the recipe directions. yum, thanks!

[smellyvegetarian]

Yum! This was truly terrific, and couldn't be any easier. I used the bread machine and it truly was a breeze to make (and this is coming from a terrible bread baker!). My dough was a bit wet coming out of the machine, though I suspect this is because I only had skim milk in the house and used Smart Balance for the butter. I loved the texture of it, as did my 3 year old DS who has requested it three meals in a row now whether buttered, with almond butter and jelly, or covered in sloppy joe! I loved it straight from the oven spread with roasted garlic...heaven. Of the 1 lb flour I used about 4 oz whole wheat and the rest bread flour. I don't see any reason to purchase baguettes from here on out! Thanks so much for posting! Made for Best of 2010 tag.

[Chocolatl]

Excellent, flavorful baguette. I halved the recipe to make just one loaf. The crust is crisp and chewy without being so hard you feel as if you've gone 12 rounds with Mike Tyson every time you take a bite. The center is dense but tender. Although it may not need butter, it's even better with! Thanks for posting!