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Thursday, January 16, 2014

Baguette- French Baguette

Baguette has been on my to try list for a long time now.. I have enjoyed them store bought and have used it for Bruschetta, Garlic Bread..Nice crust outside and chewy inside
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Ingredients
Bread Flour - 4 cups
Water - 1 1/4 - 1/2 cups
Salt - 2 tea spoons
Sugar - 2 tea spoons
Instant Yeast - 2 1/4 tea spoons
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MethodHeat the water to about 110 Degrees F.
In a mixing bowl, add sugar and the warm water. Mix well
Now sprinkle the yeast over it and mix it well
Keep it covered for 5 - 10 minutes until it is foamy and bubbly
Add in the bread flour and then salt and run the mixer on low and then knead for 10 minutes
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Grease a bowl and put the dough in the bowl and allow it to proof for 1 hour or until it is double in volume
Measure out the entire dough and divide it into 4 equal parts
Take one part and roll it to a rectangle. Now take one side of the rectangle and fold it towards the middle and pinch it
Now do it for the second side of the rectangle, such that both of the sides meet at the center
Now bring together the sides and pinch them together and roll it to get a baguette shape
Dust a thick cotton sheet with flour and keep the baguette in it and repeat it for the other 3.
Cover it with a cloth for an hour and allow it to rise
Keep a bowl of water in the lower rack of the oven
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
Line a baking tray with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper with oil spray
After the end of one hour, arrange the baguette on the prepared baking tray and brush it with water
With the help of a sharp knife, make slashes quickly and dust it with little dry flour
Increase the oven temperature to 220 degrees C
Bake it in the preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes until the top is golden and you hear a hollow sound when tapped!
Bring it to the cooling rack
Wait for an hour and cut it into slices!! Enjoy warm or on room temperature
You can enjoy this as is. I served the slices with a combination of pepper powder, salt, Italian Seasoning and Olive Oil.
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3 comments:

  1. You're very talented Sowmya! Beautiful post and great photos!

    Nitya
    www.samayalisai.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  2. very well prepared Sowmya. This is still in my to do list.

    On-going event: South Indian cooking

    ReplyDelete

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