French Baguettes

The word baguette does not mean "very difficult to make".   It actually means "narrow stick loaf" for those who really want to know.  When my husband and I got married almost 12 years ago his sweet great aunt Arzula gave us a Williams-Sonoma Breads cookbook.  I looked through fairly casually because I felt that so many of the recipes required "fancy cookery" that I didn't own and didn't have the money to buy, (ie a brioche mold, muffin rings, and baguette pans, and a stand mixer).  It has sat on my shelf for a long time.  There are only two recipes that I have tried, one of which is this baguette recipe and the other I'll tell you about another time (it's one of my favorite breads to make).  I finally decided to bite the bullet and make the baguettes after I received my stand mixer for Christmas.  I shared with my husband (he ate a whole loaf by himself) and the other three were shared with friends.  They all thought it was great.  Now a few things about this recipe.  It isn't hard.  It really isn't.  Follow the directions and you should be munching fresh, warm, crunchy, soft baguettes in a little over 3 hours.  Most of that 3 hours requires absolutely nothing from you.  Second, it isn't a traditional baguette recipe as it doesn't start with a polish (pronounced 'pol-eesh'), or a starter, which makes it appealing to me because I never plan that far in advance.  It doesn't have that sour flavor that I've come to expect from baguettes, but it still is pretty darn tasty with a warm bowl of soup, or by itself with pats of butter.  Thirdly, the recipe calls for 5-5 1/2 cups of flour.  The two times I've made these now I've only used about 4 1/2 c.  The dough is soft but not really sticky.  Fourth, I put the pan of tap water in the oven and then preheat my oven and it is boiling by the time I put my bread in, as opposed to trying to pour boiling water into a pan already into the oven, but whichever.  Do not skip this step.  It is imperative for getting that crusty crust.  One word of warning: The oven is set very hot and it will be quite steamy in there when you open the door to take your bread out so remember to stand back and let the steam escape before you stick your face down there.  The steam actually set off my smoke detector the first time I made these.  Lastly, you don't need baguette pans or a stand mixer.  I still don't own baguette pans.  I just use large rimmed baking sheets and they still look like baguettes to me.   If you don't eat all of them right away (what? you can't eat 4 loaves of baguettes in a single sitting). Wrap loosely after they've cooled.  I warmed mine in a toaster oven (thanks Karyli) for about 10 minutes and they were practically as good as when they came out of the oven the first time.  So there, you too can make baguettes.  Bon Appetit!

French Baguettes
Prep Time: 15 minutes + rising time
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
Yield: Four 1/2 -lb baguettes

Ingredients:
5-5-1/2 cups unbleached bread flour (I use bleached bread flour)
2 t. salt
1 pkg. (2-1/4 tsp.) quick-rise yeast
2 c. lukewarm water (110 degrees)
boiling water, as needed
cornmeal for pans
1 egg white beaten with pinch of salt, for glaze
Directions: In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, combine 4 cups of the flour, the salt, yeast and water.  Stir until blended.  Knead with the dough hook until the dough is elastic and pulls cleanly from the bowl sides, about 10 minutes, adding flour as needed.   the dough will be very soft.  Turn out onto a lighly floured surface and knead for 1 minute. Form into a ball and place in a clean bowl.  Dust lightly with flour, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 45-60 minutes.
Scrape the dough out onto a well-floured work surface.  Press flat, knead for a few seconds and return to the bowl.  cover with plastic wrap and let rise again until doubled, 20-30 minutes.
Line each of 2 double baguette pans (4 molds total, or two large baking sheets), each 18 inches long and 6 inches wide, with a kitchen towel and sprinkle with flour, lightly rubbing it into the fabric.  Turn out the dough onto a floured work surface; press flat.  Cut into 4 equal pieces, knead into balls and let rest for 5 mintues.  Press each ball flat and then fold into thirds.  Roll each into a rope 16 inches long with tapered ends.  Place in the towel-lined pans.  Cover with a kitchen towl and let rise until doubled, about 20 minutes.  Preheat an oven to 450 degrees.
Place a shallow pan of boiling water on the floor of the preheated oven.  Pull the pans out from under the towels.  Grease the pans and sprinkle with cornmeal.  One at a time, flip the loaves into the pans, underside up.  Brush with the glaze.  Using a sharp knife, make three 1/4" deep diagonal slashes on each loaf.  Bake until brown and crusty, 20-25 minutes.  Transfer the loaves  to a wire rack.  Serve warm or at room temperature.