French Baguette – There is rarely a bread as perfect as this

Who doesn’t love bread? Bread is found all over the world in all different cultures and it’s always made differently while still having the same building blocks, most of the time. Different types of bread evolved all over without having any connection to each other as people discovered how to use the wheat and they started cultivating. There is real cultural significance to bread and we love sharing our love for baking. The French have perfected their styles of bread and the long French Baguette loaf is our most well-known.

French Baguette usually has a lovely crust on the outside while being soft and airy in the middle. The formation of gluten creates perfect pockets of air, giving your theat lightness you’ve been looking for. Baking the perfect bread takes patience and giving your dough time to rise before baking and letting it cool when it’s done si very important. French loaf is easily enjoyed with high quality butter but it makes for the perfect sandwich vessel too. We’re not going to tell you which sandwich to make and letting your imagination run wild.

Beautiful crust on the outside with soft, beautifully fluffy inside, the French Baguette is the ultimate baking achievement. It’s the best vessel for your favourite sandwich.

French Baguette Recipe

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Recipe by Asande Mpila Cuisine: FrenchDifficulty: Easy

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Rising Time

60

minutes

Total time

40

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 cups 2 warm water

• 1 tbsp 1 active dry yeast

• 2½ tsp 2½ granulated sugar

• 5-6 cups 5-6 bread flour

• 2½ tsp 2½ table salt or fine sea salt

• 2 tsp 2 olive oil

Method

• In a small bowl, combine the warm water, yeast and sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes, or until it has begin to foam. The yeast will start bubbling in measuring cup.
• Place 2 cups of flour into a large mixing bowl with the salt. Stir in the yeast mixture and begin to knead by hand or using a dough hook and stand mixer. Add 1/2 cup of the remaining flour at a time until the dough is smooth but not sticky. Rub the olive oil around the dough ball, cover the bowl with a towel and let rest for 15 to 30 minutes. If you have more time, let it rise up to an hour.
• Turn the dough onto a floured surface and divide it in half. Roll one half into a rectangle (about 15 inches). Starting from the long side, roll the dough into a cylinder.
• Turn both ends in and pinch the seams closed. Round the edges and place onto a baking sheet. Repeat with the second dough ball. Make three diagonal cuts across the top of each loaf  dust with dry flour Cover loves lightly with a towel. Let rise for 30-60 minutes.
• Pinch French bread together
• Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. When you knock on it, it should sound hollow. If it’s browning too fast, lightly cover with foil and turn down the temperature to 150°C untill bread is baked …put it in a rack and let it cool.

Notes

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