Living in UK, most baguette are crispy in the middle and very soft in the middle, and that's how I always thought how a baguette should be. After visiting France, baguette to me now has totally changed - they should be much more chewy and crispy on the outside while in the middle it's not flakey soft, but chewy soft!
I love French baguette, my only problem was I can't actually find them in the UK (Or at least outside London)... I can't afford to go to London every weekend let alone going to France. I've been missing them so very much until I came across this *amazing*, simple recipe from foodwishes.com - I can't be more thankful to those guys; my French grumpasaurus adores me so much everytime I make French baguettes now (he even said it's the best bread he tasted in uk.. slightly bias I think) hehe
The receipt is as below, the link to the original recipe page even have a step-by-step video:
For 4 smaller or 2 large baguette:
1/4 tsp dry active yeast (I used Fleischmann's Rapid Rise Yeast)
(Note: if you want to use a traditional bread technique, add the whole package of yeast (2 1/4 tsp) and proceed as usual)
1 1/2 cups water (325 grams)
1 3/4 tsp salt
18 oz by weight all-purpose flour (500 grams), about 4 cups
- Mix dough and let rise 12-14 hours or until doubled
- Punch down and shape loaves, let rise covered with floured plastic 1 to 1 1/2 hr or until almost doubled
- Bake at 550 F. about 15 minutes or until well-browned
- Spray with water before baking, at 5 minutes, and at 10 minutes during cooking time
Good luck baking all munchaurus, wishing yummy baguettes can be tasted by each and every!!
