Boulangerie-style French Baguettes

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There's nowhere quite like a baguette bought from a small boulangerie in one of the countless towns across France. There's a consistent standard, born of tradition, history and pride. 

But I'm not in France. I'm in Wales, and I'm trying to emulate that traditional baguette that is prescribed in law (Le Décret Pain of September 13th 1993). 

I want my baguette to capture as much as possible of the essence of the actual bake...not a stick of bread trying to be as French as Del Boy! 

However, I do have to make compromises. My oven is only a certain width, so I have to settle for more of a demi-baguette. 

So here goes: 

For SIX 12/13 inch demi-baguettes in the style of a French boulangerie. 

INGREDIENTS

1 kg of T55 French flour (OR strong white bread flour OR blend strong white bread flour with strong Tipo 00 flour)

720 gms tepid water

20 gms fine sea salt

6 gms instant active yeast

METHOD

Add all the ingredients to a large bowl and knead for about 6 - 8 minutes until everything has come together and you have a reasonably smooth and well-mixed dough. 

Cover and place at about 24⁰C for 30 minutes. 

Stretch and fold the dough about 4 times (once each side of the dough), then recover and wait 30 minutes. 

In total, you're going to stretch and fold the dough on 4 occasions over a 2-hour period. 

Now, cover with plastic and place on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for between 12 and 24 hours. 

The next day. 

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place it on a lightly-floured surface.

Weigh the dough and divide into 280 - 290 gms pieces.  You should have 6 pieces. 

Preshape into loose balls. 

Rest the dough, covered, for 20 minutes. 

Now watch this video to help you shape the dough into baguettes: 

​Place the dough, seam up on a floured couche or into a baguette pan. 

Cover with a cloth and proof at room temperature for about 45 - 60 minutes until the dough is niced puffed up. 

Now, preheat the oven to 240⁰C (465⁰F) and add a baking steel or stone or tray and a steam tray to the bottom of the oven. (220⁰ Fan  / 428⁰F Fan)

When everything is ready, score the dough 4 / 5 times with diagonal slashes at a 45 ° angle. 

Watch this video to learn how to slice baguettes traditionally. 

Place the baguettes into the oven, add the steam and mist quickly before closing the door of the oven. 

Bake for 15 minutes and then remove the steam source, drop the temperature to Fan 190⁰F (374⁰F) (or 210 ⁰ C / 410⁰F) conventional and continue to bake until the baguettes are deep golden. 

Cool on a rack. 

And, as Del Boy would say: "Mangetout, mon ami! Mangetout". 

Happy Baking.