French baguettes

I love to cook...I am the type of cook that buys andouille sausage from New Orleans if I am making red beans and rice. It takes time, thought and effort to create a culinary experience worthy of yourself and your loved ones. Let me add experiences and mistakes as well to the list of creating a worthy anything!

So, armed with real  French flour ( a lower protein flour) and a new recipe, and a new set of baguette pans, I began my journey into baguette land! 



My recipe began with the making of a "poolish."  That is a starter mix of flour, water and yeast. It sits over night and develops a more complex and rich flavor to the bread. You must stir the poolish clockwise only. The idea is to develop strong, long fibers, no that's not the right word... that's a felting term....but you get the idea....

 

 The next step is to add the rest of the flour water and yeast into the poolish.Once it gets tacky, you kneed the dough.......

Then it has to rest and rise.  You must periodically  stretch the gluten fibers by lifting the dough up and then allow it to drop back into the bowl. This also insures the holes in the bread will be distributed evenly.

Finally, it is time to form the baguette shape and slash it across the top. (I did not do such a great job here..I was afraid of beating up the dough!  )

Time to preset the oven to a high temp with a pan of boiling water in on the lowest shelf. The oven steams up to insure a crisp crust.  You remove the water bath after a bit and let it brown.  Then it is time to take it out of the oven and let it cool for 30 minutes at least to cool.....

Time to cut into the loaf to evaluate the crust and the holes. 

Not to bad!  It was very tasty.  Next time, I shall add more yeast and shape the loaves more attractively~