This recipe makes 2 flavorful baguettes. They are not the same as what the bread lady from Pezenas delivered to our villa in the South of France, but they'll do . . .
Do not be put off by the number of steps to this recipe -- using the bread machine simplifies this immensely and it really doesn't take much effort on your part!
Ingredients
for the Poolish (starter):
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cups water
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
Combine the above in the bread machine and set on the Dough cycle. Let sit in the bread machine 6 - 15 hours (the longer the tastier.) Then add the ingredients below to this Poolish mixture:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
2/3 cup water
2 teaspoons sea salt (I use Baleine's from France because it seems authentic)
1 beaten egg (to brush on before baking)
Set the bread machine to Dough again. I like to set the timer so that the dough is ready by the time I wake up.
Remove the dough from the bread machine. Cut dough in half and knead each piece into a 12 - 18" log. Now, I have a strange little contraption in which to bake the baguettes (see photo), but you can just gently lay them on a cookie sheet. Once you're finished here, you can prepare your oven while the dough rises.
Now, a note on the oven: I hear that one of the things that give baguettes their wonderful texture is that the French use special ovens that steam the bread as well as bake it. My attempt at this is to put a large baking pan full of boiling water in the cold oven. Then, I preheat it to 500* F., reducing the temperature to 475* when I put the loves in. Beware upon opening the oven, you will get a faceful of steam if you're not careful!
Once the dough has risen for about 30 minutes, brush on egg mixture, slash the dough several times on a diagonal for extra Frenchiness (see photo) and place in oven for about 25 - 30 minutes.
Remove, allow to cool for at least 5 minutes and then serve with jam, honey, butter and peanut butter. My kids love this for breakfast!
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