no seriously, this is what drove me insane since I was baking for so long. Next time I'm borrowing my aunt Laura's recipe which I hear is much faster and have always been delicious.
#3 of my baking spree... Baguettes
source: The Bread Bible
Time schedule:
Dough starter (scrap dough and poolish): minimum 11 1/2 hours, maximum 16 hours.
Minimum rising time: 4 hours
Baking time: 30 minutes (+5min with oven off)
Makes 2 baguettes
Scrap Dough:
water, room temp 1/4 cup
instant yeast 1/8 tsp
unbleached AP flour 1/4 cup + 2 1/2 TBLS
salt 3/16 tsp
A day ahead make the scrap dough:
Place the water in a small bowl and stir in the yeast. Stir again before using.
In a small bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Add 2 TBLS + 2 tsp of the yeast water. Reserve the rest for the poolish.
Stir the very soft and sticky dough until it is smooth and comes away from the sides of the bowl, ~5minutes. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let ferment at room temperature for about 3 hours, then refrigerate until the next morning.
Dough Starter (Poolish):
unbleached AP flour 1/2 cup +1/2 TBLS
instant yeast 1/2 TBLS
water, room temp 1/4 cup + 1 1/2 TBLS
Place the flour in a 2-cup measure and add 1/2 TBLS of the reserved yeast water to the flour (discard the rest). Add the room temperature water and stir until incorporated. The poolish will be a very gloppy batter. Cover with plastic wrap and let ferment for 11 1/2 - 16 hours, or until there are a lot of bubbles on the top, some of which are beginning to pop. It will slightly more than tripled.
In the mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and yeast. Stir the water into the poolish to loosen it, and add this to the flour mixture. With a wooden spoon, mix just until well combined, 2-3 minutes. The dough will be very rough and sticky but will pull away from the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.
With oiled fingers, the the scrap dough into a few pieces, and add it and the salt to the dough. Knead for about 7 minutes. The dough should be sticky enough to cling to your fingers.
Scrape the dough into a 2 quart rising container, lightly greased with cooking spray. Push down the dough and lightly spray the top of the dough with oil. Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap. Let rise until double in size... about 2-3 hours. During the first hour, give the dough a gentle business letter turn every 20 minutes.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and cut in half. Gently pat each piece into a rectangle, then shape it into a stubby log. Move each log onto a lightly floured counter, seam side down. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about 30 minutes.
Gently stretch each piece of dough to 14 inches and set into baguette pans. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and refrigerate for 5-14 hours.
About 1.5 hours before you are ready to bake the baguettes, remove them from the refrigerator and let sit until almost doubled 1-1.5 hours.
Preheat the oven to 450°F 1 hour before baking. Have the oven shelf at the lowest level, and place a baking stone or baking sheet on it before preheating.
With a sharp knife, make about 3 long 1/4- 1/2 inch deep diagonal slashes down the length of each loaf. Mist with water and quickly but gently place the pan on the baking stone. Bake for 30 minutes. halfway through baking turn the pan around for even baking. Turn off the oven, prop the door open slightly ajar with a wooden spoon and allow the bread to sit for another 5 minutes.
Remove the breads from the oven and transfer them to wire racks to cool for 10 minutes.
and FINALLY you get to eat them!
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