Weekend Baguette
Crusty and full of flavour
Servings: 4 baguette
Calories: 461kcal
Cost: 9p per baguette
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- large mixing spoon
- baking tray
- digital weighing scales
Ingredients
- 500 g plain flour up to 12% protein
- 7 g dried yeast
- 2 tsps salt
- 375 ml hot water
Metric - US Customary
Instructions
- Using a large bowl, put the yeast and the water in and leave it for 10 minutes to froth. Now add the flour and salt. Mix it all up with a big spoon. There’s no need to knead as we are going to leave it to allow the gluten to develop on its own
- Now cover the bowl with a plate and leave it in the fridge overnight. It will sit there happily all the next day too if you need it too. The dough will rise overnight, developing marvellous flavour as it goes
- When you’re ready, punch back the dough and divide into 4 pieces. Mine weighed 240g each. Let it sit on the worktop for 15 minutes to recover from the chill of the fridge and to bring the yeast back to more lively activity
- Now shape your baguette. I kneaded mine out to a long sausage, folded it over a couple of times, then let each one hang a little in my hands until they were the length I wanted them to be. They are very stretchy and will resist being stretched into shape, springing back easily
- Place your shaped baguette on one or two baking trays, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to prove for an hour
- Now pre-heat your oven to 230C / 210 fan / 420F / Gas Mark 9. Place a pan of water in the base of the oven. Or if you're lucky enough to have a fancy oven like me, choose a programme that injects steam into the oven cavity
- Bake your baguette for 23 minutes until a lovely golden brown and leave to cool completely before storing
- Click here to start a 23 minute timer
- After we had enjoyed one hot and crisp from the oven, the rest were left to cool completely, then I broke them in half and stored them in a plastic bag in the freezer where they'll sit quite happily for several months. At their very best if, after you've de-frosted them, blast them in a hot oven to get the crispy again.
Notes
Priced at Asda April 2020
I have used expensive triple zero flour to make, and ordinary value flour from the supermarket. Both versions worked really well, and were not that different from each other.
Nutrition
Calories: 461kcal | Carbohydrates: 96g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1166mg | Potassium: 150mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 6mg
