How To Make French Baguettes At Home

Hello everyone, my name's John. I've been a cook for many years, now retired, and I'd like to show you how I make my delicious French baguettes at home. OK, the first ingredient is 700 grams, that's 25 ounces, of strong white bread flour. Next ingredient, half a teaspoon of instant dried yeast and mix that in. Up next is one and a half teaspoons of kosher salt. If you use table salt, just one teaspoon and mix that in too. And the last ingredient, 520 grams or 19 ounces of cool tap water and give that a good mix. This is probably the most difficult part of the whole recipe. I just use the handle of a wooden spoon to mix the dough. Whatever you decide to use to mix the dough, don't use a whisk. You'll either break the whisk cover the bowl and let it rest for 45 minutes. This rest period has to be repeated four times in total with a little folding in between. This is what gives the bread its wonderful flavour. In between each 45 minute rest period, take the dough out of the bowl and just give it a quick fold. The dough is fairly sticky at this stage, but don't add any extra flour. Just wet your hands and that should stop the dough sticking. OK, just follow the video and I'll catch up with you at the end of the last 45 minute rest period. OK, that's the fermenting stage out the way and now we can get on with making the baguettes. But like I said earlier, that waiting time is what gives this bread its wonderful flavour. OK, turn out the dough onto a floured surface, sprinkle flour on the dough and divide it into four equal pieces. The first stage is to pre-shape the baguettes. Rather than try and explain how it's done, it's easier if you watch how I do it. Once all four baguettes are pre-shaped, cover them with a lightly oiled piece of cling film and let them rest for 15 minutes. We now need what's known as a well-floured baker's couche. You'll see how this works later in the video. At home, all I use is a cotton pillow case. It's a lot less expensive than the real thing and it does exactly the same job. OK, it's now time to start forming the baguettes. Once again, rather than me try to explain how it's done, just watch how I do it in the video and follow the instructions on screen. It just takes a little practice to get these baguettes right at first, but once you get the hang of it, it's quite easy. Once you've completed the first one, transfer it to the couche, then do the same for the other three. Once all four baguettes are formed and on the couche, cover them with a tea towel and set your timer for 20 minutes to let them rise. After the 20 minutes, set the timer again for 12 minutes while the oven heats up. OK, set your oven to 200 degrees Celsius, that's 400 Fahrenheit or gas mark 6. Place a pan of boiling water in the bottom of the oven. This will create a steamy atmosphere and make the crust of the baguette a lot more crispy. Now we have to transfer the baguettes from the couche to a lightly oiled baking tray. To transfer the baguettes to the baking tray, I just use a piece of cardboard covered in tin foil. The proper name for this is a peel or a flipping board. That's right, this piece of equipment has a proper name. Give the baguettes a quick spray with water, it makes it easier to score them. It's important to score the baguettes correctly so they rise evenly in the oven. Follow my screen instructions and take a look at the diagram I drew. You can spray a little water in the oven, this makes the crust even crispier. After eight minutes, turn the tray around so the baguettes cook evenly, then cook them for a further seven to eight minutes or until the baguettes are golden brown. And there you go, a little effort and you've got four perfectly cooked French baguettes. I should say let them cool down a bit before trying them, but that's not going to happen. Well, thanks very much for watching and I really hope you try these French baguettes at home. Bye for now.