Baguette Rustica

Method

1. Mix the flour, cold water and yeast together until no dry flour remains. The mixture will be closer to a thick, sticky batter than a normal dough; that is expected at this hydration. Cover and rest 30 minutes.
2. Add the salt and half the olive oil, and fold and squeeze in the bowl for about 3 minutes until it comes together into a cohesive, very sticky mass.
3. Cover and rest 1 hour, then fold with wet or oiled hands as for a standard baguette: lift and fold each side over the middle, turn the bowl, repeat 4 times. Repeat the fold twice more at 30 minute intervals.
4. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight, 8 to 12 hours.
5. Turn the dough onto a heavily floured surface. Do not try to shape this dough tightly; instead, divide it into 3 rough pieces with a bench scraper and gently stretch and fold each into a rough rectangle, minimal handling. Over-shaping deflates the open structure this dough is built for.
6. Place each piece on a floured couche or parchment, dust the tops with flour, and prove uncovered for 30 to 40 minutes.
7. Heat the oven to 240°C with a baking sheet inside and a pan on the oven floor. Slash each loaf once or twice, transfer to the hot sheet, pour water into the pan below for steam, and shut the door.
8. Bake 22 to 25 minutes, until deep golden brown and hollow-sounding. Cool at least 20 minutes before slicing.

Method in the Thermomix

Written for a TM5 or TM6, 2.2 litre bowl.

1. Flour, water and yeast into the bowl. Mix 10 sec / speed 6, rest 30 min in the bowl.
2. Add the salt and half the oil. Knead 4 min / dough mode. The dough will still be very wet and cling to the sides; that is correct for this hydration.
3. Scrape into an oiled bowl with a spatula and continue from step 3 of the hand method: fold, ferment overnight, shape gently and bake as above.

Notes

• This dough is wetter and stickier than a normal baguette on purpose. Fighting it by adding flour gives back a tighter, less interesting crumb; embrace the mess with well-floured or oiled hands instead.
• Handle the dough as little as possible when shaping. Every extra fold or squeeze knocks out the large gas bubbles that make this loaf’s crumb distinctive.
• The overnight cold ferment does the real work here, both for flavour and for the strength the dough needs to hold its shape despite the high hydration.
• Best eaten the day it is baked; it does not keep as well as a tighter-crumbed loaf.

Ingredient substitutions

• Olive oil can be left out for a leaner, more traditional French-style crumb; Italian versions typically include it.
• Bread flour gives the best structure at this hydration; all-purpose flour will be noticeably harder to shape.
• A pizza stone preheated for 30 minutes gives a better crust than a plain baking sheet.