Baguette

Method

1. Mix the flour, cold water and yeast together in a large bowl until no dry flour remains, a shaggy, sticky mass. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes; this rest lets the flour hydrate fully before the salt goes in.
2. Sprinkle the salt over and mix it in, squeezing and folding the dough in the bowl for about 2 minutes until it comes together. It will feel wet and slack; do not add extra flour to fix that.
3. Cover and leave at room temperature for 1 hour, then fold: with wet hands, lift one side of the dough and fold it over the middle, turn the bowl a quarter turn, and repeat 4 times. This builds structure without kneading. Repeat this fold twice more at 30 minute intervals.
4. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight, 8 to 12 hours. The dough will roughly double and develop a yeasty, slightly sour smell; this slow cold rise is what builds the flavour and the open crumb.
5. Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and divide into 3 equal pieces. Handle it gently; knocking out all the air here flattens the crumb you just spent all night building.
6. Shape each piece into a rough rectangle, fold the long edges into the middle, then roll from one end into a tight log about 35 cm long, pinching the seam shut. Place seam-down on a floured couche or tea towel, pleated between loaves to hold their shape, and cover.
7. Prove for 45 to 60 minutes, until visibly puffy but not doubled; baguette dough overproofs quickly at this stage.
8. Heat the oven to 240°C with a baking sheet inside and a shallow pan on the oven floor. Slash each loaf 3 to 4 times diagonally with a sharp blade, one confident cut each, then slide onto the hot sheet. Pour a cup of water into the pan below for steam and shut the door immediately.
9. Bake 22 to 25 minutes, until deep golden brown and hollow-sounding when tapped. Cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing; the crumb is still setting.

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, then let stand 30 min in the bowl, lid on, no setting.
2. Add the salt. Knead 3 min / dough mode. The dough will still look and feel slack and sticky; that is correct, do not add flour to compensate.
3. Tip into an oiled bowl and continue from step 3 of the hand method: folds, overnight cold ferment, shaping and baking are all the same.

Notes

• Resist the urge to add flour to a wet dough. A slack, sticky dough is what makes an open, irregular crumb; a stiff, easy-to-handle dough bakes into a tight, dense one instead.
• The overnight cold ferment is not optional. It is where nearly all of the flavour and the crumb structure come from; a same-day version made with more yeast will taste flat and bake dense by comparison.
• Steam in the first minutes of baking is what gives a thin, crackling crust. Without it the crust sets too fast and stays thick and tough.
• Baguettes are best eaten within a few hours of baking. They do not keep well; if needed, wrap and freeze whole, then re-crisp from frozen in a hot oven for 8 minutes.

Ingredient substitutions

• Bread flour gives the best structure; all-purpose flour works but the crumb will be slightly less open.
• A pinch more yeast speeds up the overnight rise if your kitchen is very cold, but the flavour is better the slower it goes.
• A pizza stone in place of the baking sheet gives an even better crust if you have one; preheat it for at least 30 minutes.

From Christoph Mayer

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