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Saturday, April 9, 2011

BBA#14 Frech baguettes

This is the 14th recipe of the 2011 challenge of the BBA.I made this one and over baked the loaves ,I think I did not allow the stone to reach full temp before putting on the loaves.I couldn't get them up to 205 degrees,probably because I already baked out the moisture in them. They very crunchy! with a good 1/8" crust! The flavor was very good though over baked. 
I decided to try again,saving the first loaves for dry bread crumbs
Once more ,I forgot to fix the date after putting in new batteries, trying to get it off the picture altogether but have been unsuccessful...


Removed the pate ferment after it overnight stay in the fridge,allowed to warm for an hour,and it rose also
made the final dough, tacky not sticky
shaped into a boule and put in oiled bowl to proof for 2 hours
after 2 hours ,it's ready
shaped into baguettes
placed on a cornmeal dusted parchment atop an upside down 1/2 sheet pan covered with plastic,proofed for about an hour, scored the tops.
my first attempt I used my pizza peel which was a little too narrow and I deflated the loaf trying to place it on the stone.
 Therefore I tried the upside down sheet pan method as illustrated in the book,and it worked perfectly!
after steam pan and water spraying 3 times at 30 second  intervals, lowered oven to 450 and baked the baguettes 25 minutes.they were 205 degrees, cooled a bit by the time I took the photo
This is actually the crust and crumb of the first batch,as we sliced the new loaf to have with dinner.Unfortunately ,rather our good fortune,it was soo delicious we kept slicing ,buttering and eating,finishing the whole loaf ,before I realized I hadn't done a photo  of  the crumb . We knew if I cut another...no control whatso ever with fresh bread from the oven!!The second batch had the same rich flavor and crisp a crust ,I can say it's better than any we ever bought!

5 comments:

  1. Awesome! I agree, putting the loaves on an upside down baking sheet works well. I also like to proof the loaves on parchment paper lined pizza peel and put them on the stone. This is a great tasting bread!

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  2. I love your step by step photo's Jim! I will have to do the upside pan next time. I deflated when I moved the dough to the peel. I think your baguettes look awesome! I have decided that our worst baguette is still better than the grocery stores best baguette!

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  3. Those look very nice! We too have the challenge of if I cut into that fresh loaf it will be gone in no time! In fact sometimes I will make a small roll or two with my regular baguettes, just so I can cut into them and eat them fresh! I have a baguette pan from King Arthur Flour that I use to proof mine. I sometimes bake on a stone using it like a peel, and other times just use it to bake the bread. Gives the bread a round look. I will take a picture of it when I blog about this bread.

    Great details with this post, and I love the look of your dough!

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  4. By the way, the best bread crumbs come from french bread! My mom taught me that....

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  5. @Frieda,thanks for the tip on the peel.
    @Coz thank you,you always present a thorough process,as well as great photos!Your bread looks good!
    @ Joanne,Thank you,can't wait to see your blog post,you are always so professional!
    I have always tried to save bread ( with no oil content) for crumbs,that's why french bread is so good for homemade crumbs,as your Mom said.

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