Baguettes, Part Two
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On we go from last time. (For that, click here.)
The dough has been set aside in that clichéd "warm, draft-free place." And it's doubled in bulk over about an hour. In other words, there's about twice of it, compared to when it started, thanks to the yeast eating too much. About like me.
Uncover the bowl and gently but firmly plunge your fist into the dough. This is no time to take out your frustrations on the bread. I was in a cooking class once where a woman quite literally punched the dough. I asked her if she'd had a bad day. Just plunge your fist into it so that it deflates a bit. If you need to get out your frustrations, go for a long walk. Or rake leaves. Or shop.
Lightly dust your clean, dry work surface--and yes, you should have cleaned and dried it--then tump the dough onto it. Divide the dough in half (Bruce measures with the kitchen scales; I would eye-ball it). Now roll each half underneath your flattened palms on the floured surface until each half is an elongated baguette, about 14 inches long.
We tend to like the loaves a little fatter in the middle. Because we like 1) crust and 2) slices for toast. This way, we get the points for crunch--to drop in soup and the like. And we get a fatter middle for toast slices the next morning. You could also make them more traditionally shaped, about the same diameter all the way down the tube.
Grease a large lipped baking sheet or line it with a silicon baking mat. You can see from the photo what Bruce does. Just don't use butter--it'll burn in the oven ahead. In addition, I would use a lipped baking sheet. Because I'm a klutz. I can't walk across a flat floor without tripping. And a little lip helps me keep the bread on the baking sheet.
Cover the two shaped loaves with a towel and set back in that warm, draft-free place to rise until puffed and about doubled in circumference, about 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, adjust the rack so it's in the middle of your oven and preheat the oven to 450F. Then go do whatever it is you do while bread rises. I'm nuts for Stravinsky these days. Loud Stravinsky. But perhaps you have other passions.
Once the loaves have risen, use a very sharp, thin knife or a brand-new razor blade to slash some diagonals across the surface of the bread. Cut no more than about 1/2-inch down. And make sure whatever you use it quite sharp. Don't press down! You don't want to deflate the thing.
Place the tray with the loaves in the oven on the rack--and before you close the door, throw a couple ice cubes onto the hot bottom surface of the oven. They will instantly steam, thereby giving your bread a perfect crust. But they will also, over time, warp your oven. Don't do this if you have a gas oven--the excess water can douse the flame. And, well, you also needn't resort to such drastic measures. You can fill a spray bottle with water, then spritz inside the oven (without getting water on the bread) a couple times while it bakes.
Bake the bread about 20 minutes, until it sounds hollow when thumped. Remove the tray from the oven, let the loaves cool on the tray a couple minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and continue cooling for as long as you can stand it. That's about a minute for me, who already has a knife with butter ready to go. After the loaves have cooled to room temperature, they can be wrapped in a towel and kept at room temperature for 1 day or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 3 months. (To thaw, just unwrap the loaf and leave it on the counter for a few hours.
Reader Comments (4)
I might actually try my hand at bread making, this looks so appealing. My oven has a "proof" setting... does that work for the warm, free of drafts place or will it be too warm?
Diana: Bruce says he would use the proof setting to let the dough rise for the first time. However--and he's sitting right across the room telling me this--he says you can't really use it for the second rising because that's the same time the oven needs to be preheating.
Mark, you and Bruce may want to be careful or you will join 5secondrule as my own personal cooking assistants! Great advice. And that's why I liked this post about bread so much; you wrote about it in a way that was practical, unintimidating and seemed fun.
Are you guys doing any book events in Boston? If your publisher doesn't have ideas for any, but you are interested, let me know... I am in PR and could probably cook something up for you in exchange for an autograph and continued awesome blog posts!
Diana: How every thoughtful. Right now, we don't have any events planned in Boston. We'd be delighted to work with you to do something for the book. Drop me an email--either right on or through the "Email me" form on this site. Thanks so much. You're very sweet.