French Baguettes

Ingredients-

160g Madre
1600g French T55 Flour
1000g tepid water
1g instant yeast
5g salt

Note: If you can't find French bread flour, T55, you can use strong bread flour instead.

Poolish- 

150g bread/strong flour
150g tepid water
1g instant yeast

Everlasting Madre

200g bread/strong flour
150g tepid water
1 tsp mild honey

The poolish and madre starter dough are the heart of the bread, these are the sourdough which is used in France, Italy and other countries to bake bread.  They are what gives the bread its flavour and they are fermented over a period of time as the longer they ferment for, the more flavour you will achieve.  It must be fed regularly with flour and water and be kept in the fridge.  It can be made with white or wholemeal flour.

Some bakers claim to have had their starter for over one hundred years.

Prepare either sourdough above by mixing all ingredients and leaving it in a plastic container covered in a warm place, from 24C to 35C degrees.  In a day or two when it starts to ferment, feed it with the same amounts of water and flour you have previously used, cover it and put it in the fridge.  

From this point on, you keep it in the fridge, feeding it once a week.  

When baking bread, use 20% of poolish or 10% of madre to flour weight.  In other words, if you use 1000g/1kilo of flour, you will use 100g of madre or 200g of poolish.  Simple

Instructions-  

• Add the madre to the tepid water.
• Add the flour to a mixer and mix for 3 minutes.  
• Add the water mixture to the flour and mix for 10 minutes.  This is to warm the mixture to speed the fermentation process.
• Now add the yeast to one side of the mixing bowl and the salt on the opposite side.  Remember:  The salt retards the yeast, which in return will take longer to rise.
• Mix the mixture for a further 10 minutes.
• Now let the dough rest in the mixer for 30 minutes.
• Take out the dough which will be risen and stretchy on a lightly floured work surface and fold it in thirds as a letter.

• Now fold it in thirds again.

• Place the dough in a covered container and let rest for 45 minutes in a warm, 24C, place.

• Lightly flour a work surface and flip the dough out of the container.
• Stretch it a bit to create a rectangle.  Please note: Don't over use the flour as it will prevent the dough from sticking back together later on.

• With a dough cutter, divide the dough in 3 parts.

• Now out of each third of dough, measure 300g to 350g parts of dough. Please note: Once baked the bread will have about 200g to 250g of weight as it looses a lot of moisture during the baking process and due to its crisp crust.

• Let rest for 45 minutes.
• Flatten one piece of dough with the palm of your hand to stretch it a bit, don't get all the air bubbles out. 

• Turn both short ends inwards.

• Length ways, roll the dough to form a log, making sure the ends are completely sealed.

• Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Flatten the dough.

• Length ways, roll over one side whilst pressing down in the center with the palm of your hand to close it.

• Lift the dough, stretch it slightly and roll over the other side towards the middle. 

• Now, close both side as a book whilst pressing down on the edges to make sure it has closed properly.

• Start rolling your new log from the center outwards applying more pressure to the ends.
• Let rest for 45 minutes on a slightly floured cloth on a baking tray.

• Preheat the oven to the highest temperature, 250C.  
• Score the logs at 30 degrees angle starting from the top end to the bottom end, make 5 cuts of the same size.

• Place in the oven and quickly splash 1 cup of cold water to the floor of your oven or onto a pre-heated tray to create steam.  Lock the door.  
• Bake for 15 minutes.
• After 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 220C and bake for a further 7 minutes.
• If you are using a baking stone, place the bread on the stone, score it and bake the same way.
• Let the baguettes cool and enjoy!
• If you baked too many and want to keep some of them for later, then do the following:
• Bake the baguettes for 15 minutes until they form they crust but before they start to get colour.  Take them out, let cool, wrap them in cling film and place in the freezer.
• When you are ready to use them, take them out of the freezer, let thaw for 10 minutes and bake for 7-10 minutes at 220C.  Sprinkle water on the top to make the crust crispy.
• All done
• For left over bread, wrap it in cling film.  This bread will not go stale.  The next day just toast it and voila!