Quarantine has made most (all?) of us rethink what is important to us. And for me, a lot of this reflection has been about my morning routine. I love the first few hours in the morning, before anyone else is awake, slowly waking the house up. I open the blinds, turn on lamps, brew coffee, water the plants, set the breakfast table, read or translate a french news story, and bake bread. That’s right — every morning I bake a demi-baguette loaf.
Before this work-from-home period, that seemed like a complicated, daunting task, but fortunately, this was just the season of life to figure it out. And as anyone who watches my Instagram stories can tell you, it has been a journey! But we have finally arrived at our destination. All you need it to put in a teeny bit of work on the weekend, and you can have easy demi-baguettes all week long.
Keep in mind, the first time around, it may not seem so super simple, but by the second week, you will be in the groove and it will be an easy addition to your morning routine that ends with you enjoying a nice breakfast of a fresh baguette and maybe some homemade marmalade.
A few things you should know about my baking conditions.
First, I live in an arctic tundra. Okay, it’s not actually in the arctic, but it feels like it. I live in a walk-out basement apartment and the average temperature is about 62-68 degrees. It is always freezing. This affects how my poolish and dough rise. You might need to make adjustments if you live in a warmer environment (and for your sake, I hope you do!). A general note on this is be flexible! Pay attention to how your oven and home temperature affect the process and adjust. Baguettes can be temperamental and take time to find your perfect method, don’t be scared off if the first batch isn’t perfect!
Next, I bake in a toaster oven. I actually make a lot of meals in this toaster oven. It was something we bought with money from our wedding shower and we LOVE it. We only have a pseudo-kitchen setup and so we use it as our main heating element unless we want to trek upstairs to the full kitchen in the main house.
You need a baking stone. Trust me, you need it. It doesn’t need to be a fancy one. I use this toaster-oven-fitting one from Williams Sonoma’s Open Kitchen line, which I love for affordable but quality kitchen items. You can also check out the French Emile Henry, classic Pampered Chef one, or this Amazon fave.
You will also need parchment paper (I like these pre-cut sheets) and a new, food-safe spray bottle. Nothing fancy here, but you definitely will need both.
I have been using King Arthur French-Style Organic Flour, which I have only been able to find on their website. I am going to be trying other flours and update as I do, but my research led me to believe this would definitely be the most authentic.
Now that we have our supplies, here are a few other tips and tricks that I have gathered:
Make the poolish the night before. I do it right before bed on Friday or Saturday. It seems low on yeast, but trust me, it is all you need. I don’t have definitive proof, but I believe using a ceramic bowl for this (not metal or plastic) yields better results. This is a great set for this (and a great deal!).
Make sure you put the stone in the oven while it warms up. It is essential that it is hot when you slide the baguette into the oven.
You will spray the baguette twice. Once when you put it in and once about halfway through (about 10 minutes into the process in my oven). I have read all kinds of tips, from bowls of ice to bowls of boiling water in the bottom of the oven, and this method by far has given me that crusty outside that you are looking for when you want an authentic baguette.
Age the dough! Okay, it sounds weird, but my method makes a big batch that you divide into 6 smaller dough balls, which you keep in the fridge and take out one a day. The baguettes towards the end of the week are always the best-textured ones! So I start the next batch halfway through the one I am currently baking off, so that the dough is always a few days aged.
Rest the dough. Apparently baguettes have a little bit in common with steak. First, you need to age it, and then you need to rest if after baking. Please, please trust me. As delicious as it looks piping hot from the oven, give it 10 minutes on the counter. It will still be warm and delicious, but the texture will be perfection if you give it this time.
Note: I do include gram measurements where possible, but I do not weigh my ingredients. That wasn’t “simple” enough for me when developing this recipe. I do however make sure to use the “spoon and sweep” method for measuring flour.
Note: You really can use active or instant yeast. I have not noticed a difference between the two.
Note: I used this recipe with some adjustments.
Okay let’s do this!
Aly’s Daily Demi-Baguettes
Ingredients
Poolish:
1/2 cup (113 g) cool water
1/16 teaspoon active dry yeast or instant yeast
1 cup (120 g) All Purpose Flour (see note above about french-style flour)
Dough
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast or instant yeast
1 cup + 2 tablespoons of lukewarm water (I go for “room temperature”)
3 1/2 cups (418 g) All Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons salt
All of the Poolish
For the poolish:
With a rubber spatula, mix everything together until just mixed in medium bowl to make a soft dough. Cover with plastic wrap (I use Press & Seal). Let rest overnight (12-14 hours). It should expand and look bubbly when you wake up.
To make dough:
Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients together in a large bowl or in a stand mixer (KitchenAid speed 2) for about 4 minutes. It should be cohesive but not necessarily smooth - Don’t overcomplicate this step! Just do your best and it will be fine.
Lightly grease a new large bowl. Place dough in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 45 minutes to an hour.
Gently deflate the dough and fold edges into the center. Turn over in the bowl, cover, and let sit for another 45 minutes to an hour. Repeat one more time (if time-pressed, skip final time).
Gently turn the dough out onto work surface (I use a cutting board) and gently cut the dough into 6 equal pieces (I use kitchen scissors). Loosely wrap each dough piece in greased plastic wrap and place on a tray. Put the dough in the fridge.
To bake:
Remove 1 dough ball from the fridge first thing when you wake up. Allow to rest for 10-20 minutes to come to room temperature. (On really cold mornings, I put it near the coffee maker to come to room temp and proof).
Remove plastic wrap and gently press into a small rectangle on a clean surface.
For the next step, you can figure out what step works best for you. I simply roll the dough to make a long shape and make sure to “seal” the long edge and pinch the ends into the classic baguette shape, about 14-16 inches long (depending on your oven size).
You can also follow the more classic method of folding nearly in half, sealing the edges, turn the dough around and repeat: flatten and fold, until it has elongated itself. You can find images of that method here and a video here.
Lightly flour a clean dish towel and settle dough (seam-side down!) into the middle of the towel and then gently pull up a ridge on either side of the baguette to create a little valley for the dough to proof in.
Leave the dough to rise again 30-60 minutes while you go about your morning routine. You just want the dough to look more “marshmallow-y” than when you started. About halfway through this time, put your stone on a rack in the middle of the oven (or bottom if you use a toaster oven like me!) and turn the oven to 450 degrees (you may need to lower to 400 in your oven, so keep a close eye on your first bake).
Gently!! turn the dough out onto a piece of parchment paper. Fold up the towel and store until the next morning (I usually get out a fresh towel once a week, but if that freaks you out, feel free to do it more).
With a sharp knife (I admit I use a razor blade held by a clothespin), make those classic three diagonal lines on the top of the baguette. You are ready to slide into the oven.
Once the dough is in the oven, carefully give it a few quick sprays of water.
Allow to bake for 5-10 minutes. Once the surface has started to turn a little golden, carefully slide the parchment out, letting the baguette sit directly on the stone. Again, carefully give it a few more sprays of water. Let bake 5-12 more minutes until it has a nice, medium brown color on top. Turn the oven off and crack the oven to allow it to sit for a few more minutes (I put a potholder folded in half in the door and then I usually set the table, get out the jams, butter, and coffee).
Take out your baguette and head to the table. If you can, try to give it 10 minutes to rest!
Enjoy your almost-Parisian boulangerie breakfast.
What adjustments do you need to make? Let me know how it works for you!
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