Not going to lie- I cherish the day that Jessica from A Kitchen Addiction posted her recipe for Easy French Baguettes. These are now a home baked staple in my house. I probably make this at least twice a month.
I am sort of yeast bread phobic. My experiences in the past with making any kind of homemade bread that I had to knead and let rise, and punch down and rise, etc were always met with huge disappointment. Either the dough just didn't rise like it was supposed to, or it ended up heavy and dense. Yes, some breads are supposed to be heavy and dense, but not Italian bread or French bread.
These baguettes are slowly helping me overcome my fear of making yeast dough outside of my bread machine. Now I did adapt this recipe to use my bread machine for the initial mixing of the baguette dough. Jessica uses one of those fancy stand mixers with the dough attachments in her recipe. The first time I made these baguettes, I attempted to mix the dough using regular beaters on my hand mixer.
Ummmmm...no. Doesn't work. Please don't try that at home. ;)
So the second time I made them, I made some adjustments and used my bread machine to mix the dough- much better idea!
What you will need:
2 1/2 cups of flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp instant dry yeast
1 cup of warm water
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 egg white
1/2 tbsp water
I added the warm water first, then the flour, sugar, and yeast to my bread machine. I set it to the dough setting and then processed it for about 7-10 minutes.
I took the dough out of the bread machine and kneaded it by hand for a few minutes, just until the dough was smooth.
Pour the olive oil in a medium bowl and then add the dough to the bowl. I tossed the dough around once to make sure all sides were covered in the olive oil. This helped prevent the dough from sticking to the bowl (I found I had this problem the first time I made the baguettes). Cover with a towel and allow it to rest for about 15 minutes.
Sprinkle the dough with the salt and then hand knead until the salt is well incorporated into the dough.
Cover the dough again with a cloth and set in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until it has about doubled in size.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out into about a 16x12 rectangle.
Cut the dough in half and create two 8x12 inch rectangles.
Starting with the longer side, roll each rectangle up tightly into an long roll. Flatten out the air bubbles as you roll and then taper out the ends.
Place the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper a silicone baking mat.
Make diagonal slashes across the tops of both loaves using a sharp knife. Cover the loaves with a clean cloth and allow them to rise in warm place for another 40 minutes. They should about double in size.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the egg white and water in a small bowl. Brush the mixture over the tops of your risen loaves.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Allow the loaves to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting.
These French baguettes are nice, soft, and airy on the inside and crispy on the outside. They really are perfect to make when you have a free afternoon to do a little baking. I love that it makes two generous loaves co I can plan to have them with at least two dinners the week that I make them.
Do you have a phobia of making yeast breads too? If so, will you at least give this recipe a go? I mean, if I can do this one then I would venture to say that most anyone can. ;)
Bread Machine Start Homemade French Baguettes
by
Prep Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
Ingredients (2 loaves)
- 2 1/2 cups of flour
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp instant dry yeast
- 1 cup of warm water
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 tbsp water
Instructions
I added the warm water first, then the flour, sugar, and yeast to my bread machine. I set it to the dough setting and then processed it for about 7-10 minutes.
I took the dough out of the bread machine and kneaded it by hand for a few minutes, just until the dough was smooth.
Pour the olive oil in a medium bowl and then add the dough to the bowl. I tossed the dough around once to make sure all sides were covered in the olive oil. This helped prevent the dough from sticking to the bowl (I found I had this problem the first time I made the baguettes).
Cover with a towel and allow it to rest for about 15 minutes.
Sprinkle the dough with the salt and then hand knead until the salt is well incorporated into the dough.
Cover the dough again with a cloth and set in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until it has about doubled in size.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll it out into about a 16x12 rectangle.
Cut the dough in half and create two 8x12 inch rectangles.
Starting with the longer side, roll each rectangle up tightly into an long roll. Flatten out the air bubbles as you roll and then taper out the ends.
Place the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper a silicone baking mat.
Make diagonal slashes across the tops of both loaves using a sharp knife. Cover the loaves with a clean cloth and allow them to rise in warm place for another 40 minutes. They should about double in size.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Mix together the egg white and water in a small bowl. Brush the mixture over the tops of your risen loaves.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
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