Sourdough Baguette

The humble baguette is the first bread I fell in love with in France and I have always tried to reproduce this recipe, ending up with very dry bread. But.. not this time! With the help of sourdough starter and some youtube videos (I will leave the links below), I finally got it! Still not as amazing as those I tasted in artisan bakeries in France, but close enough! yay!!

Recipe

50g active sourdough

100 ml water

150g bread flour

pinch of salt

1. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, keeping salt away from the sourdough. Then add in water bit by bit and mix until a dough comes together. Tip the dough out and knead for 15 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.

2. Leave the dough to proof for at least 4 hours at room temperature, until the dough doubles or triples in size. 

3. Fold the dough from side to side gently before dividing the dough into 2 equal parts, more or less. Using your fingers, spread each dough ball into a sheet then roll into a long and thin baguette shape. Then pinch the seams down. Generously flour a clean, dry kitchen cloth (so that the dough will not stick) and fold it slightly to make a 'couche' for the baguette. This will help the baguette maintain the shape during proofing. Repeat for the other dough.

4. Leave to proof at room temperature for at least 2 hours or until 3-4 hours. Usually I don't worry too much about overproofing in sourdough as the natural yeast needs a lot of time to proof.

5. After the dough has doubled in size, it's almost ready to bake. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C. Gently transfer the dough to a baking tray lined with baking paper. Score the baguette dough with a knife. This time I used a brand new, clean eyebrow razor. A knife also works. 

6. Pour some water into the bottom tray to create steam in the oven.  This helps with the 'oven spring' and crispy crust. Bake at 200 degrees C for about 35 minutes. 

Wait for the baguettes to cool completely before storing. Good old plain baguette, not fancy, but so good! 

Useful youtube links

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m08i8oXpFB0&index=37&list=PLuJ6gyh_lhwxoW7pWxtEbiaTCkSZ6vQB5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stoPYwdPU-E&index=35&list=PLuJ6gyh_lhwxoW7pWxtEbiaTCkSZ6vQB5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FVfJTGpXnU&index=36&list=PLuJ6gyh_lhwxoW7pWxtEbiaTCkSZ6vQB5