French Baguettes

How to prepare french baguettes

1. Knead half of the ingredients listed above well. Place the resulting dough in a bowl greased with a little oil, cover with plastic wrap touching the dough, and refrigerate overnight.
2. The next day, take out the dough and let it come to room temperature for 1 hour. During this time, it will rise a bit more.
3. Knead the remaining ingredients until they come together. Add to the refrigerated dough and continue kneading using the technique shown in this video. Basically, you take the dough and slap it against the counter until it becomes elastic and non-sticky.
   * The dough can also be kneaded with a machine, but it's fun to slap it against the counter—it releases negative energy accumulated during the week 😉 and you'll actually feel the gluten strengthening under your hands; try it!
4. Place the dough in a bowl greased with a little oil, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 1 hour.
5. From now on, follow all the instructions in this video that shows how to stretch/fold the dough and then shape the baguettes.
6. Sprinkle flour on the work surface and turn the dough out there. Stretch it gently with your hands. Grab the dough from one end, pull it, then fold it over. Do the same maneuver from the opposite end. (see photos) Repeat from the other side of the dough.
8. Place the folded dough back in the bowl, folded side down. Cover again with plastic wrap and let rise for another hour.
9. Sprinkle the work surface with a little flour. Turn the dough out there and cut into 5 pieces as equal as possible.
10. Take each piece and shape it into a log (see video 2). Let rise for 30 minutes covered with a plastic bag.
11. Take each log and shape it into a baguette (see video 2). Place the baguettes on parchment paper, next to each other, raising the paper between them so they don't stick together (see last photo). Let rise for 30 minutes, covered with a bag.
12. Preheat the oven to 240°C and place a small pot of water inside, on the lowest level.
14. Score the baguettes using a lame or sharp knife (see video 2).
15. Bake for 20-25 minutes. If they're not golden enough, turn on the broiler and leave for 5 more minutes to brown.

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