Ingredients

How to prepare

If you want to prepare a tasty baguette at home, you have to count with the fact that it will take some time. A baguette is always better if allowed some time for maturing. You need not do anything with it during that time. Just give it some space.

Start by taking all of the wholegrain flour and 70 g of the fine corn flour and mixing them well with 320 g (ml) of hot (heated) water. Let it swell up for at least 15 minutes (until the bread starter rises). Move the starter into a small bowl. Mix 60 ml of warm water, 40 g of fine corn flour, sugar and yeast. Put the bowl in a warm place and wait until the starter rises (depending on the temperature about 15-20 minutes).

Knead the salt and bread starter into the matured mixture of flour and water and patiently form a smooth, supple dough. Cover it with a dishcloth, for example, and place it in a warm, protected place to let it mature for about 1 hour. After an hour, sprinkle some flour (the one for dusting) on top of the dough as well as the bowl edges and knead the dough thoroughly. Once again, let the dough mature for about 60 minutes.

The dough is ready to be formed at this point. Knock it out of the bowl and onto a rolling board and cut it into 4 parts rolling each one into a ball. Let them stand for about 10 minutes and roll each ball flat (carefully dust with flour to prevent sticking). Roll the flat pieces of dough thoroughly into the desired length creating baguettes. Place the baguettes on a baking tray (greased or with baking paper). The best results are achieved when using a corrugated tray designed for baking baguettes (helps them retain the round shape).

Let them rise. You can use an oven for this purpose. You can even place a deep plate with water on the bottom to create steam. You can bedew the risen baguettes with water or sprinkle seeds over them. The baking method depends on you oven possibilities. The fan programme is the most appropriate option with the temperature about 230 °C. Leave the hot water plate in the oven even during the baking.

If you want your baguette to be glossy (which is hard to achieve in a standard oven), you can smear it with whipped egg before the baking is finished and continue baking for one more minute.

Video recipe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMNPp0U6Cfc&list=PLrJDLdYQgaE5m81S4mQrAMM5dnmc9sgxh&index=11