Passing along something I found on YouTube and have been making for a while now. It's a family favorite and goes great as a side for all kinds of dinners. It's how to make french baguettes by a retired cook named John Kirkwood. The video over 10 million views (coming up on 11 million) at the time of me writing this.
It does take a little time commitment. I think it takes me around 5 hours from start to finish. It's mostly a hands-off process while you're waiting for the bread to rise. I suppose you could skip all the rises (4 total) and cut it short, but the longer ferment gives the bread a better flavor. There are other recipes out there that have shorter prep times, so this can probably be adapted to those.
The recipe makes 4 loaves. Sorry I don't have it in cups, just grams, so you'll need a kitchen scale. It's best to weight flour since it's a powder and compacts easily and can't be reliably measured by measuring cups. I use bread flour. In the video he calls it "strong white flour" but it's the same thing.
Here are the ingredients:
700 grams bread flour
1/2 tsp dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt or 1 tsp table salt
520 grams of water
Combine the flour, yeast and salt in a mixing bowl & stir it all together.
Add the water and mix with a wooden spoon handle. It will be lumpy at this point but it will even out on its own.
Cover the bowl and let it rest for 45 minutes to rise.
After it rests for 45 minutes, turn the mix out onto a surface and give it some quick folds. Wet your hands or it will stick to them. Repeat this 3 more times.
For the rest of the process it's best to watch the video. John shows the techniques for shaping the bread. It takes a little practice but it's not too hard.
It does take a little time commitment. I think it takes me around 5 hours from start to finish. It's mostly a hands-off process while you're waiting for the bread to rise. I suppose you could skip all the rises (4 total) and cut it short, but the longer ferment gives the bread a better flavor. There are other recipes out there that have shorter prep times, so this can probably be adapted to those.
The recipe makes 4 loaves. Sorry I don't have it in cups, just grams, so you'll need a kitchen scale. It's best to weight flour since it's a powder and compacts easily and can't be reliably measured by measuring cups. I use bread flour. In the video he calls it "strong white flour" but it's the same thing.
Here are the ingredients:
700 grams bread flour
1/2 tsp dry yeast
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt or 1 tsp table salt
520 grams of water
Combine the flour, yeast and salt in a mixing bowl & stir it all together.
Add the water and mix with a wooden spoon handle. It will be lumpy at this point but it will even out on its own.
Cover the bowl and let it rest for 45 minutes to rise.
After it rests for 45 minutes, turn the mix out onto a surface and give it some quick folds. Wet your hands or it will stick to them. Repeat this 3 more times.
For the rest of the process it's best to watch the video. John shows the techniques for shaping the bread. It takes a little practice but it's not too hard.
