French Baguettes

Total Time: 2 hrs 10 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 45 mins

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 2 cups warm water
• 4 -5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 egg, beaten and mixed with
• 1 tablespoon cold water

Recipe

• 1 in a small bowl dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.
• 2 stir with a fork.
• 3 set aside for 10 minutes.
• 4 combine the flour and salt.
• 5 add the yeast mixture, and stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups water.
• 6 mix the dough until it is sticky enough to knead.
• 7 on a lightly floured board, knead for 6 to 10 minutes; the dough should be sticky and smooth.
• 8 put the dough in a bowl, cover with a damp tea towel, and let rise at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• 9 punch down the dough and divide into 4 pieces.
• 10 roll each into a ball and shape into a baguette.
• 11 transfer the loaves to a lightly greased baking sheet or baguette pan and let rise until nearly doubled.
• 12 (i use 2 baking sheets, with 3 smaller loaves per sheet).
• 13 preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
• 14 brush the baguettes with the egg-water mixture.
• 15 score the loaves diagonally across the top with a sharp knife.
• 16 pour 2 cups of hot water into a pan and place in the preheated oven next to the baguettes to provide moisture.
• 17 bake the baguettes for 15 minutes, and then lower the temperature to 400 degrees and bake for 5 to 10 minutes more, until golden brown.
• 18 remove from the oven and cool on a rack before slicing.
• 19 occasionally i burn the bottom of the bread, in which case i scrape it off with a sharp serrated knife and it remains my secret!