Baguette La Perfection

My first authentic french Baguette made with the traditional technique, using poolish. Smells fantastic, crusty outside, soft inside, looks fantastic, delicious with some real butter.

Start with the Poolish. - It is a traditional way to improve the bread texture and flavor. Also often called Biga. Made with equal amount of flour and water with a tiny bit of instant yeast mixed together and fermented in room temperature for about 12-24 hours. It should look aerated and bubbly.

My Poolish for 3 baguettes:

1 cup Organic Plain Flour

1/2 cup Bakers Flour

1 cup (250ml) of cold water (~16c)

Pinch of Instant yeast

Mix these ingredients well in a bowl and cover to stand in room temperature for about 15 hours.

The Dough:

2 1/2 cup Plain Flour (you can substitute parts with Bakers flour)

1 teaspoon instant yeast

2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (250ml) cold water

All of the poolish you made earlier.

Combine and mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Use your fingers to knead air into it. Try not to use more flour, can oil your hands slightly. Transfer dough into a lightly oiled bowl and let it rise for 2 hours, folding it after the first hour.

My dough was approx 1kg in weight.

Divide dough to 3 equal pieces. Form each piece into a rough log. Let it rest for 20 minutes. Shape into Baguettes. Make sure the size of the baguette will fit into your oven and baking tray. Let them puff up for 30-40 minutes (resting).

Score baguette tops with a knife or razor blade.

Bake in a preheated 250c oven for 20-25 minutes. Spray the oven with water when you put the baguettes in, and then one more within the first 5 minutes of baking.

Let it cool down on a cooling rack before slicing.

My babies are waiting for the final rise...

Voila! Done!

The Crumb shot...

Poolish