Baguette

Recipe adapted from Brian Lagerstrom.

Ingredients:

Poolish

• 150 g. (2/3 c.) room temperature water
• Pinch of instant yeast
• 150 g. (1 c.) bread flour

Dough

• Ripe poolish (recipe above)
• 240 g. (1 c.) water (90F)
• 3 g. (3/4 tsp.) instant yeast
• 400 g. (2 3/4 c.) bread flour
• 11 g. (2 1/4 tsp.) salt
• 10 g. (2 1/2 tsp) diastatic malt powder

Directions:

1. Poolish:  Stir together water, yeast, and flour. Cover and ferment at room temperature for 12-24 hours.
2. Dough: Add poolish, water, yeast, flour, salt, and malt powder to a stand mixer with a bread hook and mix on low for 3 minutes. Once the dough is combined, increase speed to high (speed 4 on my KitchenAid) and mix for another 6 minutes.
3. Ferment and Strength Building: Transfer to a bowl, cover, and ferment at room temperature for 30 minutes. Perform strength building fold #1 and then cover and rest for 30 minutes. Do strength building fold #2 and then cover and rest for a final 60 minutes.
4. Shape:  Transfer dough to a floured surface and divide into 4 equal pieces (about 230 g. each). Preshape each piece by placing each piece on your work surface and tuck the sides up to resemble a ball and then roll each piece on your work surface in the palm of your hand until you have a uniform ball. Cover with a towel and rest for 15 minutes.
5. After 15 minutes, seem side up press the dough down to degass any large air pockets.  Then fold the top of the dough down, about an inch at a time, toward you, which seals in the tension.  Do this 4 – 5 times until the dough is in a blunt cigar shape, and then use your fingertips and thumbs to roll the dough out into a longer tube shape, about 9-10 inches.  You can continue to use your fingertips and thumbs to roll the ends of the dough into a tidy taper.
6. Move the baguettes to an upside down baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cover with a foil pan (approx. 16”x12”x3”) and let rise at room temp for 45-70 min.
7. Bake:  Preheat oven with baking steel/stone to 465F. 
8. Transfer the baguettes (with parchment paper) onto a preheated pizza steel/stone. Spray with water, cover with the foil lid and bake for 12 mins. Remove lid and bake for 12-15 more min. until crusty and golden brown.  Cool on a wire rack.

Baguette: