Parisian Daily Bread

This recipe has become a favorite of mine for many reasons. It is very simple, requiring only about 4 hours from start to finish. My experience making bread in co-ops has also taught me this recipe scales very well, and I often use it as a standby when asked to make bread for lots of people. And who doesn’t love a fresh, still-warm baguette?

This recipe is taken from p. 66 of Daniel Leader’s fantastic Local Breads.

Parisian Daily Bread, or Baguette Normal

Makes 3 baguettes approximately 14 inches long

• 1.5 cups (340 g) H20
• 1 teaspoon (4 g) baking yeast
• 3.25 cups (500 g) white flour
• 1.5 teaspoons (10 g) sea salt

1. Mix the dough in a large bowl (anything not metal) until it forms a clumpy mass. Let it rest for 20 min. – this allows the flour to hydrate on its own and makes kneading easier.
   

   Clumpy dough, resting after initial mixing

2. Knead the dough. One of my favorite things about being able to make “home-sized” portions of dough is being able to do everything by hand, including kneading. Dump everything in the bowl out onto a counter and knead for 10-12 minutes. Try to use the inevitable bits of unabsorbed flour to keep the dough from sticking, and only flour your hands if absolutely necessary.
   

   Dough after kneading

3. Ferment the dough. Lightly oil the bowl from before, or a clear plastic container if you have one, and transfer the kneaded dough. Make sure it’s large enough to contain the risen dough, so it won’t spill out all over your kitchen. Cover with an apron and let rise for 45 minutes or so.
4. Turn the dough – do NOT punch it down, like many older cookbooks suggest. Instead, lift the dough out of the container, fold it like a letter, and put it back in.
5. Let rise another hour. By this point, the dough should have increased 50%  or more in size.
   

   Dough after rising - it has at least doubled in size!

6. Turn out onto a (very lightly!) floured counter and use a dough knife or a chef’s knife to cut the dough into 3 approximately equal-sized pieces. Gently pat each piece into a rough rectangle and fold in half, then let rest 10 min.
   

   Dough, divided and ready for shaping.

7. While your dough is resting before shaping, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. If you have a baking stone (I nicked one from home), put it in now so it can preheat as well.
8. Shape the baguettes. This is easy to demonstrate in person but hard to explain in writing, so here’s an excellent video on the subject (found on the Fresh Loaf). If using a baking stone, you’ll want to eventually slide the baguettes directly onto the hot stone – you should dust a peel if you have one, or improvise with a baking sheet (as I have been) with cornmeal, and put the shaped baguettes on that surface to proof. If you aren’t using a stone, proof the shaped baguettes on a lightly oiled baking sheet.
   

   Shaped baguettes, proofing

9. Proof the baguettes for 30-45 min. They will increase about 50% in size and look enticingly like pillows.
   

   Ready to be scored & baked

10. Score the baguettes – using a razor (lame) or serrated knife, cut nearly-horizontal lines into the tops of the baguettes, about 1/4 – 1/2 inch deep. Do it quickly – wetting the blade of the knife can make it easier.
11. Bake the loaves – slide them onto the stone or put the baking sheet into the oven. You can also put a cast-iron or other all-metal pan with water in it in the stove as well, to create steam. Bake for 15-20 mins, until caramel colored.
12. Serve with soup and a salad, give to friends, use for self-defense, hoard and nibble at for days…