The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (276 page)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Is it possible to make an outstanding baguette at home? We wanted ours to have a thin, golden brown crust, an airy texture, moist crumb, and fully developed flavor. Looking for the best way to rise the dough, we found that the sponge method (using a small amount of yeast to rise some of the dough for several hours) made loaves with superior flavor and texture. Our mixer tended to overheat the dough, so we stuck with hand-kneading. Kneading water into a relatively dry dough produced a more satiny texture than adding flour to a wet dough. We knew it was adequately kneaded when a small amount of dough could be stretched until almost translucent. Finally, cool fermentation (putting the shaped loaves in the refrigerator overnight) allowed the loaves to become better hydrated, develop more flavor, and achieve greater volume. Once baked, the flavor of these loaves was incomparable.

See “SHAPING A BAGUETTE” illustrations that follow recipe.

MAKES TWO 15-INCH BAGUETTES

If you don’t have a baking stone, bake the bread on an overturned and preheated rimmed baking sheet set on the lowest oven rack. This recipe will yield baguettes for breakfast; the variation uses altered rising times so that the baguettes are baked in time for dinner. In either case, begin the recipe the day before you intend to serve the bread; the baguettes will emerge from the oven 20 to 24 hours after you start the sponge. Do not add flour while kneading or shaping the dough. The baguettes are best served within 2 hours after baking.

SPONGE

DOUGH

1. FOR THE SPONGE:
Stir flour, water, and yeast together in medium bowl with wooden spoon to form thick batter. Scrape down bowl with rubber spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and punch holes in plastic with paring knife; let stand at room temperature. After 4 or 5 hours, sponge should be almost doubled in size and pitted with tiny bubbles. Let stand at room temperature until surface shows slight depression in center, indicating drop, 2 to 3 hours longer. Sponge now is ready to use.

2. FOR THE DOUGH:
Measure out and reserve 2 tablespoons water. Add remaining water and yeast to sponge and stir briskly with wooden spoon until water is incorporated, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour and continue mixing with wooden spoon until shaggy ball forms. Transfer dough to clean counter and knead by hand, adding drops of water if necessary, until dry bits are absorbed into dough, about 2 minutes. (Dough will feel dry and tough.) Stretch dough into rough 8 by 6-inch rectangle, make indentations in dough with fingertips, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon reserved water, fold edges of dough up toward center to encase water, and pinch edges to seal. Knead dough lightly by hand, about 30 seconds (dough will feel slippery as some water escapes but will become increasingly pliant as water is absorbed).

3.
Begin “crashing” dough by flinging dough vigorously against counter. (This process helps dough absorb water more readily.) Knead and crash dough alternately until soft and supple and surface is almost powdery smooth, about 7 minutes. Stretch dough again into rough 8 by 6-inch rectangle and make indentations with fingertips; sprinkle dough with salt and remaining 1 tablespoon reserved water. Repeat folding and sealing edges and crashing and kneading until dough is once again soft and supple and surface is almost powdery smooth, about 7 minutes. If dough still feels tough and nonpliant, knead in 2 additional teaspoons water.

4.
Determine if dough is adequately kneaded by stretching piece of dough until nearly translucent. If dough tears before stretching thin, knead 5 minutes longer and test again. Gather dough into ball, place in large, lightly greased bowl, and cover with plastic. Let sit for 30 minutes, then remove dough from bowl and knead gently to deflate, about 10 seconds; gather into ball, return to bowl, and replace plastic. Let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1¹⁄
₂
hours.

5.
Gently press down on center of dough to deflate. Transfer dough to counter, divide in half, and loosely cover with plastic. Cup hands stiffly around 1 piece of dough (keep other piece covered) and drag in short half-circular motions toward edge of counter, forming dough into rough torpedo shape with smooth, taut surface, about 6¹⁄
₂
inches long. Repeat with second piece of dough. Cover dough with plastic and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes.

6.
Top inverted rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Press indentation along length of 1 piece of dough with side of outstretched hand. Working along length of dough, press thumb against dough while folding and rolling upper edge of dough down with other hand to enclose thumb. Repeat folding and rolling 4 or 5 times until upper edge meets lower edge and creates seam; press seam to seal. (Dough will have formed cylinder about 12 inches long.) Roll dough cylinder seam side down; gently and evenly roll and stretch dough until it measures 15 inches long by 2¹⁄
₂
inches wide. Place seam side down on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with second piece of dough and place it about 6 inches from first piece on baking sheet. Drape clean kitchen towel over dough and slide baking sheet into large clean garbage bag; seal to close. Refrigerate until dough has risen moderately, at least 12 hours or up to 16 hours.

7.
Remove baking sheet with baguettes from refrigerator and let baguettes stand covered at room temperature for 45 minutes; remove plastic bag and towel to let surface of dough dry, then let stand 15 minutes longer. (Baguettes should have nearly doubled in size and feel springy to touch.)

8.
One hour before baking, adjust oven racks to lower-middle and lowest position, place baking stone on upper rack and second rimmed baking sheet on lower rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Bring 1 cup water to boil on stovetop. Using sharp serrated knife or single-edge razor blade, make five ¹⁄
₄
-inch-deep diagonal slashes on each baguette. Brush baguettes with egg white mixture and mist with water. Working quickly, slide parchment with baguettes onto baking stone, then pour boiling water onto rimmed baking sheet on lower rack and quickly close oven door. Bake until crust is deep golden brown and baguettes register 210 degrees, about 15 minutes, rotating baguettes front to back and side to side after first 10 minutes of baking. Transfer baguettes to wire rack and let cool slightly, about 30 minutes, before slicing and serving.

The altered rising times in this version help get the baguettes on the table at the same time as dinner.

Start sponge at about noon and use 75-degree water; let sponge rise 5 to 6 hours, then refrigerate overnight, 12 to 14 hours. In step 2, make dough using 110-degree water. Continue with recipe to knead, rise, and shape. Place shaped and covered dough in refrigerator until slightly risen, 7 to 10 hours before continuing with recipe in step 7.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

We set out to turn four basic ingredients—flour, water, yeast, and salt—into a chewy, crusty bread that would put supermarket loaves to shame. Bread flour produced a hearty loaf with good height and a thick crust. Starting with a sponge (a pre-fermented dough made the day before) gave the bread wheaty, multidimensional flavors. Resting the dough for 20 minutes before the sponge was added allowed the flour to hydrate, giving us taller, better-shaped loaves with a cleaner flavor. To minimize handling, rather than kneading the dough, we turned it—delicately folding the dough over several times as it rose—and we shaped the loaf quickly and gently so as not to deflate air pockets. When baking, we started with a blast of high heat, then reduced the heat and spritzed the loaf with water to help form a crisp crust. These techniques gave us a rustic Italian bread that was chewy yet tender, crusty but not too tough, and easy enough to make at home.

See “SHAPING RUSTIC ITALIAN BREAD” illustrations that follow recipe.