French Baguette
 
 
Make 2 baguettes
Ingredients
  • 1½ cups lukewarm water
  • 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
  • 3¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 3 teaspoons sea salt
  • 4-5 ice cubes
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, whisk together water and yeast; let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
  2. Add flour and stir to combine; let dough sit to allow flour to hydrate, about 20 minutes.
  3. Add salt to dough and transfer to a lightly floured work surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Shape dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let it rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  4. After the dough has doubled in size, transfer it to a lightly floured work surface and shape into an 8"x6" rectangle. Fold the 8" sides toward the middle; then fold the shorter sides toward the middle. Return dough, seam side down, to the bowl, cover and let it rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  5. After the dough has doubled in size, transfer it to a lightly floured work surface and cut it into two equal pieces. Shape each piece into a 16" log. Place logs in the wells of a baguette pan, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let them rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  6. Place a large shallow pan on the bottom rack of your oven and position another rack above it. Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
  7. After the loaves have doubled in size, uncover and, with a sharp knife, slash the top of each baguette at an angle in four spots.
  8. Once oven is preheated, toss 4-5 ice cubes into the shallow pan on the bottom rack and slide baguette pan onto rack above it. Bake baguettes until dark brown and crisp, 20-30 minutes. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
Recipe by Two of a Kind at http://www.twoofakindcooks.com/french-baguette/