French Baguette

French Baguette is one of my favourite bread. It can be eaten plain as it is, with or without butter, or it can be toasted or baked with any topping you fancy, spread it with butter and garlic, wrapped in aluminium foil and baked it for a delightful garlic bread or just dip it in your favourite soup ! This recipe is so easy to follow. I use my bread machine to do all the kneading! I'm really lazy at kneading. The crust is so deliciously crispy (as it should be!) and the bread is soft inside. Couldn't wait for the bread to cool, sliced one immediately and eat it. Soooooo.... crispy! As breakfast for the kids, I top it with sausages, cheese, tomatoes and bake it for a few minutes. They love it! My son says "Tastes like mini pizza, very nice!". Top it with anything you like, the next time I'm gonna try with tuna, or maybe minced chicken, or maybe ham with sour cream.... the list is endless! Try it, it's a healthy breakfast and an after-school snack. Enjoy!

French Baguette
(adapted from "The World of Bread" by Alex Goh)
Ingredients A
90gm plain flour
360gm bread flour
1-1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3 tsp instant yeast

Ingredient B
250-260ml water

Ingredient C
10gm shortening

Method :

1. Mix A till well blended.
2. Add B and knead to form a dough.
3. Add C and knead to form a smooth and elastic dough.
4. Leave it to rise for 45 minutes.
5. Divide the dough into 3 pieces, mould them into balls and let them rest for 10 minutes.
6. Flatten the dough and make them into stick shapes about 30cm long.
7. Leave them to prove for 30 minutes.
8. Brush them with water and slash the tops with a sharp knife 3 or 4 times.
9. Bake at 220C for 25 minutes.

(my notes : I use butter instead of shortening. I put everything in the bread machine up to end of step 4)

My topping recipe :
2 sausages (the ones with mushroom)
2 red cherry tomatoes
2 yellow cherry tomatoes
2 slices cheddar cheese
some coriander
dash of black pepper

Chop sausages, tomatoes and coriander to small cubes. Cut the cheddar cheese to bigger cubes.
Mix everything together in a bowl with dash of black pepper. Slice the french baguette diagonally and butter on one side. Scoop topping and place on buttered side. Bake in oven (or toaster oven) at 150C for about 3-5 minutes, or until bread is crispy and cheese melts. Enjoy!