French Bread (Pain Ordinaire)

I love eating baguettes. Usually I would grab one or two when I do my grocery shopping at Tesco, as it was really cheap, at RM1.99 each. Those baguettes would usually end up as toasted garlic bread for the kids breakfast during the school week. 

The last time that I've made baguette was years ago. There are quite a number of recipes for baguettes from my cookbooks collection, and I've chosen this simple one first, hopefully will be trying out the others in due time.

Original instructions from the recipe below gave the option of either using the stand mixer to knead the dough or knead manually by hand. I have however, used the bread machine instead.

Place the ingredients in the bread machine pan (refer to my notes below). Select Quick Dough cycle. Press Start. This cycle does the kneading for 6 minutes. At the end of the cycle, press Start again, and repeat one more time. In total, the bread machine has done 18 minutes of kneading. Adjust accordingly to the condition of the dough, check to see if it requires to be kneaded longer.  Remove the dough , shape into a round and place in a greased bowl, turning it over once so the oiled side is at the top. Cover with greased plastic wrap and leave to rise until tripled in bulk. Proceed with step 5 as per the recipe below.

The baguette pan, which I bought almost two years ago and have never used it before! (smiling sheepishly!). I sprayed the pan with some oil and left the dough to rise (the second rising) on the pan, covered with greased plastic wrap until doubled in size. Make some scores on the risen dough. Recipe calls for the baguettes to be glazed with some egg wash, I have glazed one baguette (the top one) and leave the other unglazed, just wanted to see the difference after baking. Place the whole pan with the dough into the oven for baking, easy, peasy!

For the baking of these baguettes, I have preheated the oven with a roasting tray at the most bottom rack, and as soon as the dough was placed in the oven, I added about 1 cup of ice cubes into the roasting tray, and immediately close the oven door. The steam will make a crispy crust during baking.

The baked baguettes.

Which do you think looks better, the glazed one (left baguette) looks very nice and crusty with a golden brown crust while the unglazed baguette looks more natural and rustic.

These baguettes have a crusty crispy crust and soft bread texture. Very nice!  Especially good when eaten warm.

We ate these baguettes with some meat stew! Delicious!

Note : my changes in blue for making 2 baguettes and please refer to my notes at the bottom for my adaptation of kneading the dough in the bread machine.

Pain Ordinaire (French Bread)
(adapted from "The Bread Bible", Beth Hensperger)
Makes 3 long baguettes or round loaves
2 cups warm water (105 to 115F) (330 ml)
1-1/2 tablespoons (1-1/2 packages) active dry yeast (1 tbsp)
1 tablespoon sugar (2/3 tablespoons)
3 cups bread flour (2 cups)
1 tablespoon salt (scant 2 teaspoons)
about 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (I use 2 cups bread flour)
cornmeal, for sprinkling
1 large egg beaten with 2 teaspoons water, for glazing

1. In a large bowl using a whisk or in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with a paddle attachment; pour in the warm water and sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the surface of the water. Stir until combined. Let stand at room temperature until dissolved and foamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Add 2 cups of the bread flour and the salt. Beat hard until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining 1 cup bread flour and most of the all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a shaggy dough that clears the sides of the bowl is formed.
3. If kneading by hand, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until soft, silky, and resilient, 5 to 8 minutes, dusting with flour only 1 tablespoon at a time as needed to prevent sticking. The dough should not be sticky. If kneading by machine, switch to the dough hook and knead for 1 to 3 minutes, or until dough is smooth and springy.
4. Place the dough in a lightly greased deep bowl. Turn once to coat the top and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a cool area until tripled in bulk, 1-1/2 to 2 hours. If you have time, punch down the dough and allow it to rise again for about 1 hour. The dough may also rise in the refrigerator overnight.
5. Gently deflate the dough. Turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Grease or parchment-line a baking sheet and sprinkle with cornmeal. Divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Knead in more flour now if the dough seems sticky. Shape the portions into tight round balls for boules. Or flatten each portion into a rectangle for baguettes. Roll each rectangle up tightly with your thumbs to form a long sausage shape ; roll back and forth with your palms to adjust the length. Place the loaves 4 inches apart on the baking sheet.
6. Quick method : Directly after forming the loaves, slash the tops diagonally no deeper than 1/4 inch and brush the entire surface with the glaze. Place in a cold oven on the middle or lower rack. Turn the oven thermostat to 400F and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until crusty and the loaves sound hollow when tapped with your finger. Eat immediately or transfer the loaves to a cooling rack.
7. Standard method : Preheat a baking stone at 450F for at least 20 minutes, if using ; otherwise, preheat the oven to 400F. Cover the loaves loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until puffy and doubled, about 30 to 40 minutes. Slash the tops of the loaves diagonally no more than 1/4 inch deep and brush the entire surface with the glaze. Spray a mist of water into the oven, or throw a few ice cubes onto a gas oven floor to crisp the crust, if desired. Turn the oven thermostat to 400F if using a stone and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until crusty and the loaves sound hollow when tapped with your finger. Eat immediately or transfer the loaves to cooling rack.

Kitchen Flavours notes:

To knead the dough using the bread machine

Place water in the bread pan, add flour (all 4 cups). Place salt in one corner, sugar in another corner and make an indentation in the center of the flour. Add the instant yeast in the indentation. Select Basic Dough. Bread machine will knead for 6 minutes. Press Start again, and repeat one more time, in total, 18 minutes of kneading. Remove dough, shape into a round, place in an oiled deep bowl, turn over to coat, cover with greased cling wrap and leave to rise until tripled in bulk. Proceed with the recipe as step 5 above.
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