Although this blog is devoted to jams, we felt that it was important to include one post about the most common vehicle of jam – bread. Mike is an expert baguette maker, so here is his recipe:
People eat bread all the time, but very few ever spend time to make it themselves— and there’s nothing better than heaping homemade jam atop a slide of homemade bread.
Below we provide an extremely simple recipe for homemade baguettes adapted from The Professional Chef (the textbook used at the Culinary Institute of America).
Ingredients:
2.5 lbs bread flower
1/3 ounce of instant rise yeast
1 tablespoon of salt
800 ml of warm water
Maldon salt for finishing (optional)
NB: If you don’t own a digital scale, it’s really worth getting one. For recipes that require precise measurements (like measuring out 2.5 lbs of bread) it’s worth spending twenty-bucks and investing in a cheap scale; your recipes will improve, and your guests will thank you. You can get them for cheap on Amazon.
Preparation:
Measure the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and yeast) and whisk together in a large mixing bowl. Once evenly incorporated, move the dry ingredients to a kitchen aid stand mixer and add a small amount of the water. Set the mixer to its lowest setting and slowly add the rest of the water. Let the dough mix for about 2-3 minutes on the lowest setting, then increase the speed to medium and mix for 2-3 more minutes. The dough should be smooth and shiny and sticking to the sides of the bowl.
The next step is to let your dough rise. Flour the insides of a large mixing bowl, and then transfer the dough into the bowl with a spatula. Cover the bowl with a large kitchen towel and let rest in a warm part of your kitchen for 30 minutes. (If you have a gas range in your kitchen, a nice trick is to pre-heat your oven to about 250 degrees then place the bowl on top of an unlit burner.) After about 30 minutes, remove the dishtowel and deflate the dough by gently kneading the mixture for a few seconds. (At this stage you may want to add a light layer of flour on top of the dough to help with the tempering.) Place the dishtowel back on top of the bowl, then let the dough rest for another 30 minutes.
Pre-heat your oven to 475 F, and place two racks near the center of your oven.
After the dough has risen for at least an hour, split the dough into 4 equal pieces. Gently dust the dough with flour, and roll each portion of dough into smooth, even cylinders; they should each be about a foot long and two inches in diameter. Place two of these loaves on one baking sheet and the remaining two on another.
If you want to add a design to your bread, you can make a nice diagonal pattern by scoring the surface of each loaf with a sharp knife.
Season each of the loves with a nice finishing salt (e.g., Maldon, fleur de sel).
Bake the loaves for 23–25 minutes.
Yields: 4 loaves (approximately 16 inches in length)
