Authentic Crusty French Baguette (with poolish)

• servings: 3 servings
• active time: 3 hours
• total time: 19 hours 25 minutes

Ingredients

150 g all-purpose flour

150 g water (room temperature)

0.15 g instant yeast

350 g all-purpose flour

230 g water

3 g instant yeast

10 g salt

poolish

Directions

Poolish

In a clean jar or bowl, add flour, water and yeast, mixing it well with a spoon until a shaggy dough is formed.

Cover, and let it ferment for 12 to 16 hours.

Poolish is ready when it stops to rise and starts to collapse. If in a bowl, you will notice a slight dip in the middle of it.

Making the dough

Start the dough the day after, as soon as poolish is ready. In a large bowl, add flour, water, yeast, salt and the poolish. Mix it with a spoon or using your hands until a shaggy dough is formed. Let it rest for 30 minutes, covered.

This dough is sticky in the beginning, but it gets easier to work with as it “matures”. After 30 minutes, we’ll start to stretch and fold.

To stretch and fold, start by pulling up on one side of the dough, folding it back down on itself. Repeat it 4 to 6 times, equally through all the sides of the dough, until it is tight enough you can't stretch and fold anymore.

We’re stretching and folding the dough 4 times, with a 20 minute pause between each. Keep the dough covered between each interval.

After the last stretch and fold, cover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Shaping

Divide dough into 3 equal parts. Cover, letting them rest for 10 minutes to make shaping the baguettes easier.

On a lightly floured surface, open one part of the dough into a rectangle. Starting with the longer side, fold over ⅓ of the dough, pressing gently to seal. Repeat on the other side.

Now, fold the dough in half, pressing the edges gently to seal. You should have a cylinder-like shaped dough.

Stretch the cylinder to the desired length, rolling it gently with both hands.

Place baguette in the floured linen or baguette pan with seam side down. Cover, and let them rest for 40 minutes. They should almost double after that time.

Just before baking, using a sharp blade, slice diagonally the top. For baguettes, depending on their size, three to five slices are enough.

Baking

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit, placing a baking sheet in the bottom rack.

After placing baguettes on the middle rack of preheated oven, add about 1 cup of water to the baking sheet at the bottom rack and close the oven’s door.

Bake baguettes for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bake for 10 minutes more. Baguettes are ready when the interior temperature is 190 degrees Fahrenheit, or the crust gets to a deep golden brown color.

Let them cool for 1 to 2 hours before slicing.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 baguette
• Calories: 612 kcal
• Total Fat: 2 g
• Saturated Fat: 0.3 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 1.2 g
• Sodium: 1302 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 128 g
• Dietary Fiber: 5 g
• Total Sugars: 0.4 g
• Protein: 18 g