Baguettes (Thermomix)

Deborah

A favourite in our house...they're great on their own, as a sandwich or as a side to soup, pasta and rice dishes.

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 20

Proving Time 2 35

Total Time 3 25

Course Side Dish

Cuisine French

Servings 30 slices

Place the water and yeast in the mixing bowl then warm 2 minutes/37C/speed 2. Meanwhile, lightly grease a large bowl.
Add the flour and salt then knead 2 minutes. Transfer the dough to the prepared bowl, cover with cling film or a damp tea towel and leave to rest until doubled in size (approx. 1.5 hours).
On a lightly floured surface, use a large knife to separate the dough into 3 equal-sized pieces. Gently flatten and roll each piece loosely into a log shape and set aside on a lightly floured surface. Dust the rolls lightly with flour, cover with cling film or a damp tea towel and leave to rest for 20 minutes.
Gently flatten each piece of dough again into a rectangle, taking care to preserve air bubbles trapped within. Roll the dough again into a log shape. Pinch seam of each roll with fingers to seal. Elongate each roll into a baguette shape, rolling back and forth exerting gentle pressure from the middle of the baguette to its ends. Place the baguettes, seam side down, on baking paper, pulling up the paper between the baguettes to create a low divider. This will help the baguettes to hold their shape and prevent them from sticking to each other as they rise. Cover the baguettes loosely with cling film or a damp tea towel and leave to prove for a further 45 minutes.

Towards the end of rising time, place 2 baking trays (approx. 40cm x 35cm) in the lower part of the oven, one tray on the lowest shelf, the other on the shelf above. Preheat oven to 250C.
Prepare approx. 100g very hot water in a cup. Slash the baguettes with a very sharp knife, making three overlapping slashes along the length of each. Slide the baguettes, together with baking paper, onto the top of the preheated tray. Quickly but carefully splash the hot water onto the lower baking tray to create steam (see Cookidoo Tips) and immediately close the oven door to trap the steam. Bake for 20 minutes (250C) or until dark golden brown. If the baguettes seem quite brown before the end of the baking time, reduce the oven temperature to 230C. Leave to cool for 20 minutes before slicing.

Take note of the instruction at step 6 to reduce the temperature, if the baguettes are becoming too brown. We'd suggest baking for 10 minutes at the higher temperature and then reducing it for the remaining 10 minutes.
After making these baguettes a few times, baking them on baking paper on a heated baking tray as per the instructions, we did a search on Amazon for a baguette baking tray...and such a thing does exist! At step 4, the rolled out baguettes go directly on to the tray (it doesn't need to be preheated), covered with oiled cling film or a damp tea towel and left to prove for 45 minutes. The tray with the baguettes on it then goes into the oven for baking as per step 6.

Cookidoo Tips

To test if the baguettes are ready to bake, gently press the dough with your fingertip. The indentation left by your finger should slowly disappear. If the dough springs up quickly then it has not risen sufficiently. If the indentation remains, the dough has over-proved. The baguettes won’t rise as much in the oven but they will still taste good.
Creating the burst of steam at the beginning of baking gives the baguettes their crisp, golden crust. Be very careful not to splash yourself or any glass elements in your oven. You may omit the steam if desired.
Baguettes develop more flavour if you chill the dough overnight in the fridge. After the dough has risen in step 2, gently fold dough over itself to deflate it, cover the bowl with cling film and store in the fridge. The next day, proceed with step 3 as directed in the recipe. The baguettes may need 10 to 20 minutes longer to rise in step 4 before baking.

Recipe on UK Cookidoo