Makes approx 20 oz loaf of bread
Chewy texture, nutty flavor, and deep dark browned crust. This is my go-to bread for making French Onion Soup toasts, but it is oh-so-good with just butter, too!
Instead of taking days to make a preferment to develop flavor, this loaf is done in about 2 1/2 hours from start to finish. The flavor and crumb is incredible considering the short fermentation process. This bread's nutty flavor is derived from the 10% use of whole wheat flour. The chewy texture, that usually takes time to develop, is quickened by the use of wheat gluten powder, which will increase the total percentage of protein.
IMPORTANT TIP:
This is considered a high-hydration bread. This means the total amount of water is greater than 70% of the total weight of the flour. It is best to use an electric mixer to knead breads that contain high amounts of water to avoid adding too much flour. If you decide to knead the bread by hand, knead it in a bowl with a dough scraper to avoid the dough sticking to your fingers.
Quick(ish) French Country Baguette
7 3/4 oz water, room temperature
1/3 oz active dry yeast
9 oz bread flour
1 oz whole wheat flour
1/4 oz vital wheat gluten powder
1/3 oz salt
1/3 oz vegetable or light olive oil
0.1 oz granulated or cane sugar
Directions:
In an electric mixing bowl, dissolve yeast and water together. Layer the remaining ingredients on top of each other.
Using the dough hook, turn mixer on low-speed, until the all the flour is no longer dry. Turn mixer on medium to knead for a total of 8 - 10 minutes, until dough is elastic and smooth.
Form dough into a round, and place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a damp hot kitchen towel to double in size, about 40 minutes - 120 minutes. (colder kitchen will take longer, hotter kitchen it will take shorter)
DO NOT PUNCH DOUGH DOWN. CAREFULLY, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Fold top and bottom end into the center of the dough. Cover with towel, and rest for 5 minutes to allow gluten to relax. Repeat again, by folding top and bottom end into the center. Dough should be in a rectangle at this point. Take the long ends of the dough, CAREFULLY stretch dough into a 14" baguette. Dough should be relaxed to get it to stretch, if dough snaps and shrinks, cover and let rest for another 5 minutes to relax the gluten.
Place shaped baguette on a non-greased sheet pan. Cover with a DRY kitchen towel and allow to double in size, about 40 minutes - 120 minutes.
While dough is rising, preheat oven to 500F degrees, place one rack in the lowest position and one rack in second from lowest position in the oven.
When oven is preheated, place a pan filled with at least 1 1/2 " of hot water on the lowest oven rack.
Bake the bread on the other oven rack until a deep dark crust is formed, about 15 - 20 minutes. If still bread needs longer to bake, reduce the temperature to 400F degrees. Bread should register 195F - 205F degrees on an instant read thermometer. Allow to cool for a minimum of 20 minutes before slicing and serving.
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