Hey y'all!
This past holiday season, I decided to attempt making baguettes for the first time! Growing up, my mom was very passionate about homemade bread and always did her best to make us bread to take in our lunches instead of store bought. I helped her a few times over the years, but never really attempted it on my own. For Christmas, my husband and I decided to start a new tradition since this was our first married Christmas. We discussed adding one dish each to the table for our family dinner on Christmas Day. My parents loved the idea and encouraged it.
So, I first attempted to make Italian bread. Although it tasted amazing, it just wasn't what I was searching for. My husband decided to bring a homemade Cajun Chicken salad as his dish and I decided on a homemade charcuterie board to eat throughout the day since we always have a ton of food on the table for dinner. Originally, I wasn't going to add bread to the board at all, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. The Italian bread was delicious as I stated before but the loaf itself was too large. I was looking for smaller slices so the bread wasn't taking up a majority of the board. That's when it clicked...BAGUETTES!
I searched Pinterest for about fifteen minutes, saving tons of recipes in my search. I finally landed on a baguette recipe from https://oldcutkitchen.com/2018/12/08/french-baguettes/ that turned out amazing and exactly what I had been searching for! (If you'd like to give it a try yourself, you can find the recipe on the website above!)
The recipe itself was straightfoward and extremely easy to follow, even if you're a beginner bread maker like myself. I did have one issue, but that was on my end. Our house has a horrible draft in practically every room, so overall, the house is fairly chilly in the winter months. Now, if you know the basics about bread, it needs a warm area to sit in so it can rise before being shaped and baked. My mother has always placed the dough in a bowl, covered with a tea towel, and placed it on one of the burners of our stove while it was heating up. She has never had an issue with it and it helps the dough rise within an hour.
I attempted the same thing and it began to bake the bottom of the dough! I immediately removed it from the burner and kept it on the counter for the last half hour. It eventually doubled in size and I was able to cut the ball of dough into four sections. I then shaped each 1/4 into a long, thin loaf of bread and placed two on each baking sheet. Unfortunately, we only have one rubber mat at the moment. Therefore, I had two loaves on the mat and two loaves were placed on a lightly oiled baking sheet instead. I baked them and waited (very impatiently) for the bread to be finished. Within fifteen minutes, it was ready to be pulled out of the oven.
First impressions: I was extremely ecstatic that it wasn't burned on the bottom and there was a beautiful golden tinge all around the bread. Then, I cut into the bread. I was beyong excited that it was baked thouroghly! When I made the Italian bread, it didn't bake all the way through and was beginning to burn on the bottom, so I was a little upset that I hadn't quite nailed that recipe. So, needless to say, I was proud of myself for nailing this bread on the first try. My only complaint, is that I would've preferred the crusy to be just a little be darker to make it slightly crispier but that can be perfected by extended the bake time by a few short minutes.
In conclusion, I found the prefect baguette recipe even for a beginner bread maker like myself and my family devoured it within minutes. Another plus, this recipe makes 4 loaves in total which was a bonus since they loved it so much, I was able to have extra on hand. My brother has now requested that I gift him 4 loaves of baguettes for his birthday this year instead of buying him anything. So, if you're looking for a great baguette recipe to try, check out the website above and give it a go! I highly doubt you'll be disappointed when the flavour touches your taste buds!
See y'all later!
- B-Raditude
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