My Go at a Quick Baguette
Right then, fancied giving one of those ‘quick easy baguette uk’ recipes a bash today. Seen a few knocking about online, promising decent bread without hanging around all day. Sounded alright to me, less faff.
First up, got the bits together. Nothing fancy:
- Strong bread flour
- One of those fast-action yeast sachets
- Bit of salt
- Warm water
Chuckled the flour, yeast, and salt into a big bowl. Gave it a quick mix with my hand, just to get it combined, you know. Then started adding the warm water, bit by bit, mixing it in with a wooden spoon first ’til it got too stiff.
Then, tipped the whole lot out onto the counter. Didn’t bother dusting too much flour everywhere, just enough so it wouldn’t stick like mad. Kneaded it for maybe 5, 10 minutes? Wasn’t really timing, just worked it until it felt a bit smoother and springy. The recipe said ‘quick’, so I wasn’t going to spend ages on it.
Put the dough back in the bowl, covered it with a tea towel, and stuck it somewhere reasonably warm. The instructions said about an hour’s rise, maybe less if the room was warm. Way faster than some recipes I’ve seen. Checked it after about 45 minutes, it had definitely puffed up a decent amount. Good enough for me.
Knocked the air out of it gently, then divided the dough in two. Tried my best to roll and stretch them out into something resembling baguette shapes. Bit stubbier than the shop ones, maybe, but they had the general idea. Plonked them onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.
Got the oven heating up really hot. While it was doing that, I covered the dough shapes again with the tea towel for a final quick rest, maybe 15-20 minutes. Just before they went in, I slashed the tops a few times with a sharp knife – supposed to help them expand nicely.
Baking time. Put the tray in the hot oven. Some recipes say chuck water in for steam, so I put a small metal tray on the bottom shelf and carefully poured a cup of water into it just as I shut the door. Made a satisfying hiss.
Baked them for about 20-25 minutes. Kept an eye on them. They browned up nicely and sounded hollow when I tapped the bottom, which is usually a good sign.
Got them out and onto a wire rack to cool down. The crust looked pretty decent, quite crisp actually. Smelled like proper bread too.
Have to say, for a ‘quick and easy’ job, they weren’t half bad. Cut one open after about half an hour – still warm. Texture inside was softer than a ‘proper’ artisan one, not as many big holes, but perfectly fine for sandwiches or with some soup. Tasted good. Definitely quicker than other breads I’ve tried making. Yeah, quite pleased with that little experiment. Did the job.
