There was a time not so long ago that a party or brunch wasn’t complete without Bruschetta or some variety of French hors d’oeuvres on a piece of diagonally-sliced Baguette bread. That ‘fashion’ has waned. But the Baguette remains an all-time classic!
… And you can whip up as many as you need in a proverbial jiffy, simply and without kneading. You still have to let the dough rise. But you can probably get the rest of your meal prepped and cooked-off while that’s happening, off in a warm, peaceful corner of your busy kitchen…
A staring place…
The recipe we’re cribbing from today is a great starting place for some experimentation with other formats and styles of breads you can make – without kneading, and with minimum fuss.
Once you’ve tried it, I’m confident you’ll get back into the ‘baguette’ habit. And come up with new and tasty ways to use this convenient, crusty loaf!
You already have everything you need…
- 3 cups / 750 ml flour
- 1 tsp. / 5 ml salt
- 0.3 oz. / 85 g fresh yeast
- 1.25 cups / 295 ml warm water>
Don’t blink, or you’ll miss the ingredients list!
The 4 ingredients listed above are truly all you need. But DO take note of the following tips for guar-anteed best results…
Tips…
DO make sure you use fresh yeast! This is essential for both the texture and flavour of your baguet-tes. But if you don’t mind sacrificing a little ‘character’, you can ‘bloom’ two packets of instant dry yeast in the warm water before adding it to the dry ingredients.
DO allow the full 90 minutes rising time in a warm place, covered with a damp tea-towel. Also…
Make sure the tops of the loaves DO NOT dry out, or your crusts will be compromised.
DO make sure you include a pan or other oven-safe dish of water in the oven to get the best, most authentic crust on your finished bread.
DO use a proper baguette tray (like the ones they use at Subway when baking their fresh long rolls). You can get them at any restaurant equipment store as well as many department stores.
DO make sure you have some genuine parchment paper on hand to line your tray(s).
My take
These baguettes are as easy as mixing up a batch of classic English dumplings to plop on top of an impromptu stew. And they’ll get you top marks for (perceived) effort from your ‘audience’!
They’re ideal to top your next batch of French Onion Soup, or show-off beside your next Italian main.
Perhaps the most important tip I can pass on… Be sure to enjoy these baguettes as son as possible after baking, while still warm!
~ Maggie J.