Baguette for beginners

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 150 g flour, type 812
• 300 g flour, type 550
• 10 g yeast (=1/4 cube)
• 300 ml water, lukewarm
• 1 tsp, heaped salt
• 1 tsp, levelled sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 9 hours; Total time approx. 10 hours

makes 3 loaves, uncomplicated, crispy and airy

First, put the 812 flour in a bowl and mix it with the salt and the yeast dissolved in lukewarm water. Beat the mixture vigorously with a wooden spoon. Then, cover the bowl tightly and let it rise in a cool place for about 6 hours. You can also let it stand longer—for example, put it in the refrigerator in the evening and not use it again until lunchtime. The mixture should have formed a foam—this makes the baguettes nice and fluffy! After the rising time, mix in the 550 flour and the sugar. Knead the mixture into a smooth, soft dough and then let it rise for another 2 hours, this time in a warm place. Divide the baguette dough into 3 pieces, which are then formed into balls. Return these to the bowl, cover with a cloth, and let rise for another 5 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, shape each ball into a long, thin log and place it on a baking sheet that has been lightly floured. I shape them like this: Roll out the dough pieces into an oval shape and then loosely roll them up from the long side. Then stretch them out a little longer and place them seam-down on the baking tray. The loaves then need to rise for another hour at room temperature until they have doubled in thickness. Then I cut the loaves diagonally three times and place them in the preheated oven at 250°C. After about 10 minutes, I turn the oven down to 225°C. The oven walls are sprayed heavily with water, just like the baguettes during baking, at least three times. After about 18 minutes, the baguettes are ready. They have a wonderful, but not too hard, crust and are wonderfully light and airy!