French Bread
In every book I’ve written there is a version of French bread, each attempting to close the gap between professional, artisan, and home-baked loaves. This is the best version yet and the closest, I believe, to the breads you will find at your favorite bakery. The key, as in many of these formulas, is the use of a large amount of pre-fermented dough, pâte fermentée. My best previous version required holding the shaped loaves overnight in the refrigerator, a technique that still may be applied to improve many lean, slow-rising breads. But purists object because the technique causes blisters, sometimes called bird’s-eyes, on the crust (due to carbon dioxide trapped just beneath the skin during the cold retarding stage). While I like that look, as do many consumers, it is not the way baguettes look at French boulangeries, nor most bakeshops anywhere. This new method allows you to make a full-flavored French bread, from start to finish in 4 to 5 hours (assuming you have the pâte fermentée made in advance). The pre-fermented dough gives the final dough the qualities of one that has been fermented for 7 to 9 hours, the standard of many professional operations. The crust will have a rich, reddish-gold caramelization rather than the more typical yellow-gold color of younger dough. This richer color is a result of sugars released from the starches during fermentation. The bread also exhibits a sweetness that seems as if it must be from added sugar, but all the sugar in this bread is released from within the flour, broken free of the complex starch molecules by amylase and diastase enzymes during fermentation. As with most hearth breads, another key to the success of this bread is handling it gently, retaining as much gas as possible during shaping in order to promote large, irregular holes in the crumb that, again, release maximum flavor. This large, open crumb is one of the signs of a properly handled artisan loaf.
Recipe information
Yield
makes 3 small baguettes (or experiment with other shapes and sizes)
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Remove the pâte fermentée from the refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough. Cut it into about 10 small pieces with a pastry scraper or serrated knife. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour to take off the chill.
Step 2
Stir together the flours, salt, yeast, and pâte fermentée pieces in a 4-quart bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Add the water, stirring until everything comes together and makes a coarse ball (or mix on low speed for 1 minute with the paddle attachment). Adjust the flour or water, according to need, so that the dough is neither too sticky nor too stiff. (It is better to err on the sticky side, as you can adjust easier by adding more flour during kneading. It is harder to add water once the dough firms up.)
Step 3
Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin to knead (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook). Knead for about 10 minutes (6 minutes by machine), or until the dough is soft and pliable, tacky but not sticky, and all the pre-ferment is evenly distributed. The dough should pass the windowpane test (page 58) and register 77° to 81°F. If the dough seems properly developed but is still cooler than 77°F, you can knead a few minutes longer to raise the temperature or simply allow a lengthier first rise. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Step 4
Ferment at room temperature for 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size. If the dough doubles in size before 2 hours have elapsed, knead it lightly to degas and let it rise again, covered, until it doubles from the original size.
Step 5
Gently remove the dough from the bowl and transfer it to a lightly floured counter. For baguettes, cut the dough into 3 equal pieces with a pastry scraper or serrated knife. Again, take care to degas the dough as little as possible. Form the pieces into baguettes, as shown on page 74 (or whatever shape you prefer). Prepare them for proofing, using either the couche technique or parchment.
Step 6
Proof at room temperature for 45 to 75 minutes, or until the loaves have grown to about 1 1/2 times their original size. They should be slightly springy when poked with a finger.
Step 7
Prepare the oven for hearth baking as described on pages 91–94, making sure to have an empty steam pan in place. Preheat the oven to 500°F. Score the baguettes as shown on page 90.
Step 8
Generously dust a peel or the back of a sheet pan with semolina flour or cornmeal and very gently transfer the baguettes to the peel or pan. Transfer the baguettes to the baking stone (or bake directly on the sheet pan). Pour 1 cup hot water into the steam pan and close the oven door. After 30 seconds, spray the oven walls with water and close the door. Repeat twice more at 30-second intervals. After the final spray, lower the oven setting to 450°F and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the loaves 180 degrees, if necessary, for even baking and continue baking until the loaves are a rich golden brown and register at least 205°F at their center. This can take anywhere from 10 to 20 additional minutes, depending on your oven and how thin your baguettes are. If they seem to be getting too dark but are not hot enough internally, lower the oven setting to 350°F (or turn it off) and continue baking for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
Step 9
Remove the loaves from the oven and cool on a rack for at least 40 minutes before slicing or serving.
BREAD PROFILE
Step 10
Lean, standard dough; indirect method; commercial yeast
DAYS TO MAKE: 2
Step 11
Day 1: 1 1/4 hours pâte fermentée
Step 12
Day 2: 1 hour to de-chill pâte fermentée; 10 to 15 minutes mixing; 3 to 3 1/2 hours fermentation, shaping, and proofing; 20 to 40 minutes baking
Commentary
Step 13
You can use only bread flour or only all-purpose flour if you choose, but I find a 50-50 blend results in a bread that has plenty of structure but is still tender, with a nice crackle to the crust.
Step 14
Look carefully and you will notice that the amount of pre-fermented dough is equal to the amount of new dough. In other words, make the recipe once, hold it overnight to develop flavor and sugar breakout, and then make it again using the first dough as the pre-ferment. This means that the pre-ferment represents 160 percent of the formula in the baker’s math system, a very large amount since most bakeries rarely use more than 50 percent pre-ferment. But this is the key to making a bakery-quality baguette at home, as you will see.
Step 15
If your flour is organic and does not contain malted barley flour, you should add 1 teaspoon of diastatic barley malt powder to the flour blend. This malt powder will accelerate enzyme activity in the dough, resulting in a more colorful crust. You can purchase it through King Arthur Flour (see Resources, page 287).
BAKER’S PERCENTAGE FORMULA
Step 16
French Bread %
Step 17
Pâte fermentée: 160%
Step 18
All-purpose flour: 50%
Step 19
Bread flour: 50%
Step 20
Salt: 1.9%
Step 21
Instant yeast: .55%
Step 22
Water (approx.): 65%
Step 23
Total: 327.5%
