The Last Word In Baguettes

Total Time: 3 hrs Preparation Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups bread flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon yeast
• 3/4 cup water

Recipe

• 1 combine the sugar, yeast and tepid but not quite warm water.
• 2 let stand for 10 minutes if the yeast is of dubious condition, otherwise proceed.
• 3 mix the dry ingredients and oil in a large bowl, add the water mixture, and stir until a ball is formed that pulls away from the side of the bowl (add flour if needed to make this happen).
• 4 sprinkle a bit of flour over the ball, a bit more flour over a board, and knead the ball for 7 minutes adding sprinkles of flour as needed to keep the ball from sticking.
• 5 lightly oil the bowl and return the ball to it, cover it with a towel and allow to rise for 90 minutes. the ball will more than double.
• 6 punch down the ball, and press it into a lightly-floured board into a roughly 7" by 18" rectangle.
• 7 fold the right and the left 1/3 of the rectangle inward, and press the seam together, and then flip the entire loaf over.
• 8 let rise for 60 minutes, while preheating the oven at 425 with a baking dish sitting in the bottom and a baking stone sitting on a rack.
• 9 with a sharp knife, make 3-4 slices diagonally across the top of the loaf.
• 10 retrieve the baking stone, transfer the loaf to it, and return the stone to a middle position in the oven.
• 11 turn the oven temperature down to 375.
• 12 for each of the first 4 minutes, pour a dash of water into the baking dish to make steam.
• 13 after 29-30 minutes the loaf should be medium brown across the top and sound hollow when tapped.