They say breaking bread is one of the few sacred traditions left in modern society. I tend to agree. Baking your own bread is very fulfilling and can be enjoyed anytime of the day.
Basic Ingredients for Baguette
- 2 cups of plain flour
- 1 teaspoon of salt (Himalayan or pink salt)
- 1 teaspoon of caster sugar
- 1 satchet of dry yeast (7 grams)
- 1 cup of warm water
Method
- Sift flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add yeast and sugar and mix. Make a well in the centre and add the water and stir to form a soft dough. Turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead until its a smooth and elastic. Put dough in a large, lightly oiled mixing bowl, cover and stand in a warm place for one hour or until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Punch down dough (this is a fun step, but also important one to ensure all the carbon dioxide is released from the dough). Knead for about 2 minutes. Roll out dough to 30 x 20 cm and roll up tightly, tapering ends.
- If you want to flavour your bread with toppings such as feta and sundried tomato, olives, capsicum or anything your heart desires, before you roll up the dough add your ingredients. Not too much as this will ruin your bread but trial and error is a good way to experiment.
- Put on prepared tray, lightly flour with dust, and using a sharp knife, slash lengthways down the centre. Allow to rise for an additional 30 minutes or until doubled in size. Sprinkle with water.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until crisp and pale golden. Cool on rack before slicing...
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