Aug 23
2009

ALMOST No-Knead Baguettes

in Uncategorized

“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.” – James Beard

Freshly made bread is one of my favorite things on the planet. Not only is the smell intoxicating, but that first bite can make me swoon. I bake bread constantly–it’s much cheaper to make than to buy, it tastes much better than 99% of the store bought versions, and I love the process of coaxing yeast, flour, water, and salt to work together into a variety of finished products.

One of those finished products that come from combining those four ingredients together is the French baguette. I’ve tried a variety of baguette recipes, and although many of them were delicious, they just weren’t quite right. Ernest Hemingway was on to something when he wrote, “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man (or in my case, young woman), then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a movable feast.” After having lived in Paris, Paris is constantly with me, even if it’s just a faint nagging presence in the back of my mind. However, when it comes to baguettes, Paris takes a definite “front and center” type of presence–French baguettes are the standard against which I measure all other baguettes. I ate an uncountable number of baguettes during my time in Paris. It was part of my first meal when I arrived, and part of every subsequent meal thereafter. My host mom would go every morning to the bakery around the corner to pick up fresh baguettes for that day’s consumption. When she returned home she would slip them into a special drawer under the counter that was tall–the perfect height to slide baguettes into for safe keeping. By the end of the day there was usually just enough leftover so that we could have toast for breakfast the next morning. If I happened to be in the area, I would often stop at Poilâne, one of my favorite bakeries, and pick up a baguette to eat with slices of tomato and a wedge of cheese. The French baguette is long with a very crisp and crackly golden brown crust crust and a soft airy, slightly chewy interior. In short–HEAVEN.

Back in March I finally got around to making the No-Knead Bread made famous by an article in the New York Times and fell in love with the flavor that the process lent to the finished bread. So when
I saw King Arthur Flour had posted a new recipe called “The Almost No-Knead Baguette,” I knew that I had to try it out. I found this recipe even easier to execute than the NYT No-Knead Bread recipe and the dough was easier (firmer and not as wet) to work with. The dry ingredients are added to the water and then stirred together, mixed, and then kneaded gently for a few minutes and then set aside to raise at room temperature for two hours. Then you stick the whole bowl of dough in the refrigerator overnight (or up to 7 days!).

When you are ready, you pull out however much dough you want to bake, shape it into an oval and let it rest. Then you shape it into a baguette, let it rise again and then cook it in the oven!

About halfway into the heating time you start to smell the aroma that lets you know you are on the right path, and then after approximately 25 to 30 minutes, out pops…

baguettes! My baguettes may not have completely met the standards set by French law*, but I didn’t care. They were wonderful. They had a wonderful crackly golden crust and a soft chewy interior with all sorts of wonderful air holes (fabulous for soaking up soft butter or Nutella). I halved the recipe because our refrigerator happened to be a bit full and I did have room for a container large enough to hold a full recipe of dough (FOUR baguettes worth!). This resulted in 2 large baguettes. I think I personally ate almost half of one of the baguettes all by my lonesome–cutting off thick slices and slathering them in butter.
If you are scared of yeast, this recipe is for you. It is so easy, doesn’t require any special equipment, and yields such beautiful results that you now have no excuse not to break out the yeast and make some bread. Even if you’re a seasoned bread baker, it would be a shame for you not to try this recipe (or any of the King Arthur Flour recipes for that matter–I have yet to try one and have it not be absolutely fabulous).

Almost No-Knead Baguettes
Adapted from King Arthur Flour recipe
Makes 2 large baguettes

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
4 cups all-purpose flour (I LOVE King Arthur’s All-Purpose Flour)**
1 1/2 tsp. table salt
1 1/2 tsp. instant yeast (I used SAF Instant Yeast)

1) Find a large bowl (I used the mixing bowl from my Kitchenaid mixer) for dough storage in the fridge. Lightly grease the bowl.

2) Place the water directly into the bowl.

3) Add the dry ingredients to the water, and stir to combine. Mix until there are no dry spots; the texture of the dough should be fairly soft.

4) Knead the dough gently for a few minutes, by hand; it will be very sticky. Or knead for 1 or 2 minutes in a stand mixer. Cover the container, and let the dough rest at room temperature for 2 hours.

5) Refrigerate overnight, or for up to 7 days.

6) To bake bread: Scoop out dough and place on a greased work surface. (You could also choose to scoop out half and leave the other half in the refrigerator to bake at another time.)

7) Divide dough into two equal pieces and shape into two rough, slightly flattened ovals. Cover with greased plastic wrap, and let rest for 15 minutes.

8) Fold the pieces of dough in half lengthwise, and seal the edges with the heel of your hand. Flatten slightly, and fold lengthwise and seal again.

9) With the seam side down, cup your fingers and gently roll the dough into a 15″ log.

10) Place the log seam-side down onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, or into the well of a baguette pan.

11) Cover and allow the baguette to rise until it is very puffy, about 1 1/2 hours. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

12) Slash the baguette three or four times on the diagonal with a sharp knife.

13) Spritz the baguette heavily with warm water***, and bake until a very deep golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a rack.

*
According to French law, the standards for a baguette specify that the bread must be 70 cm long (27 1/2 inches), weigh between 250 and 300 grams (about 9 to 10 ounces) and contain additive-free wheat flour, water and salt.
** No, I don’t work for King Arthur Flour, nor am I getting paid to say nice things about them, I just love them to pieces! (But hey, King Arthur Flour, if you’re reading this and you need a long-distance intern…)
*** I keep a water bottle under my kitchen sink for this purpose. You can usually find small ones for around a dollar in the travel toiletries section in stores like Target or Walmart.

-For a wonderful play-by-play of the recipe, see King Arthur Flour’s blog entry for this recipe.

* Added Note: Imagine my surprise when my friend and fellow food blogger Deeba of Passionate About Baking left me a comment saying that she too had just posted the same exact bread on her blog! She writes one of my favorite blogs and her post is absolutely wonderful–go take a look!

Shameless Self-Promotion: I currently have 2 photos entered in the Best Foodie Foto Contest, a weekly contest hosted by Laura of Hey what’s for dinner Mom? You can vote by going here and leaving a comment at the end of the post telling Laura which photo is your favorite.

Coming Next: White Chocolate Apricot Shortbread Cookies

{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }

Laura August 23, 2009 at 10:13 pm

I heard the NPR story on no knead bread, I have been meaning to do it just never did. Summer is short but sweet here in Alaska so I'll probably cut to the chase and make this. Nothing like a bread expert to let me know of a better recipe, plus I do like the idea of leaving it in the fridge for a week! YUM!!

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Jenn August 24, 2009 at 1:17 am

I love the smell of freshly baked bread, too. I've seen several recipes involving no knead bread. I've got to try that for a while. Looks pretty easy.

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Deeba @Passionate About Baking August 24, 2009 at 1:40 am

You too? You won't believe it, but I posted the same recipe last night.LOL…great post. This was a bread we all loved too! Your loaves are great!

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eatlivetravelwrite August 24, 2009 at 3:30 am

The no knead bread is on my list of possibilities for the BLT from scratch challenge… Thanks for posting this!

http://www.eatlivetravelwrite.com/search/label/blt%20challenge

And yes, having lived in Paris for nearly 6 years, I miss my baguettes too….

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Barbara Bakes August 24, 2009 at 5:12 am

When you mentioned Nutella I really wanted to get busy baking bread! It sounds wonderful!

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Food lover August 24, 2009 at 5:42 am

It is so difficult to make good, fluffy bread – and yours look amazing! Will try following your recipe too :)

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rachel August 24, 2009 at 6:27 am

You know, I was just looking through Artisan Bread last night, and the french bread recipe seemed a little scary to me. But now that you did it, you know what, I am going to try my hand! Thanks for the inspiration.

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MaRyA August 24, 2009 at 7:13 am

no knead is just what I need! thanks for sharing!

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Amber August 24, 2009 at 7:29 am

Oh, this is going to be on the rotation this week! It looks divine!!

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Peggy Bourjaily August 24, 2009 at 7:55 am

Both you and Deeba love this recipe? OK, I'm sold.

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Jen @ My Kitchen Addiction August 24, 2009 at 8:16 am

I will definitely have to try this recipe… I've seen it a few times now, and I think it sounds wonderful. I too, love KAF… their recipes never fail!

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Frieda August 24, 2009 at 8:57 am

Fab bread! Take a gander at my first blog video on no-knead rolls:

http://tinyurl.com/kvbf9t

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Bob August 24, 2009 at 10:48 am

Fresh bread is truly one of the greatest things humankind has created, I don't make nearly as much as I would like to. Your baguettes look amazing, the recipe looks similar to one I saw in Cooks Illustrated some time ago. I'll have to dig that out and compare, just for curiosity's sake. That bread has been on The List for some time.

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LollyChops August 24, 2009 at 1:26 pm

Oh man… this sounds so darn good. If you need help so that you are not eating that lovely bread all by your lonesomes you know who to call!

…and it's not ghostbusters either!

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Nancy Baggett August 24, 2009 at 2:54 pm

The NPR story Laura mentioned was about my book–which is called Kneadlessly Simple. My method is a lot easier than the one in the NYTimes, also–and it makes good bread! (Has recipes for a San Fran sourdough,as well as rustic boule and French baguettes.) You can try some of my recipes by going to NPR and searching on no-knead bread, or on my book's page on Amazon, or on my website. Happy Baking

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Mary August 24, 2009 at 3:24 pm

The aroma of freshly baked bread is one of life's simple pleasures. Tie the aroma to the crackle of a really crisp crust and paradise is suddenly near, Your bread looks fantastic. Kudos.

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veron August 24, 2009 at 5:55 pm

I am a fan of the no-knead bread. Even if I don't mind a little kneading. I love the crumb on yours…perfect!

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Poppy and Mei August 25, 2009 at 1:02 am

Mmmmmmmmm, lovely story, lovely bread! XXxx

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Fuji Mama August 25, 2009 at 3:56 pm

I am so delighted with all of your comments. There's something wonderful about homemade bread, isn't there? I can't wait to hear about all of your adventures if you do happen to make this bread. Thanks to Nancy Baggett for making me aware of her wonderful book Kneadlessly Simple!

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bakers August 26, 2009 at 8:08 am

I love that recipe, too. Your bread looks terrific! Unfortunately,we aren't looking for long distance interns, but if you're ever in our area, drop by and check us out. Molly @ KAF

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Helene August 28, 2009 at 11:34 pm

I just came from Deeba blog. Cannot believe you two made the same recipe. They look crusty and really good.

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Laurence March 23, 2011 at 2:50 pm

I made a modified version of this recipe with less yeast, I think it came out pretty well. I also baked my baguettes longer, did you cook yours for only 30 minutes for a specific reason? I felt as if mine weren’t that done at that time.

http://biftekfrites.blogspot.com/

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