Description
Two mixed-grain baguettes built on an overnight biga, with a generous amount of extra virgin olive oil and optional fresh rosemary.
Equipment: scale, baking stone or steel, steam pan, two 15-inch baguette proofing baskets or a supported couche, lame or sharp blade, instant-read thermometer (optional)
Ingredients
Biga
50g (1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp) all-purpose flour
33g (2 Tbsp + 1 tsp) water, 75 to 80°F
1/8 tsp instant yeast
Final dough
All of the biga (about 83g)
240g (1 cup) water, 75 to 80°F
50g (3 Tbsp + 2 tsp) extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp instant yeast
145g (1 cup + 3 Tbsp) all-purpose flour
145g (1 cup + 2 Tbsp) bread flour, 12 to 12.5% protein
135g (1 cup + 2 Tbsp) whole grain flour, coarsely ground
10g (1 3/4 tsp) fine sea salt
2 Tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
Make the biga. The night before, mix the flour, water, and yeast into a stiff, shaggy paste. Cover and leave 10 to 18 hours at room temperature, until domed, webbed with bubbles underneath, and faintly winey.
Mix. Combine the biga, water, olive oil, and yeast, and stir for about 30 seconds to break the biga up. Whisk the three flours, salt, and rosemary together separately, then add them.
Knead. Three minutes on low with a paddle, then five minutes on low with the dough hook. By hand, 8 to 10 minutes. It comes together into a smooth, supple, slightly slack dough.
Bulk ferment. Clean bowl, covered, 2 to 3 hours at room temperature, until really puffy and close to doubled. Half a teaspoon of yeast makes for a slow bulk, and in a cool kitchen it may want longer than three hours. Watch the dough rather than the clock.
Divide and preshape. Divide into two pieces of about 400g. Deflate gently, gather the edges into a ball, tighten the surface with circular motions on an unfloured patch of counter, then elongate into an oval. Cover and rest 10 minutes.
Shape. Flatten each piece into a rectangle, fold the top third down, fold in half lengthwise, and seal the seam with the heel of your hand. Roll into a long taper that fills the 15-inch basket end to end, easing the ends thinner as you go. If it springs back and refuses to lengthen, rest it five or ten minutes under a cloth and come back to it rather than forcing it. Place seam side up in a well-floured basket or couche.
Preheat. Place a baking stone or steel on the middle rack and a steam pan below it. Preheat both for 45 minutes at 450°F.
Final proof. 1 to 1½ hours, until a floured fingertip leaves a dent that fills back slowly.
Bake. Turn out, score, and load without delay. Pour one cup of hot water into the steam pan and close the door. Steam only once. Bake 20 to 24 minutes for two baguettes, to an internal temperature of 205 to 210°F. The longer end gives a darker crust.
Cool completely. At least 45 minutes on a rack.
Notes
Sizing. Bake all at 450°F throughout.
- One baguette (half the recipe), about 400g: 18 to 22 minutes
- Two baguettes (full recipe), about 400g each: 20 to 24 minutes
- Two bâtards (full recipe), about 400g each: 28 to 33 minutes. Shape them nine to ten inches long and proof seam side up in an oval basket or on a supported couche.
To make one loaf, halve everything. The biga yeast stays at ⅛ teaspoon rather than halving since it’s already the smallest measure worth naming.
Weigh your flour. Volume measures are included, but the gram weights are the tested version.
Yeast. ½ teaspoon is the tested amount. ¾ teaspoon gives a loftier, more open loaf with a shorter bulk.
Cold retard. Optional. Retard the shaped loaves 8 to 12 hours and bake straight from the refrigerator.
Hot side. If your oven bakes unevenly, turn the loaves end to end after the crust has set, about two-thirds of the way through.
Adapted from the Bread Baking Babes challenge of April 2021.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes. Mixing the biga, mixing and kneading, then preshaping and shaping.
- Biga and rising: 13 hours 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 24 minutes
- Category: Baguettes
- Method: Biga
- Cuisine: French