🥖 French bread and baguettes

Ingredients

• 600 g all-purpose flour, or bread flour
• 7 g active dry yeast
• 12 g table salt
• 1⅔ cup water, about 110°F

Time

Hands-on time is when you’re busy; the rest is rising, simmering, chilling or cooling, when you can do something else.

How long it keeps

• Counter: best the day it’s baked; keep it in a paper bag up to about 3 days (NDSU’s figure for bread), crisping it in a hot oven before serving.
• Freezer: cool completely, wrap in plastic and then foil or a freezer bag, up to 3 months (University of Missouri). Slice first so you can take out what you need; a whole loaf thaws in its wrapping on the counter in about 3 hours (Cornell).

Nutrition

Steps

You’ll need: large bowl, baking sheet, metal pan for hot water, cooling rack.

1. Stir the yeast into the warm water and let it stand 5 minutes. Add the flour and salt and mix to a shaggy dough.
2. Knead about 10 minutes, until smooth and stretchy. The dough should be soft and a little sticky.
3. Cover and let it rise until doubled, 1½ to 2 hours.
4. Divide in two. Pat each piece into a rectangle and roll it up tightly into a 12- to 14-inch log, pinching the seam. Set them seam down on a floured or parchment-lined baking sheet, well apart.
5. Baguettes instead: divide into 3, roll each up into a log, rest 10 minutes, then roll it under your palms from the middle out to a thin 15-inch rope. Bake them 20 to 25 minutes in the next steps.
6. Cover loosely and let them rise until puffy, 45 to 60 minutes. Put an empty metal pan on the lowest rack and heat the oven to 450°F.
7. Slash the tops 3 or 4 times with a sharp knife. Slide the loaves in and pour 1 cup of hot water into the metal pan for steam (stand back).
8. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until deep brown and hollow-sounding when tapped underneath (about 200°F inside). Cool on a rack at least 30 minutes.