> Today I am making baguettes -- Vive le France!

Simple recipe for 2 demi-baguettes (I just don't eat that much anymore)

Flour: 280g
Water: 204g
Fine salt: 5.6g
Instant yeast: 1.0g
Diastatic malt (only if flour in use is unmalted): 1.4g

Autolyse:

Mix everything except salt and yeast until just combined. Let rest 45 minutes.

Mix:

Add salt and yeast. Mix just enough, its not even recommended you use a mixer for this, but I will, and will only mix 45 seconds.

Bulk ferment:

2.5hr at 75 degrees. Fold dough at 30, 60, and 90 minutes. Then leave alone. Really important: You do not want it to double in bulk, you want maybe a 50% rise.

Divide and preshape:

If you divide the dough in half, each half should weigh about 245g. Roll into a loose cylinder. Rest 25 minutes.

Couche:

Shape into 33cm length loaves. Put them in a floured couche, seam up. Let rest 45 to 60 minutes. While they are resting, pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees, 500 if you can do it.
They are ready to bake when a light poke comes back slowly but not completely.

Bake 28 - 30 minutes. I recommend putting corn meal on your pan.

If you can steam it, do that for the first 15 minutes of baking, but honestly, you'll get perfectly fine results without it.


One flour note: for my new flour, which is 14% protein, I have cut it with 10% potato starch. True French baguettes are made of flour called T55, its 11.5%.