Wee Baguettes

This long French stick made the traditional way is a protracted process – it involves sourdoughs and specific, overnight-proved secondary doughs and it is a fairly complex process for your average Sunday baker. Here, James takes all the best bits of baguettes and compresses them into an easy-to-make bread, lacking in hard work and complex time restrictions.

Step 1

In a bowl, rub together both flours, yeast and salt, keeping the yeast and salt on either side of the bowl to start. Add the water and combine into a reasonably dry dough – if its sticky, don’t worry and definitely don’t add any more flour.

Step 2

Cover your bowl with cling film or a wet tea towel and leave your dough at room temperature for at least half an hour, but any time up to overnight. If you’ve left it for any more than 3 hours at room temperature, skip straight to step 4.

Step 3

Once your dough’s had a rest, use a wet hand (wetting your hand stops it sticking) to fold and prod your dough until any air has been forced out of it. Once you’ve got rid of all the air, it should feel quite tight and elastic. Leave it for at least an hour (or two, three, four&hellip) at room temperature. Or chuck it in the fridge overnight.

Step 4

Preheat your oven to 220C/200C fan/Gas 7. Lightly sprinkle a surface with flour and turn your dough out onto it.

Step 5

Cut your dough into 4 roughly equal chunks. Using a very lightly floured hand, pat one out until it is flattish. Then, roll it up like a swiss roll, as tight as you can, making sure it doesn’t stick to anything with light dustings of flour. When it’s rolled up, start rolling the whole thing between your palms and your work surface, back and forth. Start in the middle and move your hands out until you’ve got it the size you want.

Step 6

Repeat with all of them, placing them all on a baking tray to rise one last time. This time, make sure they get no more than 30 minutes. 20-30 is perfect.

Step 7

Make 3-4 diagonal cuts on top of each and place your tray in the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until nice and dark and crusty.

Top Tip:

Try par-baking your baguettes until pale, then cool and keep them in an airtight container for up to a week, or frozen for up to 3 months. When you want to enjoy them, just bake them until dark (straight from the freezer, if used).

Enjoy!