French Baguette - Recipe by Sté Complet

French Baguette – from a French recipe

A good baguette thrives on its crust: crispy, thin, with an open crumb beneath. This recipe follows the production method of Sté Complet from France and can be used for both classic baguettes and baguette rolls. The dough is soft and kept cool – this is no coincidence, but part of its character.

Baguette

For a dough made from 1 kg baguette bread mix

• 1,000 g baguette bread mix
• 20–30 g fresh yeast, dissolved in lukewarm water
• 600–630 g lukewarm water (dough temperature: 26–28 °C)

Combine the premix and the yeast water and knead for 10 to 15 minutes. Then let the dough rest for 30 minutes.

After resting, weigh out 500g pieces, roll the dough pieces into roughly 30 cm long shapes and let them rest again for 15 minutes. Then shape the dough pieces to a length of 60 to 70 cm, place them seam-side down on dry cloths or baguette trays.

Final proofing: 45 to 60 minutes at 27 °C. Once well-proofed, make 4 to 5 shallow longitudinal cuts in the dough pieces. Bake with steam at 220 to 240 °C.

Note: The dough has a soft consistency. Cool dough handling supports the result.

Baguette Rolls

Dough preparation as for baguette above

Press off 30g pieces from the total dough – do not round. Place two of these pieces on top of each other and roll out long. Place them seam-side down on floured baking cloths.

When fully proofed, bake seam-side up with steam. Baking time: approx. 25 minutes at roll temperature.