Baguette & Petit Pains

Petit Pains 8 Nov 2012

This one of the bread recipes which I simply love. It's simple - just four ingredients, yet authentic enough to be called bread. Produced by bakers all around Paris, the first batch goes out at 0700 when the bakeries open, and a new batch is set out every four hours until closing time (Leader, 2007).

Ingredients Weight Baker's Percentage

Warm water 340g 68

Instant yeast 4g 1

Wheat flour 500g 100

Salt 10g 2

1. Pour the water into a large mixing bowl, add the yeast, flour, and salt. Stir just until all the water is absorbed and a dry, rough dough forms. Cover the bowl with clingwrap and let it stand for 20mins, allowing the flour to soak up the water.
2. Knead the dough. I usually work by hand as this lets me gauge the texture of the dough. Lightly dust the table with flour, then empty the bowl onto the table and knead it for 10-12mins. Continue to knead, flouring your hands as necessary. Take care not to knead too much flour in or else your bread will turn out heavy. Stop when the dough has lost its stickiness, firms up, and feels silky smooth and springy.
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled container big enough to hold the dough even after it has swelled to 1.5 times its size. Cover it, and leave it to ferment for 45mins. What I usually do here is park the car under the sun and chuck the dough in.
4. Pour out the dough and shape it into a rectangle. With the short side facing you, fold the bottom half to the middle, then fold the top down so that it overlaps with the bottom bit. Quickly flip it back over and put it back in the bowl with the seams facing down. Leave for another 45mins.
5. One hour before baking, heat the oven to 230 Celsius.
6. Lightly dust the table with flour and turn the dough out on the table. Cut the dough into your desired number of pieces. Gently pat each piece into a rectangle and fold it in half. Cover and let them rest for 10mins.
7. Shape the dough into a baguette, leaving the ends rounded. Take note to avoid over-handling the loaves or you'll deflate them.
8. Cover the loaves and let them stand at room temperature for 30-40mins on the baking tray. They would almost double in size. When you press your finger into the dough, the indentation should spring back slowly.
9. Uncover the loaves and score each baguette with a lame or a wet knife. Starting from the tip, angle the blade 45 degrees to a make 3 slashes. Slash deliberately and quickly.
10. Chuck the tray into the oven and place half a cup of ice cubes in so that the crust can expand nicely. Bake for 15-20mins. A good loaf should be caramel coloured and should sound hollow when you tap the base.

Petit Pains (Nov2012)
For petit pains, after you turn out the dough for shaping, cut the dough into 3 equal parts, then further into 12 equal parts. No shaping is required for petit pains. Set the oven at 200 Celcius. Place them onto your baking paper, then leave for 30mins for them to spread. Lightly dust with flour or decorate however you like. Chuck them into the oven for 20mins or until caramel brown.

[Note (8nov2012): I switched out water for an equal amount of full cream milk. I suspect it will make the bread much softer. Also, I experimented with a new brand of flour which boasts 15% protein per 100g - Waitrose's Very Strong Canadian White Flour. Much more pricey than regular high protein bread flour, but produces excelent dough!]

Reference
Leader, D., (2007). Local Breads: Sourdough and Whole-grain Recipes from Europe's Best Artisan Bakers. NY: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.