Epi Baguette

With little effort and a bit of skill, you’ll be pulling this baguette variation out of the oven in no time! The recipe calls for flour, water, salt and yeast to be mixed into a smooth dough. This then rises in the refrigerator at 4°C for 24-36 hours.

Before further work, the chilled dough should acclimatize at room temperature for 1 hour. This causes the dough to lose its “stubborn” structure and lets it be easily and effortlessly formed into a baguette. 

Recipe

For a dough weight of 1677g / 6 pieces, each of them 280g 

Dough:

• 1000g wheat flour 700 (or French T65)
•   650g water 10°C

Mix flour and water slowly for two minutes, then let sit covered for 30 minutes. 

•    22g salt
•     5g yeast

Add in salt and yeast and mix slowly for 8-10 minutes. Finally, knead quickly for 1-2 additional minutes. 

Instructions:

• After making the dough, place it into a lightly oiled dough tub. Fold it after 30 and 60 minutes and then place it in the fridge. 
• Minimum rise time is 18 hours. This can be extended as desired for up to 36 hours. 
• If for reasons of timing the rise has to be reduced to 8-12 hours, then 10-20g of liquid malt should be added to the main dough. 
• The dough should be removed from the fridge 1 hour before starting the final work steps.
• Divide the pieces of dough and weigh them, before rolling them out into a cylindrical shape. 
• After letting the rolled dough rest briefly, lengthen to form a long baguette.
• After forming, place the baguettes spaced apart on baking paper.
• Let them rest for 15 minutes and then using a scissors, cut the dough into segments, keeping the scissors perpendicular to the working surface. CAUTION: Each piece of dough needs to be turned in the desired direction immediately after being cut. It’s the only way to keep the dough pieces from sticking together. 
• Let the dough sit to proof for 15 more minutes.
• Place the baking paper with the Epi Baguettes on a baking stone.
• Reduced a preheated oven from 250°C to 240°C
• Baking time c. 17-19 minutes