Baking Bouchon - Recipe 12: Baguette Bâtard

Stop trying to put an "s" in there people, it's just a bâtard.  Actually bâtard means that word with the "s"... it's what they call an illegitimate baguette because it is not shaped like a legitimate baguette, it's wider and fatter in the middle and a better shape for, say, a sandwich.  Not that I have any intention of making a sandwich;  I'll just take mine warm with butter, thank you very much.  The butter helps me identify with the little chunker by getting a little wider in the middle too.

 The ingredients are nothing earth shattering... flour, salt, yeast and water. 

All the breads in this cookbook start with some kind of pre-ferment, which basically means a lot of waiting (not my best skill).  This one uses a poolish which is a mixture of flour, water and yeast that you let sit out for a day so the yeast can activate.  The other kind used is a levain which is similar but takes a week to ferment.  Thank goodness those are later in the book because that's even more waiting.

So, the poolish gets all bubbly and fermenty (see top left of the picture above) and you add it to a bowl with more flour, yeast and water and make yourself some dough.  Then comes the fermentation (aka, more waiting).

The fermentation basically consists of folding the dough a couple of times and then letting it sit for an hour... three times.  That's three hours of waiting.

After that you shape the dough into its illegitimate shape and proof the dough.  Yep,  you guessed it, more waiting.  Another hour this time.

FINALLY, the FUN part begins.  I whipped out my rocks, chains and water gun and baked some bread.

What?

Yes, you read that right; rocks, chains and a water gun.  These are the components of a steam generating kit that most of the bread recipes in this book use.

You basically set your rocks and chains on a sheet tray and put it in the oven while the oven is pre-heating, in this case to 460 degrees.  Super hot. 

Then, as soon as you put the bread in the oven, you blast the rocks and chains with water from the water gun and quickly shut the door to trap the steam in the oven.  Pretty cool, huh?  Apparently, this steam is the key to getting a great crust on your bread.

Plus, it's fun.  I got to play with toys.  However, please don't mention that I thought the trigger on the water gun was a pressure pump and accidentally sprayed the wall.  Thanks for not mentioning that.

The outcome was some darn good bread.  I was happy that the little bâtard rose beautifully with pretty little pockets inside.  I thought the crust could have been a little crispier, but hopefully as I perfect my super soaker technique that will improve as well.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go stop CA from chasing our dog around with the water gun.

Julie