French Baguettes

This baguette recipe doesn't need much of an introduction. This bread is so good. Trust me. Crispy on the outside, chewy and moist on the inside: it's perfect.

Ingredients: 
for the poolish: 
- 90 grams all-purpose flour
- 90 grams lukewarm water (around 90F)
- 1/4 tsp yeast

for the dough: 

- 270 grams all-purpose flour

- 160 grams lukewarm water (around 90F)

- 1/4 tsp yeast

- 1 1/4 tsp salt (I use sea salt)

Instructions: 

the night before: 

1. To make the poolish, combine 90 grams flour and lukewarm water, along with 1/4 tsp yeast. Mix, cover with plastic wrap and let it sit overnight at room temperature. 

2. Prepare some ice cubes. 

making the dough:

1. Combine the poolish and all the dough ingredients, and mix until all the flour is incorporated and you have a shaggy dough. Cover with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. 

2. Now, with the rested dough, we're going to stretch and fold. With damp hands, pull the dough and fold it over itself. Turn the bowl 90 degrees and do this again, for a total of four times. Then stretch the surface of the dough to create surface tension. Cover the bowl and let rise for 30 minutes. 

3. Repeat this two more times, with 30 minute rests in between, for a total of three stretch and folds. After the third time, rest for 30 minutes again. 

pre-shaping the dough:

1. Divide the dough in half. Transfer to a lightly floured surface, and pre-shape the dough into two taut balls. Cover the pieces of dough with plastic wrap and let them rest for 10 minutes.

preparing the oven:

1. Move one rack to the bottom of the oven, and one to the center. 

2. On the center rack, place a sheet pan turned upside down. On the bottom rack, place an empty sheet pan with stones inside. 

shaping the baguettes:

1. Flatten the dough into a rectangle. From the top edge, fold down and seal along the seam using your thumb. Try to create a tight log with a smooth surface. Once you have a seam, roll the log out to your desired length. 

2. Move the dough to a well-floured sheet of parchment paper on top of a pizza peel, or a cutting board. Push the paper up along the sides of the baguettes to create folds that separate your two logs. 

3. Cover the parchment with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 minutes. 

preparing to bake:

1. While the baguettes are resting, preheat the oven to 500F. 

2. After 45 minutes, cut 4-5 diagonal slashes in each of the baguettes, around 1/4 inch deep using a lame or a sharp kitchen knife. 

3. Carefully slide the parchment paper off the pizza peel onto the preheated sheet pan. Pour the ice cubes over the rocks, and close the oven. Decrease the oven temperature to 475F. 

4. Bake for 35 minutes, or until golden on the outside. 

Adapted from this recipe