Pain a l'ancienne baguettes
I had some apprehension after seeing that this is almost an 80 % hydration dough and being somewhat of a rookie, and not owning a mixer. I made the women and children leave, just in case, and went for it.
I used the recipe and technique exactly as in BBA with the exeption of mixing by hand, which I accomplished by mixing in the bowl with a big wooden spoon and a plastic bowl scraper. I mixed it for about 20 minutes adjusting the water until it felt like it was barely coming off the sides of the bowl.
The shaping was actually very easy using Reinharts great instruction and pictures, but the scoring was another story. I guess I'll get it down someday. I got some great color and oven spring, the holes were nice and big. The crust was hard and crunchy like I like it, and the taste was outstanding. Really a real easy dough to make. I can't wait to use it for pizza.
A nice baguette with a real
nice Beefmaster fresh from the garden.
Keith