Flavorful, light, crusty outside, soft inside, colorful, delicious, that’s a baguette!

• 600g flour
• 400g water
• 12g salt
• 1/4tsp yeast

Mix the flour with the yeast in a large bowl. Warm up the water to a temperature between room temperature and body temperature. Add the water to flour and mix with a large spoon. Mix the dough until it is homogeneous. Add the salt and mix until all the salt is absorbed by the dough.

Lightly flour the counter. Transfer the dough to the counter and start to knead during 10 minutes or until the dough become very soft like baby skin. Refrigerate over night in a container. The container should be at least twice as big as the dough volume before it rise. Refrigerating overnight will develop the flavors.

Take the container out of the fridge and wait until the dough double in size. Split the dough into 3 equal parts (333g) and roll them into balls with surface tension and let them rise a little bit, during an hour or so. Shape each ball into a baguette, set them on a dry cloth, separate each baguette from one another using the cloth. Let them rise during an hour.

Preheat the oven at 500F, with a baking sheet on the lower rack (to receive the steam). Transfer the baguettes on a baking sheet and sign them with a cutter (1/2 inch deep and 4 inches long) in the length of the baguette and slightly slanted. Signing with a cutter is essential to let them rise properly and make them light. Put them right away into the oven. Throw the boiling water on the lower baking sheet to create steam. Close the oven immediately. The steam is essential to give the baguettes their golden color and caramelize the crust. After a minute you may add some boiling water again to create more steam. The baguettes will bake for 23-25 minutes. After 10 minutes, open the oven door to rotate the baguettes and let the steam go away.  And lower the heat to 400F. When they look ready, after 23-25 minutes, take the baguettes out of the oven and let them cool down before tasting them. The baguettes are more tasty when eaten in the following couple of hours after they are baked.