Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Rustic Baguettes

 


This is sort of an aside. Baguettes are not going to appear in the cookbook. But there's something special about baking bread, and this was the first time that I've made baguettes in my kitchen. I finally got myself a nice perforated pan that bakes five loaves...
I was seduced by a good deal on a pan on the internet: I measured my oven and knew I was cutting it close in size. Sure enough, when the pan arrived, I discovered it was about a half inch too wide to fit in my oven.  In spite it obviously being too big, I made several desperate attempts to jam my new pan into the oven. When that didn't work, I slid it in on an angle. The situation was looking pretty grim. Luckily, my hubby came to my rescue and had the pan chopped, welded and alas, shortened! And it worked like a hot-damn, too.
I like the rustic look added by dusting with flour before baking, but I wish my cuts were nicer. Scoring with the lame is something that takes practice, I have learned. I took the baguettes out of the oven after the required baking time, and forgot to let them sit in the oven with the door open; they could've been crispier... next time they will be!

4 comments:

  1. What an ordeal to get the pans to fit your oven... but the baguettes look like they turned out wonderfully and were worth the effort ! I hang my head and whisper that I love the new bread machine I received for Christmas. In my defense, I have arthritis and am beyond kneading extensively, so without a bread machine there would be no freshly baked bread in our house as there use to be years ago when my family was young. (I do *love* the smell of baking bread. It permeates the whole house.)

    Carol

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  2. Gorgeous blog. Best wishes on your cookbook.
    Found you on Twitter re: our mutual writing of historical fiction. Would like to know more about your historical fiction book. Find me at
    http://www.hollyweiss.com. On Twitter HWeissauthor.

    Happy cooking! (I love to cook when not reading/writing.)
    Best wishes,
    Holly

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  3. Thanks, Carol. There's nothing quite like baking bread at home, you're right! And I must confess that I do not knead either - I'm too impatient for that! I use a stand mixer for the most part. Bread machines are amazing, though; people really love them. And I bet your bread machine still makes your house smell great!

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  4. Thanks for reading, Holly! Looking forward to tweeting with you soon:)

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