Recipe Of The Week Julia Childs French Bread

Julia Child's French Bread (Daring Bakers) Andrea …

WebFeb 29, 2008 · If the dough is very wet, add a tablespoon of flour at a time until the dough is soft and only slightly sticky. Turn dough out onto a …

1. In the bowl of the stand mixer, work all the ingredients together until the dry ingredients are all wet. Attach the bowl to the mixer base and work on low speed (2 on the KitchenAid) until a dough ball is formed, stopping the mixer and scrapping the bits of flour and chunks of dough off the bottom of the bowl and pressing them into the dough ball. Continue to mix the dough on a low speed until all the bits of flour and loose chunks of dough have formed a solid dough ball.
2. Place dough back into the bowl and using the dough hook attachment at the recommended speed (low), knead the dough for about 5 to 7 minutes. At about the 5 minute mark, stop the mixer and push at the dough with your fingertips. If it springs back quickly, you have kneaded the dough enough. If it doesn’t spring back continue to knead, stopping the mixer and retesting every 2 minutes. If the dough sticks to your fingers, toss a sprinkling of flour onto the dough and continue to knead. The dough should be light and springy when it is ready. Mary also recommends finishing with about 1 to 2 minutes of hand kneading just to get a good feel for how the gluten is formed.
3. With a rubber spatula, dislodge dough from inside of bowl and turn out onto a lightly floured surface, scraping bowl clean. If dough seems damp and sweaty, sprinkle with a tablespoon of flour. Lightly flour the palms of your hands and flatten the dough firmly but not too roughly into a circle, deflating any gas bubbles by pinching them. Lift a corner of the near side and flip it down on the far side. Do the same with the left side, then the right side. Finally, lift the near side and tuck it just under the edge of the far side. The mass of dough will look like a rounded cushion.
4. Loosen dough all around inside of bowl and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Because of its two long rises, the dough will have much more body. If it seems damp and sweaty, sprinkle lightly with flour. Making clean, sure cuts with a large knife or a bench scraper, divide the dough into:3 equal pieces for long loaves (baguettes or batards) or small round loaves (boules only)5 – 6 equal pieces for long thin loaves (ficelles)10 – 12 equal pieces for small oval rolls (petits pains, tire-bouchons) or small round rolls (petits pains, champignons)2 equal pieces for medium round loaves (pain de menage or miche only)

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