Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Food Processor French Baguette



The one thing I really miss when I don’t have a big family to cook for is freshly baked bread.  For some reason, I don’t think it’s worth the effort just for myself.  When I found this recipe, I almost didn’t make it because it made four loaves.  But by halving it, I had one loaf for myself - and one to give away.  It was absolutely delicious - and worth the effort.

I love my bread mixer - I couldn’t live without it.  The only downside is it doesn’t work very well for small batches of bread.  So, when I need to make a small batch of any dough, I usually resort to using my hand mixer initially and then finish kneading it by hand.  

I have a great food processor, but I’ve been leery of using it to make bread.  I’ve heard it’s perfect to use for a small batch of dough, and I decided to learn how.  Had I known how easy this could be, I would have tried it years ago.

Within 10 minutes, I had a perfect dough ready to form into baguettes.  It was wonderful with my Sunday dinner, and I had enough to send home with my sweet mother as well.  This won’t be the last time I make bread in my food processor.

One thing I’ll change next time, however - is to eliminate glazing the baguette with egg wash.  It made it a bit too chewy for my taste.  But it made a beautiful golden crust that was so pretty.  The method of making steam in the oven was a first for me - and it worked well.  Now I won’t need to run to Sam’s Club every time I need a baguette.

For this recipe with step-by-step photos & instructions - go to:

2 comments:

  1. Beautiful! I love the steam method in making a crispy crust.

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  2. Thanks for sharing your wonderful bread recipe. I've just purchased a bread machine to make my own bread. I will try your recipe soon.

    Cathy
    French online

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