French Bread Baguettes

If you think you can't make french bakery style bread at home, you're wrong.  With a few tools, you can do anything at home.  And the time and effort is all worth it.  These baguettes are amazing!

Recipe:

Poolish:
5 oz room temperature water
5 oz bread flour*
¼ tsp instant yeast

*Note: You want 10% protein content flour for French bread so mix whatever types you need to achieve that.  For example, if the nutritional information displays 12 grams of protein per 100 grams of flour, the protein content is 12%.  Or if the info displays per grams of flour other than 100 then here's the formula example for per 30 grams of flour with 4 grams protein:

4 g protein per 30 g flour

4 × 100 = 400
400 divided by 30 = 13.33%

(I've been using 3/4 French T55 flour from Amazon that's 9.5% and 1/4 Wheat Montana all purpose flour from Walmart that's 13.5%)

Mix and knead 1 minute. Cover and rest for 12 hours, then refrigerate 12 hours.

Pâte fermentée (pat fermentay):
5 oz bread flour*
½ tsp instant yeast
3.8 oz room temperature water
1/8 tsp salt

Mix and knead 1 minute. Cover and rest for 12 hours, then refrigerate 12 hours.

Take both Poolish and Pate fermentée out of fridge about 4 hours (bring to room temperature) before making final dough.

Final Dough:
8 oz hard whole wheat flour*
11 oz bread flour*
2 heaping Tbs raw wheat germ
2 Tbs wheat bran (optional)
½ tsp instant yeast (slightly heaping)
½ oz salt
12 oz room temperature water
Poolish
Pate fermentée

Mix flour, wheat germ, wheat bran and yeast with dough hook. Add Poolish and water. Mix together for a minute or two, then add the pate fermentée a piece at a time while it is kneading.  Knead 3 minutes, add salt and knead 7-9 more minute. Put in lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 20 minutes. Turn out on oiled counter, lightly pat, stretch and fold in all four sides one at a time. Put back in covered bowl for 20 more minutes, Repeat rest & stretch two more times. Put in covered bowl and let rise 1 hour.

Carefully drop on counter, trying not to pop bubbles. Cut into 6 no bigger than 230 g portions. Cover and let rest 10 minutes. Take each piece and carefully pat into rectangle. Start at top and roll up, pulling it tight. Turn so edge is at top and while pressing thumb of left hand into crease, pat closed with thumb and palm of other hand all along seam. Place seam side down, cover and let rest 10 minutes. 

Take log and gently pat into rectangle and repeat process. After log is formed, start gently rolling baguette on table, (may need a very thin sprinkle of flour) starting in the center and moving your hands out to ends while rolling as you taper the ends (this process is a pretty quick motion). Place in greased baguette molds, place molds in metal or tinfoil restaurant style serving pans, cover with tinfoil and let rise until double, 40 minutes to 1 hour. 

Open, score tops and add 12 ice cubes around each mold, re-cover. Bake in pre-heated 450°F oven for 15 minutes. Rotate pans 180° and switch from top to bottom and bake another 15 minutes. Turn temperature down to 425°F, take molds out of pans and bake baugettes in the molds directly in the oven for 15-25 minutes, until golden brown.  Remove from molds and cool completely on cooling rack.