Food Processor Baguettes

By Addie

This French-style bread is made in the food processor for speed, but can be made by hand. It is shaped into baguettes, which bake much faster than regular loaves of bread. It is a basic loaf which lends itself to variations. You might try adding 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh herbs, or chopped sun-dried tomatoes and olives (either green or black or a combination of both for interesting color), or 1 cup of shredded Parmesan. Add any of these with the flour. You can substitute 2 cups of another type of flour for an equal amount of the unbleached flour -- whole wheat or rye are great. Use your imagination; if an idea sounds good, try it!

MY NOTES: Make some sandwich baguettes with this, using my special pan for sandwich baguettes.

Ingredients

• 2 packages (2 scant tablespoons) active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup lukewarm (110°F to 115°F) water
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 6 cups (approx.) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups 90°F water
• 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water, for glaze

Preparation

Step 1

Note: Make sure your food processor will accommodate the amount of flour in the recipe. If it does not, cut the recipe in half.

Combine yeast, 1/2 cup warm water, and sugar in a measuring cup. Stir until dissolved, and let sit 5 minutes, until bubbles appear.

Put all of the flour and salt into the work bowl of a food processor. Using the plastic (dough) blade, pulse four times to lighten and mix.

With the machine running, add yeast mixture, then 90°F water as fast as the flour will absorb it. Stop the machine as soon as all the liquid has been added.

Check the dough by pulsing it 7 or 8 times. It should pull together to form a ball. Watch the processor bowl where the side meets the bottom; if there are still granules of unincorporated flour, the dough is too dry. Pulse in water 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough pulls together to form a ball. If dough clings to sides of bowl, it's too wet; gradually add more flour while pulsing.

The formation of the ball marks the beginning of the kneading process. Turn machine on and let "knead" for 60 seconds -- do not let it knead any longer! If you have to use a metal blade, only "knead" 45 seconds and finish kneading by hand for 3 to 4 minutes.

Put dough into an oiled bowl, turning to grease top. Cover with a tightly woven towel and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Turn dough out, and divide in four pieces. Roll each piece into an oval about 15 x 8 inches. Starting on the long side, roll dough into a 15-inch cylinder. Pinch edges to body of dough, tapering ends evenly.

Place dough seam-side down into well-greased baguette pans. Cover dough with a towel, and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

About 10 minutes before baking bread, preheat oven to 425°F. Place a shallow pan on the bottom shelf of the oven.

Just before baking, slash loaves diagonally with a sharp blade, about 1/4-inch deep. Brush lightly with egg glaze. Place 1 cup of ice cubes in the hot pan on the bottom shelf of the oven. Quickly place loaves on shelf above and close door to preserve the steam you've created.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until internal temperature of bread reaches 190°F. Immediately remove baguettes from pans and cool on a rack to prevent crust from becoming soggy. Yield: 4 baguettes
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REVIEWS:

I've tried to make french bread before and just couldn't get it right. I followed the recipe to a tee and made 1/2. Wish I'd made the whole thing. I put one loaf in the freezer and ate 1/2 of the other one. OMG I really need to stop that. Usually I give away what I bake, but I'll make garlic bread tomorrow. Happy eating everyone.

This recipe is so EASY to make in the food processor. In 2 hours you have nice crusty homemade French bread. The texture is perfect with a crunchy crust too. Thanks for another great recipe KAF.

Delicious and so easy to make. Made it with King Arthur AP flour one day - very yummie. The next day I made it with the French style flour and it was even better then. Soft on the inside but with the perfect crust and the breads looked absolutely perfect. So tasty with either butter or dipped in olive oil. It's amazing to be able to make a delicious baguette in less than 3 hours.

This is my first time making a french bread. I made 1/2 the recipe. Shaped one baguette and turned the leftover half into a medium size pizza crust. The recipe is easy to follow and turned out great with a nice crust and well risen bread. However, I could clearly taste the yeast and salt in the baguette. For my pizza, the final product was equally impressive to look at but, again, with equally salty taste from the crust. If I ever try this recipe again, I might cut down on the yeast, and salt knowing that my proofing time may be longer. If I can trade a little bit of time for better taste and healthier alternative that is the deal I will take anytime!

My family loved this bread! I used a sprig of fresh rosemary (chopped) and two tablespoons grated parmesan for the halved version of this recipe and they were so impressed! This has to be the easiest, most lovely bread I've ever made! Thanks, KAF!!!

Easy,easy, easy. Wonderful crunchy crust,soft crumb, and it took about 10 minutes to mix.Another great King Arthur recipe!

I made the dough in my bread machine and then did several variations-- a baguette, a round loaf and one in a baking cylindar all baked in the oven. All turned out great!!

I moved a year ago but my new stove purchased for its baking ability was moved into the basement -the kitchen had a 30 yr old built-in. It baked like a 30 year old oven and getting back to these recipes was my motivation. I took the old oven out in little pieces and finally got my stove into the kitchen (wiring 220 was scary but I was determined to bake real bread again!) This recipe was my first in the new stove, I was leery of the method but hot and tired, so I thought I'd give it a go. I put ham and swiss into each prior to forming baguette. They were wonderful! Hubby is toe-wiggly happy! It is now my summer bread recipe! The instructions were very clear and helpful. I had to add an extra tablespoon of water and it formed a ball immediately, as promised! I love that you guys actually thoroughly test these recipes!

This was easy to make and tasted great. This was the first time I've used my food processor to make dough, so my technique was less than perfect, but turned out well anyway. If you don't have baguette pans (which is probably most of us) go ahead and do what I did -- I added just a bit more flour that what was called for (maybe 1/4 to 1/3 cup) and just shaped it into long loaves and baked them on a cookie sheet. It does "flatten out" some but still works great -- especially with my homemade spaghetti and homemade spaghetti sauce.

I always used to think French Bread was hard to make. This recipe is so simple and quick to put toegether with a food processor. I make it frequently and everyone loves it. I wouldn't dare show up at a family get together without loaves for dinner and loaves to give as gifts. The loaves freeze well, too. I strongly recommend you try this recipe.

Thank you for this great recipe. It turned out perfectly and we enjoyed it greatly!

This recipe has kind of blown my mind....I just can't believe how ridiculously simple this was to prepare and how little time and effort went into it...I'm amazed!! A great recipe for those just venturing into the world of bread making!

Wow!! I must say that these are the best French rolls I have ever made. They were soo easy. The only "problem" I had is that they rose up soo big. I am not real experienced with bread so I made them too big for the rise. The texture was wonderful though. I have never used bread flour and will from now on because I love the texture.

WOW thats all I can say.. easy fast WONDERFUL great flavor & texture.. I've had a baguette pan for 29 years( my mom in law was from France & went to visit family there and brought me a pan back with her..I believe it had been her mom's) I never until today used it (shame on me) My mom in law would of LOVED this bread..God rest her soul my bread turned out so good hope she is smiling down on me from heaven for FINALLY using her gift now that I have this recipe I have a feeling this pan will be getting a workout.. of & don't be alarmed if your dough is sticky..I found that by putting some flour on a dinner plate and putting my hands in it(between my fingers too) made it a snap to shape GREAT recipe!!!!

I was totally amazed how FAST this recipe was to make and how well the bread turned out! I just didn't think it would be this good with one rise. The crust is nice and the inside was tender and delicious. I must get a set of french bread or baguette pans as I know I will use this recipe often!