The Bread is in the Baking

I was going through the recipes I have bookmarked that I haven't tried yet and stumbled upon this one. The recipe is very similar to the other baguette recipe I have on here, in that it's the same ingredients, but this recipe has you make an actual dough, rather than a batter, and takes a couple hours off the time. Which is awesome in my book. I've made a couple revisions from the original recipe but nothing huge (pretty ballsy of me for a first try, right?). Note about the way I bake: use as few bowls as possible.

So here we go:

Mini French Baguettes
4 cups bread flour
1 tsp active dry yeast
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
About 1 cup Warm water

Proof the yeast by mixing it with 1/2 cup of warm water and a teaspoon of sugar. Let it stand for a few minutes until it becomes foamy.

Incorporate the flour and the salt into the bowl with a spoon.

Gradually add warm water until you obtain a dough ball that detaches itself from the edges of the bowl, wash your hands off and coat them with flour and continue kneading dough until smooth (you may need to add some more flour, but don't add too much and you can do this step on a counter or, if your bowl is large enough, inside the bowl).

Place the dough into a bowl lightly coated with oil, cover with a kitchen towel or a plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 2 hours. The dough should double in volume.

After the dough has doubled. Transfer it to the floured surface and gently knead for 4 minutes and divide dough into 8 equal pieces.

Gently stretch each piece and roll it to form a log that will later be shaped into a mini baguette. Set aside and repeat this process with the remaining pieces of dough. This allows each piece to relax a little.
Starting with the first log that you shaped, elongate each baguette by rolling it back and forth on the work surface until the loaf reaches the desired length. Be mindful that the bread will expand as it bakes.

Place the mini baguettes on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or lightly floured. Make 2 diagonal slashes on each loaf with a sharp knife and dust with a little flour.

Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 40-60 minutes until the mini baguettes have become slightly bigger and more rounded.

30 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Place an empty roasting pan on the bottom rack.

After the oven temperature has reached 500 degrees F, pour 2 cups of hot water into the roasting pan to create some steam and place the baking sheet with the baguettes on the top rack.

Bake for 10 minutes at 500F, then lower the oven temperature to 400 degrees F and bake for 20 -25 minutes until the mini baguettes are golden brown and crisp.

Total Time: About 4 Hours
 (Picture taken by Eddie Barksdale)

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