These delicious baguettes were one of last weekends creations. It’s a recipe by Jamie Oliver (I know, on tv I also find him annoying but some of his recipes are really good). As the pastry grew so much, mine don’t look like baguettes anymore but nevermind, the taste was great!
What you need:
1kg of white flour
625 ml of tepid water
30 gr fresh yeast
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp sea salt
some extra flour
olive oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
a handful of thyme
3 white onions, thinly sliced
salt & pepper
a dash of white wine vinegar (my variation: replace the vinegar with Noilly Prat – vermouth)
Put the flour on a pile (I usually put it in a large bowl). Make a hole in the middle and add half the water, the yeast, the sugar and the salt. Mix in with a fork. Gradually start mixing in the flour from the sides. Add the rest of the water bit by bit, mix and knead everything to a smooth pastry. Cover it with a humid towel and let it grow in a dry warm place for 30 minutes.
In the meantime prepare the garlic/onion mix:
Put 3 dashes of olive oil and add the garlic, the thyme and onions. Cover the pan and let the mix sizzle for 4 to 5 minutes until the onions drew water. Remove the lid and let the liquid evaporate until the onions look ‘glassy’ and tasty. Add salt and pepper according to your preference. Let cool down a bit.
Once the pastry has doubled in size, split it into equal amounts and form baguette shaped breads (keep them rather thin as otherwise the will look like my ciabattas). Distribute the onion mix on the breads and let them grow for another 30 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and bake the baguettes for approx. 20 – 30 minutes.
Recipe source: adapted from Jamie Oliver
Recommended music while cooking this: Doba Caracol – Soley album