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Vietnamese Baguette ( Banh Mi ):
Slightly adapted from Baking with Paws and
2 cups bread flour
1 ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup luke warm water
½ vitamin C 500 mg (Optional, to help with rise. I didn't notice any difference.)
In a mixing bowl of stand mixer, combine the yeast, sugar and water. Stir to blend and to dissolve sugar. Allow to stand for 5 minutes. Water should be cloudy and slightly foamy.
Add half of the flour and stir well to create a thick mixture with consistency of pancake batter. Cover with a towel and leave it in a warm place (such as the in oven with light on) for 2-3 hours. Mixture will double and become foamy.
Add the remaining flour, salt and vitamin C (optional) into the starter dough. Knead at level 6 for 10 minutes. The dough should pull away from the sides, come together, and wrap itself around the hook. It should be smooth, like the texture of pizza dough. If the dough is too wet, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time.
Scoop out the dough, spray bowl with oil, and return dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm place (such as in oven with light on) for 1 hour or until it doubles in size.
Transfer the dough onto the working surface. Use greased hands if dough is too sticky. Try not to deflate the gas inside. With a scrapper or a knife, divide the dough into 3 equal portions. Roll each into a ball. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover with the greased plastic wrap and let them rest for 10 minutes.
To shape the dough, hold onto one side and slap dough a couple times firmly on work surface without letting go. Dough should flatten slightly and elongate. Press dough with hands into a rectangle, roughly 8" x 4". Put more pressure on edges to make them thinner than the middle. Roll dough into a log. Roll the log into a torpedo shape by putting more pressure on the ends.
Place the shaped dough back onto the parchment paper and cover with plastic wrap, then a towel. Let dough rest for another 1 hour until it rises double in size.
Preheat oven and the baking tray at 400°F for at least 15 minutes before baking. Place a tray of hot water at the bottom of the oven.
Slash the baguette using a sharp knife or a razor blade. Hold the knife or razor it at 45° angle, and make a quick and determined slash at least 1/4" deep across the dough lengthwise. Bake immediately after slashing.
Spray water on both sides of the oven and on the dough.
Bake for 20-25 minutes at on the middle of the oven rack. At the first 8 minutes mark, spray water one more time on the baguette. This helps with developing a crispy crust. Rotate the baguette pan at this time for even baking. I find my oven browns the bread early and cover the top rack with foil at the 10 minute mark to prevent over-browning.
Allow to cool on cooling rack.
Makes 3 baguettes.
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