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1
Combine yeast & warm water, stir, & let stand for 3 minutes. Combine flour & salt in separate bowl. Pour in yeast mixture & the cool water. Mix w/ hands. Place baguette dough on floured kneading surface & knead until dough is supple but not too smooth. This will take about 4 minutes. (Use minimum of additional flour).
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2
Cover dough w/ towel & let rest for 20 min.
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3
Knead for 6 minutes until dough is smooth/stretchy. Place in oiled bowl, coat, cover w/ towel. Let rise until doubled (about 2 hrs.).
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4
Push the dough down gently & fold over itself. Shape into a ball; cover, & rise again until doubled. Place dough on lightly floured surface, divide into thirds, & stretch the first piece into a rectangle. Leave large bubbles in dough. Fold top down & bottom up, like a letter. Roll the loaf to shape into a log. Press lightly to seal the seam. Fold dough over by a third 3 times, seal length of the loaf, then repeat. Aim at drawing the skin tight over the surface but leave some bubbles.
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5
Seal the skin w/o tearing or deflating. Set aside. Shape the other 2 pieces.
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6
Roll each baguette back & forth until each loaf is longer. Put the loaves on a baguette pan or on a lightly floured baking sheet lined w/ parchment paper. Cover w/ a floured cloth & rise for half an hour or until loaves are plump but not doubled.
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7
While dough is rising, heat oven to 500u00b0. If using baking stone, place it in oven to preheat. Place an empty water pan under the stone.
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8
Cut slashes on the top of each baguette, running vertically. Don't deflate the loaves when cutting. Mist the loaves w/ a mister or plant sprayer.
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9
Place the baguette pans in the oven, or slide the loaves onto the heated baking stone.
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10
Pour cup of very hot water into the water pan. Close door. 1 min. later, mist loaves & the oven walls. Close door. Mist again in 2 minutes.
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11
Bake for about 10-12 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 400u00b0. Bake 25 min. or longer until the loavs are golden brown. Cool on a rack.
