Epi Baguettes

Adapted from The Professional Pastry Chef by Bo Friberg
Makes 5 loaves

For the pre-ferment:
1/2 teaspoon active-dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water (105º - 115º F)
10 ounces bread flour

For the dough:
2 1/2 cups cold water
1 recipe pre-ferment (above)
2 pounds + 6 ounces bread flour (8.48 cups)
4 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons salt
4 grams vitamin C (eight 500 mg tablets, crushed)

For the pre-ferment:
1. Dissolve the yeast in the water Add the flour and mix utnil smooth.

2. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate overnight.

For the dough:
1. Combine the pre-ferment (or old dough, if using instead), water, yeast, and all but a handful of the flour in a stand mixer. Knead with the dough hook on low speed for 8 minutes, adjusting the consistency if necessary by adding the remaining bread flour. The dough should be soft but not sticky.

2. Incorporate the salt and vitamin C. Knead 4 minutes longer on low speed.

3. Cover the dough and let it rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.

4. Divide the dough into 5 equal parts, reserving one (1 pound amount) to use in the next batch if desired.

5. Form the pieces into long ropes, about 16 inches in length, using heel of hand to deflate any air bubbles. Place on sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Don’t place more than 3 loaves per large sheet pan.

6. Holding scissors at a 45º angle, cut a wheat sheaf (or “epi”) design into the loaves, alternating left and right. Start at the bottom of the sheaf pattern for the best result. Cut well into the loaves; they will rise and join together. Preheat the oven to 425º F.

7. Let the loaves rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. When fully risen, spray the dough with water, and bake for 5 minutes. Open the oven and very quickly spray the loaves again. Bake for another 5 minutes. Open the oven door to let out any residual steam, close it again, and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, or until the loaves are done and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove to a cooling rack and let cool until room temperature.



Notes:
1. I know, you’re wondering why I gave the whole recipe here when I obviously had so many problems making it in my own kitchen. Well, I might’ve just halved the recipe, but (again, long story short), that wouldn’t exactly work. And I did try to determine the correct percentages to make a smaller recipe, but it was very late when I wrote this, and numbers just weren’t working out properly. So I thought I’d give you the best shot at what I created, and reproduce the recipe that I used. I do apologize if any of you happen to burn out the motors on your KitchenAid mixers.

2. If you happen to have one pound of old bread dough on hand, you could absolutely use that in place of the recipe given for the pre-ferment.