Wolf & Fin

French Baguettes With the Anova Precision Oven

Ingredients

Amount	Ingredient	Calories	Link
1 1/2 cup	Water	0	Use Fresh Water!
1 tsp.	Sugar	16
4 1/2 cup	Bread Flour	2048
2 tsp.	Active Dry Yeast	24
2 tsp.	Kosher Salt	0

Preparation

This recipe officially marks the first bread made in our new Anova Precision Oven. We have no clue what we are getting ourselves into, however, the goal of this post is to document our efforts into making delicious bread and figure out how this oven works.

In a large bowl mix together warm water, white sugar, and flour. Mix the ingredients together and allow the dough to hydrate. This phase is also known as the autolyse phase. During this phase the dough relaxes and changes in appearance. Leave the dough to rest for 30 minutes.

Add the yeast and salt to the dough and mix well. Be careful not to overwork the dough as it will cause the gluten to develop and will make the baguette more dense. If you are using a stand-up mixer use lowers settings (usually 1 or 2) to mix the dough for about 5 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise in a warm area for one hour. After the first hour, take the dough out and punch it down by folding all sides into the center. Flip the dough over, cover the dough with plastic wrap, and allow it to rise for another hour.

After the second hour, the dough should be double in size. Take the dough out of the bowl and place it on a lightly floured surface. Using a bench scraper, cut the dough into 4-5 equal pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Sprinkle some flour on top of each dough ball. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for another 20-30 minutes.

After resting shape the dough into individual baguettes. Place the baguettes seam down on a sheet of parchment paper and let rest uncovered for approximately 45-60 minutes. At the end of the final rise the baguettes should be double in size and spring back when slightly touched.

This recipe yielded 5 baguettes so we split them into two batches. For the first batch we would use the default settings recommended by the Anova Precision Oven application. If successful we would simply finish the other two using the same settings. If the first batch needed tweaking we would modify the settings on the second batch to see if we could make any improvements.

Batch 1 - Step 1 - Pre Heat

Heating Elements: Rear
Sous Vide Mode: Off
Temperature: 475 °F
Steam: 100%

Prior to placing the Baguettes into the oven, use a sharp knife to slice 3-4 diagonal cuts along the length of the baguette. Lightly brush the baguettes with cold water.

Batch 1 - Step 2 - Bake With Steam

Heating Elements: Rear
Sous Vide Mode: Off
Temperature: 475 °F
Steam: 100%
Time: 5 Minutes

Fingers crossed!

After a few minutes you could already see the dough rising and begin to take color.

Batch 1 - Step 3 - Bake Without Steam

Heating Elements: Rear
Sous Vide Mode: Off
Temperature: 475 °F
Steam: Off
Time: 10 Minutes

The baguettes are almost done, the room smells wonderful!

The baguettes are removed from the oven and set aside to cool. They look and smell wonderful!

Batch 1 turned out great, however, we saw room for improvement. The photo doesn't show it well, however, the sides of the baguettes are not as done as we prefer. For batch 2 we're going to increase cooking time to see if we can fix that.

Batch 2 - Step 1 - Pre Heat

Heating Elements: Rear
Sous Vide Mode: Off
Temperature: 475 °F
Steam: 100%

Batch 2 - Step 2 - Bake With Steam

Heating Elements: Rear
Sous Vide Mode: Off
Temperature: 475 °F
Steam: 100%
Time: 5 Minutes

Batch 2 - Step 3 - Bake Without Steam

Heating Elements: Rear
Sous Vide Mode: Off
Temperature: 475 °F
Steam: Off
Time: 15 Minutes

The baguettes look much better. We'd call this a success!

Parings

With a plate of soft cheese, a Syrah or Cabernet Sauvignon is a delightful treat.

Nutrition

An ounce of baguette is about 68 calories.

Recommended Serving Size: 3 oz. (Approximately 204 cal.)
Total Servings: Approximately 5

Items Used

Below are a few of the items used to create the finished result. The curated items below and ingredients above have been carefully selected and represent what we believe to be the best balance between quality and cost.