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I learned a lot about myself this past Wednesday when I attempted and succeeded with my first French baguette. I used Julia Child’s recipe (loosely and adapted) and I have to tell you, the 12-hours it takes (mostly rising) to bake it is worth every minute. This French bread recipe is easily the best French bread recipe. It yielded (even with a slightly cooler than anticipated kitchen), the best loaf of bred I have ever baked. And I bow to Julia.

My experience with Julia Child-loving is very limited. This was the first Julia recipe I have ever made. It’s not that I don’t think she is all that and a bag of flour, I just—-well, I just don’t know why. Technically speaking, she should be one of my heroes. My friend and mentor Michelle Lee always made cracks at how weird I was in the kitchen, how I could randomly drop a crate of eggs without fail, or turn a mixer on high without considering the amount of flour what would immediately go up into my face, coating my eyelashes and lips with unbleached flour and bits of egg yolk. I think that one of the most important things to honor Julia for is her ability to laugh at herself, pick the chicken off the floor and move on.

Let’s face it…in life, that chicken might go sliding out of your hands (especially if you’ve oiled it well and perfectly seasoned it to ultimate perfection). If the chicken slides out and hits the floor, you can either pull the three second rule, rinse it and fix that chicken—turning it into an amazing meal. Or, you can throw it out and cook hamburgers. When you stop and think of cooking paralleling life, how many times have you picked up the chicken and moved on? How many times have you throw it out and quit?

Anyway, on what as supposed to be Chef Child’s 100th birthday, I thought, ‘why not make an attempt at something Julia Child.’ It’s respect, if anything.

My first thought was to make her Crepes Suzette recipe, but I suck at Crepes and I didn’t want to eat Crepes. My second idea was Julia Child’s duck a’la orange recipe. I had been dying for duck all week anyway, so this was calling my name. My boyfriend took a ‘gander’ around to see if he could find a duck and came back empty-handed (“Them geese and duck took to the sky early, Ma. I didn’t have time to shoot a darn one.”) At the end of my quest (and after ruling out croissants), I went with the baguette because as masterful as I am at Italian Bread, I have yet to learn to make the perfect French baguette.

I will state a fact that anyone who is considering making this should know—this recipe is not for the inpatient. This baguette recipe will take you 12-hours-ish, but other than the rising time, it’s really, truly worth it.

The French bread recipe yields two big loafs/baguettes or four small baguettes.

Julia Child’s French Bread Recipe

(From Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Volume Two by Julia Child and Simone Beck)

1 cake (0.6 ounce) (20grams) fresh yeast or 1 package dry active yeast
1/3 cup (75ml) warm water, not over 100 degrees F/38C in a glass measure
3 1/2 cup (about 1 lb) (490 gr) all purpose flour, measured by scooping dry measure cups into flour and sweeping off excess  (you will most likely need about 1 extra cup, also.)
2 1/4 tsp (12 gr) salt
1 1/4 cups (280 – 300ml) tepid water @ 70 – 74 degrees/21 – 23C

Stir the yeast in the 1/3 cup warm water and let liquefy completely while measuring flour into mixing bowl. When yeast has liquefied, pour it into the flour along with the salt and the rest of the water.
Using the dough hook attachment on the speed the mixer manufacturer recommends for dough hook use or the lowest setting if there is no recommendation, slowly work all the ingredients together until a dough ball is formed, stopping the mixer and scrapping the bits of flour and chunks of dough off the bottom of the bowl and pressing them into the dough ball. Continue to mix the dough on a low speed until all the bits of flour and loose chunks of dough have formed a solid dough ball.

****Note: Depending the humidity and temperature of your kitchen and the type of AP flour your use, you may need to add additional flour or water to the dough. To decide if this is necessary, we recommend stopping during the mixing process and push at your dough ball. If the dough is super sticky, add additional flour one handful at a time until the dough is slightly sticky and tacky but not dry. If the dough is dry and feels hard, add 1 Tbsp of water a time until the dough is soft and slightly sticky.
Turn dough out onto kneading surface, scraping bowl clean. Dough will be soft and sticky. Let the dough rest for 2 – 3 minutes while you wash and dry the bowl (and the dough hook if using a stand mixer).
The flour will have absorbed the liquid during this short rest, and the dough will have a little more cohesion for the kneading that is about to begin. Use one hand only for kneading and keep the other clean to hold a pastry scrapper, to dip out extra flour, to answer the telephone, and so forth. Your object in kneading is to render the dough perfectly smooth and to work it sufficiently so that all the gluten molecules are moistened and joined together into an interlocking web. You cannot see this happen, of course, but you can feel it because the dough will become elastic and will retract into shape when you push it out.

Start kneading by lifting the near edge of the dough, using a pastry scraper or stiff wide spatula to help you if necessary, and flipping the dough over onto itself. Scrape dough off the surface and slap it down; lift edge and flip it over again, repeating the movement rapidly.

In 2 -3 minutes the dough should have enough body so that you can give it a quick forward push with the heel of your hand as you flip it over.
Continue to knead rapidly and vigorously in this way. If the dough remains too sticky, knead in a sprinkling of flour. The whole kneading process will take 5 – 10 minutes, depending on how expert you become.

Shortly after this point, the dough should have developed enough elasticity so it draws back into shape when pushed, indicating the gluten molecules have united and are under tension like a thin web of rubber; the dough should also begin to clean itself off the kneading surface, although it will stick to your fingers if you hold a pinch of dough for more than a second or two.

Place dough back into the bowl and using the dough hook attachment at the recommended speed (low), knead the dough for about 5 – 7 minutes. At about the 5 minute mark, stop the mixer and push at the dough with your fingertips. If it springs back quickly, you have kneaded the dough enough. If it doesn’t spring back continue to knead, stopping the mixer and retesting every 2 minutes. If the dough sticks to your fingers, toss a sprinkling of flour onto the dough and continue to knead. The dough should be light and springy when it is ready.

Let dough rest for 3 – 4 minutes. Knead by hand for a minute. The surface should now look smooth; the dough will be less sticky but will still remain soft. It is now ready for its first rise.
You now have approximately 3 cups of dough that is to rise to 3 1/2 times its original volume, or to about 10 1/2 cups. Wash and fill the mixing bowl with 10 1/2 cups of tepid water (70 – 80 degrees) and make a mark to indicate that level on the outside of the bowl. Note, that the bowl should have fairly upright sides; if they are too outward slanting, the dough will have difficulty in rising. Pour out the water, dry the bowl, and place the dough in it. (more…)