VIETNAMESE SOUR DOUGH BAGUETTE

After making natural yeast, I decide to make Vietnamese Baguette. There are many recipes here and here for this kind but after trying it, I love this recipe best because using SD starter, a little yeast, not so difficult and it's still soft, fragrant after 3 days in room temperature.

Ingredients:

• 300g bread flour
• 50g unfed (discard) sourdough starter(85g active SD starter if you don't use instant dry yeast)
• 160g- 180g water (depends on your flour and 140g if you use 80g starter)
• 2g instant dry yeast
• 10g sugar
• 3g salt
• 10g vegetable oil

Instruction:

If any liquid has collected on top of your refrigerated starter, stir it back in. 

This is a good opportunity to feed the remainder of your starter, if necesssary. 

Spoon 50g starter into a mixing bowl. Add water, oil, sugar, flour, salt. Mix to combine then use the dough hook to  knead until smooth and elastic. It takes around 10- 15 minutes. You can also knead by hands. 

Shape into a ball then cover it with kitchen towel and rest 10 minutes.

Transfer the dough onto the working surface. With a scraper, divide the dough into 6 equal portions (about 70g-80g for each portion).

Twist each portion inside out and form into a ball. Cover with kitchen towel and let the rest for 10 minutes.

Flatten each ball and fold in half into the center and press to form a moon shape with the palm of your hand.

Fold again and seal the sides together, pressing gently harder at the ends to make them slightly pointed.

Place the shaped dough on a baguette pan and cover with a kitchen towel. Let it rest 2.5-3 in sizes. For me it took 2.5h in 28oC (I used 50g active SD starter with 2g instant dry yeast). You can wait longer, about 4h-6h and more if using 100% active SD starter (85g).

Preheat oven at 250oC with fan force mode.

To slash the baguette, using a razor blade or scissors, keep it at 45oC angle and make a quick and a determined slash across the dough lengthwise. (I used scissors)

Spray much water specially on the slash and on the dough. The slashes will be opened a little.

Reduce 220oC, bake with fan mode about 5 minutes. Quickly spray water on the baguette then bake for another 5 minutes. Go on spraying water on the baguettes again then bake for 5 minutes. Repeat baking and spraying water every 5 minutes, total twice to make the crust thinner and crispier, soft interior. 

Turn off the fan mode then reduce 180oC, bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Baguettes out of my oven:  

Best served with lean pork paste & salad for your breakfast.

⇒Note: Pls prepare ingredients and bake following my above instructions, you'll succeed with the tasty baguette with thin crust, airy, soft interior, crackly and so crisp!