Dinner with Julie

Quick Baguettes with Browned Butter

I have a baguette secret. And a browned butter secret. I’m sure they’re not secret to those who know about them already, but for those who don’t, I’ll totally share.

On Tuesday when I made cheddar & ale soup for CBC, I also made fresh baguettes that required under an hour from start to out of the oven – but what everyone couldn’t stop talking about was the browned butter to go with. That show on which I watched Michael make ale soup? He also made no-knead bread, with browned butter – made spreadable. Because really, browned butter makes everything better – cookies, brownies, popcorn – but bread? Freshly baked? Slathered with browned butter – whipped and creamy, not a melted puddle? Hell yes.

Here’s what you do: take a slab of butter. Melt half of it in a small saucepan on the stovetop. Once it’s melted, leave it there until it starts to turn nutty and golden – you’ll see the foam change colour.

Take it off the heat and let it cool a bit. Then whip it with the rest of the butter. Use beaters. It will be all lumpy at first, but will then turn soft and whipped and spreadable. And nutty and browned.

You’ll need freshly baked bread to go with it. Here’s a recipe my friend Brooke shared awhile ago – a quick baguette you mix and knead and bake all in under an hour. True story.

Quick French Baguettes

adapted from the amazing Brooke of Cheeky Kitchen

1 1/2 cups very warm water
1 pkg. yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp.)
2 Tbsp. sugar
3-4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 425F.  Fill a shallow cake pan with water or ice and put it on the bottom rack, and make sure another rack is in the middle. In a large bowl, whisk together the warm water, yeast, and sugar.  Set the bowl on top of your preheating oven for ten minutes. Add half the flour and the salt, then add more flour a half cup at a time until you have a soft dough. Knead it for a few minutes, until it’s smooth and elastic. (You can totally do this with the dough hook on your stand mixer, if you have one.)

Cut the dough into four pieces and roll each into a long, thin rope. Twist two together to make two baguettes and set them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Let it sit for another 15-30 minutes on top of your warm oven.

Bake on the middle rack of your oven for 15-20 minutes, until golden and crusty.

Makes 2 loaves.

November 03 2011 | bread | 19 Comments »