ALMOST NO KNEAD BAGUETTE, and some ROMESCO TOO!
Turkish Proverb
Cut to now. No time for so many complicated risings unless the gun’s on the temple. The recipe on the King Arthur blog came as a revelation. Beautiful bread and with minimum effort. I don’t have a dough hook (actually I do but choose not to use it due to power outages), so I used elbow grease. It turned out to be a crisp and lovely baguette. The good part is that the dough is made the previous evening, and just needs the second rising the next morning…
Next morning, the family woke up to the sweet smells of baking bread. I have never had that experience before. When I was young, we never baked bread at home. It was unheard of. Baking was limited to the odd chocolate cake, or then, my Mum’s fave, the Christmas cake. That morning smelt wonderful, like a bakery & the baguettes were gone almost all gone in next to no time. All I eventually had left were a few heels and a couple of slices left. (I made a half portion of the dough, which yielded 2 baguettes.)
A baguette is a specific shape of bread, commonly made from basic lean dough, a simple guideline set down by French law, distinguishable by its length, very crisp crust, and slits cut into it to enable proper expansion of gasses and thus formation of the crumb.
Please go to this link at King Arthur blog for the recipe. I am not posting it here because I won’t be able to do justice to it. The post talks to you, then it sings to you…and eventually hypnotizes you to reach for flour!! PJH has a wonderful style of writing & the tutorial is a must see.
To quote from the post…Can you make baguettes as tasty and gorgeous as those from a bakery using previously frozen loaves, filled with chemicals, distributed from a commissary a thousand miles away from the bakery?
Or baguettes equal to the soft bread wands labeled “baguette” in the supermarket bread section?
Absolutely.
As the artisan bakers in our King Arthur bakery do, we’ll use just four ingredients – King Arthur Flour, yeast, water, and salt – to make a baguette that’ll do any home baker proud. A rest in the fridge gives the dough terrific flavor. And, since this recipe makes enough dough for four baguettes, you can tweak your technique baguette by baguette, one day at a time.
In the end, making baguettes at home is always a work in progress. The more you bake, the more you learn, the more you hone your skills. And trust me – no baguette you bake at home is ever a complete bust. It may not be as light as you want, as crisp-crusted, as flavorful – but that’s why croutons and crostini were invented.
Now I knew where these toasted left over bits were headed. Romesco of course! The colour of the sauce this time wasn’t a brilliant red like last time, as I used a red bell pepper and a yellow bell pepper, as against just red bell peppers.. The taste was great though. I eye ball the ingredients as I make my Romesco, sometimes depending on what I have on hand. 
This time, I increased the garlic, and gave the sauce a good dash of lime. I think the tanginess increased the flavours a lot, and gave the Romesco nice summer freshness. Not original Romesco, but a refreshing departure nonetheless.
ROMESCO DIP
as adapted from Dinner With Julie
In her words, “All the amounts here are approximate – it’s a dip, so feel free to wing it.”
Ingredients:
1/4 cup almonds,
6 garlic cloves (I roasted 1 head of garlic with the bread)
3 slices of baguette, toasted
1 red pepper, roasted
1 yellow bell pepper
1 tsp. paprika
Salt to taste
Juice of 1 lime (1 1/2 tbsp)
2-6 Tbsp. olive oil (or canola)
Method:
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Roast the almonds in a preheated oven at 180C for 10-15 minutes till golden and fragrant. Cool.
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Toast the bread & garlic for 10-15 minutes in a medium hot oven. Peel the garlic, & tear the bread into chunks.
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Transfer to a food processor & pulse until the bread and nuts turn to crumbs.
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Add the roasted bell peppers, lime juice, paprika and salt and whiz until well blended. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the olive oil and process until the mixture has the consistency of thick mayonnaise, scraping down the sides of the bowl. (I added about 2 tbsps of water to reduce the quantity of oil I was using. It didn’t compromise the taste.)
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Serve with pitas, slices of crusty baguette, cooked tail-on shrimp, naan or veggies. Good even thinned out with some pasta water and tossed with a spaghetti.
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Makes about 1 cup. (Will keep in the fridge for a day or two.
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Make sure the top is covered with a thin film of oil.)
♥ Thank you for stopping by ♥
Rachel @ FujiMama posted the same KAF baguette recipe around the same time I did, only that we live half the world apart. So I commented on hers… “You too? You won’t believe it, but I posted the same recipe last night. LOL…great post. This was a bread we all loved too! Your loaves are great! “. Just walked in to find she’s awake at 2.45am & emailing – “That is absolutely hilarious! What are the chances? Great minds truly do think alike! I’m up with the baby (it’s 2:45am here) and I’m giggling…which in turn is making her giggle. So uncanny that I couldn’t resist giving you a little shoutout, so I’ve made a small addition to the end of my post”…Go KAF!!
Deeba @ PAB
About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.
50 Comments
Jackie at PhamFatale.com
Your bread just looks perfect. The dough looks airy, just like at the store. I gotta try your recipe. I made some crostini with a goat ricotta and red bell pepper spread which is quite similar to your romesco (without the almonds) I could finish the whole dip 😛
Rosa's Yummy Yums
That bread and romesco sauce look fantastic! You've just made me hungry ;-P…
Cheers and have a great week,
Rosa
Judy@nofearentertaining
Beautiful looking bread and I love the romesco!!! I bet you'll be bread a lot more now huh?
Nicisme
Just look at your bread, light and delicious!
Julia @ Mélanger
There is nothing quite like waking up to freshly baked bread. And it is a treat in my house, too. This bread looks lovely. Great to find a recipe like this so you can produce beautiful bread more quickly. But always nice to know that you also have the experience of the more labour intensive versions! Both satisfying in different ways.
giz
It would be interesting to try this recipe with the King Arthur Flour to see if there's a difference. The baguettes look fabulous and the gluten fantastic.
Anh
Off to make this bread! Thanks for pointing it out my friend!
Cynthia
I really like the crumb you got on the bread.
toontz
Mmm…I think I could live off of that! Sounds absolutely delish.
Tangled Noodle
Such beautiful loaves! I'm content to admire your creations – until I gather the nerve to try it myself! 😎
I do love Romesco sauce and your recipe looks amazing; I'm sure its flavor is equally delicious!
Miakoda
Perfect…I love the statement about waking up to the wonderful smells of a bakery, I'd like to experience that myself 🙂
Bunny
I've never made baguettes, when I do I'll se this recipe it made a wonderful loaf!!
Nags
that romesco looks so good!! and the baguette is almost no knead eh..
Barbara Bakes
Bread baking is definitely a smell I'd like to wake up to! Your bread looks terrific!
Big Boys Oven
this is an amazing combination! just perfect for me! I can eat it all by myself! lol!
shaz
Great looking baguette, I'm all for quick and easy recipes. Will definitely try this one out. And I like your take on romesco sauce with the lime juice.
Ilva
I am so happy I am going back to my own kitchen today because that bread and that dip/salsa really inspired me! Thanks Deeba!
Fuji Mama
Ok, now that is just uncanny! Great minds definitely think alike! Your bread is gorgeous. Isn't this a great recipe? Go KAF!!!
Parita
The bread looks fantastic, love the flavors in Romesco dip..
Coleen's Recipes
I thoroughly enjoy baking bread. I'm looking forward to trying your recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Maya
It has been a long time since I stopped by – the new look is beautiful! That romesco sauce looks quite lovely.
Jane
Wow–I just read that recipe on the King Arthur site last week and thought to myself, "Gosh, I really should try this . . . it doesn't look hard and, who knows, it might even work!" Small world, yes? Glad to see you tested it out for us and have confirmed its greatness! I must try it now too. As usual, just love your beautiful blog!
Jane
morgana
Before reading this post I was already hungry (it's passed lundh time here, in Spain) but now… My computer is in danger!! I'm so hungry I'm thinking about eating a bit of my screen.
Peggy Bourjaily
That romesco dip looks delish!
And, of course, I've got to try this baguette recipe.
Velva
I can already smell the bread baking. This baguette recipe is being placed on my list to make!
You did such a good job bringing those baguettes to life. Love your blog!
Nancy Baggett
I have to stop in and give a plug for my own bread book–it's called Kneadlessly Simple, which means No kneading and in many recipes no hand shaping. The dough gets stirred together in a bowl and usually stays there till it's just plopped into a baking pan or pot. No work, but very, very tasty. You can try a recipe on the NPR.org website (search on no-knead bread), or on my book's page on Amazon, or on my website. Try it!
lisa (dandysugar)
Incredible baguette and sauce. Both look amazing! Mmmm, I can smell the lovely aroma of the bread…
Jo
Oh wow, baguette and no-knead as well. Love the end result.
Kitchen Flavours
Oh wow…..no knead baguette sounds interesting …..hat sauce sounds very creamy and indulging….
Arwen from Hoglet K
Sounds great that you can put the dough in the fridge to bake later. You certainly made the most of them – the dip sounds so tasty with roast garlic!
Ben
I also remember making that Julia Child's French bread back in 08, that was painful! LOL. I like this recipe better. Easier is always better, right?
Cheese Company
Incredible baguette! This can be tried with any dip.. a creamy gravy even. Thanks dear.
Bellini Valli
It all sounds delicious Deeba. I can only imagine the aromas wafting from your kitchen Deeba…King Arthur Flour is the ultimate. If only it were available here.
Dharm
The baguette looks and sounds super! I might have to try this if you say it is easier than the DB one we made months ago. I too never had the experience of waking up to freshly baked bread at home – maybe my mom DID try but it wasnt often and I dont remember it… Making your own bread is really satisfying and you have done superbly!!
Anurag
The baguette looks wonderful, the pictures are awe inspiring, got to bake some bread this week.
KAF Customer Service
Good looking baguettes. Glad you enjoyed the no-knead method. Frank @ KAF, baker/blogger.
Jennifer, The Lady Riposter
You're making me hungry! I love bread and I've only recently become brave enough attempt recipes that don't involve my bread machine. I'll have to put this on my list of things to try!
Dimpy
Hi, just love the way they look!! how much yeast have u put for half the recipe?, I´ve made the dough but it´s not rising…snif snif..
thanks and besitos
Gloria
Deeba! I love french bread and specialy baguette!! I made a lot of times ! But yours look absolutely yummy and tasty, reday to eat, je,je, xxoxoxoxo gloria
Palidor
Fresh baked bread and roasted pepper dip? What a PERFECT afternoon snack!
pigpigscorner
Nothing beats homemade bread..which reminds me, I haven't baked bread in awhile!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
You know I've always been scared off doing a simple baguette as I've always thought that they'd be too hard. Thank you for finding the perfect recipe! 😀
Jamie
Perfect perfect bread and I want to try it, too! And served with that Romesco must be amazing! Love it! Great job, Deeba!
Katrina
Bakery Perfect looking baguettes!
Susan/Wild Yeast
Isn't it wonderful to have fresh bread in the morning? Lovely loaves, Deeba, and the Romesco is such a great way to use some of the leftovers.
Laura
Great looking bread and I love the idea of using leftovers for Romesco sauce. I know what I will be trying next!
lisaiscooking
Lovely loaves! I have to try an almost no-knead type bread. It's on my list! Your romesco looks delicious too.
Helene
Oh my I'm always looking for a new baguette recipe. Thanks so much. I should make them soon. Yours look really good.
nora@ffr
m already craving for this bread!! yummmyyyy
stephchows
it looks beautiful! there is nothing better then the smell of fresh baked bread!