Last month, the Japanese Cherry Blossoms (Sakura trees) blossomed in Toronto. This was a big deal because last year, they failed to bloom as we had a hard frost after several weeks of very warm weather. In fact, the frost was so hard that we lost a few trees. These trees are special because they were a gift from the Japanese ambassador to Canada, Toru-Hagiwara in 1959 as a gift to the citizens of Toronto for their support of Japanese-Canadian refugees after the Second World War. You can read more about the history here. It’s such a popular time in High Park (a park that is only about a 10-minute walk from our house) that the streets become clogged with traffic and it is virtually impossible to drive into the park; well, not quite impossible, but it will take you more than 1 hour! And don’t even think about parking in the park because you won’t be able to find a spot. Last year, a friend parked illegally and had a lovely surprise of a $450 ticket on her car upon return!
If you want to see the blossoms in Toronto, you’ll need to be here in April and you can watch this website, which predicts when they will blossom! JT took these beautiful photos so I wouldn’t miss them when they peaked as I was in Florida with a girlfriend.
Before I left for Florida, we invited friends, who live downtown, to join us for a walk to the park and then dinner in the village, it’s really the only sensible thing to do, if you wish to see the blossoms (and get in my 10,000 steps!) We had some wine and cheese before we left for our walk and I decided to make a french baguette, a recipe I haven’t made in quite a few years. This is the first bread recipe I ever made when I was around 14, it’s really that easy. In those days, I kneaded by hand, but now I get the big guns out and let the stand mixer do the heavy lifting for 8-10 minutes. The recipe produces two or four amazing french baguettes. I baked two and froze the others for another time. The recipe is basically true to the original recipe I made except I updated the method of rolling into the uique baguette form and the baking method.
Simple French Baguette
Original recipe from Five Roses, A guide to good cooking, 5th edition
This recipe make four 33 cm (13 inch) French sticks
Ingredients:
- 300 mL (1 1/4 cup) boiling water
- 30 g (2 tbsp) butter
- 15 g (1 tbsp) sugar
- 8 g (1 package, about 1 tbsp) bread machine yeast
- 50 mL (1/4 cup) lukewarm water
- pinch of sugar
- 570 g (4 cups) All Purpose Unbleached Flour
- 15 g (2 tsp) salt
- Olive oil
- 1 egg white, beaten
Directions:
- Melt the butter and 15 grams of sugar in the boiling water and cool until lukewarm.
- Sprinkle the yeast over 50 mL water with a pinch of sugar and whisk to combine. Set aside to proof for a couple of minutes (I like to do this even with quick rising yeast to make sure it’s not dead).
- Combine the buttery water (when it has cooled to lukewarm) with the proofed yeast and stir to mix well.
- Combine the flour and salt in the large bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Pour the liquid yeast into the centre and turn the mixer on low speed until it forms a nice dough.
- Knead for 8-10 minutes until smooth and elastic (mine took about 8 minutes).
- Lightly coat with olive oil and set aside in a warm place, 1 to 2 hours or when double in size. Punch down and divide the dough into two equal portions.
- Divide the dough into two or four equal portions. With the base of your palm, press out the dough to a little rectangle, roughly size it 1:3 — it should not be huge at this point. then fold the long side up about 1/3 of the way and press into the dough with your knuckle or fingers to seal. Repeat with the other long side. Flatten the roll and press an indentation into the centre along the long side. Fold down to form a long baguette and seal with your fingers or knuckles. Roll out to elongate and taper the ends. This is the Julia Child method which may be seen here at roughly 6 minute 10 second mark.
- Preheat the oven to 450° F (230° C). Place the baguette seam side down on a baguette baking sheet and brush them with the egg white and then dock them using a sharp lame, you can see how this is done at roughly 9 minute 53 second mark of the same video. Place the baguette pan in a larger pan with a few chunks of ice off to the sides, cover tightly with foil paper.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 425° F (220° C) , remove the foil wrap and brush again with the egg white and then turn the pan 180 degrees and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes or until the baguette is golden brown and the crust has stiffened up and the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
- There are as many baguette recipes as there are blogs, if you have one you like to use, I encourage you to try this rolling and baking method, I am sold and will make crusty bread this way from now on.
- I used 5 normal sized ice cubes.
- The crust is nice and crunchy and the crumb is chewy and wonderful.
- If your larger pan doesn’t have tall enough sides, I would spray the foil with non-stick spray so that when the bread rises and touches the foil, it will not stick.
- This is the baguette pan that I use.
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Those cherry blossoms… 😊🌸🌸
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Thank you kindly, Catherine, welcome to the blog.
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Beautifully baked baguette. I sold by baguette pan when we moved south…just didn’t use it enough to warrant the space it needs to be stored. 😦
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Thank you Karen. I’m not quite there yet but I’ve thought so much about downsizing and getting rid of clutter, particularly one use items.
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What lovely looking bread. Sounds perfect. i’d love to see those blossoms and those cute creatures!!
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Thank you for your compliment, Tanya, the bread was pretty tasty too. Those little capybaras are quite the little devils, but so cute.
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Cherry blossoms are gorgeous! I’ve seen the ones in Washington DC several times — always a treat. And speaking of treats, this bread would be one! Looks terrific — thanks.
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I’ve been to DC but in May, a little late for the blossoms, they must be spectacular as well. The bread was quite delightful, thank you.
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Ooh you have some major cherry blossoms from the pics that I’ve seen! And I love your crispy baguette. I love freshly baked bread! 😀
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Freshly baked bread is one of the most wonderful aromas. Thank you for your comment, Lorraine.
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Wow, your baguette is just perfect!!! Yes, you have mastered the technique—they look like they’re from a top-notch bakery. Thanks for sharing your cherry blossom photos with us—I hope they’re just as beautiful next year!
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Hi Liz, the baguette is quite easy to make but you are right, the technique to roll is not the easiest, thank you for your kind compliment. Indeed, the cheery blossoms were lovely this year.
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After trying for 3 years, this year I finally saw the Cherry Blossom Trees at peak at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden, and it was a gorgeous sight. It was also the weekend of the Sakura Matsuri festival and the garden was wall to wall people next time I will go a day or 2 before the festival for better viewing and enjoyment.
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I know what you mean about the crowds, I try to stay away from highly crowded events as well. You should come to Toronto to see our trees, they are quite the sight!
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Hi Eva, it’s a lovely history behind those cherry trees. I always go to Japan in autumn, so I’ve never had a chance to see them in Tokyo…
Congratulations for the baguettes! They look impressive. I have never tried making any bread (in the Western sense because I have recently started to make Indian flatbreads and love it!) because I’d never achieve the sensational level of my favourite baker in nearby France, so I keep on buying there every week (trying to avoid the temptation of beautiful croissants…which is sometimes too strong).
I have never tasted really good baguettes or French-style bread in Switzerland, so if I lived further from the border, I’d start baking!
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Thank you for your kind words Sissi, you should definitely try to go to Japan in the springtime, it is worth it. Washington DC also has its fair share of Japanese Cherry trees.
I totally understand why you need not bake, I wouldn’t either if the quality was that of the French bakeries. How nice that you live so close to the border that shopping for food is convenient.
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I’m an avid baker – and, altough I have a baguette pad, I’ve never baked baguettes! I’ve got to change that. Thanks for the inspiration.
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Hi Jeff, thank you for your comment and kind words, I can’t wait to see the baguette that you bake up.
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They look quite crisp! Perfect to go with some freshly made pesto or eggplant dip!
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Thank you kindly Angie, it is a wonderful and easy recipe and who doesn’t like fresh bread?
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