Semi-Sourdough Mini Baguettes

These mini baguettes are my go to dinner roll. They're made with a mix of yeast and sourdough starter, making them easier than a pure sourdough loaf, while still having some of that delicious sourdough flavour. Perfect if you're like me, and rubbish at keeping your sourdough starter alive and active. 

CRISPY MINI BAGUETTE BUNS - makes 9 buns

DOUGH:

1 TSP INSTANT YEAST

75G SOURDOUGH STARTER (PREFERABLY ACTIVE/FED THE DAY BEFORE)

350G LUKEWARM WATER

480G HIGH GRADE OR BREAD FLOUR

50G WHOLEWHEAT FLOUR

2 TSP SALT

In a large bowl mix the yeast, sourdough starter and water together. Add in both flours and salt and begin to mix until you have a rough dough. Tip the dough onto your bench and begin to knead until you have a smooth and elastic dough, this will take about 5 minutes, or can be done in a stand mixer with the dough hook. 

Place the dough into a bowl and cover with clingfilm. Leave to rise at room temperature for about an hour or two, until it is roughly doubled in size. Place the dough in the fridge and chill overnight. This will help improve the flavour of your dough. 

The next day split your dough into 100g pieces. Working one piece at a time, gently stretch the dough at the top to elongate it, then fold this down to the middle. Pull the top corners of the dough out then press them into the middle, then repeat with the bottom corners of the dough. Roll the dough to create a coil shape, then gently round it into a ball with your hand. Set aside to rest while you repeat this process with the remaining pieces of dough. This is called the preshape. 

To finish the shaping, start with the first piece of dough that you rolled. Using a medium pressure, roll the edges of the ball of dough so that it has long tails on each end. These tails will shrink back significantly during baking so make sure they're longer than you think they should be (watch the video and this will make sense!).

Dust a muslin cloth or clean tea towel with flour and place on a baking tray. Put each bun, seam side UP, on the floured cloth. Pull the cloth up in-between each bun, so the buns don't touch each other directly, but are supported by the cloth. Leave at room temperature for 30 minutes to one hour, or until the dough feels light and your finger leaves an indent when the dough is pressed. 

Place a metal tray on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat it to 190c. Place the baguettes, seam side down, onto a lined baking tray. Use a sharp knife to score the top of each baguette. Put the baguettes in the oven, then pour about 1/4 cup of hot water onto the metal tray that you put in the oven earlier. Close the oven and bake the baguettes for 12-15 minutes or until they're a deep golden brown. Allow to cool slightly before enjoying with plenty of butter!