Buffalo Chicken Baked Flautas

If I've learned anything from my last year and a half of really cooking, its that the possibilities of shredded chicken truly are endless.  Tacos, freezer burritos, baked taquitos, and enchiladas are just a couple of options.    It can also be added to soups or be used for chicken salad.  It's versatile and I love it.

These flautas are another example, and while the name suggests Mexican Food, the filling does not.  It's Buffalonian.  Buffaloan.  Buffalosian.  It's from Buffalo.

*Update: I've just been informed by a Buffalonian that Buffalonian is the correct term for something from Buffalo, NY.  Just in case you were wondering.

This recipe is a lot like my taquito recipe linked above, however when I made said taquitos for my brother, he informed me that if I'm using flour tortillas, the end product technically is called a flauta, not a taquito.  So, these are flautas.  Either way, they're delicious.

They start with shredded chicken in a large bowl.

Cream cheese gets added to the chicken.

Next goes Buffalo sauce, blue cheese crumbles, and salt and pepper.  Taste for seasonings and adjust with more sauce to get the filling to your desired heat level.  When the filling is finished, spread some of the filling onto a flour tortilla.

Roll it up!  Place seam side down on a foil-lined baking sheet and repeat for the remaining 12 tortillas.

Spray the tops with cooking spray and sprinkle with course salt.  Bake in a 425 degree oven until golden brown.

Let cool and whip up some blue cheese dipping sauce by combining 1/4 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup sour cream, and 1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles.  Mix together and season with salt and pepper.  Thin with a little milk or buttermilk if desired.

Or use your favorite recipe and/or product.  I'm not the boss of you.

I love a meal that is so simple, yet so delicious, and as long as you have frozen chicken breasts available, is always a possibility.  We ate them as is, but they'd also be delicious with some carrot and/or celery sticks.

My poor excuse for food styling aside, this is becoming one of my favorite kitchen tricks.  They're delicious and definitely crowd pleasing, and could not be easier.  You could cut down on time even more and buy a rotisserie chicken for shredding.

I'm a fan of anything I can eat with blue cheese so obviously buffalo flavored things are always welcome, and this version of the classic flavor was no exception.  Easy, cheesy, a little spicy, and dip-able.  They're perfect!

Here's the recipe:

Buffalo Chicken Baked Flautas


Ingredients

• 2 cups shredded chicken (from either a rotisserie chicken or 3 chicken breasts baked in a foil packet)
• 1 package (8 ounces) fat free cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup buffalo sauce (I used Frank's Red Hot)--use less if you want it less spicy, although I found I wanted even more spice than this
• 1/4 cup blue cheese crumbles
• salt and pepper
• 12 burrito sized flour tortillas
• cooking spray
• Course salt for finishing

Method

1. Preheat oven to 425.  Line a baking sheet with foil, set aside.  
2. In a large bowl, combine shredded chicken, softened cream cheese, buffalo sauce, and blue cheese crumbles and mix well to combine.  Season with salt and pepper.  Taste and adjust heat level or seasonings if necessary.
3. Place about 1/4 cup of the filling onto a flour tortilla.  Roll as tight as possible and place seam side down on the baking sheet.  Repeat for remaining 12 tortillas.  You may have some filling left over, which is fine.  It would make a yummy sandwich!
4. Spray the tops of the flautas with cooking spray and sprinkle course salt over the top.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.  
5. Serve with blue cheese dip and carrot and celery sticks. 

Enjoy!

Friday Finds

It's Friday, folks, and that means you get a list.  It also means I look through my Reader and other various food sites to find stellar examples of the thing I'm thinking about most.

I seem to always be hungry when I do this.  Today was no exception.  I think it's a chicken and egg type thing.  Mmm.  Eggs.

A little glimpse into my world this week.  It's pink and I love it.

This week's list is inspired by my slight freak out and subsequent love song to sweet potato pizza.  That's right.  I give you...

Pizza, In All It's Glory

1. When making pizza, you must start with the crust.  Everyone, and I mean everyone, is talking about Jim Lahey's no-knead pizza dough.  Every photograph I see of it looks stunning.
2. Margherita pizza can do no wrong.  It's classic, pure, and reliable.  
3. But if you want to get a little wild, guess what?  It's pizza so you absolutely can!  Corn, lime, zucchini, SUMMER.  It's coming, ya'll.  
4. If I'm ordering pizza, I like Italian sausage as a topping.  I would like to order this right this minute.  
5. Bon Appetit makes pizza in a cast iron skillet.  Of course they do.  
6. I think my love for figs on pizza has been adequately explained here, but this one, with arugula and walnuts, looks heavenly.  
7. And if you haven't already, for the love of Pete, put an egg on it.  
8. Tracy knows a thing or two about pizza, that's why she's on here twice.  Brussels and bacon on pizza? Get out!
9. Shrimp, mushroom and pesto pizza sounds elegant and refined.  Pizza can do everything.  
10. Caramelized onions.  Gorgonzola.  Avocado.  I think this pizza was made especially for me.   Like a soul-pizza.  A pizza-mate.  A Soul-Pizza-Mate.

Anyway.  I'm going to go find something for dinner and try to ignore the pizza take out menu on my refrigerator.  Or maybe I won't!  Happy weekend!

Sweet Potato Pizza

Remember in the last post when I was talking about how I love Spring and Fall because I love change?  This is true, but it's also sort of not true.  Change can be exciting; I love the first warm day in the Spring, the way the sun feels on my skin when it first gets really hot in the Summer, the first Snow, and that first crisp breeze in early October that reminds me of my birthday and color.  On those days, I love how people are all, at the same time, in a generally good mood.  It's something different, and we're all in it together.  

Yes, change is good.  Change is also really, really scary sometimes.  It's necessary for growth and all that, but when you're in the midst of it, it can feel all at once exciting, invigorating, terrifying, and overwhelming.  It's exhausting!

So I registered for my very last graduate class.  In a couple of months I am going to be teaching in a real live classroom in which I am the only adult.  I'll finally have my Masters degree finished and will be doing what I've been wanting to do, but for two years I've done something that I love and that I'm good at, and now I have to go to the next step.  I have to change.  

I'm in the midst of it.

You know what's good when you're feeling in the midst of change?  Pizza.  Pizza changes all the time, and yet, it's always pizza.  It's constant, and it's not.  I feel kind of like this, right now.

Let's make pizza!  And put some potatoes on it!  Embrace change!  

Take one medium sweet potato and peel it.  Then, using a very sharp knife or a mandolin if you have one (lucky!) slice the sweet potato in very, very thin slices.  The potato is going to cook while it's on the pizza, which means they need to be super thin so they can be fully cooked in the 20 or so minutes it takes the pizza to cook.  

Grab some dough and stretch it across a well oiled baking sheet.  I bought mine in the deli section of my grocery store, but you could make your own, too.  If you do buy the pre-made stuff, let it come to room temperature for a bit before you stretch it.  I've found it makes it easier to handle.

Now, for this step you could simply drizzle a bit of olive oil on the dough and then start constructing your pizza.  But I found something called Vidalia Onion Fig Sauce and it was calling to me.  I found it at a little neighborhood market in Beacon Hill, but I know they sell Stonewall Kitchen products all over.  Like right here!

Anyway, I spread about 1/4 a cup of the sauce over the pizza and topped with some of the sliced sweet potatoes.  I arranged them in a pattern of sorts to make it pretty, but you can do this any which way your heart desires.  

Next, grate about 1/2 cup of Gruyere cheese.  This cheese is the stuff dreams are made of, by the way.  Top the potatoes with the Gruyere cheese and a little bit of Parmesan.  Throw some fresh rosemary on top, too.

Season with salt and pepper, and into the oven it goes.  It bakes for about 20 minutes in a very hot oven until the crust is brown and the cheese is bubbly.  Be sure to check the potatoes, too.  They should be fork tender, but not mushy.

This smells amazing, by the way.  It's earthy and sweet and crunchy.  The potatoes are firm but still fully cooked, and the cheese!  Oh, the cheese.  

Slice the pizza into your desired serving size, which for me, was 6 pieces.  You could go smaller, especially if you want to serve this as an appetizer or small-bite.  I wanted dinner, and I wanted it immediately.

This pizza was delicious.  The crust, which baked to a crunchy exterior/tender interior perfection, was the perfect vehicle for these interesting flavors.  I really enjoyed the combination of the earthy rosemary and the sweet sauce.  The potatoes added a wonderful, and unexpected, texture which was kept together by the sharp Gruyere cheese.

It's not your every day, run of the mill, pizza.  But, like I said, it's still pizza, and pizza is always good.  It's change and comfort in one bite, and during this time in my life, that's something I can embrace.

Here's the recipe!

Sweet Potato Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 medium sweet potato, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced very thin
• your favorite pizza dough
• 1/4 cup Stonewall Kitchen Vidalia Onion Fig Sauce*
• 1/2 cup grated Gruyere cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• Salt and Pepper
• A few leaves of fresh rosemary

*If you can't find this particular sauce, or simply aren't into it, you have options: drizzle olive oil over the dough before you place the potatoes on it; use fig jam instead of the sauce; use your favorite sweet-tasting barbecue sauce; omit the sauce all together.  

Method

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.  If using pre-made refrigerated dough, let it come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before making your pizza.
2. Stretch dough fairly thin across the baking sheet.  Top with sauce, then arrange potatoes on top in whatever pattern or design you'd like.  Just make sure they aren't overlapping, as it will affect the cooking time.  Top with Gruyere cheese and Parmesan cheese, then fresh rosemary.  Season with salt and pepper.  
3. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes until crust is golden brown and cheese is completely melted and bubbly.  Check potatoes for doneness, making sure they are fork tender but still a little firm.  
4. Slice and serve.

Enjoy!

Baked Spaghetti with Zucchini and Mozzarella

First off, let me apologize for my brief hiatus.  Last week I was in New Hampshire for a work retreat and then to be completely honest, this weekend, I needed a break.

She's on a break.  She needs a break!
(name that movie)

But I'm back!  And I'm here to talk to you about simple things.

Simple things like Spring.  It's happening here in Boston.  Big time.  Last week there were a couple of nice days, then I went skiing, you know, where the snow is.  When I came back to Boston, the trees were blooming!  All of a sudden, it's Spring!  It's breezy and pink and I don't have to go home from work in the dark!

I absolutely love Spring and Fall.  It's so transitional; no two days are alike.  Summer and Winter seem too static, and I like change better.  Right now, everything is so beautiful, and it makes me a little anxious, like I'm going to miss something.  This might say more about my personality than anything else, but whatever it is, I'm outside more and I'm happy about it.

Another simple thing?  This baked spaghetti.  It's comforting and wonderful.  Kind of like spring, but not as breezy.

I had a hankering for baked pasta but I didn't want to do all the work that a really great lasagna requires.  I really just wanted the melty, browned mozzarella that goes on top, so I decided to embrace simplicity and use spaghetti instead.  We had this a lot as a kid and I remember that the crunchy bits on top were always my favorite.  And, obviously, the cheese.

Let's bake some pasta!

I started by sauteing some sliced zucchini in a little bit of olive oil, and seasoned with salt and pepper.  I wanted to sneak in some vegetables to the dish and the zucchini looked good at the grocery store, but you can use whatever you want!

I let the zucchini cook until just softened, about 5 minutes, then I crushed some whole plum tomatoes by hand into the skillet.  This is fun, by the way.  Wash your hands, then open the can and hold over the skillet.  Take the tomatoes one by one and squeeze.  The result is a saucy sauce but there's still a little bit of texture to it.  I like it much better than diced canned tomatoes.

I seasoned the sauce with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes, then I reduced the heat to low and let it simmer.

Meanwhile, I boiled some salted water and added some spaghetti.  I tried out Ronzoni Smart Taste and was pleasantly surprised.

While the sauce was simmering and the pasta was cooking, I lined an oven safe pan with foil, which in this case was a cast iron skillet because my casserole dish is at K's house.

When the pasta was al dente, I drained the spaghetti and returned it to the pot, then poured the sauce over the top.  I added about 1/2 a cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and tossed to combine, then added the pasta to the prepared pan.  Parmesan cheese went on top.

Finally, I sliced some fresh mozzarella and arranged it on top of the pasta.  I made it in a flower design because I thought it looked pretty.  Spring is everywhere!

I put the whole thing in the oven and baked for about 20 minutes.  After 20 minutes was up, I turned the oven on broil and baked for about 5 minutes until the cheese was melted and a little browned.  The top of the spaghetti was a little crunchy too.  That's the good stuff.

I served it all up in a bowl with some black cracked pepper on top.

This was perfectly simple but really, really good.  The added vegetables were a nice change in texture from the spaghetti and the cheese on top was stretchy and toasty.

The best part about this is that it's completely up to you.  If you want it to taste more like a margherita pizza, add a ton of basil, and cube up some mozzarella to mix in the pasta.  Mediterranean?  Feta cheese, kalamata olives, and oregano.  Primavera?  Add every vegetable you can imagine.

Whatever you do, please bake it. All the flavors meld and mingle and the spaghetti, or whatever pasta you'd like, gets a little crunchy on top.  It's texture and it's good.

This is simple and comforting.  It's also super easy to do on a weekday night.  I'm spending more time outside, where it's breezy and pink, so simple food is what I need.

Here's the recipe!

Baked Spaghetti with Zucchini and Mozzarella


Ingredients:

• 1 box spaghetti (I used Ronzoni Smart Taste)
• 1 28 ounce can whole plum tomatoes, crushed by hand
• Salt and Pepper
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 2 zucchini, sliced lengthwise and then into 1/4 inch slices
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella (I used reduced fat)
• 1 large ball of fresh mozzarella, sliced into rounds
• Parmesan cheese

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook until al dente.  Drain and return to pot.  Line an oven proof dish with foil and set aside.
3. In a large skillet, add 2 teaspoons olive oil and heat over medium heat.  Add zucchini and saute for 5 minutes until slightly softened.  Add tomatoes and season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.  Reduce heat to low and simmer until pasta is ready.
4. When pasta is ready, add sauce to pasta and toss to combine.  Add shredded mozzarella cheese and toss to combine.  Add pasta to the prepared baking dish and top with shredded Parmesan cheese.  Finally, arrange sliced fresh mozzarella on top in whatever fashion you'd like.
6. Serve in bowls with a little bit of fresh cracked pepper on top.

Enjoy!

How to Cook the Perfect Steak

...In my opinion.

...Without a grill.

...In a tiny kitchen.

I've learned in my year or so of really eating red meat that people's opinions about it vary drastically.  Burgers are the subject of serious thought and debate, roast beef can be completely polarizing (and completely delicious) and as far as the perfect steak goes, well, it can go any which way depending on the person.  Cut, thickness, grill or no grill, marinated or just salt and pepper--these "perfect" recipes abound.

For my money, though, I've found that the way I like my steak is in the form of a thick filet, started on a screaming-hot cast iron skillet and finished in the oven.  With butter.  I don't use it often, but with steak, butter is a must.

My perfect steak starts with bringing the steak to room temperature.  The research I've found on the Internet, and through my steak-eating friends, says that this helps the steak cook evenly.  Anyway, it seems to work for me.  After about an hour on the counter, I was ready to cook.  I brought out my trusty, heavy, cast iron skillet and melted about half a stick of butter with some olive oil to bring the smoke point up so the butter didn't burn.

I seasoned both sides of the steaks liberally with salt and pepper, but especially with the salt.  Once the butter was melted and the skillet was super hot, I added the steaks.  At this point you want to hear sizzling, and lots of it.  That means it's searing, which means it's locking in all of those juices.

After a couple of minutes, I flipped them and let them sear on the other side.

Meanwhile, my oven was preheating to 400 degrees.  Once the steak had been seared on all sides and had formed a nice, dark crust, I added a pat of butter to the top of each one and put the whole thing in the oven for about 7-10 minutes, depending on how rare you like your steak or how hot your oven gets.

When they were done, I transferred the steaks to a plate and covered with foil to let them rest.  This redistributes the juices so when you cut into them they don't go all over the plate.

While the steaks were resting, I finished my sides.  I made roasted broccoli with lemon and Parmesan...

...and of course, mashed potatoes.  I don't have a potato masher, but my whisk seems to work fine.  Innovation!

This being a Valentine's dinner, we also had some appetizers: cream cheese with hot pepper jelly and crackers, and fresh mozzarella with pepperoni.

But the real star was the steak.

It had a nice crust on the outside that was well seasoned and, considering the amount of salt I used, not at all salty.  The sear on the stove, finish in the oven method makes for a perfectly cooked steak, which for me is medium rare.

This method of cooking steak is also pretty easy.  With the right tools, a great cut of meat, and plenty of butter, you can make a steakhouse quality steak in about 30 minutes.

If you have strong feelings about what constitutes a perfect steak, I'd love to hear them.  But if you're still searching for a way to make quality steak at home, try this method.  Add some potatoes and a vegetable and you've got a delicious, and impressive, meal in under an hour!

Here's the recipe!

The Perfect Steak


Ingredients

• 2 beef tenderloin (filet mignon) steaks cut about 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick
• 4 teaspoons kosher salt
• Black pepper
• 1/2 a stick of butter, plus two tablespoons
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Method

1. About an hour before your estimated cooking time, take the steaks out of the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature on the counter.  About 15 minutes before cooking, liberally season with salt and pepper, but especially with salt--about 1/2 a teaspoon of salt on each side of each steak.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large, heavy, cast iron skillet, melt the butter and olive oil over high heat.  When the butter and oil is melted and shimmering, add the steaks.  You should hear a loud sizzle.  Let sear on each side for about 3-4 minutes, until a dark crust forms on each side.  
3. Top each steak with about a tablespoon of butter and transfer the whole skillet to the oven.  Let cook in the oven for at least 6 minutes.  I probably left mine in there closer to 8 minutes because my oven is weird.  Check for desired temperature by pressing on the middle of the steaks with tongs.  The steak should not feel to soft, and should give about the same amount that the palm part of your thumb does.  Is that confusing?  Here, look at this.
4. When the steaks are done, transfer them to a plate and cover with foil.  Let them rest for at least 10 minutes, which will let the juices have time to redistribute throughout the steak.  
5. Serve with desired sides and steak sauce, if you must.  

Enjoy!

Friday Finds

I'm currently sitting on a couch in New Jersey watching one person play Just Dance and another run on the treadmill and I couldn't be happier watching everyone else be active.  It's a relaxing weekend, and it's just what I needed!

Like this French Onion Soup, this week is all about the cheese.  It seems that most of the recipes catching my eye this week were cheesy, so without further ado...

A Cheesy List:

1. Starting with the most obvious, macaroni and cheese.  But with truffle oil!  Everything is better with truffle oil, even cheese. 
2. Cheese isn't the star of this dish, but even so, I can't stop thinking about this blue cheese coleslaw.  With pulled pork?  Oh man.
3. Tracy describes these as artichoke dip bars with cheddar cheese.  I love all of those words.  
4. Gougeres is just fun to say and these Parmesan and rosemary gougeres look fun to eat.  
5. Gorgonzola stuffed dates wrapped in salty prosciutto.  This may be the perfect food.  
6. These ham and cheese biscuits are what got me hung up on cheese this week.  Add some eggs and you have a breakfast sandwich!
7. These cheddar popovers would be perfect with tomato soup, which is the perfect meal before the weather warms up for good.
8. As a native Texan, I firmly believe that you can't go wrong with queso.  Ever.  
9. Ale and cheddar soup sounds deliciously sinful, and reminds me of the movie New In Town when the plant foreman says "Oh for cryin' in the beer cheese soup!"
10. And finally, cheddar, beer and mustard pull apart bread.  Soft yeast bread with cheesy goodness and spicy mustard!

I'm off to see what this Just Dance game is all about, but I hope you all have a cheesy, delicious weekend!

Homemade Baguettes

I have this fantasy in which I live in Paris.  I wake up at 10am every day, then proceed to get a milky cup of cafe au lait and a chocolate croissant, then take a leisurely walk along the Seine.  When I'm feeling peckish again, I grab a baguette and a hunk of cheese and sit for a long lunch on a sunny patch of grass on the Ile St. Louis.   I lounge there, eating bread and cheese and reading Hemingway.  I have red wine too.  There's an accordion playing in the background and I'm wearing stripes.  I sit there with my bread, my book, and my Bordeaux until one of them runs out, then I take a deep breath, thank my lucky stars, and go along my merry way.  It's a good life I have in Paris.

It's a good life I have here, too, though.  Sure, most days I have to get up earlier, and while we do have a river, there are no islands in it.  Even so, I get to live in another one of my favorite cities in the world and I can make baguettes at home, anytime I want.  So, I'm not complaining.

Homemade baguettes.  This was by far my favorite stand mixer adventure and the one that I am most proud of.  I can't tell you how satisfying it was to start a project on a Saturday morning with serious amounts of trepidation and end Sunday night with my entire building smelling like a French bakery and four golden loaves to show for my hard work.

Let's make baguettes!

The day before you want fresh baguettes (which in theory was, like, yesterday), begin the process.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, add all of your ingredients: instant yeast, bread flour, salt, and warm water.

Mix with the paddle attachment until a shaggy dough is formed, much like this:

Attach the dough hook and mix on medium speed for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and tacky but not too sticky.

Remove dough from stand mixer and add to a lightly oiled bowl.  Let rise in the fridge for up to four days and at the very least overnight.

The next day, remove the dough from the refrigerator at least two hours prior to baking and let it come to room temperature.  It should have doubled in size overnight.  Gently transfer it to a lightly floured work space, being careful to release as little gas as possible.   

Divide dough into four equal parts.  I keep it in a circular shape and cut it vertically then horizontally to ensure I'm getting equally sized pieces.  Once the dough is divided, begin shaping the baguettes.

Roll one piece of dough out until it is roughly a thick rectangle.  Fold the bottom and top edges into the middle and press to seal.  Then fold the dough on top of itself again and seal the edges well.  Wet your hands slightly and starting from the middle and working your way out, gently roll the dough so it becomes elongated.  Place seam side down on a baking sheet.  Repeat for the remaining pieces of dough (or let them hang out in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and have fresh bread all week!)

Let the formed baguettes proof (rise) for one and a half hours more.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees and place  a casserole pan on the bottom rack of the oven, below where the baguettes will be baked.  Just prior to baking, take a sharp knife and score the tops of the baguettes, but don't go too deep or they'll break apart when you transfer them later.

When oven is preheated, transfer loaves to the top rack of the oven and add one cup of hot water to the pan underneath the baguettes.  This creates steam while baking and gives baguettes their golden, crusty exterior.

Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the pan and bake for 15-20 minutes more, until the baguettes are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.  Remove from the pan to stop the cooking and let cool on a wire rack, or in my case, by the window, until ready to serve.

This two-day undertaking was a crash course in bread baking if there ever was one.  I figured if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it. As I mentioned before, even if these had been a disaster, the smell alone was worth it.  The smell of baking bread is one of life's great pleasures, isn't it?

You should wait until the baguettes have cooled because they slice much neater that way and that's what the recipe says to do.  However, if you're at all like me and find yourself doing any or all of the following: wearing new clothes the day you buy them; looking to the end of the chapter as your reading a book to see how long it is; or always, always looking when someone says "don't look!", you will not wait.  You will eat just a corner of one of these hot, soft, luxurious creations right away and burn your hand in the process.

As far as taste goes, these were baguettes!  That's the best thing I can say about them; they were crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, and were perfect with salted butter and jam or, my personal favorite, any type of cheese, ever.  

You've all heard me go on and on and on about my stand mixer.  I have completely fallen head over heals for that appliance and how easy it makes my life.  So far the dough hook has been my best friend and I have made pretzels, bagels, hamburger buns, and, of course, my tour de force, these baguettes.  If you have a stand mixer, or have the space, the strength, and the patience to knead by hand, you should try these.

Sitting in the sun drinking wine and eating bread and cheese in Paris sounds wonderful, but making these at home is equally as great.

Here's the recipe!

Homemade Baguettes (From Not Without Salt)


Ingredients

• 5 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 2 1/4 teaspoon (1 package) instant yeast
• 2 cups warm water 

Method

1. Prep Day: Combine all ingredients in bowl of mixer, set with paddle attachment, and mix on lowest speed for 1 minute until well blended and smooth.  Dough should form a coarse, shaggy ball.  Switch to dough hook and mix on medium-low speed for 5 minutes.  Dough should be smooth and tacky but not sticky.  Transfer to a large clean, lightly oiled bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and immediately refrigerate overnight or up to 4 days.
2. Baking Day:  Remove dough from refrigerator 2 hours prior to baking.  Gently transfer to lightly floured work surface, being careful to release as little gas as possible.  Divide dough into four equal portions. You can also remove just enough dough to make one baguette and have fresh bread for the rest of the week!  
3. To form the baguettes pat each piece of dough into a thick rectangle.  Fold the top side to the middle and press to seal.  Fold the bottom side up to the middle and again, press to seal.  Fold the top over onto itself and form a new seal on the bottom.  With lightly floured hands, gently rock hands back and forth starting at the middle and working your way out, until the loaf is elongated and slightly tapered at the end.  Repeat with remaining pieces of dough.  Cover with plastic wrap and let proof for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Add a casserole dish to the bottom oven rack.  Just before baking, score the baguettes with a sharp serrated knife or razor.  Ensure that the cut goes no further than 1/4 an inch into the loaf.  When ready, add baguettes to oven and pour one cup of hot water into the casserole dish on the lower rack.  This serves as a steam pan and gives the baguettes their golden, crusty exterior.  Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake for 15-20 more minutes, until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for at least an hour.  Serve with butter, cheese, or as the star of a sandwich.  

Enjoy!