Delicious fresh Oregano Baguette

During those days with longer weekends and people coming over for brunch or lunch or...I need quite a lot of bread. Of course there is some in the freezer and then there are the breads that you finish by only baking them. But I find that they do not taste as well as a fresh bread from the baker. Some weeks ago I discovered on the King Arthur  website a recipe for a Artisan Bread. And they say that you can store the dough for up to one week in the freezer. In fact for a long time I could´nt understand that one can regfrigerate a dough with yeast and that it will nonetheless raise perfectly. The first time I tried such a "refrigerated dough" was the recipe for a Focaccia that I found in the book "Delicious Days" from Nicole Stich. I made many variation from this Focaccia  (you can find the recipe on my Blog or the original recipe on the Blog from Delicious Days). And now a second recipe for bread where the dough is stored in the fridge. And it also works! You get great perfect crunchy fresh Baguettes! When I served them the last days no one could believe that I´ve done them by my own... So really a great recipe that needs no much time for preparation but needs enough time to raise at room temperature to get a delicious puffy and crispy Bread.

You need (for about 6 small Baguettes or 3 bigger one):

3 cups hot water

8 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. salt

1 Tbsp. quick yeast

2 Tbsp. dried Oregano

To prepare:
1. In a large bowl pour the water, add the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Mix until there are no dry spots; the texture of the dough should be fairly soft and shaggy looking.
2. Knead the dough gently for a few minutes, by hand or with the dough hook of your kitchen aid (or any other machine). Cover the container and let the dough rest at room temperature for 2 hours.

3. Refrigerate overnight, or for up to 7 days!
4. To bake baguettes; scoop as many pieces of dough as you want and depending of the size of the Baguettes you intend to make. Place on a floured parchment paper (or work surface) and turn over to coat both sides of the dough with flour then shape into a rough, slightly flattened oval. Sprinkle some of the Oregano over the dough.

5. Fold the dough in half lengthwise, and seal the edges with the heel of your hand. Flatten slightly, sprinkle once again with some Oregano and fold one more time lengthwise and seal again.

6. With the seam side down, cup your fingers and gently roll the dough a little bit.
7. Place the Baguettes seam-side down onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
8. Cover and allow the baguette to rise till it's very puffy, about 2 hours.
9.When the bread is puffy and doubled in size, slash the baguette several times on the diagonal with a very sharp knife.

10. Spritz the baguette generously with warm water, (this will make the crust super crisp and crackly) and bake in the 220 C preheated oven for about 25 minutes, until golden brown.

Would wonder if you would not fall in love with this recipe. In fact there is some dough in my fridge..think that there will be some fresh Baguettes this weekend... :)