Here's a great recipe for an authentic French Baguette crispy and with a soft crumb. I've used Poolish preferment to give the bread an extraordinary taste and good digestibility. Try it with a slice of good cheese, or alone, right out of the oven!
Prepare the poolish dough mixing all the ingredients and ferment at 14-15°C (57°F-59°F) for 14 16 hours until the dough level starts decreasing at the center.
Mix flour, malt, and the first quantity of water (about half) and stop the machine for 10-15 minutes. After this time, add the yeast, the ripe poolish, and begin kneading until you get an elastic dough with a good glutinous mesh.
Dissolve the salt in some of the remaining water and add it to the dough. Continue adding the water slowly until the dough becomes soft, very hydrated, but bound.
Let the dough ferment 90min at room temperature.
Divide the dough into portions of about 350gr and stretch them to the length of 30cm, dusting them with abundant flour. Let them rest for 15minutes.
Take each piece of dough and lengthen it to about 60cm (or less depending on the width of the pan). Make them proof on a couche generously dusted with flour, folding the cloth to separate each baguette. If you have a Baguette Pan (that it's quite easy to find), you can directly make the bread proofing in the pan!
Let the Baguette proof at 25°C (77°F) for 90 minutes
Before baking, leave the baguette at room temperature for 10 minutes and scare the surface using the bread lame
Bake at 200-210°C (392°F - 410°F), creating a bit of steam in the oven. For that, you can use a small pot of boiling water placed at the bottom of the oven. Before taking out the baguettes from the oven, slightly ajar the oven door to allow the bread to dry.
Baking will take about 20min. Take out of the oven and let cool standing up to avoid having crust breakage.