Name: Poitevin twist
Prep time: 34 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 3 h 19 min
Yield: 4 baguettes
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 200 g walnuts; 200 g cheese; 2 tablespoons walnut oil; 500 g plain white flour (French Type 65); 300 g water; 20 g yeast; 9 g salt; 4 tablespoons walnut oil

Step by step recipe

Step 1 - ⌛ 15 min.

Coarsly chop 200 g walnuts and spread out on a baking sheet, then toast in the oven at 300°F (150°C) for 15 minutes.

Step 2

Leave to cool completely.

Step 3 - ⌛ 5 min.

Cut 200 g cheese into small dice.

Step 4 - ⌛ 2 min.

TIp the toasted walnuts and diced goat's cheese into a bowl. Pour 2 tablespoons walnut oil over and mix thoroughly. This can be prepared the day before (or a few days earlier) and kept in the fridge, coverered with plastic film.

Step 5

In bread-making, the water temperature is always important. It's not a fixed value, but related to 3 other temperatures: 1) the temperature of your flour, 2) the room temperature in your kitchen, and 3) the basic temperature of this recipe, which is 60-64°C.

You can calculate the temperature of the water for this recipe in one click, using this small calculator.

Step 6 - ⌛ 10 min.

Put into a mixer bowl: 500 g plain white flour (French Type 65), 300 g water, 20 g yeast and 9 g salt.

Knead for 5 minutes on the slowest speed, then a further 5 minutes on the second speed.

Note: For the best way to knead, see: A few tips for effective kneading at home.

Step 7 - ⌛ 3 min.

At the end of kneading, incorporate 4 tablespoons walnut oil a little at a time.

Step 8 - ⌛ 3 min.

Tip in the walnut and cheese mixture all at once and knead for a further 1 or 2 minutes until well mixed in.

Step 9 - ⌛ 2 min.

Tip the dough out onto a floured worktop...

Step 10 - ⌛ 1 hour

...and gather into a ball.

Transfer to a large, clean bowl, cover with a plastic sheet and leave at room temperature to rest for 1 hour.

Step 11 - ⌛ 20 min.

After resting, weight out into lumps of 250 g and shape into balls.

Cover these with a plastic sheet again and leave to relax for 20 minutes.

Step 12 - ⌛ 5 min.

Shape the balls into short baguettes.

Step 13

Lay in baguette tins or moulds...

Step 14 - ⌛ 45 min.

...or in proving baskets (bannetons).

Cover with a plastic sheet and leave to rest for 45 minutes.

Step 15 - ⌛ 4 min.

Just before putting the bread in the oven, twist each baguette enough turns to make a definite feature.

Step 16 - ⌛ 25 min.

Bake for 25 minutes at 480°F (250°C).

Note: As when baking any bread, you should ensure that the oven is filled with steam for the first 15 minutes of baking. This page shows you how; it really is the secret of golden-brown, crusty loaves.

Nutritional information

	Proteins	Carbohydrates	Fats	Calories	Energy
Per 100 g	10 g RDI=15 %	39 g RDI=15 %	14 g RDI=19 %	318 kcal RDI=16 %	1,331 kJ RDI=16 %
Per baguette	33 g RDI=51 %	127 g RDI=48 %	45 g RDI=61 %	1,043 kcal RDI=52 %	4,365 kJ RDI=52 %
Whole recipe	132 g RDI=202 %	509 g RDI=192 %	178 g RDI=244 %	4,170 kcal RDI=209 %	17,460 kJ RDI=209 %

Whole recipe

Possible allergens in this recipe: nuts, milk, gluten