baguettes made with fish stock!?

I got my inspiration for this recipe from an article I saw last fall in the food section of Vice. It was talking about how to make the ultimate turkey sandwich using baguettes made with turkey stock in lieu of water. One of the key ingredients to a stock is water, after all and upon reading this article, my mind thought of the weirdest item possible to use instead of turkey stock: seafood stock! 

I honestly thought the bread would end up tasting like seafood but surprisingly, it didn't. This is a perfect recipe for Lent, even though the holiday has passed for this year because when I think of Lent, I think of fish fillet sandwiches from McDonald's(don't ask me why!), so I thought this recipe would be perfect for my family's Easter gathering! 

Even though the baguettes weren't long and thin like the traditional kind, it was s hit with my relatives, with the baguettes tasting just like a baguette should: yeasty and crispy. 

I decided to switch things up and have someone who isn't my dad try my food- my aunt Renee tried the bread and she couldn't guess the baguettes were made with seafood stock! To be honest, I don't think anybody could ever guess the baguettes were made with fish. Knowing me, she thought I made the bread with worms or insects. Aunt Renee was surprised that the baguettes, made with seafood stock, tasted really good! 

I had a lot of baguettes left over so I froze some of them and refrigerated a couple of them for short-term consumption. 

To freeze baguettes: 

Wrap each slice in aluminum foil. Put however many slices you want to eat a time in a Ziploc bag and freeze. They're good for up to 8 months. 

To reheat baguettes from frozen state: 

Cook each slice in the aluminum foil in a 300 degree Fahrenheit oven for 10 minutes. 

To reheat baguettes from refrigerated state: 

Follow the directions to this link

You will need: 

For the cooking equipment: 

A stand mixer(very helpful)
1-2 large bowls
A wooden spoon
A bench scraper
Nonstick cooking spray
Plastic wrap
A rolling pin
Parchment paper
1-2 large baking sheets

For the baguettes: 

3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup bread flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1 tbsp. Crisco shortening
1 1/2 tbsp. powdered milk
1 tbsp. instant yeast
1 3/4 cups seafood stock
2 1/2 tsp. granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
Olive oil to brush on top of the baguettes 

1. Put the first 6 ingredients into a large bowl and mix all the ingredients up using a wooden spoon in a large bowl(it's more durable than a metal spoon, especially for mixing dough) or a stand mixer if you have one. While mixing the ingredients up, you want to break up the shortening using the butt of a wooden spoon. 
2. Heat the seafood stock in a microwave-safe container for 30 seconds, or until it's heated to 115 degrees Fahrenheit. You want the stock to be warm the touch; any hotter and the yeast will die off. 
3. Mix the stock into the flour mixture. Mix everything together until you get a dough that shines. This step could take at least 10 minutes. 
4. Mix the sugar and salt into the dough. 
5.  Spray a clean, dry, large bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer the dough to that bowl. Scrape any stuck dough with a bench scraper. 
6. To make your proofing box, preheat an oven on the default setting(mine was at 350 degrees Fahrenheit) without the oven light on for 2 minutes. Then stop preheating the oven and turn the oven light on. 
7. Cover the bowl with the dough in it with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in the oven/proofing box and let the dough proof(grow) for 30 minutes or until it has doubled in size. 
8. Flour a surface like a countertop and scrape the dough onto it. Using a bench scraper, cut the dough into 3-4 pieces. 
9. Roll the dough into a rectangle shape using a floured rolling pin. Roll the dough into a cylinder shape and stretch it.  Fold the dough again(optional). 
10. Put a piece of parchment paper on a large baking sheet. Spray the parchment paper with nonstick cooking spray. Place each baguette onto the baking sheet. 
11. Repeat step 6 and place the baguettes into the oven/proofing box to let the baguettes proof(grow) for 40 minutes, or until they've doubled in size. 
12. Brush each baguette with olive oil. Cut 4 diagonal slits on the top of each baguette. 
13. Bake the baguettes in a 425 degree Fahrenheit oven for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, leave the oven door ajar with the handle of a wooden spoon. This will enable some of the steam to leave the oven. Cook the baguettes with the oven door ajar for an additional 10 minutes. Bon appetit! 

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