Baguette
Baguette
recipe v2.1, 76% hydration, 25 min prep, 17 min bake
Ingredients
Makes 2 baguettes
flour 420g
water 320ml
salt 9g
yeast 2g
Use strong white bread flour. It makes a difference.
Recipe
1. Mix all ingredients until no dry patches of flour are visible. It should look shaggy at this point, close to porridge consistency. Cover and let rest for 30 mins.
2. One set of stretch and fold. Cover and let rest for 30 mins.
3. Two sets of coil fold 30 mins apart. Cover and leave in fridge overnight.
Open it out sideways too. Otherwise it gets stiff under its own tension, like folding paper too many times.
Baking across multiple days? Use the dough storage calculator.
4. Flour the work surface, turn out the dough and dust the top. Divide into two, shape into rough baguettes, cover and rest for 15 mins.
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5. Final shape: Flatten, fold and pinch into baguettes to ensure they are tight. This will allow them to spring in the oven. Place on tray, cover with tea towel and prove until 1.5x in size.
6. Preheat oven to 230°C with an empty metal tray on the bottom rack.
7. Score baguettes with 3/4 lines down the middle using a sharp blade.
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8. Load baguettes into the oven and immediately pour a cup of boiling water into the hot tray. Bake at 230°C for 10 mins then 210°C for 7 mins.
Batch and Freezer
Par-baking: Pull when the crust is firm and still pale with no colour. The crumb inside must be fully cooked — a probe should read 93-96°C in the centre. Colour alone is not enough. Pulling too early is the most common mistake and produces a gummy, collapsed loaf on re-bake.
Cool on a wire rack for at least 1 hour. Do not wrap while still warm as condensation destroys the crust.
Open-freeze on a tray for 1-2 hours until the surface is solid, then vacuum seal. The thin crust cracks if you seal it while still pliable. Store flat with nothing pressing on top.
From frozen: straight into a 230°C oven on a preheated stone or tray. Pour 50ml of hot water into a small hot tray at the bottom of the oven as you load the bread, close the door. 14-18 minutes. Use within 6-8 weeks.
Dividing in bulk: 375g per baguette. If a piece is off, place the smaller piece on the larger, fold the dough over to envelope it, do 2-3 letter folds and rest 10-15 minutes. Do not knead it in.