French Bags

Ingredients

How to bake French Baguettes at home

Using a baking stone or baking steel with definitely improve the oven spring for your baguettes. The stone and the steel both retain heat during the oven pre-heat. When the dough is transferred to the stone or steel the heat is quickly transferred to the dough creating the “spring” in the dough. This helps with the open texture and the open ear which signifies a great baguette.

Which should I use? If you have both I would choose the steel over the stone as it retains and gives off more heat, resulting in better spring. Using a baking steel to bake larger loaves can sometimes result in the bottom over-cooking due to the higher heat retention and heat transfer. But for baguettes, this is perfect as they don’t need to cook for long due to their shape and speed of cooking. If you have a baking stone then that will work fine too, and there will be no danger of overcooking the bottom.

Creating steam in your oven will stop the crust from forming too quickly and help it expand during the initial part of the bake (again helping with open crumb & oven spring). You can heat a baking tray or a pan in the bottom of the oven. When you’ve transferred your baguettes to the oven you can add a little water (about 40ml approximately), or a couple of ice cubes to the baking tray or pan. I use a stainless steel chain (non-treated) coiled in a baking tray as my steam vessel. You can see that in the video.

Ingredients

Poolish or pre-ferment

150g strong bread flour (protein content 12% or higher)

150g room temperature water

3g instant dried yeast

Main dough

303g of poolish (pre-fermented dough) from the above recipe

220g room temp water

13g sea salt

4g instant dried yeast

380g strong bread flour (protein content 12% or higher)

Times & temperatures

My kitchen temperature: 20c / 68f

Oven temperature: 250c / 485f

Oven setting: Bake mode (top & bottom heat with the fan turned off)

Bake time: 20 minutes

Method

1. Mix the ingredients for the poolish (pre-fermentation) in a bowl, cover and leave in the fridge for 12-24 hours, or proof at room temperature for 12 hours. If your fridge is cold and the preferment is stalling then bring it out to room temperature to finish.

2. Once the mixture has risen, dropped back down, and the surface is covered with broken bubbles we are ready to make the main dough.

3. Add all of the ingredients for the main dough together in a large container or bowl and bring together into a rough dough. It doesn’t need to be smooth at this point. Cover and leave out at room temperature for 30 minutes.

4. Turn the dough out onto the work surface. You don’t need to use bench flour. Give the dough a quick 2 minute knead. The aim here is to make sure the dough is smooth and all of the ingredients are well incorporated. The gluten and strength in the dough will develop during the bulk fermentation stage. Cover and place in your fridge for 12-18 hrs.

5. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and shape it into balls. Leave to rest covered at room temperature for 20 minutes. I put these in a baking tray which I lightly coat with oil to stop them from sticking. I cover them with a large plastic bag.

6. Now it’s time to shape. I find it easier to work with two pieces of dough at a time. You can also stagger the bake this way. Use a little flour on the bench to stop the dough from sticking. Roll the dough up into a sausage shape, try not to de-gas the dough. Check the video for the technique I use. Rest covered, on the bench for 10 minutes, this will allow the dough to relax and make the next stage easier.

7. Roll the dough into a sausage again (please check the video), the aim is to lengthen the sausage shape and seal the dough down as you go. The last stage is to roll the sausage shape out and taper the ends of the dough.

8. Cover the baguettes and let them proof for about 45 minutes, the time will depend on the temperature of your kitchen. The baguettes are ready to bake when the dough feels gassy but not ready to collapse. The dough gently pushes back when softly pressed with your finger. Check the video for a visual guide.

9. Make sure your oven is preheated and if using a baking stone or baking steel I'd suggest pre-heating for an hour.

10. Dust the baguette with flour and score with a sharp knife or a razor blade. Cut a series of lines in the top of the baguette like I show in the video. You can also check the FAQ on scoring towards the bottom of this article.

11. Transfer to the oven and bake. Not forgetting to add water or ice to your baking tray to create steam.

12. After 10 minutes open the oven door to make sure there is no steam left in the oven (this will ensure the exterior begins to crisp up). Continue to bake for another 10 minutes until a deep golden brown colour. Be careful not to over-bake. Leave to cool and enjoy!

Notes

https://youtu.be/bO0KVVrUj0Y?si=YFa-zhyN4JbvdNlF