Equipment needed:
Kitchen scale with tare button (a must for consistent baking results at home)
Rounded bowl scraper/spatula (this is the bread making tool I value the most and it costs $2.00! Mine is a Fat Daddio's.
Medium size bowl
Parchment paper (I think this is the easiest way to bake these, I forget sometimes and have to pry these off the pan)and baking sheet
Squirt bottle with plain water or a couple of ice cubes
Total time about 8 hours, hands on time less than 20 minutes-depending on how good you are at shaping a baguette.
This is the recipe I use (with modifications I often make in parenthesis)- as you can see it isn’t very detailed.
3 ounces starter
11 ounces flour (I sometimes use AP, often I use about 3 ounces of whole wheat or spelt and 8 of bread flour)
¼ ounce salt
6.6 ounces water
mix to shaggy
rest 30 minutes
fold 4X @ 30 minute intervals
bulk ferment 1 ½ hours, fold
bulk ferment 2 hours, divide
preshape- let rest 15 minutes
shape
proof 1 to 1 ½ hours
bake at 500 degrees with steam for 20 minutes
Additional thoughts and notes:
Our starter's hydration level varies. There are a lot of great threads over at The Fresh Loaf if you want to learn all about establishing and maintaining a starter. I'm pretty loosey-goosey about the whole thing, I feed the starter when I remember and usually throw it in the fridge if I'm not baking much and am feeding the starter less than once a day in warm weather or once every two days in cool weather. I made this starter six years ago and it is a tough kid, she can take some falls on the playground and get right back up again.
And about the timing on this recipe- I've followed it to the letter and I've also had a few of the 30 minute stretches go an hour or so. I've also had the first bulk ferment turn into an overnight in the refrigerator. (Actually the bread in the photos above sat for two days in the fridge, it was still quite good but I definitely pushed the boundaries.)I think the handling is key, using one of those spatula/scrapers is gluten forming magic.
Additional thoughts and notes:
Our starter's hydration level varies. There are a lot of great threads over at The Fresh Loaf if you want to learn all about establishing and maintaining a starter. I'm pretty loosey-goosey about the whole thing, I feed the starter when I remember and usually throw it in the fridge if I'm not baking much and am feeding the starter less than once a day in warm weather or once every two days in cool weather. I made this starter six years ago and it is a tough kid, she can take some falls on the playground and get right back up again.
And about the timing on this recipe- I've followed it to the letter and I've also had a few of the 30 minute stretches go an hour or so. I've also had the first bulk ferment turn into an overnight in the refrigerator. (Actually the bread in the photos above sat for two days in the fridge, it was still quite good but I definitely pushed the boundaries.)I think the handling is key, using one of those spatula/scrapers is gluten forming magic.
