Baguettes with Poolish
Jun 28th, 2008 by SteveB
It’s been said that the baguette, although one of the simplest breads (being comprised of only flour, water, yeast and salt), is perhaps the most difficult bread to make well. A good baguette has a thin, crisp crust, a light and airy crumb having a distribution of both large and small air pockets (alveoli), and a slightly sweet, almost nutty flavor. Being the perfectionist that I am, I would also add that a good baguette has to look enticing, being a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach.
The baguette formula used here is a modification of the Baguettes with Poolish formula described by Hamelman on page 101 of Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes (see book for baker’s percentages). The main changes were in the method of mixing (see Musings on Mixing…), the amount of yeast used in the final dough and the elimination of the folding step.
Poolish
- 10.6 oz. King Arthur All-Purpose Flour
- 10.6 oz. Water
- 1/8 tsp. Instant Yeast
Final Dough
- 1 lb., 5.4 oz. King Arthur All-Purpose Flour
- 10.6 oz. Water
- 0.6 oz. Salt
- 1 tsp. Instant Yeast
- 1 lb., 5.2 oz. (all of the above) Poolish
Prepare the poolish the night before baking. Mix the flour, water and yeast together until the mixture is the consistency of a smooth, thick batter. Cover and let it ferment overnight at a temperature of around 72oF until mature (about 12 hrs).
The next morning, prepare the final dough by combining the flour, yeast, salt, water and poolish, just until all the ingredients are mixed and well hydrated (I find a dough whisk to be particularly suited to this task). The water should be at a temperature which will give a final dough temperature of around 76oF (more on this in a later post). I also used less yeast than the Hamelman formula calls for because of the high temperature of my kitchen at this time of year (the higher temperature would shorten the first fermentation time, and hence compromise the flavor, if the quantity of yeast was not reduced). Depending upon your conditions, you may need a bit more or less yeast.
After the ingredients have been fully incorporated, the dough is mixed by hand (see Musings on Mixing…) for about 10-15 min., until the dough develops a smooth skin which doesn’t tear while mixing. The dough is then placed in a lightly oiled, covered container and allowed to ferment. This first fermentation is judged complete when the imprint of a finger poked into the dough remains. In this particular case, the first fermentation lasted 1 1/2 hours. In addition, the dough was judged to have developed sufficient strength after the hand mixing so that the folding step during the first fermentation suggested by Hamelman was not needed.
Once the first fermentation was judged complete, the dough was divided into 4 equal pieces, by weight, and each piece was given a gentle round pre-shaping. The dough pieces were then covered with plastic and allowed to rest for 20 min. After the rest, each dough piece was shaped into a baguette and then nestled within the folds of a linen couche, as shown below:
The shaped baguette dough is then covered with the remaining linen and allowed a second fermentation time of about 1 hr. The second fermentation is judged complete when a finger press results in an impression that lasts for 2-3 secs.
After the second fermentation is complete, the baguettes are scored with a lame and baked in a 450oF oven for 20 min., with steam being supplied during the first 10 mins. via a hand steamer and an inverted buffet tray with a small hole drilled into it (details of the steaming technique are described here):
Very nice blog, Steve, and great baguettes! These are definitely a feast for the eyes. It looks like in addition to the “Steam Maker Bread Baker” you also have a steam pan in the bottom of your oven?
Great explanations and video! Now I’ve got visuals…. and no more excuses. The problem I have is the wooden table surface. I find it more difficult using flour.
I ordered the book and will be getting it in about 2 weeks time.
Jane
Did I read right that you are a beginner?!? These breads look so lovely. And thanks for the site–another to add to my favorites!
Thank you all for the compliments! My hope is that this blog will act as a conduit for sharing new techniques and formulae with each other, all towards the goal of baking better bread.
Susan – Being that you are the author of one of my favorite bread blogs (wildyeastblog.com), your comments are highly valued. I was able to put together my own ersatz “Steam Maker Bread Baker”, having already owned a hand-held steamer. The rock-filled pan in the bottom of my oven is not used for steam but rather to increase the thermal mass of the oven. I find that this allows the oven to get back up to temperature faster whenever the oven door is opened.
Jane – I’m glad the video was of value to you. I initially mixed my dough on a wooden tavolini board but found that the wood was absorbing too much moisture from the dough. I probably should have treated the surface with some type of food-grade oil. I think you’ll really enjoy Hamelman’s book.
Abbey – Although I am not a professional baker, I have been baking bread at home for a few years. It really does take time for one to get a feel for the dough. It probably took me longer than most!
Great instructions. The videos are excellent. Add a video on your scoring technique! Your baguettes are just beautiful! I’m inspired.
David
David, stay tuned for more on scoring and other shaping techniques.
Are the measurements for your final dough correct? I added the poolish and then measured out the water, yeast, and flour. After mixing I got a very runny batter. Nothing close to the consistency allowing one to grab a pinch dough.
Alex, I checked the quantities for the final dough and they are correct. The overall hydration of the final dough comes in at 66%. One factor which will affect the consistency of the final dough is the protein content of the flour being used. I used King Arthur All-Purpose flour, which has a protein content of around 11.7%. All things being equal, for a given water content, the lower the protein content, the looser the dough. If the flour you are using is already around 11.7%, I would try adding just enough water to the final dough to give you the consistency shown.
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Hi Steve – do you remember the dimensions of your baguettes? I’ll try these for a party on Saturday -I’m limited by the size of my oven which I just measured. My baking stone is 14 x 16 and there’s an inch free on all sides. Another question please, what size is your inverted buffet tray? Our baking stones look to be the same size.
I enjoy your website so much thanks for sharing all your efforts in such an attractive way.
Judy
Judy, I shape my baguettes to the length of a baking sheet, about 16″ long. The baking stone I use is actually the base of a Hearthkit without the side pieces, with dimensions 20 1/2″ wide x 14 1/2″ deep. The buffet tray is about the same 20 1/2″ wide but is a bit less deep.
Hi Steve,
I was hoping you could indicate your experience with your tavolina. I would like to get one.
I am especially concerned with warping. Has it been a problem?
Chris
Hi Chris,
The tavolini board I have was purchased from King Arthur Flour a number of years ago. I’m not sure if they still sell it but this particular model is very heavy duty, with a hardwood thickness of about 3/4 inch. It’s great for shaping dough, providing just the right amount of friction. I used a sheet of rubber mesh under the board to prevent slipping.
Great blog, Steve, and you’re making great baguettes. I too want to learn from you Can u pls tell me after making it, its taste will be soft or hard? I heard home baked baguettes is much harder than the store brought baguettes. Hard for first time baker to measure oz. Can u pls writes its each measurement in cup?
Thanks,
Rajee
Rajee, thank you for your kind words. I’m not sure what you are asking regarding whether the taste is soft or hard. If you are asking about the texture of a home baked baguette’s crust, then I would have to say that unlike the mushy, rubbery crust of a typical (for the U.S.) store-bought baguette, the crust of a properly baked baguette is thin and crispy, but not what I would classify as hard.
Regarding measurements in cups, I purposely do not use, nor do I recommend using, volumetric measurements because they are notoriously variable and unreliable. If you are serious about baking good bread, I would suggest looking into investing in an inexpensive kitchen scale.
Hey Steve, great website. I am just learning to bake bread an your illustrations are extremely helpful. Keep up the good work!
Amber, thanks for the compliments and encouragement.
Hi Steve,
I have done this receipe 5 times now. Two turned out really good, and three of them, the bread turned out bland and “subway”-esque. I was wondering if you could help try to find what could have gone wrong.
I switched away from tap water after the first failure. So I use spring water at room temperature ~70-71 degrees. I do the by-hand kneading and the dough looks really nice. I do a 2 hour first fermentation, and do a folding at each hour.
I think that maybe my poolish is not always ready when I use it? I tend to leave it 12 hours overnight, room temperature around 70-71, maybe a tad cooler since it’s winter here in Charlestown. I always use the same KA MP flour and same weights with electronic scale. I bake at 450 for twenty minutes using a baking dish with water for steam for 10 minutes.
It also seems that after my last proofing, the bread is really weak? is that normal? It poofs up nicely and shapes really like baguette when it works well, but it always seems like my bread is weak after the last proofing.
If the bread is bland, could it be my poolish hasn’t fermented enough? Should I go for 16 hours? I will try that next, but if you have any other suggestions it will be greatly appreciated.
Paolo
Paolo, there are a couple of things that can cause a lack of flavor in your baguette. The first, and most obvious one, is forgetting to add the salt to the dough. Don’t laugh… every baker has done this at one time or another, myself included. Assuming this isn’t the problem, a second possibility is insufficient maturation of the poolish. The way I judge when a poolish is mature and ready to use is by keeping an eye on the level of the poolish. When the level of the poolish has expanded to its maximum height and is just starting to recede, the poolish is ready to use. I would use this as the criteria for sufficient maturation, rather than going strictly on time.
If you are getting good oven spring, then I wouldn’t worry too much about the dough seeming weak after the final proofing.
Hi Steve,
Just for your information, the link to this formula on the “Formulae” page is defective (it links to something like localhost.wordpress etc). I got here through the “Lean doughs” page. Just so you know!
Aisha, thanks for the heads-up. The link has been fixed.
hey man, so i have never tried baguettes before and after putting it off(and partly because i should be studying tonight) i will try my hand at your recipe. i use flours for my breads from the arva flour mill in arva, ontario, canada( you should google it, they have a website). their mill is still powered by a small river! very unique and i like to think of that process and how old it is when i work my doughs by hand. I have had great success with various breads and find your website to be very helpful in my pursuit of wonderful breads thanks for sharing, dave.
ok, there is no more website, i just checked, google it, there are some videos of the white stripes playing there. cheers, off to make some poolish.
Great site, Steve. Had given up baking bread 15 years back from some local-publish bread book recipe. Bought the Jeffrey Hamelman Bread Techniques and Recipes and had since tried 8 times and failed even tough each time the baguette came out of the oven gets better and edible. The final dough always feel supple and soft, turn out to be of different shape all the time after the final fermentation. Find your website to be very helpful in my pursuit of baking breads, thanks for sharing. I think i need more patience and practice.
Lien, the baguette is one of the most difficult breads to master. Keep practicing. Take pleasure in the process and soon you’ll be taking pleasure in the product!
Hello, Steve. Excellent website and beautiful bread! A general question: what would be the conversion of instant yeast (volume by teaspoons) to fresh yeast (weight in ounces)? For example, how many ounces (or fractions of ounces) of fresh yeast equals one teaspoon of instant yeast? Where I live, the instant yeast is unreliable. (I though it was me screwing up the bread.) I now use fresh yeast, but I am guessing. Somewhere I read that 2.25 teaspoons is about 0.5 to 0.6 ounces. My bread isn’t bad, but when I see these poolish recipes with 1/8 teaspoons of yeast I am confused. The poolish is the “secret” ingredient, so I want to get it right. GregoryK
Hi Gregory. Thanks for the kind words. According to the yeast conversion table at TheArtisan.net, 1 tsp. of instant dry yeast weighs 0.09 oz. That would mean that 1 tsp. of instant dry yeast is equivalent to 0.27 oz of fresh yeast (1 g of instant dry yeast is equivalent to 3 g of fresh yeast).
In looking at your recipe and the Hamelman recipe, he uses bread flour and you recommend all purpose flour for the baguettes. What was your reason for changing the flour typs?
Highheat, as stated in his book, Hamelman uses the term ‘bread flour’ to describe any wheat-based white flour with a 10-14% protein content. The King Arthur All-Purpose Flour I used has a protein content of 11.7% and therefore fits within Hamelman’s definition of ‘bread flour’.
good info
That was a nice read.
SteveB, the site … I’m speechless …
Are you familiar with Leidenheimer’s bread that is used for >90% of all New Orleans Po Boys. I you could reproduce this, you would become a God to the misplaced New Orleans Natives/former occupants. The bread is the key to the sandwich. There a 2 restaurants here in Atlanta that import the L. bread regularly from New Orleans just for their sandwiches. Here are a few examples of what web folks a saying http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/2189/new-orleans-french-bread-poboy-bread, and http://www.nolacuisine.com/2005/10/25/roast-beef-po-boy-debris-gravy/.
For my poboys, I begrudgingly use Mexican bolillo, or Vietnamese bread, but the crumb is too soft and “whitish”. They both have the thin crisp crust that Leidenheimer bread has. The bolillo has a slightly stronger interior. Local french bread does not work, Something is wrong, the loafs are too thin and the crumb is too strong/dense.
Do you think you can help? Do you want to help? If you have not visited New Orleans and had a poboy, you have to to experience the bread. Email me if you want recommendations of restaurants. You can also find me on pizzamaking.com as tonymark. That is how I found this blog.
Keep up the good work. You have taught me so much. Thanks!
Hi tonymark. Thanks for stopping by.
I have, indeed, had the pleasure of eating po’ boys (oyster po’ boys are my favorite) during past visits to New Orleans. I wish I could help you with recreating the po’ boy bread but, unfortunately, it’s been quite a number of years since the last time I’ve eaten an authentic po’ boy and my sensory memory isn’t what it used to be. I guess I’ll just have to take another trip down to New Orleans to renew my acquaintance with po’ boys and beignets.
Hi Steve,
I love your blog but I don’t have pizza stone and steaming set. when I make a bread it becomes chewy, sometimes hard and dark in the bottom and How can I make upper crust soft but brown?, I use non-stick oven tray and I keep it in the center rack of the oven…Please suggest.
Deepali
Hi Deepali,
To create a softer upper crust, try brushing the loaf with melted butter right before baking. Adding butter or olive oil to the dough when it is mixed should also increase the tenderness of the loaf.
Thx SteveB, i was using the same method and it gives a perfect baguette. However, i found that if i used the spiral mixer instead of by hand, the result was totally different. Do you have any suggestion the dough mixing using the spiral mixer.
THX
Hi Steve,
I really like your blog and your step by step directions. Thanks for taking the time to put this together.
I have a question about baguettes. I tried your recipe and I really liked it. The crust was crispy and the center was soft and delicious. However, the texture wasn’t totally right. My baguettes had lots of tiny air holes but no big ones as in your picture. My only guess is that I used a store brand all-purpose flour not King Arthur’s brand flour. Would this cause the difference?
Any help you can give in diagnosis why my bread lacks larger holes would be greatly appreciated.
Macfield, a spiral mixer is a very efficient style of mechanical mixer. Small, tabletop spiral mixers are available to the home baker (see the SP5 here), but they are relatively expensive. If using a spiral mixer, just mix until a medium level of dough development is achieved (a so-called ‘improved’ mix). It will take considerably less time using a spiral mixer to reach this point than if mixing were performed by hand. To approach the results of a spiral mixer using a home planetary mixer, such as a KitchenAid, see More Musings on Mixing…
Amy, different brands of flour may have different levels of protein and this would affect how much water needs to be added to obtain a dough with the desired characteristics. Use the water quantity shown as a starting point and add more water, if necessary, to achieve a soft, medium consistency dough after mixing. Also try to be gentle when shaping, maintaining whatever holes were formed during the fermentation process. Shaping requires “an iron hand in a velvet glove”, as Professor Calvel used to say.
Hi Steve,
I saw your blog last year and thought everything is clear for me. But life shows me the more I know the more doubts I have. I was at almost every “bread” blog – because I love real French baguettes, which are not available now in my capital town. Oh, yeas there are plenty of them, but not at all such like real thing I remember ten years ago or from Paris. I mean crispy crust and, what’s more important to me, the interior full of alveoles (:)) ) So, I’ve found hundreds recipes. With poolish and without, with sugar and without, baked with steam and with spray water ON the baguettes, really, I am now more stupid than before… So please, tell me as Great Guru (your baguettes inside are perfect for me), why you don’t add the sugar? Even a small quantity? Wouldn’t it better in taste?
And I want to know, if you please, what exactly mean: the baguettes are scored with a lame , and inverted buffet tray?
And the last but not least – may I make the first preparation in the baking machine?
Sorry for disturb you and best greetings
Joanna
Hi Joanna,
With repect to ingredients, the baguette is one of the simplest of breads; just flour, water, yeast and salt. Nothing else. By French law, sugar is not allowed in baguette dough and it is not necessary for flavor if the baguette dough is properly fermented.
For my technique of scoring and steaming, please see the video here.
Although I have never tried it, one should be able to properly mix baguette dough in a bread machine.
Hi, Steve,
)
But with small and big holes!
Thanks a lot. I’m asking you about things I did read before. True dumb blonde, really!
I just finished my first lovely baguette, thanks to you. You are great! I had only two problems – when I covered formed baguettes, after one hour all of them had glued to the linen sheet, though I cover it (generously) with the flour. When baguettes rised, were very sticky. Well, I formed them again.
Second problem is too thick crust. Yes, very tasty and crisp, but really very thick. I would say, that crust was as thick as the inside, which was a bit too thin
What went wrong?
J.
Joanna, when you first prepare your linen couche, make sure you rub in lots of flour so that it gets trapped within the linen’s weave. Do not wash the linen after use. Just lay it out to dry. You’ll find that the more you use your linen, the less likely dough will stick to it.
To obtain a thinner crust, try baking your baguettes at a slightly higher temperature for a slightly shorter period of time. You can also try varying the second fermentation time a bit. This may take some trial and error.
Your baguettes look great and the technique is similar to what I learned at San Francisco Baking Institute. I think it is almost impossible to make great baguettes without a thermometer and scale. When I get lazy and scoop out the flour with a measuring cup, sometimes they are good and sometimes not. At SFBI, we were taught not to knead the dough, but to just fold it every hour for three hours. Now I have to look at the calendar as well as the clock before I start my baguettes. It takes time to make something that is consistently good.
Hi Steve, I enjoyed your post! I am in the process of learning how to bake baguette. I drove 6 hours last fall to a baguette baking class for my basic education. Now I am gathering as much additional information as I can, to make my baguettes fabulous! I have two pieces of information that I would like to share. First, there is a formula I use to end up with a dough that has a 78° temperature. It will determine what temp your water should be. I measure the temp of the air, the flour & the poolish. I add a friction factor for the kneading process, depending on what method I use, hand kneading, bread machine, stand mixer, or food processor. I hand knead, so my friction factor is low, about 15°. I then determine what temp the water should be. The formula is this:
(4X desired dough temp) – (flour temp =+ room temp + poolish temp + friction factor)
When I use this formula, my dough ends up at 78° which I have been told is the perfect temperature for optimal proofing.
Next, I have developed a perfect steaming system. I bought a 10 foot length of clear silicone tubing on Amazon for $10.00. It is resistant to heat up to 500°. Ten minutes before I put my baguettes in the oven, I turn my espresso machine on and attach the tube to the milk steamer. When I want the steam, I insert the tube into the top of the oven, shut the door, and turn the steam wand on full blast. There are no trays to worry about, and even I don’t burn myself! This keeps the heat in the oven as the door remains closed, and my baguettes come out with a perfect crust.
Now my only problem is getting the inside texture right, the holes are too small right now. Since reading here, I am going to try being more gentle with the dough after the first rise.
Hi Lynda,
Thanks for the equation used to calculate the water temperature needed to obtain a desired dough temperature (although I think you might have a misplaced “=” sign in there).
I use the same formula for recipes that make use of a pre-ferment:
Tw = 4DDT – Tf – Ta – Tp – FF
and a slightly modified one for those recipes that do not:
Tw = 3DDT – Tf – Ta – FF
where:
Tw = Water temperature
DDT = Desired dough temperature
Tf = Flour temperature
Ta = Ambient temperature
Tp = Pre-ferment temperature
FF = Friction factor
Regarding steaming, for those who have an espresso machine, your technique of using the steaming arm of the machine to generate oven steam is inspired! I’ve seen instances where people have snaked metal steam tubes through their oven’s vents and into their oven’s cavity so that they wouldn’t even need to open their oven doors to introduce the steam.
Steve,
Rookie question here as this is the very first time I have ever made bread with a scale. Is the water fluid Ounces or weight?
I ask for I tried to limit myself to the flour and when I was kneading the dough it I found it sticky upon running out of flour.
Thanks for the site, it gives me hope I can achieve good bread at home!
Hi Tom,
With the exception of certain ingredient quantities being expressed in teaspoons or tablespoons, all other quantities are expressed in units of weight. The final dough should be somewhat sticky and behave as shown in the video.
Steve,
Thank you for clarifying. That is probably my first problem in the past, too much flour. I am very pleased to report that the dough did behave as per the video.
The second fermentation is over, the baguettes did not rise as much as I would have expected however it passed your test above so …
My first two loaves are in the oven, due out in six minutes!
Hi Steve,
i was intrigued by how well your hand mixing method works! Thank you for the insight. I’m looking forward to going through the rest of your blog.
I just attempted your baguette recipe this morning before classes
A few questions concerning the baguettes. I halved the recipe and baked 2 loaves in a perforated Chicago Metallic baguette pan (450F oven). The heat from my oven comes from the bottom. This showed when the bottom of the loaves formed a lovely golden crust but the tops remained pale. I tried “steaming” with a pan of hot water below the baguettes and covering them with another hotel pan – trying to replicate your steaming method. I ended up flipping the baguettes over upside down to try to even out the browning. Do you have any suggestions for the beautiful even browning your loaves have?
Also the flavor of the baguettes were quite good but didn’t quite have the more developed flavor characteristic. I read your reply to an earlier comment about salt (I did remember but might increase the amount I used by a touch). The other factor I can identify is the fermentation time. I fermented the loaves the recommended time, and the dough texture seemed correct before moving onto the next steps. Can the missing flavor be addressed through longer fermentation?
Many Thanks.
a2, For baking baguettes, I strongly recommend using a baking stone instead of a baguette pan. This will produce a more dramatic oven spring, resulting in the desired open crumb structure. As to your baguettes not browning properly, that can be due to a number of factors, including overproofing, too low an oven temperature (knob settings are notoriously unreliable so I use an oven thermometer to ensure the proper oven temperature) or not giving the baguettes sufficient time to bake after the steam has been vented from the oven. Regarding the flavor, you might try reducing the quantity of yeast a bit and extending the fermentation time.
Hey Steve, I did put an errant = sign in the formula, my bad, I didn’t proofread my entire post. I made baguette on Sunday, my best so far! I found that I was overworking the dough after the first rise. My texture was so much better, with lots of small and large holes. I just started a rye poolish. Do you have any help there? Also, I am not getting any ears, the slashes almost disappear. At what angle do you hold the lamé, and how deep do you go with the slashing?
Lynda, after you mix your rye pre-ferment (also called a rye sour) and place it in its container to ferment, I would suggest sprinkling the top lightly with rye flour to prevent the sour from drying out and to monitor the progress of the sour’s maturation. As the sour matures, it will expand and cracks will start to form in the surface flour layer. Remember that rye flour contains more nutrients and fermentable sugars than wheat flour, so the fermentation should occur faster than would otherwise occur with wheat flour.
When I score my baquettes and batards, I typically hold my lame at a 45º maximum angle to the surface of the loaf and score anywhere from ¼ to ½ inch deep.
Steve,
Just took my third attempt at duplicating this recipe. Each time the rise during the actual baking was non existent, or anemic. The crust was great, flavour was very good, just am not getting that nice crumb. I have used the double flour addition technique twice and the hand technique once. The oven was 500F when I put in the loafs quickly cooling down to 425-450 when I put in water (do not yet have a steamer … may have to wait ’til christmas.) I fun it for 15 minutes at 450 without the fan, and turn a fan on for the last five minutes.
Any insight you can share would be most welcome.
Cheers,
Tom
Hi Tom,
The first thing I would look at is the protein content of the flour you are using. Is it in the 10.5-12% range? I’m assuming that you’re using a mature poolish, indicating that your yeast is active. Next, I would be sure to mix the dough to medium development (i.e., when pulling a windowpane with a small amount of dough, the dough doesn’t tear and can be seen to have threads of gluten within an otherwise thin, translucent film). A tight shaping will also contribute to providing a good oven spring. I would also check to make sure that the baguettes are not overproofing (see the finger press test described in the post). Finally, try just placing a long pan over your baguettes right after you load them onto your baking stone. The moisture given off by the baking baguettes, if confined to the space immediately surrounding the baguettes, should be enough to delay the setting of the crust and enable maximum oven spring.
Steve,
Thank you for your advice. They came out much better than last time. Still looking very much a home creation but moving towards the “feast of the eyes!”
I expect the biggest difference came from putting a pan over the baguettes; however I do suspect I was over-proofing as well. I will have to pay more attention to the amount of yeast and the ambient temperature of the kitchen.
Just to show you how much of a novice I am. I did not take the pan off the top of the baguettes until the very end. They of course the baguettes were soft and doughy cooked through and through, with an internal temperature of 200F. I kept them in for another 10 minutes to get some semblance of colour. I assume that I should have taken the pan off half way through the baking cycle.
Thanks again,
Tom
Steve,
I finally tried your method last week and must say that it turned out really well. Next time I’ll try to improvise some sort of steam in to the oven to see how it changes the crust because the crust wasn’t so impressive. I’m thinking about hooking up some sort of a hose to my tea kettle – what’d you think? Here’s my full concept post with a drawing: http://www.cckid.com/tea-kettle-steamer/
Nick, I remember reading some time ago about someone who connected a length of copper tubing to a tea kettle and ran the tubing through the vent in his oven so that he could introduce steam directly into his oven without having to open the oven door. He claimed it worked pretty well for him.
Just stumbled upon your blog and wanted you to know that it’s /incredible/! I’ve only recently become involved with baking, so we seem to be in the same boat — only you are much, much farther upstream in terms of practice, knowledge, hands-on experience and, well, everything. I’ll be trying this recipe soon!
Cheers,
Liz
Hi Liz,
Welcome to Bread cetera! I hope you enjoy your visits here and find information and tips that will help you throughout your bread baking adventures.
this is an awesome recipe. I use something similar to this, but mine is from Anis Boubasa who is a french baker known for his baguette in paris.
You can check his baguette recipe out at my site and a step by step instruction on how to bake the baguette.
how to make baguette