Baguettes with open crumb

Tip

This recipe was created in winter in the UK, so rest times may need to be shortened for warmer climates or kitchens.

This recipe produces three thick or four thin baguettes. This is enough for four people for lunch and maybe a little leftover for snacking or toasted for breakfast the next day.

The salt content is much lower than most baguette recipes as it doesn't need a lot due to more flavour development from having a longer time to ferment. You can go up to ¾ tsp (6g) if you prefer more salt.

Water needs to be fridge-temperature cold (around 4°C) to avoid dough getting too warm during kneading which generates heat.

The high hydration (75%) dough has no tension after kneading, so it loses shape. To create tension, it should be stretched and folded. Dip hands in cold water, run fingers under the dough then stretch it up as far as it will go without tearing, then fold it over itself. Move 90 degrees around the dough shape and repeat 3 more times. After this, the dough should feel tight and less stretchy, although still fairly wet and sticky.

Fermenting the dough in a square-based container will help produce evenly shaped and sized baguettes as the dough will turn out onto the surface in a more easily portioned shape. The container should allow dough to double in size so have a capacity of about 2L. A large bowl works too, but baguettes may end up less neat.

If dough completely deflates when turning out after fermentation, it may have fermented too quickly or for too long during the rest period before going in the fridge. This can happen if the water used was too warm, or the room was very warm. Try reducing the time it rests at room temperature from 1 hour to 30 minutes before going into the fridge. Over-fermented dough will produce a much less open crumb.

Baguettes are ready to bake when a dent made by a fingertip disappears slowly. If the dough springs up quickly then it has not risen enough. If the indentation remains, the dough has over-proved and the baguettes will not rise as much in the oven.

When scoring, hold the blade at a slight angle as if cutting a flap, rather than cutting straight down. This will avoid the baguettes spreading to the sides in a "V"-shape during baking. Wetting the blade with cold water will help it cut through the dough.

It is tricky getting more than two baguettes onto the preheated oven tray quickly enough without losing heat from the oven. It is easier to take the pre-heated tray out, close the oven door, and put the tray back in once baguettes are in place.

High temperature and steam in the first 10 minutes of baking are needed for good oven spring (rise) and to keep the crust soft so that the baguette can grow as much as possible. If you don't have a steam oven, you will need to find your preferred way of getting steam around the baguettes (e.g. spraying water, tray of boiling water, a "lid" etc). The fan should not be used in the first 10 minutes of cooking as this will dry the oven out. Look for an oven setting where heat comes from both the top and bottom of the oven, or even better an "intensive" setting with heat from both top and bottom but with extra heat from bottom.

Baking paper can be removed during second half of baking if it is bunching up onto baguettes and causing the sides not to brown.

Resist the temptation to slice or eat the baguettes until they have cooled down (about an hour). There is still some "cooking" happening during the cooldown and until then, they may feel weird on the teeth and stomach!

For examples of handling high hydration baguette dough and shaping, these videos and article are helpful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYmJVPTugRA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_rRoCQa4Mc

https://tasteofartisan.com/french-baguette-recipe