Baguette Traditional - Fromartz Recipe

By Samuel Fromartz

This recipe may be intimidating, but, hey, who isn’t up for a challenge? Experienced home bakers will likely recognize the steps, which took time and patience to develop. I had been drawn to the baguette a decade ago, then gave up thinking it was impossible to reproduce in a home oven. But over the past couple of years I went back to it, tried different techniques and then finally arrived at a recipe I was happy with. To read more about that process - which led to an award winning baguette - read the essay I posted here.

Beginners will need to be patient—to start baking bread with this recipe is like jumping into calculus after third-grade math. So here’s a tip: Pick up Daniel Leader’s bread baking books, Richard Bertinet's Dough (the DVD on kneading is worth the price) or Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker's Apprentice or his more recent Artisan Breads Everyday and try their baguette recipes before plunging over the dark side.

Should you decide to skip the DIY apprenticeship and go directly to the recipe below, results may vary. This is a wet, slack dough that makes it a challenge to shape. If you end up with something that looks like a mutant flat bread, don’t despair. Scarf it up—the rich flavor, bubbly internal crumb, and crisp crust will likely surprise you, even if does not approach the Platonic ideal of a Parisian baguette. Try and try again to get it right. And remember, it's all in the technique, which you will need to practice and play with, admitting defeat at times. The recipe itself is secondary.

And welcome visitors from Wild Yeast Blog's yeastspotting.

 

Equipment

• Digital scale with gram measurements (read weighing rant)
• Plastic bin or bowl
• Dough scraper
• Baking stone
• Rimmed cookie sheet or cast iron frying pan
• Four kitchen towels
• Parchment paper or couche
• Razor blade
• Cutting board
• Cooling rack

Ingredients

Makes four baguettes

• 90 grams sourdough starter, 100-percent hydration, made with equal parts of water and flour by weight, fermented for 7 to 10 hours. To make this starter, I use 25 grams ripe and active sourdough, 50 grams flour and 50 grams water. After it ferments, I then use 90 grams of it in the bread and refresh the rest for future doughs. (I've also posted a video here that explains how to make sourdough).
• 420 grams water
• 590 grams flour (King Arthur Organic All Purpose Flour, Whole Foods 365 brand Organic All Purpose Flour or King Arthur All Purpose Flour are ideal, though King Arthur Bread Flour might be easier for a beginner)
• 10 grams whole wheat flour (Bob’s Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat Flour)
• 13 grams sea salt
• 2 teaspoons instant dry yeast (such as SAF Instant Yeast), though I cut this back to 1 teaspoon in the summer.
• Olive oil to grease bowl
• Cornmeal or semolina to dust cutting board

DAY 1

Pour starter and yeast into bowl and add water, mixing until the starter breaks up a bit.

Add flours and salt and mix for a couple of minutes. The dough will be heavy and shaggy. Let it rest for 5 or 10 minutes, covered with plastic (I put a plastic tray over my bowl). 

Put a little olive oil in your palm and oil the counter so it has a very thin sheen of oil on it. The oil should keep the dough from sticking. Do not flour the counter. (This tip on oiling comes from Dan Lepard.)

Use a scraper to move dough onto the counter and begin to knead by stretching and folding dough, trying to use your finger tips. Tip: Click here to see a kneading video by Richard Bertinet on Gourmet.com, though he is demonstrating on a sweet dough.

After kneading for 5 minutes, scrape mass into a clean bowl or plastic bin. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes.

Oil the counter again if necessary and remove dough to counter. Stretch it until 1-inch thick then fold top and bottom in thirds like a letter. Do the same left to right. Click here for the Wild Yeast blog video of this technique.

Put in bin, cover, let dough rest 20 minutes.

Remove from bin, fold again, and put back in covered bin for 20 minutes.

Remove from bin, fold again for the third and final time. Clean bin, oil lightly (with 2 tsp olive oil), and put dough back inside. Cover and place in refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.

DAY 2

Put baking stone in middle of oven. Place a thick rimmed cookie sheet or cast iron pan on oven floor or lower shelf. Preheat oven to 470F (245 C).

Put a little olive oil in your palm and oil a 20-by-20 inch (1/2-by-1/2 meter) section of the counter.

Then remove dough from container. Cut dough in half. Put half back in container and into refrigerator.

Cut dough into two rectangular pieces (about 250 grams each) and gently stretch into rectangles 5-by-7 inches (13-by-18 cm) with the long edge facing you. 

Be careful not to press and destroy all the bubbles inside the dough.

Cover with light towel and let rest for 5 minutes.

While dough is resting, cut parchment paper large enough to fit your baking stone. Dust paper with flour. Roll up 3 kitchen towels tightly. Set aside. (Or if you have a couche, dust it lightly with flour).

Shape dough into a log by folding top and bottom of rectangle toward middle and gently sealing the seam with thumb. Then fold top to meet the bottom and seal seam. You should have a log about 1.5 to 2 inches thick (4 to 5 cm). Gently roll and stretch into a 14-inch loaf (36 cm) or just under the size of your baking stone. Don’t worry if it’s uneven. Here's a good video of the technique, along with scoring the loaf.

Place each loaf on parchment paper about six inches apart, seam side down. Place one rolled up towel underneath the paper between the loaves and one under each other edge, supporting their shape. Tip: Leader describes this in his book. (Or place on couche, with loose pleats between the baguettes).

Cover with light kitchen towel and let rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

BAKING

Put 2/3 cup water in measuring cup. (I boil the water).

Remove towels from under the parchment paper and carefully move the paper with the loaves onto a flour-dusted overturned cookie sheet or cutting board. Dust top of loaves very lightly with flour. (If you used a couche, carefully lift loaves with a bench scraper and place on parchment paper on a cutting board). Use a bench scraper to gently adjust the loaves and straighten them out. 

Make four cuts on the top of the loaf with a razor blade, 1/4-inch deep, running lengthwise on the dough. A swift slash at a sharp 20-degree angle works best (see previously mentioned video).

Take cutting board and slide parchment paper with baguettes onto hot baking stone. Shut oven door. Open door, and carefully pour 2/3 cup water onto cookie sheet or cast iron pan. Be very careful if using boiling water. Shut door. Do not open the oven again while baking.

Check baguettes after 18 to 20 minutes. They should be dark brown and crusty. If pale, continue baking for 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool for 20 minutes on rack before eating. They are best eaten within 6 hours.

While baguettes are baking, form the remaining dough into loaves or leave for up to 24 hours and make fresh loaves the following day.

Note: I have modified this recipe slightly since it was first published. There are also many more tips in the comments to this post and I encourage others to post their modifications.

Comments

[michaela]

can't wait to try the winner.

[Linda C.]

I'd like to try this; I've baked bread (once in a while) for years, but never tried baguettes. But, this really looks like a recipe for "pros." I don't have kitchen scales, don't know what sourdough starter is or where to get it. What does "100-percent hydration" mean? Perhaps I should just pass on this one?

[Susan/Wild Yeast]

You achieved the Platonic ideal -- truly beautiful.

[Niels]

Thank you for that recipe! Baguette is also one of the bread I have a hard time to make. Mine are always too dense, whether they're made with sourdough or not. What I can see from your recipe is that I should use more water than I used to. I can't wait to try your recipe!

[Guy Snape]

Excellent article & recipe, and great results - this is really very impressive. Michaela: as the article says, this is definitely an advanced recipe. If you want to go through some simpler stages (that still make great bread), and learn about the baking terms such as "sourdough starter" and "100% hydration", can I recommend that you have a look at my site, http://www.breadsecrets.com/ ? If you click the button for "Techniques and Equipment", there's a link to a page on weighing and measuring ingredients which explains why serious bakers use scales rather than cups.

[Kelsey Smith]

Could you post the recipe with approximate amounts by volume? I do not own a scale.

[Hillary]

Impressive honor for your baguettes! I'm so glad you decided to share the recipe :)

[dmunn]

What temperature do these bake at?

[Sam Fromartz]

Linda, this is definitely an advanced recipe. I would not start out here, as I mentioned in the introduction to the recipe. Instead, try some baguette recipes in well known books like those by Peter Reinhart or Dan Leader. Then go for these after you've mastered those.

Kelsey, volume measurements of flour are notoriously inaccurate, so I don't use them. If you really want to bake, you need a scale. That way, if you want to change a ratio (more flour, less water, say) you can change the weights. Volume measurements may change from day to day, which is why I don't use them in recipes.

D Munn, beginning the recipe on Day 2 I say preheat the oven to 470F. That's a temperature that works for my particular oven, but you may need to adjust. I err on the side of hot rather than cool and then reduce the temperature if needed. That way the crust will really brown nicely.

Thanks all the rest for your comments. I look forward to posting more recipes too.

[sandra]

As a french, parisian and a bread lover, I can tell you that your baguettes are a lot lot "platonic ideal" than the ones we can see here in some french bakeries.
The color, the crust, the shape are all perfect. I wish you'ld show us the crumb though to appreciate your bread even more.
I'm curious about the effect of the WW flour here: 1,6% of the total flour weight seems not a lot..?

PS. In France, a regular baguette is made with only white flour and yeast (of course, not talking about all the improving agents etc..). If you add some WW or rye, it becomes a "baguette de campagne" (different from the regular by the flour on the crust). If it's made with sourdough (and less than 2% yeast), it's called "baguette au levain". I guess I'll call yours the Fromartz baguette.. and I think it's pretty cool ;)

[Angela@spinachtiger]

Just found your site through Wild Yeast. Interesting. Oh, and I love your bread.

[Mary]

I have miles to go before I'm ready to try this one. It looks wonderful! I am envious.

[salma goldstein]

I have been making a lot of breads for about 2 years (about 100) and am crazy for bread-making. I made a french bread last nite and was not happy with the results. Then I stumbled upon your recipe, I started with the starter last night and made the dough this morning. Unfortunately, I didnt have the patience to wait till tomorrow to bake it. I took out half the dough after 6 hours (I had made half the recipe), put the rest back for tomorrow, and made a loaf. It is the best french bread I have made. Love it! Thanks so much.

[Sam Fromartz]

Sandra, in France I made baguettes with flour, yeast, water and salt. But I found when I returned home that when I tried to duplicate the recipe the baguettes did not have the same complex and sweet flavor, even after rising 24 hours in the refrigerator. This may be due to differences in the wheat itself -- the French wheat we used at boulangerie Arnaud Delmontel definitely have a different aroma than the white flours I use in the states.

To develop that flavor, I began adding whole wheat flour. At first I tried 10% but it was far too much, then continued to cut it down. Now it's down to about 1-2 tablespoons for the amount of this recipe, so yes about 1.6%. I feel the whole wheat flour is nearly invisible in the bread (though if you look closely you can see tiny flecks of darker wheat). But it does influence the flavor, in part, I think, because it stimulates the sourdough in the dough. If you want to activate your starter when it's a bit weak, you can always add a pinch of rye or whole wheat -- that's the idea behind what' I'm doing here. The sourdough itself is not "sour" like San Francisco sourdough. It's closer to the flavor of levain. Again, the breads do not taste "sour" but the sourdough does impart more flavor and adds to the chewy texture of the crumb. You can get that in small amounts. I recently saw another recipe for 7% sourdough (bakers percentage) in the final dough. I use 15% though may try that lower percentage.

Salma, as you discovered, you can make these after a short bulk fermentation, but the idea is to really build the flavor and texture over time, I think 12 hours is really the minimum (so mix in the evening and bake the next day). By 24 hours the flavor really develops though I have had good luck with a bulk ferment for as long as 48 hours.

[salma goldstein]

I made the bread again last Sunday, the full recipe but made only 3 loaves and put some dough away. I only got a chance to bake the 4th loaf on Tues and it was the best with a thin crust and moist crumb with nice holes. I cant wait to make it over and over. In fact I think I will start a starter tonite. Thanks so much!
Salma

[Sophia Terzieva]

Dear Samuel, it was very pleasant surprise to find your website and baguette recipe. I have been trying to activate a starter I bought from a Melbourne bakery (Australia), but the weather in Sydney is wintery, poor and rainy, I can't get the starter rising. I was very disapointed, because I've been talking about homemade bread for more than a week. I also wanted to do it in the very traditional way - without the yeast. I still keep the bowl with starter in the kitchen. I even "feed" it once a day. This morning I decided to give it a teaspoon of Diastatic Malt, because I assumed that it might be the quality of the flour that is what is sabotagging my starter. Well - what a surprise after two hours! - it is alive and I can see the little bubbles... I was wondering if I can incorporate the starter with your recipe without relying on any additional yeast. Would you please tell me what is the big deal about having or not having in the traditional recipe dry yeast?
By the way - thank you for the additional links with instructions on kneading, folding and shaping.

[Angela@spinachtiger]

Oh my. I open up this subscription and I KNOW it's going to be bread. But why does it still so often just knock me over. I mean I could SMELL this bread and TOUCH it through the screen. That bread looks "last meal" good. I must find a way to make it. I think man can live on bread alone when I see a crumb and crust like this.

[enrosque]

thank you so much for the beautiful recipe. i am an american living in paris and am so happy to finally learn how to make baguettes! i love the texture and flavor. i would also like to learn how to make the simple white baguettes you see here in france. can you give me your recipe without the adaptations for american ingredients (it sounds like you use just the white french flour, and no starter?). thanks

[Sam Fromartz]

Bakers note: I cut the yeast down to 1 teaspoon in the summer.

[paolo]

Hi, wonderful baguette and very well explained every step of the recipe....the only thing is I have not a baking stone...any suggestion? Thanks

[buy fioricet]

I always prefer baguette with garlic butter on top with pasta on it,...awesome recipe thanks.

[Alexandar]

Hi there, and thank you very much for what looks to be a very promising baguette recipe.

Only one problem: the dough is not turning out shaggy, but rather wet and extremely sticky. So much do that it is impossible to kneed without copious amounts of flour or oil.

I have tried a few times, following your recipe to the T with a good scale. I am using King Arthur unbleached all purpose flower, and a King Arthur sourdough starter.

I thought that the only room for error could be in the starter--perhaps mine was too moist. So I've corrected my starter to ensure that it is 100% hydration. The only way to get a shaggy dough is to use much more flower than the recipe calls for.

Where else could I be off?

Thank you,
Alexandar

[jerry weinraub]

Great results my first tim,for which I thank you.What is meant by 'Shaggy Dough'?I used KA Bread flour and Carls Sourdough,which I have had going about a year

[Madelene Berggren]

Thanks for this wonderful recipe. I have tried it 3-4 times and the taste is lovely the looks of my baguettes is less lovely. I have a question. My dough is weak and when I come to the folding part (which is difficult) and rolling, my dough it is all wrinkly and not smooth and firm. It slides (not rolls) across the surface (wood). If I use less flour on the surface, the dough sticks. Do you have any idea what I can do to improve? Thanks and Happy New Year!

[Sam Fromartz]

Here's a few tips.

First, try using bread flour which will be stiffer and easier to shape. However, you will sacrifice the soft crumb. If using AP flour, make sure it is from hard winter wheat. Call up manufacturer if unsure or use King Arthur All Purpose Flour.

Second, try folding the dough twice if only folding once. This will help build strength.

Third, minimize rolling. I hardly roll the dough and instead just roll it back and forth a couple of times and pull the dough to stretch it to the right length. If the dough is sliding across your counter, you have too much flour on the surface.

Forth, when moving the baguette from your couch or parchment rising form, try and minimize the use of your fingers to position it correctly. Use a bench knife or a spatula to make the loaf nice and straight before it goes into the oven, not your hands.

Finally, having made the bread 3-4 times you're still beginning. Keep at it and it will improve. Promise.

[Madelene Berggren]

Thanks a bunch. I'll get right on this tomorrow since it's a holiday, for us here in Sweden anyway.

[Sam Fromartz]

Aha! Sweden. There could be a big difference in the wheat you are using vs. this recipe which is geared toward American flours. Try and cut down your water in the recipe so it is only 68% of the flour, not 72% as it is currently. IE, if you are using 1000 kg of flour, add 680 grams of water. Also take into account the amount of flour and water in the starter too in this overall equation.

[Pamela]

After living in Paris I've always wanted to find a great at home solution for here in the states. My question is I must use Spelt flour due to an intolerance to wheat. A little wheat in the recipe is ok but for the most part I bake with this flour. What can you reccommend about this? Thanks!

[Sam Fromartz]

I don't really work with spelt or gluten free recipes, but know there are sites and cookbooks out there that do. I would suggest looking around.

[Barbara]

You suggest that people use cast iron to pour water into for oven steam. I caution that cast iron is actually pretty brittle. I had a piece break off a nice Wagner-ware pan that I used for oven steam. My chef son-in-law also used a cast iron pan for steam production and it cracked in two.

Question: Have you found it beneficial to let the bread cool in the oven with the door open? And if so, for how long? I see conflicting comments about the impact on the crust. I've had inconsistent results.

Finally, thanks for your blog. I share your passion. As a person who has almost never used a recipe or scales or measuring cups, but manage to make quite good breads, I appreciate your emphasis on feel.

[David Rosenblatt]

I just finished my first batch of your Baguette recipe, only varying from it by using bread flour instead of all purpose. The loaves are fabulous. I have been making decent baguettes, using a poolish 50/50 hydration, but the use of a small amount of liquid levain and whole wheat, together with the overnight retardation, made this the best I have ever baked. BTW, I belong to the BB Guild and was tipped about you from there. Kudos on your well deserved success.

[Tom Hoffmann]

I'm a bit confused when you call your starter "sour dough". Is it indeed just the flour and water mixed together and fermenting for 7 - 10 hours? I think of sour dough starter as being a long process to develop the starter, mixing and feeding over many days. Am I missing something or is it just a case of different terminology? I really want to try your recipe - the photos are mouth watering by themselves, and of course then there's the fact they were selected as the best in DC.

[Sam Fromartz]

Barbara, lately I have been using a rimmed sheet pan on the bottom of the oven to pour in water. It doesn't hold heat quite as well as cast iron but it does the trick and is easier to pour into, especially if you're using boiling water. For these loaves, I take them out when done, rather than let them sit in the oven. But experiment -- the only way to decide what to do is to try different techniques.

David, Thanks! I played with this recipe a lot to get it, though was influenced by Peter Reinhart, my baking stint in Paris and tips from an interview with Dan Leader.

Tom, I've modified the starter instructions to make clear you are using sourdough. You need to make a starter. That's why I say this is an advanced recipe, for people used to working with sourdough. For advice on that, I would direct you to any of the bread books I've mentioned.

[jennifer]

This is an excellent recipe! I've been baking bread for a few months, using Reinhart's books and some others but my baguettes have never come even close to anything I had in Paris. Your recipe got me the closest yet- thanks!

I have a question - the crust on this bread actually "sang" for a 2-3 hours after it came out of the oven, but several hours later it was just soft. Any suggestions on how to make a baguette that retains optimal crust just a little but longer?

Thanks - looking forward to more recipes from your site.
j

[Sam Fromartz]

Crackling and singing bread is one of the great pleasures of baking, for it is the sign of a great crust. The deal with baguettes is that ideally they should be eaten within 4 hours. The crust tends to get less crispy the longer they sit. Thats why you see long queues of people at boulangeries at 5 in the evening: they are buying their bread for dinner and luckily in Paris many bakeries have fresh baguettes ready twice a day. If you bought the baguette in the morning, by the evening, the crust would not be as good.

With these loaves, I tend to eat them right away or store them in a plastic bag. If I want to crisp up a day-old baguette, I put them in the oven for about 7 minutes at 400 F. But then you need to eat them, as reheating will make them go stale faster.

If they do go stale, try this: crostini. Slice up the bread, put them in a bowl and drizzle olive oil on them, then roast them in the oven at 400F for about 10 minutes. Watch them carefully, and remove them when just turning brown. Rub them with a clove of garlic and sprinkle sea salt on them. My daughter goes crazy over these.

[Lee]

WOW ! Your baguettes look amazing Sam. I am from Perth, Australia and have been attempting your recipe for a while now but I can't seem to get the same bloom and ears as yours. Plus I tend to get a thick, shiny crust with blisters (bubbles) almost every time and the crumb is also quite dense. I am using river stones placed in a pan to steam the oven and I find that the boiled water is fully evaporated after about 4 minutes.

It's currently 30 degrees Celsius and above daily in Perth and the only adjustments I have made to your recipe is reduce the amount of instant dry yeast to 1/2 a teaspoon and I also use a 70% hydration starter. The bread flour and AP flour I am toying around with are 11.9% and 11% protein respectively. Any further tips to achieve your platonic baguettes are appreciated.

[Sam Fromartz]

Lee, 30 C (86 F) is really hot, hope you're enjoying the summer! We're buried under 30 inches of snow in DC.

First, I've gotten a lot of questions from overseas bakers. My simple answer, your flour is probably different and you need to experiment. Make sure the flour is from hard winter wheat. Often in AP flour, soft wheat is mixed in to reduce the protein level and that flour is not good for bread. I would try the recipe just with the bread flour as a start.

Secondly, my steam lasts for at least 15 minutes in the oven. I would take out the stones and just use a pan so you get a gentle and steady steam. My guess is that you are getting a huge burst of steam at the beginning and then it's immediately dissipating through your oven vents. Or try ice cubes (about 4 or so) on a tray. You need to experiment.

Third, that summer heat probably means you need to cut down the rising time outside the refrigerator.

Fourth, tight crumb comes from degassing the dough. Start with a lighter touch even if it means having misshapen loaves. Another tip: you can shape them roughly, but as they relax on the couch stretch them slightly to even them out.

Fifth, be gentle when moving them from the rising couche (if using) or when moving the parchment into the oven. I've gotten tight bubbles just by using my fingers to pick up and move the dough. Use a couple of bench scrapers instead.

Six, make sure you hold your lame or blade at a 20-degree angle, almost horizontal to the dough. You want maybe 1/4 inch deep cuts going 3 to 4 inches along the dough. Make a swift cut (practice on some discarded but shaped dough repeatedly just to get the technique). If you slice vertically into the dough, you won't get that same effect. Also if the bread is overproofed, you won't get the same bloom either (which is why I said earlier to cut down on your 2nd rising time).

Try these tips one at a time, so you know what variable changes the bread. If you do all of them and get a good or bad result, you won't know which one really worked or hindered the process.

[Lee]

Yes, the turquoise beaches here are a welcome relieve to the summer heat Sam.

Thanks for the prompt reply, I will keep at it until I get something at least close to yours.

[Lee]

Hi Sam, a friend suggested that I add about 0.5% bread improver to your recipe to get a loftier loaf, and hence a better bloom. What are your thoughts ?

[Sam Fromartz]

I do not use additives like bread improver, vitamin c, etc. I just use flour, water, salt and yeast and/or sourdough (flour and water).

[Tom Hoffmann]

My biggest problem (or one of my biggest problems) is that my dough seems to be to elastic, I often can't seem to draw it out to the length that I would like, it snaps back.

Can you suggest what I may need to adjust (type of flour, hydration,...)?

[Sam Fromartz]

Tom, thats the gluten working. And the funny thing about gluten is, the more you try and stretch it, the tougher it gets. So you need to do less of whatever it is youre doing. Whenever it gets too tough give it a rest and the dough will relax. Heres my suggestions.
1. When you plop the dough on your counter divide it into the number of loaves you want and then just let the dough sit for 5 or 10 minutes.
2. Then gently shape the dough into a rough approximation of your baguette. Do it minimally.
3. Cover the loaves and let the dough rest again for 5-10 minutes.
4. Try and roll it out gently, starting with both hands in the middle and working towards the sides, stretching out the dough as you go. If it doesnt want to stretch, dont force it. Put it in the couche or the resting place.
5. After 15 or 20 minutes look at it. If its too short, try and gently stretch it with your hands by pulling on it.
6. You have one last chance to stretch the dough before it goes in the oven. By this time it should have risen and gotten far more relaxed. So just pull it to the proper length before it goes in to bake.

Good luck!

[Giao]

Hi Samuel,

I have been trying to make the baguette for the last 3 months with your recipe. All steps are fine and clear. Just one part I do not get is the Sourdough starter.

To use layman terms, to make it, is it:

water = flour mixed together with active yeast and leave it at room temperature for 12h?

[Sam Fromartz]

You need to make sourdough first. Sourdough is a way to leven bread in place of yeast, or to augment yeast to get the tasty qualities of sourdough. To make a starter see:

http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2007/07/13/raising-a-starter/
or
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/233
or
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/11/magazine/11food-recipe3.html

[Ed]

Thank you very much for sharing your experience and knowledge. Reading your article about your journey to Paris was really wonderful and enlightening.

My interest about bread (particularly baguette)start around a month ago. Last week I bough a 50 pound bag of flour and start to make bread day after day. Althoug I visit some respatable forums and blogs, I didn't have any important advance until I read you. A day after reading your recipe and recommendations, I jump from the dark to the light.

I have a lot to know and practice yet, but now, I feel that I'm in the right way and I improve every time when bake my bread.

Do you prefer to make your sourdough for baguette with rye, whole wheat or any other?

Thank you very much for your huge contribution.

P.S. English is my second language, sorry for some mishandling.

[Sam Fromartz]

Ed, thank you. You will definitely learn how to make bread quickly if you bake everyday.

[Chris Daniels]

I made a modified version of these today (66% hydro, 5% Whole Wheat) they were fantastic. The cold fermentation worked beautifully. Next time I'm going to use your formula to the "T".

[Sam Fromartz]

Chris, 66% hydration is easier to work with, so it might be challenging to go up to 72%. I use less whole wheat than 5% so it isn't so apparent in the loaf, it's role effects taste a bit, but I think the bigger impact is on the sourdough in the loaf.

[jimbo]

This is my favorite baguette recipe and I have made it maybe a half dozen times now. I triple the recipe and make several baguettes for a couple day's consumption plus gifts and the balance goes to a delicious boule. The boule is awesome and quite different from the baguettes -- not as chewy, great for slicing, sandwiches, etc. Freezes well too.

I have a question. Would retaining some dough and using that as a levain for future loave work, even though it was started with a small amount of yeast? How would this next levain based recipe work without any yeast -- would it work and should I bulk ferment even longer?

Thank you for helping me to become a better baguette baker.

jim

[woodworking books on cutting boards]

Thanks for this wonderful recipe.I have miles to go before I'm ready to try this one.

[Dorrit]

Can I use fresh yeast instead of instant dry yeast?

If the answer is yes - how much?

[Sam Fromartz]

The best resource I know for converting between Active Dry, Instant and Fresh Yeast is here, which also explains the following conversions:
http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/01/12/instant-yeast/

Yeast Conversions

1 tsp instant = 3.1 g
1 g instant = 1.25 g active dry = 2.5 g fresh
1 tsp instant = 1.3 tsp active dry = 0.4 cake fresh
——–
1 tsp active dry = 2.9 g
1 g active dry = 0.8 g instant = 2 g fresh
1 tsp active dry = 0.75 tsp instant = 0.3 cake fresh
——–
1 g fresh = 0.5 g active dry = 0.4 g instant
1 cake fresh = 3 tsp active dry = 2.25 tsp instant

[Al]

I tried 4 times P. Rinehart's recipe for baguettes (pain a l'ancien). The crump just doesn't have the uneven holes his book depicts. The dough is too soft to score and doesn't spring.

[Sam Fromartz]

It sounds as if the gluten is not well developed. Or it has risen too long and lost its strength. You might need to stretch and fold more or let it rise less at room temperature. (Rising in the refrig should be fine). Also, the softness of the dough may be a function of how you're shaping the loaf. If the skin is rather loose, it will be hard to score -- by stretching as you shape the loaf, you build more tension into the skin.

Finally, it's rarely the recipe that's the problem when you run into problems --- it's more often technique, which takes a lot of pratice. So I would stick with it and keep trying. It took me at least a year to get a baguette I was happy with, and this after I had been baking other sorts of loaves for several years. But the thing is, you can eat the failures along the way!

[jerry weinraub]

I have used this recipe for over a year,semi-weekly,with some minor variations. Lately i have used it to make boule. My daughter and her husband,and some friends,all serious foodies,have applauded the results. Kudos on an excellent and bulletproof recipe.

[Michael]

This is my go-to baguette recipe. The tell-tell sign this is a great baguette recipe is the great window pane. It has a nice thin, crackly crust. I use a scant 1/3 cup of 100% hydration starter.