November 30, 2017 - 5:11am
Baguette trays
hi Bakers
im looking at buying a baguette tray, I have seen several at 2.5cm width trays and a couple at 5cm width.
whigh would you recommend, my thinking is 2.5 basically 1 inch seems very small
Thanks
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It seems like people are not coming to your aid on this subject so let me offer a thought.
I have baked thousands of baguettes and never used a tray. While some folks do, I think the majority just let them proof in a couche, transfer them onto a peel or parchment, then place them in the oven.
Most of the techniques used to make and bake baguettes do not call for a pan.
Jim
many thanks Jim I’ll try some without a tray, might save myself some money lol
sure was a popular post
Jeff, I would try without in a couche. It took a few tries to get the hang of it. I have a perforated 2-loaf French bread pan my husband bought a couple of decades ago when I was baking bread the "lots of yeast & flour, punch down hard, start to finish in an afternoon" style. The last few years I'm a convert to slow, low-yeast, wet dough, S&F, Hamelman & the rest . I used the tray (lined with parchment) for proofing (and sometimes the initial minutes of baking) batards of wet doughs as I learned this new style (and before I got a couche).
The tray's a pain to store in my small kitchen. All the trays I've seen have rounded bottoms - gives loaves an overall rounde shape. I pounded the bottoms flatter, but now rarely use it. Save your money and buy (or make) couche-covered baguette & bagel boards. On my honey-do list is a dual-purpose covered board with thin edges for transferring loaves, and a thick base for the first few minutes of bagels. In the meantime, I start them on a damp folded linen towel on a pan for the steam, then flip onto baking stone.
We could never find trays to use in our oven on our sailboat, for which I a.m. thankful. (They are all too wide for a 13 inch oven.) Therefore I use a couches, and tip the proofed baguette onto a four inch oak board that I got at the better wood section of Lowe's, making it a great peel for not much money and it appeals to my esthetic taste. (We also replaced our cooker/range so as to have a better oven!)
I do happen to have a two baguette tray at home that is likely going to the thrift shop.
hi thank you
im on learning curve started baking regular few years ago, knead for 10 minutes n as you say punch down etc
now I stretch n fold and trying different breads n hydration’s still using yeast as I tried sour dough once loved the process but not the taste, since found out that I can lower the sourness so another attempt is on to do list..
can I clarify I can put the bread in the oven initially?
Standard baguette width is 2+ inches so trying to understand what dimension is 2.5cm ?
2.5/5 cm that’s 1 inch / 2 inch. When I saw it I thought 1 inch was small more like a bread stick lol
One inch width, a ficelle is wider than that. Btw i have baguette tray, dont really like them and much prefer a stone vut it reallt all depends on your objectives - Ive seen some grear loaves from trays but generally think a stone gets the best results ;)