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Best baguette you've ever made...

September 6, 2009 - 2:08pm
chuppy's picture
chuppy

Best baguette you've ever made...

Hello bread lovers,

I have been baking bread for about 4 yrs and would like to know what your favorite baguette recipe is and if you could post a picture of it. I have been looking for an awesome recipe, but have not been successful in recreating one just yet. Can't wait to see what others have done!

Chuppy

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dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder
Sep 6 2009 - 3:01pm

Hi, Chuppy.

Here are links to 3 of my favorites.

Pat's (proth5) Baguettes

Anis Bouabsa ficelles

Philippe Gosselin's Baguettes

Pat's recipe produces the most "traditional" baguette. The other two represent the "new" baguettes that have become popular since the 1980's.  All are really good.

David

chuppy's picture
chuppy
Sep 6 2009 - 7:09pm

David,

They all look very nice indeed. If I had to pick the one with great texture in terms of palate, I would choose Pat's. And then of course taste is something you can not experience over the web....do you have a favorite from the three that you posted?

Cheers,

Jeff

dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder
Sep 6 2009 - 9:18pm

Hi, Jeff.

My favorite? That's harder than you might think. The best tasting baguettes I've ever made were the Gosselin's, but the double water addition is a challenge. On the other hand, if you are happy making rustic baguettes and seldom if ever being able to score them, they are wonderful.

Pat's are the most "classic" and very good. I like that they are made with sourdough. But to get them right, you have to really follow her directions and have the techniques mastered. I was surprised at how lovely the crumb was, because this is a low-hydration dough. To get that open crumb, you have to do your dough handling very gently from fermentation onward. But, if you are willing to work on your technique, the results are surely worth it.

Lot's of TFL'ers have made the Bouabsa baguettes and report very good results. I've made these more than the others combined.

If you have the patience to work on your baguettes over many months, I'd encourage you to try each of these (plus more traditional "baguettes sur poolish"). I've found that baguette technique takes lots of practice, and if you skip making them for a few weeks, you loose some of your touch. 

David

 

chuppy's picture
chuppy
Sep 10 2009 - 6:49am

Thanks David for your recomendation. I sometimes wonder who stays up late at night trying new baguette recipes. You may have taken the cake for that one. After looking at many of your entries, you have it down pat! Awesome work!!

Jeff

MISSiShrimpi's picture
MISSiShrimpi
Sep 6 2009 - 9:52pm

Hi David

My Baguettes seemed perfect until..............

Thanks for all the wonderful help here. After my 5th loaf I've made some progress using

Hamelman's “Stretch and Fold in the Bowl” no-knead technique

After 21 hours my dough had more air, bubbles, and activity that I had ever seen. I wasn't really sure where to go from there hoping to not mess it up so I went back to recipe written above (and cut and pasted steps7-16 below, now numbered 1-10).

I divided the dough into 4 pieces VERY CAREFULLY as instructed but felt like I lost some of the air and bubbles. After resting for an hour I VERY CAREFULLY "shaped into ficelles" and here I felt like I lost even more air and bubbles. i DON'T THINK i EVER RECOVERED FROM THERE AS (please excuse the caps) as during the resting times I never got any more rise. Could someone please go into more detail about how to exactly proceed following the 21 hours in the fridge. I felt like I was so close only to watch it go out the window after waiting the 21 hours. The taste was good, the crumb was fair but my bread didn't "Blow" like I want it to. Any help is Greatly Appreciated. Thanks.

  1. Allow preshaped pieces to rest, covered with plastic, for 1 hour.
  2. Shape into ficelles (short, thin baguettes).
  3. Proof en couche or on parchment paper dusted with semolina for 45 minutes.
  4. Pre-heat oven to 500F with baking stone in middle rack and a cast iron skillet and a metal loaf pan on the lowest rack. Preheat 45 minutes or longer before baking.
  5. 3-5 minutes before baking, place a handful of ice cubes in the loaf pan. Shut the oven door. Bring water to a boil.
  6. Transfer the ficelles to a peel and load them onto the baking stone. Pour one cup of boiling water into the skillet. Close the oven door.
  7. Turn the oven down to 480F.
  8. After 10 minutes, remove the loaf pan and the skillet from the oven.
  9. Continue baking for another 10-15 minutes until the loaves are nicely colored, the crust is hard all around and the bottom gives a hollow sound when tapped. Internal temperature should be at least 205F.
  10. Cool on a rack completely before slicing.
dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder
Sep 6 2009 - 10:54pm

My response was here:

http://tfl.thefreshloaf.com/node/9839/ficelles-made-anis-bouabsa039s-baguette-formula#comment-82166

David