I'm ready to try my hand at a sourdough baguette. Please suggest a forumula

 Here is my suggestion

Poolish

2/3 cup (6 oz.) refreshed starter (100% hydration)

 11/3 cup (6 oz,) King Arthur all-purpose flour, or rye, or whole-wheat flour.

3/4 cup (6 oz) water

12 oz.  100% hydration

For the poolish: mix the refreshed starter and the flour in standing mixer with a dough hook.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to ferment at room temperature (about 70°F) for 2 to 10 hours.

Dough

All of the poolish

3 1/2 cups (15 oz.) King Arthur all-purpose flour

3/4 cup (6.2 oz.) chlorine-free water

1 Tbs. dry whey (optional)

2 tspn. (0.4 oz.) salt.

37.3 oz.  64% hydration

 For the dough: mix the poolish, flour, and water to form a rough clump of dough.  Allow dough to rest for half an hour to one hour (autolyse).  Add the whey (optional) and salt then knead with the dough hook until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl.  Scrape down the sides and the dough hook and knead until the dough forms a ball and leaves the sides of the bowl.  Dough should take on a sheen.  Turn out into a bowl that is lightly oiled.  Allow the dough to rise for an hour and a half, folding the dough over onto itself several times during this period.

After two hours or so, transfer the dough to a lightly oiled surface.  I find that an oiled piece of parchment paper on the counter top does well.  Divide the dough into three pieces (about 10 1/2 oz. each) and gently form them into rough logs.  Let them rest for about twenty minutes then shape them into 13 to 14 inch long thin baguettes as described in the next paragraph.  The dough may also be formed into bâtard, boule, or rolls.

Preheat the oven to 500°F with the baking stone in place, if you have one. Working with one piece at a time, flatten the “log” and fold it in half, side to side, so as to maintain its length.  Seal the seam with your fingers or the heel of your hand pulling the surface giving the dough a tight skin and to form a 13 to 14 inch long baguette.  Place the baguettes on the lightly oiled baguette pan, seam side down, and let them rise for about 45 minutes.  (Traditional directions call for the rising to be done covered in the folds of a lightly floured couche (linen or cotton cloth).  They may also rise on a lightly oiled parchment.  Since I have a baking stone and I have had trouble moving the formed pieces of dough, I have let them rise, covered, on a wooden peel that has been dusted with cornmeal.  I have also shaped them on a lightly floured surface and shaped them with lightly floured hands.  Ford)

Place a pan of boiling water under the baking rack.  After the loaves have risen, gently slash each loaf with four diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch deep and at a 45° angle, not straight down.  Place pan (or slide the loaves) on to the baking stone and spray them with water.  They may also be baked in the greased baguette pan or on the greased parchment paper.  Reduce the oven temperature to 475°F and bake the loaves for about 20 minutes to a deep golden brown color (190 to 205°F interior temperature).  Remove the baguettes to a cooling rack.  Let the loaves cool completely before slicing; otherwise, the interior will be gummy.  Because there is no milk or fat in this bread it will get stale rather quickly.  It can be frozen then refreshed by placing the loaf directly on the rack of a 300 – 350°F oven for about 5 or 10 minutes.

If you are making a boule or a bâtard, decrease the oven temperature to 425°F and increase the time to about 35 to 45 minutes.  Otherwise the outside may get too dark before the inside is reaches 195°F.

Ford

... is my watchword, so I just use my basic white sourdough mix as usual, then shape into baguettes rather than anything else...

320g starter (at 100% hydration)

800g strong white flour (although the French might use a flour with slightly less gluten in it)

460g water (you might want to start with 10-20g less if not used to handling wetter doughs and conversely it can take a little more if you're already good with wetter doughs)

12g salt

mix/knead then leave covered overnight (counter top, not fridge) or 9-10 hours for first ferment, tip-out, scale into 4 and shape into boules, rest for a few moments, then shape each into a baguette. I have one of those metal 4-up baguette trays so they then prove (and bake) in that with a good dusting of semolina. Then 1-2 hours later 4 diagonal slashes and into a hot oven (220C) with a bit of steam (cup of hot water into a tray at the bottom) 20-25 minutes later, hot baguettes.

Shaping is key here - so get onto youtube, etc. to watch videos of how to shape baguettes. The wetter the dough is, the more important this becomes as it helps to support the dough when proving, although if you use the couche/cloth method it can help a lot too.

There's actually a little more dough there than strictly needed for 4 baguettes, so I often scale to 360g, and the rest - well it makes a good little fougasse  :-)

Let us know how you get on!

-Gordon

good scoring and shaping for a first baguette ! Very well done. You could probably have got away with baking a little longer for more colour but that's a minor point.