adapting no-knead bread to baguettes
My first post here! I've been baking for a little over a year now, everything from brioche to sourdough. But I have to say, my favorite recipe is still a basic no-knead boule. I use Bonnie Ohara's version, which uses a 12 hour bulk ferment with one stretch and fold. It gives a great loaf without too much effort. I also like how it fits into my schedule. Typically I mix and bulk ferment at night, then shape/proof/bake in the morning. Other times I mix in the morning, shape at night, and proof overnight in the refrigerator. Either way, it doesn't require many interruptions and I have great bread ready for lunch.
But, my family has been craving the baguettes I've made. I've done Ohara's traditional recipe with pre-ferments, as well as Reinhart's version from ABED with cold proofing in the fridge. The former was a lot more work, and the latter just doesn't taste quite as good and has a more closed crumb.
So, I was wondering if I could adapt the basic no-knead method to baguettes. I tried the Ohara recipe (75% hydration, 0.2% yeast, 1 S+F, 12 hour bulk ferment), but shaped them the next morning as baguettes. After a 45 minute proof, I baked on an upside baking sheet with steam. Here are the results. They look ok from the top:
But on the sides you can see they split open:
Crumb is reasonably open--more than the other baguette recipes I mentioned above--but a little irregular:
Is it possible to make this better? My ideas:
- Kneading: do I need more stretch-and-folds? I would have thought the long bulk ferment would develop gluten sufficiently.
- Shaping: maybe I didn't properly seal the seams or place them under the dough during baking.
- Scoring: I had more trouble than usual scoring deeply, which you can see. The dough was very soft and would sort of stretch when I tried to score it. Incidentally, I used a sharp serrated knife, which I find works better than a razor.
I guess the bigger question is if it's possible to make a decent no-knead baguette. Or alternatively, is there a way of using a long ferment (no pre-ferments) that fits easily into my schedule? The Anis Boabsa baguettes [1] look interesting, but I would need to adapt so there's less work in the morning (perhaps by fermenting during day and proofing overnight).