Sourdough Baguettes

Been trying different recipes to create a good baguette using my sourdough starter.   I think I have found what works.  I use my Sourdough Ciabatta recipe but add an additional 50 g of flour on the second day.   Mix the dough normally and perform good strong stretches every 30 to 40 mins.   

6 Loaves from a double batch

When the dough is ready to shape, I follow along the notes from How to make a Baguette and particularly follow the instructions for shaping in the attached video.  The baker in the video does a great job of walking your through the steps to go from fermented dough to baguettes ready to bake.

Ingredients

Day One (Starter)

• 3/4 cup (170g) cool water
• 1 3/4 cups + 2 tablespoons (225g) Bread flour, I like King Arthur Sir Lancelot or  King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
• 100g sourdough starter well feed and ready to go.
  

Day Two

• all of the starter from Day One
  
• 3/4 cup (170g) lukewarm water
• 2 cups + 2 tablespoons (275g)  I like King Arthur Sir Lancelot or  King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (9g) salt
  

Tools 

• Mixer for kneading or you can knead by hand. 
• Bread Lame or a very sharp knife
• Bakers Couche Linen
  
• Pizza Stone (optional) - I like sliding the Baguettes on to a hot stone.  You can cook them on a cookie sheet or using a Baguette pan
• Flipping Board (optional) - it helps to moved proofed Baguettes to cooking pan/stone.
• Pizza Peel - if you are using a stone.
  
  
  
  

Mix to combine the ingredients for Day One (Starter) in a bowl that will fit in your refrigerator.   Cover so dough wont dry,  I usually put a wet towel over the bowl with a plate on top.  Place in the refrig over night, at least for 12 hours. 

Next day, remove the Starter from the refrigerator.   Allow the Starter to set out, covered, for at least 1 hour to warm up.  You could move the Starter to a new bowl to help reduce the time.   Make sure to keep covered. 

When the starter is warm, you can add the ingredients for Day Two.  If you are using a mixer to knead, I like putting the Starter in the bowl first, then flour, salt (mix salt inn the flour) and finally water on top.  Do not mix yet, but let it sit for 15 mins.  After sitting, use your dough hook and knead the dough for 5 mins on low to medium.   If you are kneading by hand, after the 15 min rest mix the ingredients together and knead for 5 mins.  To mix, I like using my hands and work like the mixture is mud.   The final dough should be fairly soft and might be a bit sticky.

Put the dough in large bowl for fermenting.  Cover it so it won't dry out.  For the next 2 to 3 hours, stretch dough in 4 different places every 35 to 45 mins.  When stretching try pulling as far as you can, should be able to get a good 12" or more stretch. 

After 2 to 3 hours of fermenting/stretching, the dough should have good elasticity and feel soft.  Remove the dough from the bowl and put it on your counter.  Try to use no or very little flour, a dough scrapper is handy.  Stretch the right side of the dough to the right then fold over to the middle, repeat with left side by stretching to the left then back to the middle.  Next, pull and fold top and finally bottom.  Drop the fold dough into a proofing container or leave it on your counter, either method you will want to cover it.   Let sit for 35 mins.

Following the video, you will now break the dough into 300 - 350g pieces and fold for final proofing before shaping into baguettes.   Let sit 10 mins.

Take each proofed piece and shape the dough as described in the video.  Use your couche or a towel to hold the shaped dough for final rest.  I like dusting the cloth with whole wheat flour since it can take more moisture.   If you are using a baguette pan, you can set the shaped dough in it.  Cover and let rest for 30 mins.

Turn oven on to 400F, give enough time for oven to warm up so it is ready when the dough it done resting.  When dough is ready, if you are using a stone, use your flipping board to move the dough to a pizza peel dusted with cornmeal.  When pizza peel is load, slide loafs onto your stone, grab a spray bottle of water to mist the top of the dough.  Crack the oven door open with enough room to spray water into the bottom of the oven, I like give a good 10 or so shots.  Close the oven and cook for 15 - 18 mins until golden brown.  When done, turn off oven and leave bread in to finish as the oven cools.