December 7, 2010 - 3:45pm
Home Sized Baguettes
I have been lurking on this site for some time now with an occasional post. I have learned a tremendous amount particularily about artesian and sourdough baking and want to thank you all for your amazing knowledge and enthusiastic sharing. I am just starting to attempt baguettes and have a dilema. I can only fit an 18" loaf in my oven and am unsure what weight I should scale them at. I have seen weights from 250 to 350 g. but am not sure how long those loaves are. I realize that the hydration of the dough can affect how much weight loss will occur during baking but I am looking for a ballpark weight that I could start with. Can anyone supply me with what dough weight you use for what loaf length and diameter.
Thanks
Paul
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Hi Paul,
Personally, I try to maximize the length of my baguettes on my 20" baking stone. I think that's it's a matter of taste as to how much dough you use, but I find that 500 grams of dough works pretty well for me.
:-Paul
Hi Paul,
The classic baguette weights about 350g. Length, on the other hand, can vary a lot: anywhere from about 22" to 3'. Most baguettes are around 24" in the U.S. because we love to convert them to sandwich bread, so anything too much longer yields a baguette that's too thin to pile heaps of stuff on.
My current baking stone is 14" in length, so I scale my baguettes at 10oz/283.5 g.
If you have a 18" baking stone, you could go to 300 - 310 g with no problems, or as Pablo shows above, greater weight and more girth.
Larry
Hi Paul,
I, too, have a small oven. My baking stone is 14" across but 18" on the diagonal. Therefore, I load my baguettes diagonally. They usually end up being about 15" or 16" long with a diameter of 8" or 9". My recipe makes 850g of dough so I scale them at about 280g each (you always end up losing some dough in the bowl or on the counter or on your hands, etcetera).
Syd
Thanks guys. This is exactly what I was looking for.