December 15, 2007 - 10:57am
baguette pans (who said there are no stupid questions?)
At least this doesn't require a sophisticated answer!
I bought a metal baguette pan (cheaper version) like this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004R91J?v=glance&n=284507&tag=froglallabout-20
Stupid question: Do I just let the baguette dough rise in it and then slide it onto a stone, or do I slip the whole thing in the oven and bake it right on the metal pan?
Edited to say that mine aren't perforated/nonstick - they're just the same shape.
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Sometimes I let them rise in the baguette pans ans then slide them on a baking stone, and a couple times I have baked them in the pans. For me it worked better if they are baked at a lower temperature, about 425F when I bake them in the pans. The time I baked them at a higher temp they got scorched.
Colin
There are challenges either way, so my suggestion would be to begin by trying baking in the pan, and then sliding on to the stone, and decide which you prefer. I have cooked in my perforated non stick pans, and the loaves came out perfectly browned.
I'm pretty sure these pans are made to be baked IN the oven. I proof them in the pan, and then set it on a very hot stone or oven hearth. The holes in the pan are meant to let the heat through. I found them most useful for full-size baguettes, which can be hard to load (especially in quantity) without deforming or deflating them. At home I generally make demi-bagettues, which are shorter and easier to manage, but at the bakery I liked these pans.
You can see this in store-bought or bakery loaves--most are baked this way. The bottoms have little circles on them :) A lot of big production bakeries use them because it's much easier and faster to load 6 baguettes at a time into the proofer and oven.
I tried baking in the pan and got a baguette that wanted to roll all over the table. Is there something I don't know?
Rosalie
I line my baguette pans with parchment paper, shape them and proof AND bake them in the pans. My dough is very slack and I was afraid that the dough might "squish" down into the preforations and I wouldn't be able to get the loaves out.
I bake mine about 400F and they have turned out nicely, so far.