August 11, 2018 - 11:11am
80% Hydration Baguettes from Weekend Bakery
Am I crazy to serve baguettes to French cousins? Probably, but oh well! Family dinner coming up tonight and I was asked to bring bread for the cheese course. I am bringing a loaf of my flat 4 grain bread ? but since that wasn’t my best effort and my mom prefers baguettes, here they are.
I used this recipe as it has been good to me in the past. Scoring could be a lot better but I am quite happy with the shape.
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I'll bring some cheese :) Those look great ! Have a wonderful time. c
Hey Danni these look great, the two at the top especially have a lot of life in them. I think you're in Canada right ? If so you might like to try this recipe with a stand mixer and avoid all the stretch and folds - i think your more into hand kneading which drives me a bit crazy (too impatient). just in case you're interested this is a great poolish tutorial - oh yeah the weekend bakery does a bench rest then divides - most baguettes are divided and preshaped then go tp bench for 20 mins - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5foLju_YK_M
La seule critique que j’ai du film, c’est que j’ai l’impression qu’elles sont des baguettes faites à la course. Autrement, il a vraiment le tour de former et de passer son coup de couteau! Un jour peut-être j’arriverai à en faire qui ressembleront à les siennes ou en réalité à les votres!
quand il a dit 'trois coute de lame', je me demande quoi ! d'habite on va donnes cinq coutes. Je vous remerci pour votre response en francais et Je regret ma francais cest la pire !
that the two at the top were the first ones shaped and they had just a few seconds more time proofing than the other two. I guess that extra minute or two really made a difference.
I try to emphasize and especially if you are a sourdough baker - minutes really matter in the final stages - that why I always try to underproof just a bit - a fumble here or there without that buffer it's like dang it !
baggies you really need a good cold shaped retard in the couche, baked straight from the fridge like Don Baggs does, to be able to score them right and get the ears you want without them closing up. The taste and the crumb will still be killer though. Your family will love them I am sure. The shaping was very good from where I sit!
That’s an excellent idea! I’ll try to remember to get a crumb shot but no guarantees cause when you get a bunch of French people talking and eating, who has time for pictures! ?
Aren't you being adventurous! These are a bit different from your lovely cast iron pot boules, for sure, but still look very yummy. I too am contemplating baking bread for the French (Quebec) rellies coming to stay with us next week. I'm going to try making a batch of dough to keep in the fridge and bake fresh each day while they are here. Reinhart has some good recipes for that ("artisan bread every day").
and timing is so funny as I was just reading a lot of the TXfarmer blogs on her 36hours baguette and after my ciabatta wondering whether to dip my toes into baguette...
After Joze's experimentation with room temp bulk and cold bulk for 50:50 community bake 'ciabatta', I really like her similar approach with that for baguettes.....
Have a great time with your family! Kat
turn into a big surprise birthday party for hubby and I. I turned 60 in July and hubby will be 70 in October. Our daughter and one of my brothers organized the whole thing with his significant other. Hubby and I had no clue! The neighbours, my pottery group, friends, hubby’s coffee group plus family and the cousins from France were there!
This the only picture I have of this so far.
I am sorry to say that the baguettes didn’t get eaten as the whole thing was catered. I gave them away to family at the end of the night so no crumb shot.
and made some baguettes. The shaping is great, and the scoring is something that comes with time. An 80% hydration baguette is a challenge, not for the faint-hearted, so brava Madame. I will tell you that you can get fantastic open crumb baguettes from much lower hydration doughs.
Poolish baguettes (especially with fresh cake yeast) are about as classic as they come for a "baguette tradition". However, if you wish to try these as levain breads, then a great place to start is the venerable Hamelman Vermont SD, which clocks in at around 65% hydration and can still yield an open crumb. Much less of a challenge and the results are well-worn proven to be superb. And yes, cold proofing makes scoring a simpler task in life.
The mini-dimples on the underside inform us that you used one of those baguette pans. And that reminds me of Kendalm mentioning that a few years ago his wife bought him one of those. As he bakes on a stone, it wound up being a kitchen decoration for its lifespan.
Happy birthday, and as you'll find out for yourself, 60 ain't so bad!
alan
Good memory Alan - although not an ornament but re-purposed as a cooling tray. Btw its 82f in my kitchen - I'm doing 29 minute final at .8% fresh stuff - the beasties are partying hard this summer !
Isn't that nice, when people organize a big surprise like that! It sounds like it was a lot of fun, and I hope you'll get reports back from the lucky recipients of the baguettes. :)
I have an Italian bread pan (like the baguette pans, but a bit wider), and bake with it on the stones all the time. Turns out lovely! And it's a lot easier to cope with a wet sourdough this way when it's in a rotation of a whole lot of other breads (baking for the little bread shop on Saturday mornings). I have also used it to cold proof loaves - just cover the loaves with napkins then put the whole thing into a bag and into the fridge. Scoring and loading in the morning are a doddle!
Wendy
So, how did your your French cousins like your baguettes?
I vaguely remember 60. I was so young then!
Happy birthday, and happy baking!
David
What a nice surprise that must have been. Too bad we didn't get to see the crumb, but I'm sure they turned out great. Now you need to make another batch, trying the cold retarding per DA and see how the scoring comes out and the crumb :).
Regards,
Ian
I really should make baguettes more often.
some baguettes sitting with friends outside on a bistro patio for lunch, right next to the Seine is hard to beat....or forget! Happy birthday Danni 60 is the new 39 except for me, Lucy and possibly David:-)
Hope you enjoyed your surprise birthday party. Lucky for your family: they've got the baguettes all to themselves :)
Maybe it's time for me to head over to txfarmer's post to try her 100% whole grain 36 hours baguettes?
Really look forward to your next baguettes bake!
Those baguettes look (and bet they tasted) great! I'm more interested in flavor than scoring perfection, and sometimes I do pretty good with the lame. A cold dough definitely helps (even in the freezer for 10 minutes to dry a little like someone here suggested).
Happy 60th! Sounds like a nice celebration. I'll be joining that club myself in 2 weeks. My daughter's baby shower is that day, and the best birtday gift will be my first grandchild due 3 weeks later.
Joyeux anniversaire à vous et à votre mari ! The outside looks good. I hope you channel your French heritage more with a second try complete with crumb shots.
P.S.
You look so youthful at 60. Nice to see you having a good time with friends and family.