The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

My rendition of Chef Ralph Nieboer's sourdough baguettes

The Roadside Pie King's picture
The Roadside Pi...

My rendition of Chef Ralph Nieboer's sourdough baguettes

are nearing the final stages. This is pretty much a verbatim bake of the formula Chef Ralph posted, with these few minor changes. 1. 246 Grams of 100% hydration starter. ( I hate the discard even 40 Grams.) I adjusted the hydration on the fly. 2. I changed up the timing a bit as follows to accommodate my schedule and also have a more relaxed dough for the final shaping. This morning after 13hrs of cold bulk ferment, I pre-shaped my dough into eight, 241 Gram balls, then back into the cooler. At approximately 9:00 AM, I will form the baguettes and set to proof at room temperature for an 11:30 AM bake. Wish me luck!

 dessert, food and indoor

The Roadside Pie King's picture
The Roadside Pi...

My shaping is very weak. That silicone mat is not helping. None to very little flour the dough sticks, I add some more flour, and it slides around. Woo-ways me!

 food

The Roadside Pie King's picture
The Roadside Pi...

 food

David R's picture
David R

Have no fear... You'll get it...

It seems even God had to spend a little time trying out that shape. ?

Filomatic's picture
Filomatic

They still look great.  Please show us the crumb.  I assume you've seen Hamelman's shaping videos, but if not, here's a link.  Sourdough is stickier than yeasted doughs, so it's even harder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmxDKuGLWuE

The Roadside Pie King's picture
The Roadside Pi...

 

The cumb is not to bad. Terrible photos today.