Beginner Sourdough Baguettes

Toast

Hello, TFL'ers!

One of my new year's goals was to take a stab at sourdough baguettes and I finally had the chance to give it a try. I followed the recipe / method here with a few modifications:

  • Substituted 10% red fife flour
  • Used a mix of AP and bread flour for the white flour
  • Increased the water by about 10%
  • Autolysed the flour and water overnight in the fridge (per TXFarmer's 36-hour baguettes method)
  • Shaped the baguettes like the Hamelman demonstration here (starts around 2'30")
  • Put the shaped baguettes in the fridge for the last 30 minutes of the second proof (to make scoring a little easier)
  • Baked directly on a baking stone with steam

Overall, I'm quite happy with how they turned out. They're not top-level artisan baguettes but honestly they taste better than most of what I can find in the supermarket. The crumb was quite open considering the relatively low hydration (sorry, no crumb shot as they were gobbled up for family dinner; I'll have to be faster next time). I really liked how approachable this method was and I think I can use this recipe as a basis for more experimentation. Next time I'll probably increase the hydration a tad more and maybe add some seeds.

 

 

 

 

 

Those look fantastic! You did a great job with the shaping and scoring, and they are baked to perfection! I can see you giving Alfanso a run for his money after a few more bakes (Alfanso is the god of baguettes around here). Keep posting! I want to see more!

Thanks for the kind words, Danni! I definitely have my eye on some of Alfanso's formulas; it'll be awhile before I can catch up with him though. :)

for a first or 100th attempt.  Great job.  See.  I told you folks that if I could do it, so could you!

alan

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That looks like a work of art hanging on the wall! :) And the fact that they were eaten before you could get a crumb shot speaks volumes. Bread needs to taste good first.

Amazing for a first try. It's either beginner's luck or you are a prodigy!

David