I recently changed my technique from stretch and fold to slap and fold to make French baguettes (according to the preferred method of recipe) - How do you know when you have worked the dough well enough (@ x 3 times @ 30 mins intervals) to achieve an open glossy crumb as an end result. This is the worst effort so far on my sourdough journey - although I realise this is a difficult bread to do well. Does stretch and fold technique suit this loaf type?
Hi,
I've never made baguettes, but I've only ever seen slap and folds used for initial gluten development/initial mixing of the dough. For example I'll use slap and fold to incorporate the levain (100x) followed by another 100x when I add the salt. This would be followed by stretch and folds or coil folds at 30 minute intervals, but once the dough passes the window pane test in the beginning, you'd stop slapping and move on to stretches. Hope this helps.
Thank you so much....I must have missed this vital insight into the process. Actually It also felt wrong. As usual with sourdough bread making I will just have to try again with this is mind. Thank you.