Light, airy, chewy baguette with very thin crust?

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cursichella on 18 Jan 2022 at 15:20

Hi,

My favorite baguette EVER (outside of France) was from (I'm embarrassed to say) a west coast bakery chain that no longer exists, called "La Petite Boulangerie".  The individual stores received their loaves par-baked and frozen (yeah, I know...) and they would thaw and finish baking each morning.

The loaves were very chewy, gluten-y, but an easy chew. The crust was very thin (nowhere near the thick, stab the roof of your mouth "artisan" crusts that are so popular) and I'm tempted to describe the crust as a glassy or glazey texture like you'd get from malted barley, but not crunchy, if that makes sense?  The loaves were long and thin and would bend easily if you weren't careful because they'd easily squash. It was effortless to pull off a piece of it. That's how soft, elastic and light they were. Looked something like this but not as stiff looking.

Does anyone know of a technique or recipe that might help me to recreate loaves like this? I'd be very grateful. This has frustrated me for 12 years.

Thank you!  :)))

.

I think I know what you describe, I think those are not real baguettes, per se, as I believe baguettes are supposedly chewier with more structure, not crunchy and delicate. I think something else other than those four common ingredients go into making these nontraditional baguettes, but I don't what they are.  

I think a Vietnamese banh mi is a small version of it with a fluffy crumb and a thin crackly shell. Actually someone bought me a stick a couple of months back because she thought I like to eat baguette, there was a label which I now regret for not saving it as I could call the bakery to inquire. This one was 26" long like a real baguette from France but the diameter was much bigger. I think I saw a video on YT comparing the two recently, I will see if I can find it when I get home this afternoon. 

Ok Outside color/shine looks like the "wrong" (golden vs brown, maybe more malt in the flour?) one but doesn't "chip". Inside white like the "wrong" one but more like with the leavain texture, however lighter.Hard to describe. Thank you for sending!

Thanks! Those look good but not thin crusted and delicate (shiney or glassy??) like I'm looking for. The ones I'm thinking off were so light and airy delicate that they would bend or smash fairly easily.

I over-fermented the Bouabsa baguettes I baked yesterday, leaving them on the counter for about 4 or 5 hours before refrigerating them for 24 hours and, when baked, they got a thin, shattery crust with a soft, chewy, holey interior. Might approach what you're after.

Rob