The Baguette Bake-off

Gorgeous! Gorgeous! Gorgeous!

I wanna play again!!

Had a lot of problems with the darn 'puter! Still not very stable.

This is the third time [url=http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=73591&st=36]this recipe[/url] is appearing in this thread.

Your bag's crumb look good, Jeremy. Looks as if 'hands only' work well.

Oh Jeremy,

That's my idea of the PERFECT breakfast!

Carol

Welcome Back TP!

Crumb pix. It was cut last night but the pic taken this morning...so it appears a bit shrivelled.

[img]http://www.sourdough.com.au/gallery/d/4867-1/bagcrumb2.jpg[/img]

lovely Jeremy!
You are way out in front in this contest.
I am back at work, so will have to cut back on the baking.
Will have another go on the weekend

perhaps Mick will have another try now that he is back on the planet

cheers
Dom

you could ask the great man what he would do for a 100% sourdough baguette.

I think that the recipes in 'Bread' for baguettes all use a yeast poolish

d

OK, just to show I'm nearly human again:

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/bethesdabakers/baguettepizzadough.jpg[/img]

I knocked up my sourdough version of Carol Field's pizza dough this morning, ran up a pizza for Sue's lunch because there's been a good bread famine here in the last few weeks, and made three 200g baguettes with the leftover dough.

Crumb to follow.

Mick

After that flop, I'm back at the kneading table....bulk fermenting now. No definite formula....everything by hand feel.

Hot from the oven. Cracks due to imperfect slashing.

[img]http://www.sourdough.com.au/gallery/d/4884-2/baguette2.jpg[/img]

Crossing my fingers.

I hear ya. 3 sticks proving................

Ooo...wood-burning stove baking! One of the top things I want to do before I die.

What I got today is not the ultimate typical french baguette. But I think I'm quite close to getting a good vietnamese baguette, with very light crumb and extraordinarily thin and crispy crust. Not bad at all.

Recipe (roughly)

1.5 C rice flour
1.5 C plain flour
1 C starter (100% hydration)
1 t salt
1T sugar
2T melted butter
1 C water

[img]http://www.sourdough.com.au/gallery/d/4885-1/bagcrumb3.jpg[/img]

Yup, it was shot 2 hours ago. Family is finishing the last of it for dinner. Finicky children are saying it's much better than the first attempt.

T65? Not available. If it's a soft flour, can I use cake flour instead?

OK. I spent some time contemplating whether I'm thickskinned enough to post this as this qualifies as a DUD.

Timing wasn't right, and for once my bottom didn't brown [size=9](could it be I was trying to bake on parchment for the 1st time?)[/size] I'm not going to reveal the formula because some people will be ever puzzled why I use it. [size=7](what can I say, I'm a rebel without a cause and thickskinned too)[/size]

Edible. For lunch.

The Cat shall not see this.

[img]http://www.sourdough.com.au/gallery/d/5069-2/baguette4.jpg[/img]

Think I'd better use AP. Look what happened to the one I used cake flour in. Ugh.

Here's the crumb:

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v236/bethesdabakers/baguettepizzadough2.jpg[/img]

Closed crumb, due to the large whack of olive oil? But light with a thin crust and crunchy. For eating not competing.

What's with brick ovens in OZ?

Mick

[quote="TeckPoh"]
.. I used cake flour in. Ugh.
[/quote]
Ugh..ugh..
T65 is french breadfloar, in firstclass baguettes T65 is used plus 5% rye flour, no wholemeal, a very light one, it vary about T80.
Try using white bread flour, dont know the sorts available in Malaysia.

[quote="TeckPoh"]
OK. I spent some time contemplating whether I'm thickskinned enough to post this as this qualifies as a DUD.
[/quote]

Ahhh - but what is in the cup??
I can see peas and ... ???

In an effort to widen the field a little here is this morning's attempt

[img]http://www.sourdough.com.au/gallery/d/4887-1/DSCN1479.JPG[/img]
[img]http://www.sourdough.com.au/gallery/d/4889-1/DSCN1480.JPG[/img]

now you may ask the formula that I used...
well I am a bit vague here
it started out as a grissini dough, but then I added too much water, and along the way I may have got a bit confused when I was trying to adjust quantities. So here is what I think that it contained

56% starter (100% hydration)
69% water
2% ground barley malt
100% white strong flour
2% salt
6% olive oil

The dough was too wet to make grissini, so I thought that I would see how it went for baguettes.
I mixed, let rest in the fridge for 12 hours, shaped, and put in the fridge in the baguette tins for another 12 hours or so, then baked from cold.
The slashes are ugly - partly because the dough was moist and the knife just dragged instead of cutting the dough. Also because the dough was in the mould it was hard to make a definitive cut. The loaves split along the side (I think because of not enough slash)

verdict - not all bad. Taste was good, and the baguettes were demolished by mid afternoon. texture not as open as I would like

I am going to try using Dan Lepard's white leaven formula tomorrow

cheers
Dom

If it's any consolation to myself, it doesn't taste half as bad as it looks. With the mince (beef, swiss browns, onion, garlic, tomatoes, carrots, peas, black currants, herbs), it was pretty decent.

The Cat happens to have very high standard with respect to home-cooking (and others); I'll never hear the end of it. But, then, I'm my own worst critic too.

[quote="Jeremy"]
Ok Dom, interesting, where is the rest of the gang? Bill? Carol? Markus?
[/quote]
Busy doing another batch of lames for Graham. Earning the bread to make the bread.

Dom...you making those baguettes is a fine example that making sourdough breads does and can fit into a busy schedule. Kudos to you for feeding your family well and keeping a semblance of normality during such a period of adjustment. The boys look like they are going to be very protective big brothers.

Baguettes?

You want me to make BAGUETTES???

With my son's birthday party on Saturday, I am busy making chocolate crackles and the like!!!

(Good lord, what will they want next!?!?!?)

But I'm enjoying imagining what I could all your baguettes with!

Carol.

Back to baguettes after a pause.

I seem to have come full circle, and arrived at something that is a bit like Jack's original formula.

My experiments with the a l'ancienne formula have yielded ciabatta and baguettes with the most open, thin-walled crumb that I have managed to date (without yeast that is)

This formula is at 80% hydration

200g starter (at 60%)
420g water
350g unbleached organic white flour
150g 00 flour
10g salt

the dough is mixed by hand day 1, and then put in the fridge
The next day fold at hourly intervals for 4-6 hours until light and very bubbly (timing depends on how warm the house is). Then divide and shape, and prove for 2-4 hours.

The dough is very sticky, and pretty hard to shape and slash - the baguettes below aren't as beautiful as some that I have made, but the flavour and crumb are worth it.

[img]http://www.sourdough.com.au/gallery/d/7365-2/DSCN2035.JPG[/img]
[img]http://www.sourdough.com.au/gallery/d/7368-2/DSCN2038.JPG[/img]

the above crumb shot doesn't really do justice to the lightness of the crumb. Here is another picture that does better...

[img]http://www.sourdough.com.au/gallery/d/7371-2/DSCN2041.JPG[/img]

cheers
Dom

Dom, your very creative and sexy see-through pix tells it all.

Been a while since I have checked out this thread! You guys are doing serious bread porn! I only wish we could share the taste somehow!
Great job Dom and Jeremy. I have been experimenting with San Francisco style, Desem and just a variety of sourdough lately. I usually keep my starters at 166% and find I like that best, for keeping quality and making up my recipes. Although it is nice to try different hydrations and outcomes. Teresa

I am leaning in the direction of firmer leavens - more like 80% or firmer as I like the flavour of the bread they produce. A bit more fiddly to mix.

Must try these wetter starters.

I never posted my baguette pics here - they look OK but I cannot remember what each recipe was and feel that is important to the thread.

Glad the thread is revitalised - I will make some more bags.

Best wishes

Pete

eat

The word was 'eat' .

It was supposed to say, "but I'm enjoying imagining what I could EAT all your baguettes with!

Stressed mother, can't you tell?

Jeremy, I have sent you a PM - will you confirm that you received it as it went into my 'outbox' not 'sentbox'. Just want to be sure it arrives.

Best wishes

Pete