Making Baguettes From Wet Dough (Technique)
Submitted by bivs99 on July 19, 2004 at 7:33 pm

DESCRIPTION
Making Baguettes from Wet Dough (technique)

SUMMARY
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INSTRUCTIONS
Since I am addicted to crunchy crust, baguettes are my favorite form of bread. It took a lot of trial and error to be able to make them with the very wet doughs (70-80% hydration) that I prefer. Here is a description of my technique.

My #1 tip for handling wet dough is to use a lot of Pam! Spray the dough, your hands and work surface (and anyone standing nearby) generously with Pam, respraying as needed to prevent sticking. This allows you to handle the dough without using too much flour, which would change its texture.

For 2 lb. of dough, I usually make 2 baguettes, each 18-20" long. If your oven is too small to allow this, divide the dough into more loaves and make your baguettes smaller.

Do everything, from the start, on top of well-oiled parchment paper. This minimizes handling, and you use the paper to help roll the baguettes. I put the paper on top of a rimless cookie sheet for stability; use a cookie sheet that is no wider than the inside of your oven. (I use the Doughmakers extra-large.) I proof the loaves right on top of that and slide the paper in the oven when it's time to bake. Put the dough very close to one long edge of the parchment to start with. (I like to start with the edge nearest me and roll away from me.)

You start by making balls and resting them, as usual. Then flatten and do the "letter fold" to make a batard. When you lift the dough to make the fold, it's too wet to lift all at once--no matter, do it in sections. When you have folded it all, pat and pinch to make sure the seam is sealed. (With a dough this wet--70-80% hydration--the seams will pretty much always seal if you let it proof long enough.) Then lift up the other side of the dough and fold it as with the first side; as before, you will need to work in sections. Pinch and pat to seal. Take the ends of the loaf, bring them up and fold over (to make nice blunt edges). The loaf will be seam side up. Rest a couple of minutes if desired, but do not turn the loaf over yet.

For the next stage, gently pull and stretch the dough to lengthen it. Then flatten the dough a bit (you won't need to press too hard, as the folding action flattens the dough by itself). Do that whole letter fold again, putting the seam on the same side as you did before. Bring the ends up and fold as before. You will not have turned the loaf over yet.

Next, grasp the long side of the paper nearest the dough with both hands, lift it up and roll the dough toward the middle of the paper. If you do this right, you will get a fairly smooth cylinder with the seam on the bottom (you may need more than one revolution to get there). If the baguette is a bit too wide for your taste (remember, it will spread), roll it over again so the seam side is up and do the letter fold again. Gently rock and roll with your (well-oiled) hands to elongate the loaf if necessary. Roll with your paper until you have your nice smooth cylinder near the other edge of the paper. (If it goes too far toward the edge and you are out of room, grasp the opposite side of the paper and roll in the other direction.)

Then do another loaf, starting at the opposite edge as you did before. Roll toward the opposite side, remembering that you need to leave a good amount of space between the loaves to allow for expansion. If you have more than two loaves, start again with a new piece of parchment. Bake in shifts if necessary.

Proof in a warm place, covering the the loaves with plastic wrap that has been very well oiled. Proof until you see about 50% sideways expansion--get into the oven right away or they'll spread too much. Before slashing them, spray the razor blade with Pam or rub with oil, otherwise the blade will stick in the dough and drag. Don't be afraid to make the cuts fairly deep. Once you have made the slash, sprinkle a little flour inside it to help it stay open.

Prepare your oven and steam pan as usual. Slide the paper with the loaves into the oven and spray 3 times with water at 30-second intervals. Bake until done to taste.

I usually get really good oven spring and nice holes out of these. I think the minimal dough handling really helps.