Sourdough Baguettes

This recipe makes two baguettes. Check out Traditional Sourdough Bread for more details on how to work with sourdoughs. Ensure your starter is freshly fed (within 2-4 hours or so) for the best results.

Sourdough Baguettes

Equipment

Pre-heat Oven to 500°F

Ingredients

Dough

  • 625 grams Bread Flour
  • 450 grams Water, warm
  • 150 grams Sourdough Starter
  • 14 grams Salt

Procedure

Autolyse

  1. Loosely combine the bread flour and warm water in a mixing bowl.
  2. Set aside for about 30 minutes to allow the flour to autolyse.

Kneading

  1. Add the sourdough starter and salt.
  2. Mix the dough for about 5 minutes to ensure all of the components are combined. The dough will appear quite wet, compared to other bread dough recipes.

Folding and Shaping

  1. Lay out the dough on a silicone baking mat or piece of parchment paper in order to perform the following pinch-and-fold steps, where you'll be pinching the dough and folding it onto itself (each for the four corners).
  2. Perform 3 pinch-and-fold steps, each 15 minutes apart.
  3. Perform 3 more pinch-and-fold steps, each 30 minutes apart.

Proofing & Baking

  1. Separate the dough into two pieces and pinch-and-fold it into a long baguette shape.
  2. Place the final shaped dough into a baguette pan lined with a small rectangle of parchment paper.
  3. Start the oven preheating to 500°F, and place the baguette pan and dough in a warm damp place to allow it to proof.
  4. Once the dough has doubled in size, score the top in several places with a razor blade.
  5. Place the baguette pan in the 500°F oven and optionally add boiling water to a cast iron pan or sheet pan at the bottom. This will create steam, which will help with the initial oven spring.
  6. Once the bread is in the oven, reduce the temperature to 450°F and bake for about 30 minutes.
  7. At this point, the bread should be a deep golden brown. Turn off the oven and crack the door, allowing the bread to cool down in the warm oven for another 10-15 minutes.
  8. Don't cut into the baked baguettes for at least an hour. The inside crumb is still baking.