Baguettes and how to fake them
Today I am going to share a shortcut that I am really proud of. I feel like I’ve really pulled one over on the unsuspecting.
I’ve always struggled to make baguettes — with yeast dough and then with sourdough. And I’ve always been somewhere on the failed-to-mediocre spectrum.
Maybe you can do it — if so, post about how! I find that it’s almost impossible to work with a dough that’s wet enough to result in the nice holes and open structure that a baguette should have (and not just be a long dense bun). Such a dough is just too hard to shape as a baguette should be shaped, and keep its shape through the rise, let alone be slashable.
I just can’t do it! I’ve watched all the folding tutorials and all the videos and I’m convinced there is some magic I’m just not worthy enough to access.
But one day I realized that a big fat risen dough can be cut with a bench scraper — for instance, you could cut rough rolls from a batch of risen dough and they’d bake up just fine.
So why not cut one long risen loaf lengthwise and have two — ta-da! — baguettes? Or maybe they are more like bâtards; I am on the lookout for an even longer proofing basket (called a banneton, although almost any basket works). (I do see that there are specific bannetons for baguettes. Maybe I need those.)
Here are close-ups of my normal sourdough loaves, turned out of their respective bannetons and baked as usual. (My bannetons are all of slightly different sizes because I got one as a gift and then added as I was further into sourdough baking, and it sort of makes my OCD twitchy but there it is.)
This is my longest proofing basket. I dust it and the others with rice flour. I also have a regular basket with big holes that I use — that one I line with a clean cloth napkin dusted with rice flour. The dough doesn’t stick, either way, as long as I don’t skimp on this step:
Using the bench scraper (I like this one, affiliate link), just quickly and confidently divide the dough in half, lengthwise:
Gently transfer the dough to parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Place the dough with the cut side down and using your hand or a pastry brush, even out the flour that’s dusted on top, adding some if necessary.
Slash the tops, using a sharp razor blade (I use this one, affiliate link)
You’ve already pre-heated your oven to 450° and placed two pans of boiling water, one on the one rack right up at the top and and the other on the floor of the oven. The dough pan goes on the rack in the middle.
Bake for 12 minutes with the pans of water, and then 10 minutes without. But don’t go by me because my oven is wonky (hence the different levels of browning on all those breads above). Get a good instant-read thermometer (I have this one — it really needs to be fully immersible — affiliate link) — seriously, it’s one of my most-used tools, what with bread, yogurt, roasts, and what have you.
I’m still working on this, but I thought I’d share my progress this far! It’s my best hope of making these thinner and trickier French breads!
bits & pieces
Mark Helprin on Pride and Prejudice at Harvard. He was a few years ahead of my husband, so I’m already familiar with stories of the Bust and so on. Helprin’s essay describes how the PC culture came to ascendence there. It’s worth reading for the incandescent prose as well as a glimpse into every elite university in our country, for they march in ideological lockstep.
An article about the history of the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris with amazing graphics.
Your guide to not getting murdered in a quaint English village (I suppose it goes for Oxford too, which is more of a city, but apparently quite dangerous).
Most scientists can’t replicate their peers’ studies, apparently. (I mean, it’s a study; don’t know if it’s replicable.)
I share this article for the implications about the presence of others’ DNA in one’s body: When a DNA Test Says You’re a Younger Man, Who Lives 5,000 Miles Away “Within four months of the procedure, Mr. Long’s blood had been replaced by his donor’s blood. Swabs collected from his lip, cheek and tongue showed that these also contained his donor’s DNA, with the percentages rising and falling over the years. Of the samples collected, only his chest and head hair were unaffected. The most unexpected part was that four years after the procedure, the DNA in his semen had been entirely replaced by his donor’s.”
liturgical year
Today is the feast of St. Paul.
from the archives
I got a sweet message from a reader who found the blog from Twitter — she has a newborn and has been reading the nursing posts “for motivation when nursing seems really hard or when I doubt it’s all supposed to be like this.” So wonderful to hear! You can find (most of) the nursing posts here (in reverse order, sorry).
Don’t know how to clean your house (but it really needs it because now there are no decorations to distract you)? Here you go: The Reasonably Clean House
Easy and good pot roast. No really. VERY easy and VERY good. With the secret to solving your “my pot roast never comes out right” issue.
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