I’ve been meaning to make sourdough baguette for a while, but it is a little more involved than some of the other loaves that I make, so I’ve been putting it off. Today is the day though and I am very pleased with the result. Crunchy on the outside, light and just a bit chewy on the inside. They are slightly misshapen, but not dramatically so. Also, my oven isn’t quite long enough to make a full meter long baguette. C’est la vie. 🙂
Ingredients
3/4 cup lukewarm water
1 cup (240 grams) ripe sourdough
3 cups bread flour
2 1/2 teaspoons table salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon instant yeast, depending on the vigor of your fed starter (optional)
3 tablespoons barley malt syrup
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the water, starter, malt syrup and 2 1/2 cups of the flour, mixing until smooth.
Stir in the salt, sugar, yeast, then an additional 1/2 to 3/4 cup of flour. Stir until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, adding only enough additional flour as necessary. Knead the dough for about 7 minutes in a stand mixer; or 8 to 10 minutes by hand, on a lightly greased work surface. Turn the dough into an oiled bowl, cover the bowl, and let the dough rise until doubled in bulk, about 90 minutes. At this point, you can also let it rise overnight in the fridge. If you go this route, bring back to room temperature before proceeding.
Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into three pieces (for thin baguettes) or two pieces (for thicker loaves).
Shape each piece into a 16″ long loaf, and place the loaves, at least 4″ apart, on parchment-lined baking sheets, or in lightly greased baguette pans (French loaf pans). If you’re using baguette pans, make the loaves 15″ long. Cover the loaves with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let them rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until they’re nice and puffy. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat your oven to 450F.
For a classic look, make three diagonal slashes in each loaf, cutting about 1/4″ deep. For taller, rounder baguettes, don’t slash. Bake the baguettes for about 25 minutes, or until they’re a rich golden brown. If you baked in baguette pans, remove the loaves from the oven and de-mold. Turn off the oven, return the loaves (without the pan) to the oven, and crack the oven door open a few inches. If you baked on a parchment-lined baking sheet, simply turn off the oven and crack the oven door open a few inches. Letting the loaves cool right in the turned-off oven helps preserve their crunchy crust.
Remove the baguettes from the oven, and cool them completely on a rack.
