perfect French baguette

To put it briefly? That's a crackly golden baguette with a fantastically open crumb. The aromas of a properly fermented dough greet you as you slice up the baguette, and as you raise the lid, you're greeted with a wonderfully soft, open-crust texture that almost begs for butter. There isn't much hope for improvement. Buttery and stuffed with dijon mustard, real ham, or aged cheddar cheese is my favorite way to enjoy them. A poolish, or pre-fermentation, is used in this recipe. Have no fear. Yeast, flour, and water are simply combined and let to ferment for 12 to 36 hours. This works well for enhancing the flavor and strengthening the structure of your dough. In my view, if you omit this step, you won't get anywhere to an excellent baguette. While making a fantastic baguette in the oven isn't very difficult, getting the greatest potential outcome does need some forethought. In this method, I employ two lengthy proofing/fermenting periods. I think they're both essential for getting the finest possible outcome. These baguettes need a little of forethought, but just a short amount of hands-on effort. I promise you won't be let down if you give them a go. Don't forget that if you need a visual guide through the various phases of baking, you may watch the instruction on the linked page. I'm going to talk about some crucial aspects of the French baguette, but I also recommend this post (video included). Even though the emphasis is on sourdough, I go into more depth on wheat, water, and the evolution of gluten (amongst other points). Upon inspection, a baguette's baked appearance resembles that of a bread that has been scored along the middle. Contrary to popular belief, this is not the case. Baguette slices are virtually all sliced in a vertical direction. Scoring the dough will enable it to expand in a manageable way. This is the secret of the incredible ear that pops out when baking. Scoring the dough prevents it from tearing in unexpected places. Make sure the long side of the baguette is facing away from you. To illustrate this, picture two parallel lines, each approximately a centimeter in width, going along the top of the baguette. Cut just inside these made-up confines. A razor blade or bread lame is ideal for scoring the dough, but a sharp knife will suffice. Keep the knife at a 45-degree angle and make vertical cuts through the dough (about 5mm deep). If you imagine a line through the middle, start cutting on the right and end on the left. It's best to begin each new cut a hair or two above where the previous one ended. There are four possible points for baguettes of this size.