Today we're baking baguettes. If you've been waiting for the right week to try them, this is it. Here's how the working thread runs: drop in throughout the day, share where you are in the process, post photos, ask questions as they come up. I'll be in and out answering. The whole point is that nobody bakes alone today. A few things to keep in mind before you start: Hydration matters. Baguette dough is wetter than a sandwich loaf and that's on purpose. Don't fight it with extra flour. Trust the folds. Shape with intention. The pre-shape sets up the final shape. Rushing the pre-shape is the number one reason baguettes come out lumpy or uneven. Score with confidence. One quick motion, blade angled almost flat to the dough. Hesitation gives you a torn loaf instead of a clean ear. Steam is non-negotiable. Whatever method you use, get steam in that oven for the first 10 minutes. No steam, no crust, no shine. If you need the recipe, here it is: https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/ Drop your starting time below so we can see who's mixing when. Photos welcome at every stage. Floury counters, ugly pre-shapes, perfect oven spring, all of it. Let's bake. Perfection is not required. Progress is. Henry ⭐🔥

Tomorrow we bake. Put on your air pods, your headphones Or just turn it up in the background while you putter around. This is worth listening to. 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. If you're going sourdough, your levain should be on your counter or going on it later today. If you're going poolish, mix yours this afternoon between 4 and 8 pm. If you're going yeasted, mix your dough tonight before bed and put it in the fridge. Mine's already working. Should be yours too. If you've got questions before tomorrow, drop them here. Anything. Shaping, scoring, steam, hydration, starter, timing. No question is too small. Easier to answer it now than to fix dough at 6 am tomorrow. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸'𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵: 🥖 The video that walks through all three baguettes: https://youtu.be/KjcdKbwxZJc 🥖 The shaping technique: [insert link to Thursday's shaping post] 🥖 The three recipes: Yeasted: https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/french-bread-baguette?utm_source=skool&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=recipe-share Poolish: https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/classic-poolish-baguette?utm_source=skool&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=recipe-share Sourdough: https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/sourdough-baguettes?utm_source=skool&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=recipe-share 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗟𝗘𝗧'𝗦 𝗚𝗢! — Henry ⭐🔥

I have a question. I was doing essentially the same recipe as Henry's Foolproof Sourdough Loaf (using 380g of water instead of 375g but all the other ingredients are the same. Fermentolyse for 30 minutes then folds at 30 min, 60min, 90 min and 120 minutes. Then I was leaving the dough in bulk fermentation until about 75%, then shape in the banneton and cold retard until the next day as Henry is suggesting. Is this a wrong or inappropriate way to do it ?

I went hunting for shaping video this week and a perfect one popped up in my own archive. Me, sub rolls, same exact technique as a baguette. Don't let the size throw you. Sub rolls are about the same length as a full sub sandwich, which is right in the baguette range. The shaping move is identical. Pre-shape, rest, fold, roll, taper. That's the move whether you're making a 14-inch baguette or a 12-inch sub roll. Watch the hands. Heads up: this is an older video with music, no narration. Hooked on Classics. The pace is a bit quick because I'm running through a batch. Watch it twice. First time for the flow. Second time to catch the moves. The step-by-step below tracks exactly what my hands are doing. Here's what I'm doing, step by step: Pre-shape. I'm shaping the dough into a rough log already. Pre-shape isn't a round for baguettes. It's an elongated shape because that's where the dough is heading anyway. Less work on the final shape if you start it pointed in the right direction. The rest. Bench rest 15 to 20 minutes. The dough relaxes. Skip this and the dough will fight you on the final roll. Stretch the ends. Take the dough by the two ends and stretch it gently. Just a little. You're waking up the length without tearing the gluten. First fold. Fold the two ends in toward the center, about an inch or two each. You're building structure. Top to center. Fold the top edge down into the middle. Flip and repeat. Turn the whole thing around and fold the new top edge down into the middle again. You're stacking layers of tension. Seal it. Take the top edge one more time, fold it all the way over, and press the seam closed with the heel of your hand. That seam is what holds the shape during proof. Roll and taper. Hands flat. Start in the middle, roll outward, narrow the ends as you go. The roll elongates the loaf. The taper points it. Where it goes next. In the video I'm placing my rolls in silicone molds because that's what I'm baking in. For your bake Saturday, you're going onto a couche, seam-side up, with the linen pleats supporting the sides. Same shape. Different proofing surface.

This weekend we're going to baguettes. And there's a reason we're getting to them now. Look at what we've done the past two weeks. We learned the couche on ciabatta. We built a poolish for that same ciabatta and watched what an overnight pre-ferment does to flavor and extensibility. Both of those skills carry straight over to baguettes. We're not learning new things this weekend. We're putting the same tools to work in a new shape. That's the method. Each bake builds on the last one. Nothing wasted. Three recipes in the Recipe Pantry. Pick the one that matches where you are. 🥖 New to baguettes? Start here. Classic French Bread Baguette — four ingredients, overnight cold ferment, 72% hydration. Two loaves, cleanest entry point in the pantry. No pre-ferment, no starter. Just dough, time, and shape. https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/french-bread-baguette?utm_source=skool&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=recipe-share 🥖 Liked the poolish ciabatta? Run it back. Classic Poolish Baguette — same poolish you just built, in a new shape. 12 to 16 hour pre-ferment, 75% hydration, three baguettes. If you nailed the ciabatta, you already know how this dough is going to feel. https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/classic-poolish-baguette?utm_source=skool&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=recipe-share 🥖 Sourdough bakers, this one's yours. Sourdough Baguettes — overnight levain, 75% hydration, three baguettes at 265g. Same shaping rhythm we practiced on the ciabatta couche. https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/sourdough-baguettes?utm_source=skool&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=recipe-share