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I put a lot of time into perfecting my baguettes. Well, not perfecting, but getting them to the point where they don't make me anxious. I don't think reliably

I put a lot of time into perfecting my baguettes. Well, not perfecting, but getting them to the point where they don't make me anxious. I don't think reliably good baguette is as simple as a recipe. The recipe conveys very little of what goes into it. It takes a lot of practice to get down all the manual techniques. Just learning how to knead the bread properly is an art in and of itself, and, even if you use a mixer, you'll still need to experiment with the speed and mix time to get things dialed in. A lame can be a tricky thing to work with, and your slashing technique will show through in the final product. Pre-shaping and shaping the bread takes practice, and, unless you're really into climate control at your house, learning how to adjust ingredient quantities and rise times to account for changes in temperature and humidity is a science in and of itself. You'll have to fiddle with the bake time and temperature and steaming technique to figure out what works best in your oven. Baguette is the pale lager of breads: Most the flavor comes from the technique, and the ingredients - four simple ingredients, very nearly the same four simple ingredients - have such delicate flavors on their own that there's not really anywhere for even the slightest mistake to hide. Which isn't to say that you shouldn't do it. But I would say that you should do it because you sincerely love the process of baking bread, not simply because you enjoy eating the final product. FWIW, one of my favorite books on the subject is Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman. The recipes are mostly meant for baking on a commercial scale, but the book also covers everything you need to know to adapt them to your home kitchen.

analog31 7y ago
Quite agreed. My family bakes all of our own bread. In fact, the kids don't even like store-bought bread unless it comes from some fancy bakery. One of them has gotten into baking. In addition to what you say, my advice is: Don't be afraid of it, just give it a try with realistic expectations. Start with something easy. Rolls and breadsticks are quite forgiving, if for no other reason than that they're usually gone before anybody can complain. ;-) Virtually any "failure" of bread can be redeemed by making toast, french toast, croutons, dipping in olive oil, etc. White is easier than grains, but you can work more grains in as you gain confidence. Nice shapely loaves that I can make into sandwiches are the pinnacle for me, because I love my sandwiches. When considering recipes, look at the timing of the steps. A recipe that fits with your schedule is more likely to be successful in the long run.
- mumblemumble 7y ago
  Speaking of schedule, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is one that worked well for us when we were busy. It's not the best bread in the world, but, considering the amount of effort that goes into it, the technique feels like cheating.
  - analog31 7y ago
    I should mention one more point, which is that a fair amount of the time spent making bread, is waiting. If you can interleave it with other tasks happening at home, then it isn't a huge time sink.
wrycoder 7y ago
Wonderful. Quoting from the baguette recipe: "The simplest breads are the most difficult to produce, and the baguette is high on the list of simple breads, in that it is made with a minimum of simple ingredients; there are no strong flavors that dominate, and it is above all the flavor of the flour that prevails. Properly made, it is magnificent, poorly made, it is bland and insipid. One of the more beautiful aspects of the baguette is the amount of crust it has. A finished baguette should have a rich, russet crust, crackling and fragrant -- don't underestimate the virtue of a bold bake. At the same time, the crumb should be creamy and aromatic, with a cell structure characterized by lots of random-sized holes, with translucent cell walls (if the holes are big enough to hide a mouse, though, your shaping skills need some attention)."
rdtwo 7y ago
Oh I get you, been baking bread for my wife since before we got married. Started with the bread machine, got a fancier machine, then transitioned to sour dough and after all these years and a couple hundred loves later I’m finally making a product I’m at least somewhat happy with. There is always some detail that isn’t mentioned that comes to bite you in the butt and causes the recipe to come out wrong.

analog31 7y ago

Quite agreed. My family bakes all of our own bread. In fact, the kids don't even like store-bought bread unless it comes from some fancy bakery. One of them has gotten into baking. In addition to what you say, my advice is: Don't be afraid of it, just give it a try with realistic expectations. Start with something easy. Rolls and breadsticks are quite forgiving, if for no other reason than that they're usually gone before anybody can complain. ;-) Virtually any "failure" of bread can be redeemed by making toast, french toast, croutons, dipping in olive oil, etc. White is easier than grains, but you can work more grains in as you gain confidence. Nice shapely loaves that I can make into sandwiches are the pinnacle for me, because I love my sandwiches. When considering recipes, look at the timing of the steps. A recipe that fits with your schedule is more likely to be successful in the long run.

mumblemumble 7y ago
Speaking of schedule, Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day is one that worked well for us when we were busy. It's not the best bread in the world, but, considering the amount of effort that goes into it, the technique feels like cheating.
- analog31 7y ago
  I should mention one more point, which is that a fair amount of the time spent making bread, is waiting. If you can interleave it with other tasks happening at home, then it isn't a huge time sink.

wrycoder 7y ago

Wonderful. Quoting from the baguette recipe: "The simplest breads are the most difficult to produce, and the baguette is high on the list of simple breads, in that it is made with a minimum of simple ingredients; there are no strong flavors that dominate, and it is above all the flavor of the flour that prevails. Properly made, it is magnificent, poorly made, it is bland and insipid. One of the more beautiful aspects of the baguette is the amount of crust it has. A finished baguette should have a rich, russet crust, crackling and fragrant -- don't underestimate the virtue of a bold bake. At the same time, the crumb should be creamy and aromatic, with a cell structure characterized by lots of random-sized holes, with translucent cell walls (if the holes are big enough to hide a mouse, though, your shaping skills need some attention)."

rdtwo 7y ago

Oh I get you, been baking bread for my wife since before we got married. Started with the bread machine, got a fancier machine, then transitioned to sour dough and after all these years and a couple hundred loves later I’m finally making a product I’m at least somewhat happy with. There is always some detail that isn’t mentioned that comes to bite you in the butt and causes the recipe to come out wrong.