French Baguettewith poolish and thin crust
Long-fermented baguettes made with poolish, delicate shaping, angled cuts, and steam baking to achieve a thin crust and open crumb.
The French baguette is made from few ingredients but requires precision in fermentation, folding, pre-shaping, surface tension, and scoring. The matured poolish develops aroma and extensibility; the dough is handled gently to retain gas and baked with steam to expand before the crust sets.
Ingredients
Poolish and dough
Final dough
Preparation
Prepare the poolish
Mix 200 g flour, 200 ml water, and 1 g yeast; cover and let mature for 12 to 14 hours until expanded and bubbly.
10 minutesMix and develop
Combine the poolish, remaining flour and yeast, 250 ml water, and salt; mix until cohesive dough forms and perform three folds every 30 minutes.
100 minutesDivide and pre-shape
Divide into three equal portions, form short cylinders without crushing the alveoli, and rest covered for 20 minutes.
15 minutesShape and ferment
Stretch each piece to about 38 cm, seal the seam, and ferment on a floured cloth for 45 to 60 minutes.
20 minutesScore and bake with steam
Make five angled cuts on each baguette and bake at 240 °C with steam for 10 minutes; remove steam and bake for another 18 to 20 minutes.
30 minutes
Substitutions
Bread flour makes the dough firmer; replacing poolish with short fermentation reduces aroma and alters crumb structure.
Storage
Cool completely on a rack and store in a paper bag for a few hours; freeze for longer periods.
Approximate shelf life: Best the same day; frozen up to 30 days.
Nutrition values are estimates and may vary by brand, substitution and actual yield.
