The Best Trip Ever

OK, enough is enough. Over the past four days, I've put 8 (small) baguettes in the freezer, and we've eaten most of four.

I'm sure I could make 60 more and continue to improve my results, but I've got to stop eating so much bread!

Here's what I've learned.

For me, without professional skills in handling the dough, that little three-slot baguette pan is essential. I can place the newly formed loaves in the pan, let them rise slowly overnight in the refrigerator, and put the pan into the oven without ever having to handle the loaves again and risk deflating them (except while slashing the dough--more about that later).

High heat is essential. The recipe I used calls for baking at 425. I heat the oven to 550 for long enough to make sure my baking stone is thoroughly heated, then reduce it to 450 only after the first five minutes of baking, when I'm through messing around trying to create steam and opening and closing the oven door.

I'm not so worried about finding the "perfect" flour anymore. My first batches were made with an organic bread flour from King Arthur, then I used up the Pillsbury Harvest King bread flour I had in the cupboard, then I used Stone-Buhr bread flour. Each flour seemed to need differing amounts of water. The KA made a very soft, pliable dough with one cup of water, and the Stone-Buhr needed another tablespoon or so to make a much firmer dough. But the end results just weren't that different. I think the Stone-Buhr may be my favorite.

Since I made bread four days in a row, I saved about a tablespoon of each day's starter and added it to the next day's starter. Each day's bread seemed to have more flavor than the day before--I think this is why.

Steam in the oven is much better than mist on the bread itself as it goes into the oven. I bought a small cast iron skillet to dedicate to this task, and I got much better oven spring when I preheated it with the oven until it was very hot, then added a little water to create steam when I put the bread in. The little pan won't be much use for anything else after being boiled dry over and over again, but it was cheap (about $8 on Amazon) and I'll save it for this.

Slashing the loaves has in many ways turned out to be the most difficult part of the whole process. I first tried a serrated knife, then a single-edge razor blade, then I was sure that a special tool designed for the purpose would be the answer. With all three, I had the same problem. It was HARD to cut the dough, I was pushing down on the blade and deflating the dough as I went, and the blade caught and dragged through the dough instead of making a smooth cut.

Finally, just before the slashing the last batch, I pulled out The Breadmaker's Apprentice and read Peter Reinhart's description of how to do it right (as I should have done before I started!). OK, use just the point, don't push down, let the blade do the work. And, I discovered this morning, go slowly and don't try to rush it. Much, much better. Pretty slashes, fluffier loaves.

This bread dough doesn't need any additional flour when you shape it, but I've always liked the look of a dusting of flour, so I tried that on one batch. It looked OK, but it didn't really contribute anything. Then, on today's batch, I rolled each loaf in semolina after shaping. That may not be correct for a classic baguette, but I love it. It adds a little bit of gold to the color of the crust, and a subtle additional crunch and sweetness to the crust. Delicious!

That's it for now. The recipe is simple, success is all about technique (and equipment). And a good home-baked baguette is almost as good as a fresh-baked baguette in France.