Baguette

The holy grail for bread for the home baker is often the baguette.  Baguettes are difficult to make in a standard oven because of the combination of desires for a crisp crust and with a chewy crumb (insides of the bread).  The ideal baguette also has holes like Swiss cheese.

I've worked on making a quality baguette almost since I started baking.  I bought a baguette pan which was excellent for creating shape but the crust did not seem to get crisp enough since it wasn't baking directly on a stone.  I created a Baker's Couche from duck cloth that helped create the appropriate shape and learned about injecting steam in to the oven from the forums at The Fresh Loaf.

I finally had a breakthrough when using the master recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.  The recipe uses a very wet dough and a no knead method.  I've used the recipe a few times and have found that shaping the baguettes skinnier is better for the best crumb results.  The crust has been consistently crispy.  The first time I sliced in to one of these I let out an audible moan and said to LJ, "I think I might have a bread boner."

First attempt

Scored first attempt

Out of the oven

Skinnier version