Sourdough Baguettes

Happy New Year!!!

It's a new year and along with that comes a whole new set of recipe experiments for your favorite food blogger.  Some people make resolutions - I set new cooking expectations for myself.😂  So here we are in 2026 and I'm declaring that this will be the year that I finally conquer my fear of sourdough.😅🥖 

I've been super hesitant to jump into the world of sourdough baking.   My biggest fear was taking on the responsibility of feeding a starter.  Some days I don't feel like I have enough time to feed myself - let alone a sourdough starter.🤣  Clearly my apprehension to sourdough had more to do with commitment issues than baking competence.😅 

I only recently mustered up the courage to ask my sweet friend to share some of her sourdough starter with me so I could begin the process of learning to work with this new ingredient. To say that there was a learning curve, is a major understatement. 😅  My experience with yeast breads proved to be zero help in learning to work with sourdough.

I decided to focus on baguettes when I first began my sourdough journey.  I thought baguettes might be easier than making a traditional loaf  - I was wrong.😆  This is the first of 3 sourdough baguette recipes that I made during what I'm now calling my experimental "sourdough week."🤣  I learned a lot about the how to (and not to) work with sourdough throughout the process.  

I'll be posting 2 more of my sourdough experiments this week - one recipe with a sourdough/yeast combination and the other a sourdough + extra gluten recipe.  As for today - this is the most simple and basic sourdough baguette recipe that I could find.  (Which still took 2 full days to make by the way.😅)

I certainly can't say that this was an easy recipe to make but there's also something deeply satisfying about making a bread that recipe this kind of  investment of time.  If you're a sourdough baker - you know what I mean.  

Sourdough Baguettes
450 grams bread flour 
280 grams water
100 grams active sourdough starter
15 grams salt

For the flour dusting
80 grams bread flour 
80 grams semolina

Mix together 250 g water and 100 g of sourdough starter. 

Add flour.  

Cover and let rest 1 hour.  

Dissolve salt in 30 g water.  Add water to dough and mix until smooth.

Fold and stretch dough by pulling up one side and folding it over itself.  Repeat 4 times. 

Form into a ball and place into an oiled bowl covered with a damp cloth.

Cover and let rest 1 hour. 

Repeat fold and stretch process.  Let rest for an hour.

Repeat fold and stretch process.  Let rest 2 hours. 

Divide dough into 6 pieces. 

Flatten each into a rectangle.

Roll into a tight sausage shape.  

Pinch seam closed with fingers. Keep rolling into a long baguette.

Place each baguette, seam side up, in a well floured couche.  

Sprinkle with more flour.  Cover. 

Proof in refrigerator 18-38 hours.  

Remove from refrigerator and let rise until puffy.  

Preheat oven to 480.  Place baking sheet in oven to warm.

Dust hot tray with semolina flour and place baguettes, seam side down on tray.

Dust baguettes with flour.  Use lame to score each one. 

Place tray in oven.  Fill pan with water and place in bottom of oven. Spray inside of oven and loaves with water every 2 minutes during the first 10 minutes of baking.  Bake 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to 425.  Bake 20 minutes longer.    

If you are an experienced sourdough baker - I'd love to hear your tips and tricks for making baguettes.  I have a lot to learn about the process and I'd love to hear what makes your sourdough extra special.  
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Ciao!

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