Who doesn’t love fresh, warm bread right out of the oven? I do and as you can see, I’m embracing (literally) my newfound love of homemade, beautiful baguettes.
I’ll admit there are quite a few steps to making these but the process is oh-so worth the effort. And, you can do this.
Throughout this post, I’m talking about baguettes, sharing a few favorite bread making tools of the trade and I’ve also included a my latest new food on the move, Food in Motion video to really help get your creative bread making juices flowing.
When I first started pulling out my long-aquired-but-farily-unused bread making tools from around my kitchen, my daughter justifiably said, “You shouldn’t have to own a bunch of fancy gadgets to make good bread. Bread should be easily accessible to all”.
Indeed, she made a very good point. So, I’ll preface my discussion by saying the tools featured here (possibly excluding the kitchen scale) are totally optional, and you can still make delicious bread using exactly what you already have in your kitchen.
However, since I’m a person who loves kitchen gadgets (yup, I do, I do), I decided to share a few tools that are worth consideration when thinking about adding to your kitchen toolbox.
GLASS JARS Oh, do I love these wide mouth jars. They definitely look like old fashioned glass containers and I really fancy the way they look with their little glass tops. They also come with a rubber canning ring and metal clips that I removed for this usage. They’re super heavy and substantial, and just large enough without being too big to keep a good grip on them. They’re perfect for growing your Sourdough starter as well as the “poolish” required for this baguette recipe. You can read more about poolish in the recipe below.
By the way, I use large (green) rubber bands around the containers to help mark the level of rise.
KITCHEN SCALES You will need kitchen scales to measure out the flour needed for this recipe. You can find kitchen scales of all shapes, sizes and price ranges online. I’ve had this scale for about a decade now. I’ve linked a pretty and affordable green scale that I plan to replace this one with sooner or later.
SPURTLE Now, I gotta say, you don’t need this wooden spatula-type tool, but it is cute. Plus, can you really resist any tool with such an interesting name? Anyway, I used this to help scrape the proofed dough out of the plastic bin but spurtles are also good for for stirring just about anything. The smooth surface resists food from sticking to it and that’s pretty cool.
PLASTIC BIN This is another tool used during the many proofing stages of making baguettes. I have a couple of circular containers in addition to this square one. Whatever the shape, they all serve the same purpose and are convenient, designated containers for bread making. For some reason, the plastic top for this square one was sold separately. Notice the green rubber band again, to mark the level of dough rise.
BAKER’S COUCHE This canvas cloth helps to create that wonderful crusty exterior that baguettes are known for. The cloth helps to keep the top of the dough dry as it rises which gives the bread that crunch we all love. The cloth is thick enough to hold its folds and keep your trio of loaves snugly nestled during the rising process.
BAMBOO BAKERS PEEL Before I bought the bamboo bread peel, I used a clear quilter’s ruler and it worked just fine. You can also use a thin long piece of cardboard or plywood to flip your freshly-risen baguettes. You just need the plank long enough to fit the length of the bread, typically about 18-inches.
BREAD LAME A few years ago, I picked up a lame which is just a razor blade attached to a handle. It makes cutting the slices in the dough easy but you could just as easily use a sharp knife or even a bare razor blade, used very carefully.
PIZZA STONE Crispy is king and that’s why pizza stones are a great addition to any kitchen toolbox. These baking stones help to distribute the heat evenly and that means it also helps to really draw out moisture from from dough, helping to ensure the bread is dry and crusty and not soggy, I bought this extra large one because I wanted to fully accommodate 18-inch baguettes. It’s quite big so I just keep it stored in the original box and under a dining room cabinet.
I continue to work on my food videography skills and I’ve included my latest food on the move, Food in Motion video below for your viewing pleasure.
If you click over to You Tube to watch the it, please consider subscribing to my channel while you’re there, as I’m trying to build an audience on that platform too. Thanks for the support.
Food in Motion
This baguette recipe that I used was originally developed by dessert and pastry maven, Claire Saffitz for a New York Times Cooking segment on You Tube, which you can watch HERE. It’s a very detailed and comprehensive 30-minute video that is definitely worth watching and you can find a link to the recipe there too.
When I shared that video link with my Mum, she sent me an email saying it looked “daunting”. Yeah, it does at first. But please don’t be deterred by the lengthy recipe and process.
I’ve made at least 4 batches over the last few weeks and I already feel like I practically know the recipe and the steps by heart, (and I even felt comfortable enough tweaking a few things like raising the proofing times about 10-15 minutes here and there to suit me).
The more baguettes you make, the faster the steps will become and the more natural any personal alternations will feel.
I’m a big collector of cookbooks and fairly recently, I’ve started adding bread making books to that list. I’ve listed a few below. These are among my favorites because of the detailed but easy to understand instructions, plethora of tips and of course, the lovely and inspiring imagery.
ARTISAN SOURDOUGH MADE SIMPLE * TARTINE BREAD * BREAD BAKER’S APPRENTICE
I’d love to get to the point where most bread that I eat is bread that I’ve made myself. That’s a lofty but worthy goal. We’ll see how it goes.
I remember during the pandemic, it seemed that everyone was making bread, mostly Sourdough. I admit, I never jumped on that bandwagon, but I have tried my hand at a few bread recipes over the years, and you may enjoy seeing those previous post via the links below.
WHEAT SHEATH BREAD LOAF * HOT CROSS BUNS * FOCASSIA BREAD STICKS
Hope you’re inspired to bake your own Beautiful Baguettes, or perhaps another type of homemade bread.
Thanks so much for popping by Celebrate Creativity for a visit.
Stay safe and be well and I’ll see you back here next time.
-Lisa, xoxo
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