I just dropped a new video walking through the three baguette paths. Yeasted. Poolish. Sourdough. Same shape. Three completely different stories. If you've been wondering which one to bake this weekend, watch this first. It'll save you from picking wrong. Here's the short version of what's in it. The baguette isn't really one bread. It's three breads sharing a shape. And the skills stack on top of each other. Yeasted teaches you the shape and the score. Poolish teaches you what time and pre-fermentation do to dough. Sourdough teaches you to read the wild yeast. You don't have to walk it in that order. But the climb's a whole lot easier when you take it one step at a time. Three things stay the same no matter which one you pick: 1. The shape. A 14 to 16-inch roll, tapered at the ends. 2. The score. Three or four overlapping cuts at a 30 to 45-degree angle. 3. The steam. The crust sets in the first 10 minutes. Without steam, your loaf can't expand. What changes is your relationship with time. That's really the choice you're making when you pick a recipe. Not a different bread. A different level of time and dough management. Pick yours for this weekend's bake-along: 🥖 No starter? Start here. https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/french-bread-baguette?utm_source=skool&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=recipe-share 🥖 Want bakery-level flavor without managing a starter? https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/classic-poolish-baguette?utm_source=skool&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=recipe-share 🥖 Active starter ready to go? https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/sourdough-baguettes?utm_source=skool&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=recipe-share

I needed a confidence booster with my sourdough baking. I do what I know works best for me and that is focaccia, even though it is a high hydration dough. It is very resistant and forgiving. For some unknown reason, it always works to my favor to which I am blessed. I made a savoury one today to be gifted to my neighbor as she just lost her mom. I wanted to do something special for her and she loves my focaccia. She loves it simple and I honor her request. Otherwise, I would have jazzed it up and be creative again. I added rosemary, garlic and cherry tomatoes as this is her favorite. I was fascinated to find these colorful cherry tomatoes and supposedly organic. I wish it looked just as pretty before it was baked. After baking it, it loses it's attractiveness. This is my opinion only as beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Just finished working on sourdough baguette. I have to practice to shape the baguette. It doesn’t look like a baguette at all 🤣 oh.. I’ve been busy and let it rest for too long until it’s over proof 🤦‍♀️ Any suggestions for getting better my friends?

A friend brought me a loaf of bread from Tartine Bread Company. It’s a bread company I really admire. They make bread differently than I do. Every once in a while i reduce my inoculation and slow down the fermentation process the way they do just because I respect their methods and success. This picture is their signature loaf. I can pick their loaves out of a crowd of unlabeled loaves.

There are three ways to make a baguette at home. Yeasted, poolish, and sourdough. They all end up looking like the same loaf, but the journeys are completely different. In this video I walk you through all three. Who each one is for, when it makes sense to pick which path, and the three things that matter more than the recipe itself. If you've ever stood in your kitchen wondering which baguette you should actually start with, this is the breakdown you've been looking for. Pick yours for this weekend's bake-along: 🥖 No starter? Start here. https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/french-bread-baguette?utm_source=skool&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=recipe-share 🥖 Want bakery flavor without managing a starter? https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/classic-poolish-baguette?utm_source=skool&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=recipe-share 🥖 Active starter ready to go? https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/recipes/sourdough-baguettes?utm_source=skool&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=recipe-share We've been climbing this staircase for three weeks. Couche on the ciabatta. Poolish on the ciabatta. Now scoring and the roll-out shape on the baguettes. Nothing wasted. Watch the video. Pick your path. Drop questions before you bake. Easier to fix dough than crust. Perfection is not required. Progress is. Come bake with us. — Henry ⭐🔥