Today we're baking baguettes. If you've been waiting for the right week to try them, this is it. Here's how the working thread runs: drop in throughout the day, share where you are in the process, post photos, ask questions as they come up. I'll be in and out answering. The whole point is that nobody bakes alone today. A few things to keep in mind before you start: Hydration matters. Baguette dough is wetter than a sandwich loaf and that's on purpose. Don't fight it with extra flour. Trust the folds. Shape with intention. The pre-shape sets up the final shape. Rushing the pre-shape is the number one reason baguettes come out lumpy or uneven. Score with confidence. One quick motion, blade angled almost flat to the dough. Hesitation gives you a torn loaf instead of a clean ear. Steam is non-negotiable. Whatever method you use, get steam in that oven for the first 10 minutes. No steam, no crust, no shine. If you need the recipe, here it is: https://pantry.bakinggreatbread.com/ Drop your starting time below so we can see who's mixing when. Photos welcome at every stage. Floury counters, ugly pre-shapes, perfect oven spring, all of it. Let's bake. Perfection is not required. Progress is. Henry ⭐🔥

This was the most Monday-ish Tuesday I’ve had in a few weeks! Work is being very “worky” with me logging almost 30 hours in just two days so far. I needed some stress relief this morning after waking at 3:03 AM, so I decided to mix a SD discard loaf around 7:30. The plan was to add salt at 8:30, then four sets of stretch and folds every 30 minutes, at 9:00, 9:30, 10:00 and 10:30. Well…the bottom fell out of the day pretty early. I got the salt added at 10:15, a round of S&F at 10:45, the next set at 12:30. My dough sat on the counter until 4:00! This wasn’t going to be a loaf of bread, so I made the executive decision to shift gears. I had purchased a 14” cast iron pan from Walmart a couple months ago to use for focaccia, and today would be its inaugural use. This pan was less than $20. I added some olive oil to the pan, plopped the dough in it, dimpled and covered for an hour, preheated the oven to 425, added basil, oregano, Parmesan and mozzarella. Baked it for 30 minutes, and this is one of the best focaccias I’ve ever made. I could’ve baked it longer, but this girl was hungry. I grabbed a slice and headed back to my office. I’m so thankful I’ve learned to shift and pivot when it comes to baking. All of this to say, don’t give up your dough! It might seem like it’s all going sideways, but you can shift and pivot and end up with something delicious!! Happy Baking!!

Third time was a charm! No overproofing, no hungry phone trying to eat my dough, no burning, just a great loaf of sourdough! Thanks for all of the positive thoughts that helped me finally get a loaf of bread this week.

@Henry Hunter

Last night around 9:30 the pot rack jumped off the wall - like all the cast iron pots came crashing down around my glass top stove and knocked a ceramic jar that holds my cooking utensils to the ground - the rack sounded horrendous! Ran downstairs to make sure no one was injured in the crash and though we are spending today revamping the attachment strategy nothing broke! It did however make the kitchen un useable for the day... I'll be baking my baguettes later in the week I suppose