Easy No Knead Sourdough Baguettes (Using Focaccia Dough)
Golden, crackly sourdough baguettes made from the same four ingredients as my Sourdough Focaccia, with a little less water so the dough holds a long shape. One round of stretch and folds and an overnight rise do all the work, and a simple foil and parchment pan hack holds the shape, so there is no mixer, no kneading, no steam, and no baguette pan.
Servings: 2 Baguettes
Calories: 165kcal
Equipment
- Large mixing bowl
- Digital Kitchen Scale
- Danish dough whisk or stiff spatula
- bench scraper
- Half sheet pan
- Aluminum foil
- Parchment paper
- Kitchen scissors or bread lame
- Instant read thermometer
- Wire cooling rack
Ingredients
- 500 grams bread flour 4 cups plus 3 tablespoons
- 375 grams water room temperature (1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon)
- 75 grams active sourdough starter fed and at its peak (1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon)
- 10 grams fine sea salt 1 2/3 teaspoons
- Olive oil for the counter just enough for a thin film
- Water for dampening your hands while shaping
Instructions
- Make sure your starter is active and at its peak before you begin. It should have at least doubled since its last feeding and be bubbly throughout, and a small spoonful should float in a glass of water.
MIX
- In a large bowl, combine the bread flour, water, active sourdough starter, and salt. Mix well with a Danish dough whisk or stiff spatula until no dry flour remains. The dough will be very wet and sticky, which is exactly right, so do not add more flour. Cover and let rest for 1 hour.
STRETCH & FOLD
- With damp hands, do one round of stretch and folds. Grab one side of the dough, stretch it up as far as it will go without tearing, and fold it over the center, then rotate the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Keep working around the bowl until the dough comes together and feels taut, which usually takes a few trips around. This is the only round of stretch and folds. The dough will not feel like a stiff bread dough, and that is normal.
- Once the dough feels taut, finish with one slap and fold. Lift the dough, slap it down onto the counter, fold it over itself, and return it to the bowl with the same side facing down. Cover the bowl.
BULK PROOF
- Leave the covered bowl at room temperature for 8 to 14 hours, depending on your kitchen temperature. The dough is ready when it has doubled or even tripled in size, is domed and bubbly on top, is very jiggly when you gently shake the bowl, and pulls away easily from the sides when you run a damp hand or spatula around the edge. Watch the dough rather than the clock.
- While the dough finishes, build the pan hack. Roll three long sheets of aluminum foil into firm ropes about as long as your half sheet pan. Lay them lengthwise down the pan, one along each long side and one down the middle, so the pan is divided into two equal channels. Lay one sheet of parchment paper loosely over the top without pressing it into the channels.
SHAPE
- Spread a thin film of olive oil over a clean counter, just enough to keep the dough from sticking, and keep your hands damp, not dripping, for every step from here on by running them under the tap and flicking the water off. Do not use more than that, since excess oil prevents the dough from sealing to itself during shaping and leaves a line through the baked crumb. Tip the bowl over and let the dough fall out onto the counter on its own, helping it with a damp hand or bench scraper rather than pulling it, and handle it gently from here on so you keep the gas trapped inside.
- Divide the dough into two equal pieces with a bench scraper.
- With damp hands, ease one piece into a rough rectangle with the long side running away from you. Fold one long side into the center, fold the other long side over the top like a letter, and roll the log over so the seam sits underneath. Repeat with the second piece. Let both rest uncovered for 15 minutes. (Shaping video in the pre-shaping section of the blog)
- If you are nervous about moving a soft, shaped loaf, see the Parchment Hammock Method in the notes before you start shaping, since it lets you final shape right on parchment and lift the loaf into the pan without handling it.
- Flip one rested log seam side up. Starting at the far long edge, fold a narrow strip of dough over onto itself and press it down firmly with your fingertips along the full length. Keep folding and pressing toward yourself a little at a time, sealing each new fold into the one before it. For a more open, airy crumb, use a light touch and leave most of the bubbles alone. For a denser, more even crumb, press out more of the bubbles as you go. (Shaping video in the shaping section of the blog)
- When you reach the near edge, pinch the final seam closed along the full length of the loaf, including the ends. Then cup your hands around the loaf and gently push it together from the sides and ends until it is an even log, since a dough this soft will not roll back and forth under your palms.
- Scoop the loaf up with a bench scraper, or slide your hands under the ends and tuck them underneath as you lift, and set it seam side down into one of the parchment channels. Repeat the shaping with the second log and set it in the other channel.
- Cover loosely and let the loaves proof at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until they look fluffy, puffy, and visibly fuller, with the sides rounding out into the channels. A warm kitchen will speed this up and a cool one will slow it down, and the strength of your starter and how far the bulk ferment went both change the timing too, so watch the loaves rather than the clock. Do not let them go much past this point, since an overproofed loaf loses its oven spring. A gentle press with a floured fingertip should leave a dent that fills back in slowly. Preheat the oven to 430 degrees Fahrenheit for the last 30 to 45 minutes of the proof.
SCORE
- Using kitchen scissors held at a low angle, almost parallel to the loaf, make four diagonal snips down the length of each baguette, each about 1/2 inch deep and evenly spaced. Four cuts open wider and cleaner than more.
BAKE
- Bake uncovered with no steam at 430 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is a deep, even golden brown and an instant read thermometer in the center reads 205 to 210 degrees Fahrenheit. If they are baked through but you want more color, give them a few extra minutes in the oven rather than using the broiler.
- Lift the baguettes out of the parchment and cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing, since the crumb is still setting as it cools.
Notes
Parchment Hammock Method
If moving a soft, shaped baguette makes you nervous, cut a strip of parchment for each loaf, a few inches longer than the baguette and wide enough to hold by both long edges. Mist it well with water, dampen your hands with water or a very light film of oil, and do the final shaping right on the parchment, evening out the log with your hands or the edge of a bench scraper. Lift the paper by its long edges like a hammock and set it between the foil ropes, skipping the large sheet of parchment. The loaves proof, get scored, and bake right in their hammocks. More detail on the blog in the Parchment Hammock Section
Hydration
This dough sits at 75 percent hydration, slightly lower than my focaccia, so it holds a long shape and handles more easily while still giving you an open crumb. It will still be wet and sticky after mixing. Do not add flour, since the stretch and folds and the overnight ferment build the strength. If you are comfortable working with a higher hydration dough, go ahead and use 400 grams of water (1 2/3 cups plus 1 teaspoon), the same as my focaccia, for an even more open crumb.
The Line Through the Middle
A visible line or gap running through the center of the crumb is a seam that never fused, and it is almost always caused by too much oil on the counter. The oiled surface gets rolled inside the loaf where it cannot stick to itself. Use only a thin film of oil and keep your hands damp with water instead.
Baguette Pan Hack
Three firm ropes of aluminum foil laid lengthwise on a half sheet pan, with one sheet of parchment draped loosely over the top, create two channels that support the loaves like a baguette pan. The weight of the dough settles the parchment into each channel, and the foil walls push the loaves up instead of letting them spread. Space the ropes closer together for skinnier loaves.
Baking Without the Pan Hack
You can bake these freeform on a parchment lined sheet pan, but they will spread more without support. Keep the scoring to three or four cuts at most, or skip scoring entirely, which helps a freeform loaf hold more of its shape.
Airy or Dense Crumb
How much you press while shaping decides the crumb. A light touch keeps more of the bubbles for an open, airy baguette, and pressing out more of the bubbles gives a denser, more even crumb that works well for sandwiches and garlic bread.
Skinnier Baguettes
For a slimmer, more traditional baguette, divide the dough into three pieces instead of two, shape them the same way, and start checking for doneness a few minutes early.
Final Proof Timing
Wild yeast does not keep a schedule the way commercial yeast does, so the 1 1/2 to 2 hour window is a guide rather than a rule. Temperature, the strength of your starter, and how far your dough fermented during the bulk all move the timing, so judge the loaves by how fluffy and full they look.
Storage
Store at room temperature in a bread bag for several days, just like any sourdough loaf. Warm a whole baguette in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven for 5 to 8 minutes, or slice and toast it. To freeze, cool completely, wrap tightly, and freeze for up to 1 month.
Yeast Version
Make my Same Day Focaccia dough instead, then follow this recipe from the preshape step on. A yeasted dough moves faster, so keep a closer eye on the final proof.
