This week I played with a demi baguette cutting and shaping approach that I’ve seen other bakers do, and I developed a whole grain spelt and wheat sourdough baguette recipe to go with it. (Yeast conversion is super easy, see the recipe notes.) Usually when making baguettes, you divide the dough after the first rise, roll the pieces into tapered tubes, and proof the dough in the long channels of a floured linen couche. With this new approach, you shape the bulk fermented dough into a bâtard and fully proof it in an oval basket. Only when the oven and baking setup are preheated do you cut the dough in half with a bench knife, press together the cut edges, flip onto that seam, and score. The demi baguettes fit in our Hearth Baker or can be baked on a Fibrament Baking Stone with a steam pan underneath.
Hearth Baker with parchment cut for the base
This alternative demi baguette shaping method makes it easier to retard the dough during the final proof, especially if you have a crowded home refrigerator. A proofing basket is an easier fit than a linen couche on a baking tray. The long cold proof will enhance the flavor and dough strengh—and allows for convenient baking the next day. Plus the uniform shape is quite attractive and perhaps a bit easier to do if you’re a beginner baker.
The total dough weight in the recipe is ~710 grams (355 grams each). If you want to fit a higher gluten dough in the Hearth Baker, you should reduce the dough size. For example, our recipe for Demi Baguettes with Yecora Rojo Wheat has a high percentage of all purpose flour and the dough weight is 280 grams each. You may also want to try our Whole Grain Baguettes recipe with a more challenging high hydration dough and a more open crumb.
This short video shows the novel demi baguette shaping method:
Wheat and Spelt Demi Baguettes with a Unique Shaping Method
Try this delicious recipe for spelt-and-wheat whole grain demi baguettes and use the unique shaping approach for easy proofing and a uniform shape. You can also use this dough with traditional demi baguette shaping, and this shaping method with any baguette dough formula.
Servings
2 demi baguettes
Total Time
1 hour, 22 minutes
Ingredients
Ingredients
Baker’s Percentages
- 50% hard red spring wheat whole grain flour
- 50% spelt whole grain flour
- 75% water
- 2% salt
- 1.3-15% sourdough starter
Instructions
- The first rise of this dough took about 7 hours using ~ 5 grams starter in a warm kitchen 78-80°F. The final proof was about 12 hours entirely in the refrigerator.
- Mix all of the dough ingredients in a bowl by hand/dough whisk or use a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment.
- For gluten development, I alternated stretching and folding with laminating the dough, 20-30 minute rests between each action. Here is the sequence: s&f, lamination, s&f, lamination, s&f. If you’re unfamiliar with stretching and folding or lamination, you can watch videos here. If you prefer a hands-off approach to developing the dough, you can use a stand mixer instead: 1-2 minutes for the initial mix to bring the ingredients together. Scrape down the sides, cover the bowl, and let the dough rest 1 hour. Mix again on medium speed about 12 minutes.
- Cover and let the dough rise until it approaches double in size, about 75% expansion. As noted above, the temperature of your dough and the amount of starter you use will influence how long this takes. For very little starter and a warm kitchen, this was about 7 hours.
- On a lightly floured work surface, shape the dough into a bâtard and place it seam up in a proofing basket.
- Cover and refrigerate the dough 8-12 hours. If you prefer a room temperature final proof, aim for visible dough expansion and puffiness, anywhere from 30 minutes to 2+ hours.
- Preheat your oven and baking vessel or stone/steel and steam pan to 500°F for 30 minutes.
- If using a baking vessel, cut a piece of parchment paper to the dimensions of the base where the dough will go. This allows you to position and score the demi baguettes before sliding them onto the base of the very hot baking vessel. After cutting the parchment paper, place it on a peel or cutting board for an easy transfer.
- If using a stone or steel, boil a cup of water that will go in your steam pan.
- Lightly flour the top of the proofed dough while it is still in the proofing basket. Flip it onto a work surface and cut it in half lengthwise using a bench knife.
- Press closed the cut seam of each demi baguette and lay it seam down on the parchment paper.
- Wipe off excess flour and score the demi baguettes, either with three cuts just slightly on the diagonal or a single cut down the center.
- Load the demi baguettes into the baking vessel, cover, and return the vessel to the oven. If baking on a stone or steel, load the dough onto it, and pour the cup of hot water into the steam pan below it.
- Baking vessel: bake at 500°F for 15 minutes lid on and 7 minutes lid off.
- Stone or steel: bake at 500°F for 15 minutes, check the internal temp and continue baking until it is >205°F, around 3-5 minutes more.
Notes
* I used a very small amount of sourdough starter because my kitchen is quite warm and I wanted a long rise to soften of the bran in the whole grain flours and encourage gluten development in the dough. In the winter when my kitchen is about 15 degrees cooler, I will use more starter, which will change the hydration of the dough by a smidge, but not enough to make the dough too wet.
To convert this recipe to yeast, use 1/8 – 1/4 tsp instant yeast, depending on the ambient temperature (less yeast in summer temps). The amount of yeast is small so that the first rise is long enough for the gluten to develop, and to prevent the dough from blowing up in the refrigerator during the overnight proof.
