Diane, yes, you put the shaped loaves into the baguette pan, let them rise, and bake them right in the pan. And yes, I'd spray the pan with vegetable oil spray; the first time you use this pan the bread inevitably sticks, but the more you use it, the more naturally non-stick it becomes. That said, if the dough is reallllly sticky and slack, it can ooze through the holes and glue the bread to the pan. But this particular dough isn't like that, especially if you shape it on a floured surface so it has that little skim of flour on the outside. As for spraying the inside of your oven, I think the steam disappears way too quickly. If you hesitate to do the pan and boiling water, I've had good luck spraying the baguettes themselves; that moistness on the surface of the dough mimics somewhat the effect of steam, which is to keep the dough pliable enough through the first part of baking that the loaf rises, rather than sets too quickly. Good luck! PJH

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