Hi Christine, both are good recipes, but the Classic Baguette recipe is much higher in hydration (68% vs 63% for the French Baguette recipe). While this may make for a more difficult dough to manipulate, it's also more likely to give you that open crumb structure (lots of varied sized holes) that characterizes a good baguette. My preference when making the Classic Baguette recipe is to use the lower amount of yeast (as suggested in the Tips From Our Bakers section of this recipe), which will allow more time to develop flavor and airiness in the dough before shaping. When it comes to shaping and scoring baguettes, I find the linked videos very helpful, regardless of which recipe you choose to make.
March 20, 2022 at 3:06pm
In reply to I would like to know more… by Christine (not verified)
Hi Christine, both are good recipes, but the Classic Baguette recipe is much higher in hydration (68% vs 63% for the French Baguette recipe). While this may make for a more difficult dough to manipulate, it's also more likely to give you that open crumb structure (lots of varied sized holes) that characterizes a good baguette. My preference when making the Classic Baguette recipe is to use the lower amount of yeast (as suggested in the Tips From Our Bakers section of this recipe), which will allow more time to develop flavor and airiness in the dough before shaping. When it comes to shaping and scoring baguettes, I find the linked videos very helpful, regardless of which recipe you choose to make.