Dear List Members,
Here is what Philippe Gosselin showed me, though others who have met him
said that he did it differently for them. First, he mixes a dough of about
65% water to flour, with no yeast or salt, using very cold water. This is
held overnight in the refrigerator, or what the French might call a long
"autolyse." The next day he remixes the dough, adding 1% fresh yeast,
approx. 1.75% salt, and another 5% cold water. He suggested that with
American flour it would be best to use 75% water, or maybe even more,
depending on the flour. It makes a ciabatta-like dough, wetter than regular
baguette dough (but not unlike the "Retrodor" baguette that is becoming
popular in Paris these days--see the new Jeffrey Steingarten book, "It Must
Have Been Something I Ate," for more on that excellent method). Gosselin
mixes this until thorougly incorporated, about 4 to 6 minutes or so. This
dough is allowed to ferment for 6 hours at room temperature, during which
time it awakens and doubles in size (This is a big batch, so a small batch
might awaken faster). The dough is then divided into baguette size (about
12 ounces), formed into a six inch torpedoes, rested for about ten minutes,
in a bed of flour, then gently pulled, not rolled, to baguette length,
placed on a baking cloth (couche) until enough are shaped to fill the oven.
They are immediately taken to the oven, scored with a blade just as any
baguette, and baked like other baguettes (about 460 F., equivelent). They
nearly double in size in the oven, resulting in a crumb with holes
somewhere between a regular baguette and a ciabatta.
My version is designed to make it more user friendly for non-professionals
who don't have the luxury of baking shifts, waiting for 6 hours, etc. I
think the results are fairly comparable, though a home oven can only take
small lengths, not full baguette, so I advise making the pieces about 6
ounces for mini-baguettes. Of course, I also use the dough for ciabatta,
pizza, and focaccia, though Gosselin doesn't use it for those purposes.
If anyone tries the more difficult method described above, I'd love to hear
how it turns out for you. Good luck!
Best Regards,
Peter