Baguettes, Baguettes, Baguettes

Every one loves baguettes. All of my friends always go crazy whenever I bring them home to them. However, what most people fail to realize is how a baguette really isn't simple. You have to be on your game and pay attention to every step of baking starting from the scaling process. Making a consistent baguette is a true test of a baker. One thing that I have always struggled with is the scoring of the baguette. It is so disappointing when you ruin your bread when you go to score it because you have just spent two days preparing the product and then in a matter of seconds you can ruin all of your.

So here is a good picture that shows you the right angle to score you baguette at.

The first step begins with holding the lam. Hold the lam with your finger tips and don't choke up on the handle. Next is to position your body. This step seems silly but is actually crucial. You want to stand horiztonal to the baguettes and you want to be able to move with the baguette as you continue to score farther down the baguette. Now comes the trickest step, the angle of the blade. To get the right angle pretend the lam is a key that you are putting in the door. Put the key in the door, turn it to the right (if you are a righty), then drop down the top part of the blade. Another way to double check if you have the right angle is to hold the lam like you are eating soup with it. After you get the angle right you want to make a quick score so that you don't tear at the bread too much. Additionally, have the lam moving before it hits the bread will help with reducing tearing. For baguettes, you want to make either 5 or 7 cuts starting at one end and ending at the other. You want to overlap the cuts by about 1/3 and make sure you don't go too far over the edge.  A good way to practice this is to draw a baguette on a white board. Next draw two lines to keep you from going too far over the edge and then practice making the lines. This picture below shows you how to practice.

It is always great to keep in mind that practice makes perfect. Repetition is the key.