Baguette

Baguettes made with an overnight poolish The baguette draws on everything learned so far and adds two new skills: scoring and steam. A poolish of flour, water and yeast rests for about 14 hours, then the dough is shaped into long, even loaves, slashed three to five times and baked with boiling water poured into a hot cast-iron pan to fill the oven with steam. Slashing with a razor and making steam in a home oven are exactly what a sourdough loaf needs to open up properly, and practicing on quicker, cheaper loaves is far less heartbreaking. Expect the first few to look rustic. Even wonky ones crackle beautifully.