Baguette à l'Ancienne with Sourdough — Traditional French Method

The classic baguette à l'ancienne — hand-shaped, minimally handled, wild-fermented. No commercial yeast, no machine. This is how bakers in Paris were making baguettes long before industrial dough dividers were invented.

What makes it "à l'ancienne"?

An "old-fashioned" baguette is defined less by an official recipe than by three practices:

1. Hand-shaped rather than mechanically divided
2. Long, cool fermentation (typically overnight)
3. Minimal ingredients — flour, water, salt, and a natural leaven

The result is rustic and asymmetric — no two are alike — with dramatic blisters on the crust and an open, custardy crumb that only slow fermentation can give.

Ingredients (makes 3 baguettes)

• 500g T65 flour (or strong white bread flour if T65 is not available)
• 350g water, cool (20°C)
• 100g active sourdough starter, fed 4-6 hours before mixing and at peak
• 10g fine sea salt
• Fine semolina for dusting the trays

Method

1. Autolyse — 45 minutes

Mix the flour with 320g of the water until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest for 45 minutes. This rest hydrates the flour and lets gluten development begin without any effort from you.

2. Build the dough — 15 minutes

Add the starter, the remaining 30g water, and the salt. Squeeze and fold until fully combined and smooth. Target dough temperature 24-25°C.

3. Bulk ferment — 4-5 hours at 22-23°C

Over the first 2-3 hours, give the dough 3 sets of stretch-and-folds, 30 minutes apart. Then leave undisturbed until it has grown by 30-50%, is domed and airy, and shows a few bubbles at the surface.

4. Pre-shape — 25 minutes

Tip the dough out gently. Divide into 3 equal pieces (about 320g each). Pre-shape each into a loose cylinder. Rest 25-30 minutes, uncovered, so the gluten relaxes.

5. Shape — the à l'ancienne way

This is the moment. Working one at a time, pat each piece into a rough rectangle. Fold the top third down, then the bottom third up. Roll into a tight log, sealing the seam. Do not roll them out to be uniform — leave them slightly irregular. That is the character.

6. Cold retard — overnight in the fridge

Dust half-baker's trays or a folded couche with semolina. Lay the baguettes seam-side down. Cover loosely and refrigerate 8-16 hours. This slow cold ferment develops the flavour and firms the surface for cleaner scoring.

7. Bake — 20-25 minutes at 250°C

Preheat your oven as hot as it will go with a baking stone (or upside-down tray) on the middle shelf and another empty tray on the floor. Score each baguette with 3 long, shallow, overlapping cuts. Slide onto the hot stone. Pour hot water into the empty tray for steam. Bake 20-25 minutes until deep golden, cracked and blistered.

8. Cool — 15-20 minutes

Cool on a wire rack. You should hear the crust crackle and "sing" as it releases moisture. Eat within a few hours for peak texture.

Notes for UK kitchens

• If you cannot find T65, strong white bread flour works. It will be slightly less extensible but still good.
• UK kitchen temperature is often 18-20°C in winter. Extend bulk to 6 hours if your kitchen is cool.
• A pizza stone or thick upside-down baking tray is essential — the initial heat blast is what gives the ear and the blister.
• Do not skip the steam. Baguettes without steam come out pale and thick-crusted.

Pair it with

These baguettes were designed for the French breakfast trinity: butter, apricot jam and strong black coffee. In the evening: proper Camembert, a hunk of country pâté, and a Provence rosé.