Hello, Yema.

Because this dough ferments for a long(er) time, I suggest just using the water at room temperature. Warm water will speed up the fermentation and can cause overproofed dough. Hope this helps! 🙂

I know the feeling well, David. The tip is practice and speed. you really need to pick them up and swoop as quickly as possible. That said, I still don’t get the straighest baguettes either to this day, but the taste makes up for it.

I’ve watched bakers enough to know how, but knowing how and executing are two different things 🙂 The other option is to add a few grams extra of flour to the recipe each time until you find a very easily dough to handle – but the result of the baguette will change slightly as well (which you may / may not like).

Hello James. I’m not sure where you got your measurement from, but a cup of flour is “universally” 120-125gr in weight. You unfortunately used about 2x the amount of flour necessary.

Really, really surprising. Even my husband is perplexed and he’s heavy into baking and the maths behind absorption etc. Flours with a very high “W rating” typically absorb and can handle water very, very well. These are typically 00 flours, but not solely. For example, if he makes 2 identical doughs – one with French AP and one with Caputo Manitoba – The French one would be completely unworkable, while the Caputo ball will knead perfectly into a ball.

Best of luck, Alana! Just add a little more water if it still doens’t seem right. But I’d surprised if it was still kneadable. Please let me know!

It must be high absorption flour…perhaps. I got it from a restaurant supply and it said AP but not a brand I’m familiar with.

Ah, not the water! I’ll try again. Thanks!