Sandwich Baguettes

Once rested, perform a stretch-and-fold by grabbing a corner of the dough in the bowl, lift straight up to stretch the dough as high as it will go without tearing, and fold over to the other side. Rotate the bowl and perform three more reps of stretch and folds. Once folded, turn the dough over onto itself, cover, and let rest for another 25-30 minutes.

• This is one set of stretch-and-folds, perform 3 more sets with 25-30 minutes rest in between.

For each stretch and fold set, the dough should feel more elastic and stretch further without tearing with some air bubbles present

• Note: The stretch and fold method is better suited than kneading for a high-hydration dough such as this because the dough is naturally sticky and this method reduces hand contact. Additionally, the stretch and fold will allow for an open crumb when baked because the air isn’t pushed out of the dough.

After the final set of stretch-and-folds, test for gluten development by stretching up the dough very thin to see if it is slightly translucent before tearing.

• Note: The gluten window test is the key to understanding if the flour has been hydrated enough. If the dough tears before getting to a slightly translucent window, let rest for another 25 minutes and perform another set of stretch and folds.