Ficelle

Ficelle (Parisian Thin Baguette)

A classic thin French bread loaf rolled to a slender 40 cm length, with a shatter-crisp crust and an open, airy crumb. The same lean dough as a traditional baguette, but in a smaller, crisper format.

Prep

45 min

Cook

18 min

Total

63 min

Serves

6 ficelles

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •500 g (17½ oz (about 4 cups)) Type 55 bread flour, or Type 65; aim for ~11.5% protein
• •350 ml (1½ cups) cool water (22–24°C)
• •100 g (½ cup) active sourdough levain (100% hydration), or substitute 5 g fresh yeast; see notes
• •10 g (2 tsp) fine sea salt
• •20 g (¼ cup) rice flour, for dusting the couche; prevents sticking

Steps

1. 1 Autolyse: In a large bowl, mix the bread flour and 325 ml of the water by hand until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest 45 minutes at room temperature to fully hydrate the flour.
2. 2 Add the levain (or crumbled fresh yeast dissolved in 25 ml of the reserved water) and the salt. Pinch and fold the dough in the bowl for 8–10 minutes until smooth and elastic; the dough should feel tacky but release from your hand.
3. 3 Bulk fermentation (3–4 hours at 22–24°C): every 30 minutes for the first 2 hours, perform a set of stretch-and-folds (lift one side, stretch it up, fold it over; quarter-turn and repeat 3 more times). After the folds, leave the dough covered and undisturbed.
4. 4 Turn the dough onto an unfloured counter and divide into 6 equal pieces of about 155 g each, using a bench scraper. Round each piece gently into a rough ball without degassing aggressively, cover with a tea towel, and rest 20 minutes (bench rest).
5. 5 Shape each ball into a ficelle: flatten gently into a rectangle about 12 cm wide, fold the top third down and the bottom third up (letter fold), then roll lightly under your palms to elongate to ~40 cm. Keep the diameter very thin — aim for 2–3 cm, no thicker than your thumb. Do not taper the ends; a ficelle has blunt, square ends.
6. 6 Lay a linen couche (or a clean tea towel) on a baking sheet, dust heavily with rice flour, and form ridges by tucking the fabric between each ficelle. Place the shaped loaves in the ridges, seam-side up, and dust the tops with rice flour. Cover loosely and proof 45–75 minutes at 22–24°C until the loaves hold a slight indentation when poked and look visibly puffed.
7. 7 During the last 30 minutes of proofing, place a baking stone or inverted heavy sheet pan on the middle rack of the oven and preheat to 245°C (475°F). Place a small metal tray on the lower rack to generate steam.
8. 8 Just before baking, tip the proofed ficelles seam-side down onto a sheet of parchment and, using a very sharp blade or lame, make 3 quick diagonal slashes along each loaf, almost end to end.
9. 9 Slide the parchment (and ficelles) onto the hot stone. Pour about 150 ml of boiling water into the lower tray and close the door immediately. Bake with steam for the first 12 minutes, then remove the steam tray and reduce the oven to 230°C (450°F). Bake another 5–6 minutes until the crust is deep golden-brown and feels paper-thin and rigid.
10. 10 Doneness cues: the internal crumb temperature should read 92–95°C (198–203°F) on an instant-read thermometer; the loaves should sound hollow when tapped underneath. Transfer immediately to a wire rack — never cool ficelles on a flat surface or the crust will soften from trapped steam.
11. 11 Eat within 4 hours for the crispest crust, or re-crisp in a 200°C (400°F) oven for 4 minutes before serving. Classic uses: split lengthwise and butter for charcuterie, float a slice atop French onion soup, or fill as a ficelle garnie with ham, Comté, butter and cornichons.