Mix together ripe sourdough starter, flour and water. Set in a warm, 78 degree F place, for about 3-4 hours until bubbly, active and doubled in size.

1 hour before the levain is ripe and ready, mix together 1000 grams all purpose flour, and 625 grams water (warm the water if the ingredients are too cold and cool the water if the ingredients are too warm). Cover and let rest for one hour.

Once the levain is bubbly, active and doubled in size, add 180 grams of ripe levain on top of the autolysed dough. Add the reserved water and salt. Mix together with your hands for about 2-3 minutes, pinching the dough and gently kneading until all the ingredients are fully incorporated. Wet your hands as needed to keep the dough from sticking to your hands during this process.

Perform 3 sets of stretch and folds over the first 90 minutes. Every 30 minutes, stretch and fold the dough. Wet your hand (so it doesn’t stick to the dough). Reach down to the bottom of the bowl of dough and pull the dough up and over the top of itself. Turn the bowl ¼ turn and repeat the stretch and fold. Turn another quarter turn and repeat. Perform one more ¼ turn with stretching and folding the dough. Cover and set aside.

Let the dough rest in a warm place, for the rest of bulk fermentation, about 1.5 hours at 78 degrees.

Cover the dough and store in the refrigerator for about 18 hours. You can let the dough cold ferment anywhere from 12-48 hours with good results.

Dump the cold dough on a countertop and working quickly, separate into 6 equal pieces, around 300 grams each. Take a piece of dough and shape into a ball. Use a bench knife under the dough while using your free hand to tuck the dough under itself. Repeat this process going around in a circle until you have a tight ball of dough. Repeat with the remaining six loaves. Set the balls uncovered on the counter for about 45 minutes. They will relax and warm up a little during this time, making the baguettes easier to shape.

Prepare a Kitchen Towel: Baguettes rise in a traditional way in a couche or a kitchen towel for a home baker. Flour a couche or long kitchen towel, spreading the flour so it's thinly and evenly dispersed all over the fabric. Note - I have also used parchment paper successfully in place of a couche or kitchen towel.

Take one of the six pieces of dough and flip it over. Fold the bottom half of the dough up to the middle and press to seal. Fold the top half down to the middle and press to seal. This gives you a rectangle shape.

Lightly flour your hands and the countertop as needed. Turn the rectangle of dough 180 degrees and working from left to right, pull the top edge of the dough into the middle with your left hand, your right hand keeping the dough steady and pressing in and sealing the dough. Continue working down the loaf with the left hand pulling the dough into the middle and the right hand sealing until you have formed a cylinder shape. Turn the dough 180 degrees and repeat this process on the other side. This will form a cylinder shape of dough.

Pinch closed the seam and lightly flour the countertop. Roll the baguette, starting from the middle out. Repeat this process a few times until you've reached the desired length of baguette leaving tapered edges.

Place the baguette on one side of the floured kitchen towel or couche. Pull up the edges of the kitchen towel around the baguette, forming a barrier (see photo in this post for a visual). Repeat this process with the remaining baguettes, nestling them next to each other on the kitchen towel with a small barrier in between.

Cover the baguettes with a kitchen towel and let proof for about 1.5 - 2 hours until puffed up.

About an hour before baking the baguettes, pre-heat a baking stone in the oven to 450 or 475 degrees F, depending on which baking method you choose (see Baking section below).

When the baguettes have proved, prepare a piece of parchment paper. Place the parchment on a pizza peel or cutting board. Gently flip the first baguette onto the parchment paper. If the dough sticks a little, don't worry. Be gentle and use your hands to re-shape the dough by pressing on the sides just a little until you have the shape you want. Repeat with the second and third baguette. I bake 3 demi baguettes at a time in my oven, you may be able to do more or less.

Score the dough with a bread lame or razor blade using three long slashes or one large score down the middle.

To steam the oven, you have 2 options:Option 1: Preheat the oven/baking stone to 475ºF for 1 hour. Take a handful of ice cubes (about 1 cup) and place them in a baking pan. Place the baking pan on the bottom rack of the preheated oven. Immediately launch the baguettes into the oven on top of the baking stone. Bake for about 8 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 450 degrees F. Don't open the oven door until at least 20 minutes into the bake. Bake for an additional 22-25 minutes until brown, crispy and baked all the way through.Option 2: Preheat the oven/baking stone to 450 degrees F for 1 hour. Place a pan of 2 cups boiling hot water on the bottom rack of the oven. Immediately launch the baguettes into the oven on top of the baking stone. Bake for 20 minutes without opening the oven door. After 20 minutes, remove the pan of boiling water and bake for another 10-15 minutes until brown and crisp.

While the baguettes are baking, prepare the last three baguettes by flipping them over onto parchment paper. Place them on a cutting board or pizza peel and stick them in the refrigerator. This keeps them from over-proving while you bake the first batch. Once the first batch has been baked, preheat the oven again for about 30 minutes. Then pull the baguettes from the fridge and score right before baking.

Let the baguettes cool completely before slicing and enjoying!