I suggest it's not your recipe that's making your bread dense, but perhaps your method.
I would let that recipe sit on my counter for about 3 hours....punch it down, and let it sit until it's again double,shape....allow to almost double again, mist with water and bake....and I make 2 baguettes out of a recipe with 4 cups of flour....I think the volume of your loaf is too big to get a full rise and fully cooked in 30 minutes.
Linda C

Thanks Linda but I do get three baguettes out of the recipe and this is what I do for method:
Mix with dough blade in FP.
Transfer to bowl and let rise until very doubled. Punch down and shape into loaves by stretching and using hands continually dipped in a bowl of water. Let rise again in the pans until doubled.
I do not spray while in the oven because they turn out plenty crusty as is. The texture is fine and even. I would like it to be lighter with big holes.

I don't know if it is my method or the recipe.

If you want bigger holes, make a more moist dough....
A wetter dough equals bigger holes in the bread.
Try cutting back your flour by 1 cup. The dough will be very hard to work, you will have to be careful not to puncture the "skin"....but it will give you bread with bigger holes.
Have you tried the no knead bread? That will give you the big holes you crave.
Linda C

Here is a link that might be useful: NY times no knead bread

I'd suggest getting the DVD from King Arthur Flour- ARTISAN BREADS (check your local library, they may have a copy). A picture is worth a thousand words, especially when it comes to tips and tricks for baguettes. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on 'preview' for a good look.

-Grainlady

Here is a link that might be useful: King Arthur Flour - books, newsletters, DVDs

I will try cutting the flour back. It seems very loose right now...I printed out the no knead bread awhile back and will give that a try.
I also have Ann T's instructions with pictures from several years ago but haven't tried that yet because it required an overnight biga and I tend to be a spur of the moment cook to a degree. But that is probably what I am missing in taste complexity.
Grainlady, I will look for that video. I'm a rather ordinary bread maker but would like my bread to taste better.

The proportion of flour to water in that recipe seems a bit dry for getting a holey bread. Cutting back the flour by a half cup might help. Using water when forming the bread wouldn't help since that is just going on the outside.

I got the King Arthur DVD and it is very helpful to watch the dough handling techniques on it - especially how to handle the more hydrated dough. With its techniques, you are never rough with the dough - it doesn't get punched down so the air bubbles that form during rising get a chance to stay in. And the dough cloak (the skin that Linda mentioned) formed holds the soft dough in shape.

When the dough seems very wet, it can help to wait 20 minutes to let the flour absorb more water instead of adding flour. I often find that doughs that seem to need more flour right after initial mixing will knead very nicely after a 20 minute rest. The dough in the DVD is so nice after it has gone through its rising time even though it seems very wet when kneading.

An overnight biga and a slow rise for the bread develop a much nicer flavor - perhaps not important when doing a bread with honey, milk, eggs or other flavorings but it makes a big difference when doing bread with just the basics: flour, water, salt and yeast.

If you want a little bit of a sourdough taste, you could replace half the water with buttermilk, to which you have added about 1/4 tsp. of baking soda. If the buttermilk is really thick, you might need a little extra water. --Ilene

Thanks cloud swift...

I have been beaten severely & into submission about the head & shoulders with a wet noodle around here for suggesting not to 'punch the dough down hard'! roflmao, so I was a'skeered to mention it here. But, you're right. Being gentle with that dough & not pounding out the gas/air bubbles will make a world of difference.

Also, if you don't like a crisp crust...don't get the loaf too wet in the final shaping. The moisture on the surface creates steam in the oven & you end up with a crispier crust same as if you'd sprayed or used ice cubes. For instance, we like a snappy, thin, & crisp crust so I pick up my final-shaped loaf & actually dunk it into a sink full of cold water just before putting on the baking stone.

There's really no substitute for time in coaxing flavor from flour & water. Even giving a biga 4-6 hours will make a difference.

/tricia

Thanks for all your help! I like the buttermilk idea a lot. I know that time adds flavor but I wish it came in a jar!

Actually, after the first rise, I do not punch it down or knead. I divide into 3 balls without breaking the gluten sack as much as possible then I gently stretch it into three skinny loaves. The air bubbles are still visible and the dough is not at all deflated.

I am going to try much less flour first.

I know the wet hands create the crust but it really helps in managing the dough. I'll try it with flour. I know how to handle sticky dough without incorporating the flour. The easy clean up using water though has been a plus.

Buttermilk will change the texture from a light and airy French baguette to a more solid sandwich bread.
Somewhere on the web there is a wonderful demo of a woman who's name is a household word but I can't remember it!, making baguettes.
After she makes a well in her flour and adds the water and mixis it in, allows it to rest for a number of hours, adds the dry yeast to the dough, she kneads and slams that ball of dough on the table something like 120 times. I have made bread that way, not 120 times but 40 and it makes the best and airiest baguette ever.
Someone here surely has that link.
Linda C

bumblebeez said:
"I know that time adds flavor but I wish it came in a jar! "

If you find time in a jar, pick me up some!!!
Cost doesn't matter........

(BIG GRIN)

Not sure why I read it that way, but I did!! LOL

Deanna

Start out with a preferment. Then, if you make this regularly, pull off a bit of "old dough" for use as the preferment in your next batch.

You'll notice a big boost in the flavor.

lindac, was it this video from Julia Child Lessons with Master Chefs? The chef is Danielle Forestier.

It sounds about like what you describe except the wait after the flour and water are combined is less than an hour and she says she does the slam and fold kneading about 800 times.

This dough looks drier than the one on the KA Artisan Bread DVD which uses a different kneading technique suited to a very wet dough but it still comes out airy.

Here is a link that might be useful: See the second two videos on the link

The KA online classes helped me with baguettes. You said you are using a loaf pan to bake the bread, maybe that's hindering the expansion of the loaves and that's why they are less airy; try baking on a sheet pan or baking stone and see how they come out.

Here is a link that might be useful: KA online classes

Thanks for all the links and tips everybody! I will look at everything.
Imrainey, I'm ignorant...a preferment is just a sourdough?
I stopped that because of all the upkeep with feeding.
lisacdm, the pan I'm using is a french baguette pan that holds three loaves. It's a great pan.

Here is a link that might be useful: pan

Yes! Cloud! That's the video! I will definitely book mark it this time....was thinking it was on the Martha stewart site...
Beez, that pan won't work with a really wet dough. The dough will sort of seep into the holes in the pan and you will tear the bottom off of it removing it....ask me how I know!
Linda C

A sourdough is a preferment from wild yeasts. But you can make a simple one 24 hours in advance with packaged yeast or you can just pull off old dough from each batch and use it in subsequent doughs. Old dough is the traditional French way for baguettes where they bake every day but a country miche might have a sourdough.

The point is to have dough with fully matured and abundant live yeasts and that doesn't happen in a 4 hour cycle. Regardless of how many "instant" products there are on the market the ideal for bread is s-l-o-w. That's how flavors and vigorous yeasts are nurtured.

The recommendations about a slack dough are also right on point.

Would someone please define "overnight biga" for me, please?

A biga is just a "starter". I mix up 1 1/2 cups of flour with 1/2 teaspoon of yeast and one cup of water. Stir well, cover and leave to develop overnight. It is a wet dough and in the morning you will find a bowl full of dough full of bubbles. Add the rest of the ingredients and knead.

Ann

I don't think there's enough rising time to really develop the dough.

I like Carol Field's ciabatta recipe, which has the big holes, but it's a very wet dough--too wet for me by hand, but I have a Magic Mill, which I use at least three times a week.

Rose Levy Beranbaum's baguette recipe is great, but it's a very crisp crust.

Here is a link that might be useful: Baby No Knead Bread Encore

Thank you, ann_t. That is a new one to me. To be honest, the first time I saw the term here, I thought it was a typo. :>) But it's 'kinda-sorta' like a sourdough starter, but not really, right? When adding the rest of the ingredients, do you add the full amount of yeast called for, too?
Thanks
Rusty