This is adapted from John Kirkwood's recipe. You can view it on his YouTube channel.
Add 3/4 tsp. kosher salt or 1/2 tsp. salt and whisk again.
Add 520 g of cool or tepid water. (This makes the hydration 76% which is pretty high.)
Mix with a Danish dough whisk or the handle of a wooden spoon. It will be too thick for a regular whisk.
Cover and let dough rest overnight. (John says to rest 45 minutes at a time 4 times and degas inbetween rests, but I just stuck my bowl in the oven over night and it was fine.)
Divide dough in half (each should be around 11 oz.)
Dust your working area with flour and shape into something that looks sort of like a brick.
Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
Take each brick and flatten by poking it with your fingers. Now it should look like rectangle.
Roll the rectangle away from you and till the edge meets the dough and press to seal.
Continue to roll or stretch until you get a baguette shape. (The dough will be super sticky, so sprinkle with flour as needed.)
Rest each baguette on a floured cotton pillow case. Pinch the pillow case up so the loaves can't touch.
Cover with remainder of pillow case or a tea towel.
Let rise for 20 minutes.
Place a large pan of hot water on the bottom rack of the oven.
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Let bread continue to rise as oven heats.
Using a flipping board (a cardboard rectangle covered in foil) flip the baguettes onto the board and then onto a lightly oiled baking tray.
Using a knife or razor blade, score the bread in long diagonal cuts so it will bake evenly.
Spray or sprinkle water on the loaf. Sprinkle kosher salt if desired.
If the water isn't steaming yet, throw some cubes on the bottom of the oven to make a nice steamy environment for the bread.
After 8 minutes, rotate baking tray 180 degrees.
Remove water from the oven.
Let loaves cook another 8 minutes or until internal temperature is 199 degrees F and they are golden brown.
Let cool about 15 minutes before slicing.
Comments