My baguette recipe continues to be a favorite post on this blog, so I figured I'd post these great videos by master baker Ciril Hitz on how to shape and score a baguette. Hitz chairs the baking institute at Johnson and Wales University, and is author of Baking Artisan Bread: 10 Expert Formulas for Baking Better Bread at Home.

The video shows how to build tension into the skin of the dough without compressing the middle, which is perhaps the most important lesson in shaping a baguette. I make a slightly smaller baguette to fit a home oven, at 275 grams.

This second video shows how to properly score a baguette, featuring Mitch Stamm.