I was perusing a bread forum last night when I ran across a post of someone showing off the baguettes they had made. They were okay looking but a little mishapen. When I read the proceeding threads, in one post the baker mentioned – actually kind of boasted – that they didn’t have all the tools such as a couche or a lame or a transfer board. Once I read that post, I immediately asked out loud, “Why the hell would you purposely hamper yourself.”

Then I looked back on when I first started baking artisan bread and how proud I was that I was able to make something edible. I didn’t have a digital scale. I used an old analog food scale. I didn’t have a proper couche and instead used dish towels. I fashioned a lame out of hanger wire (I still use it). I did make a transfer board that I use to this day that’s made of 3/8″ sanded, untreated plywood that I sealed with beeswax. I also didn’t have a baking stone and instead used a loaf tray, which was fine, but the bottoms turned out round – not really what I’d call ideal.

Then I realized that I was working WAY TOO HARD to make baguettes and that’s when I decided to make a small investment in some crucial equipment. I got a digital food scale with 1-gram accuracy for $15. To measure out my yeast and salt precisely, I got a great precision scale (.01 gram accuracy) for $12. I bought a linen couche for $15. I already had the transfer board, but that piece of wood only cost me $6.

That small investment of less than $50 completely changed the game for me. It made the entire process so much easier; especially having the couche and the transfer board. Now I could manipulate my dough with ease and not worry about screwing them up with my hands. The transfer board could be used to straighten my loaves before I popped them into the oven.

The scale allowed me to create loaves that were all the same size. But also, with the loaves being the same size and weight, I could ensure a consistent quality for all my loaves.

It’s these kinds of things that I didn’t get when I first started. But it wasn’t until I got them that I truly understood just how important they were to making beautiful loaves of bread.