baguettes: why such a wide variance in prep?

"Michael Horowitz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

GOOGLING around for making baguettes. I see Julia's recipe and quite a
few others. Some don't require a 2d rise, some don't require kneading,
some don't ask for a rise before kneading.
Does each diff. technique just provide a diff. texture or something ?
- Mike

I believe that the same recipe for the same bread will make a dissimilar
loaf at any given time. Going one step further, I have found that a
baguette can be made by many techniques, hence the many bread recipes, books
and bread gurus. If you are going to bake baguettes, do the simplest
recipe, then try a more complicated one, until you find something that suits
you. I've been doing ciabattas of late, and the same thing goes for them,
as well as focaccias. They all sound so simple and so alike, but they are
not.
Maybe someone else will have a better answer for you here.
Dee

Last night I tried Pete Aitken's recipe ["Recipe for Baguettes", RFC,
8Sep99], which does not require kneading. A single long rise, then
some resting steps; not even a rise after forming. Came out
outstanding! - Mike