Bob wrote:
> Can anyone recommend a technique for chewy french baguette.


By chewy I gather you mean the stretchy quality (which also includes a waxy
appearance) of french breads. As an example, by taking a slice of bread, you
can see the webby structure of the crumb.

You need to have a dough that is high in hydration. Take care not to squeeze
out the gases of the final dough. If the dough is overhandled, the bread
will not have the loose crumb structure, but a rather closed crumb. It just
won't be the same in taste or texture. Recipes with multi-fermentations
(sponge, sourdough starter, or old dough) IMO are a must to achieve those
characteristics so elusive. The basic baguette recipe on the King Arthur
Flour site is a good one to start with. Above all, practice alot. :)

If you look at Samartha's sourdough site (I don't have his URL but search
the r.f.s. archives), he's got plenty of image examples of that type of lean
bread.