Any at home bread makers have New Orleans French bread figured out?

Steam is one of the keys, and a rise that takes things right up to the point of collapse. Best written-out recipe I've seen that gets closest is the one for bahn mi rolls devised by cookbook author Andrea Nguyen. It's in her Bahn Mi Handbook, with lots of detailed instructions: LINK See page 17 for her very involved, detailed instructions.

I saw her at an event when she was working on this book; we chatted and laughed about "how hard it is to make bad bread"...ie, the best/lightest/most fragile crusted bahn mi rolls are created using pretty industrial processes....they're the absolute opposite, technically and aesthetically, from the ideal loaf of the so-called artisan bread movement, which favors long, slow, rises; open, holy crumbs; thick crusts, etc. Whereas, bahn mi rolls are cranked out by the thousands and sold for 25 cents apiece.

MD's recipe is a solid one, but it will not remotely produce the ultralight, shattering crust bread OP is seeking.

We do steam, egg wash and three rises of the dough when we are making brotchen and it comes out pretty close to what you would be looking for. I am still working to perfect my recipe as these little buggers are impossible to find around here.

quote:

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Now I want a brotchen

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Welcome to our world. The boss lady is from Germany. When we go back to visit, it’s fresh Brötchen every morning with a spread of different meats and cheeses. My favorite is Schinken with butter and a nice strong danish cheese. A little mayo as well. K‘s Favorite is the Brötchen with the seeds all over the top. She is a fan of the Little meat discs that have a kind of gel and horseradish. No clue what it was but it was tasty.