Grab your rock-hard baguette and run it under the cold tap for a few seconds. I mean it—cold. You want the crust to become damp, almost like a wet sponge, but not dripping like you just rescued it from the Seine. You’re not making bread soup; you’re building steam.
This is the secret. The baguette’s dry inner starch will suck up that water like a haystack. As it bakes, this moisture turns to steam, puffing the crumb back from the dead. If you skip this step, you’re just toasting a fossil into charcoal—a crime against carbs that you’ll regret.
