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1
Mix flour, water, salt and yeast (or levain) to a smooth dough at 68–72% hydration — the dough of a standard baguette tradition. Bulk-ferment and fold as for baguette dough. The dough is ready when it holds its shape, feels extensible, and shows a slight dome at the surface.
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2
Divide the dough into pieces of 125–150 g. Pre-shape each piece into a short, tight cylinder. Cover and rest seam-side down for 15 minutes. The dough is ready to proceed when it no longer springs back immediately under a fingertip.
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3
Working on an unfloured surface, place one cylinder seam-side down. Using the fingertips — never the palms, which would flatten the delicate dough — apply gentle, even pressure and roll the piece outward from the centre, gradually extending it to 55–65 cm in length and 3–4 cm in diameter. Taper both ends to fine points. If the dough springs back before full length is reached, rest 5 minutes and return to it. This is where the dish lives or dies: insufficient fingertip control collapses the crumb structure and destroys the defining crust-to-crumb ratio.
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4
Transfer each shaped ficelle seam-side up into a linen couche, using narrower pleats than for baguettes, as the pieces are closer together. Proof until the dough has visibly swollen and a gentle press leaves an impression that springs back slowly.
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5
Transfer the ficelles to a peel or baking tray. Score each with one long diagonal slash running the full length of the loaf, or 3–4 shorter diagonal cuts. Do not apply the 5–7 overlapping cuts of a baguette: the narrow width cannot accommodate them. The scoring is complete when each slash opens cleanly to show the dough beneath.
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6
Load the ficelles into an oven preheated to 240–250 °C. Inject steam or place a pan of boiling water in the base for the first 8 minutes. Bake for 12–15 minutes in total. Because the thin diameter accelerates oven spring and colouring, watch the ficelles vigilantly from the 10-minute mark. They are done when the crust is deeply golden all over and the loaves feel impossibly light when lifted — almost weightless.
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7
Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool briefly before serving. The ficelle must be eaten within hours of baking. By evening, a morning's ficelle will have lost its defining crispness as moisture migrates from the thin crumb to the surface.