The Perfect Golden Baguette Recipe: French Bliss at Home

This classic French baguette represents culinary artistry at its finest.

Crisp golden crusts hide soft, pillowy interiors that craft ordinary meals into memorable experiences.

Crafting these elegant loaves connects us with time-honored baking traditions passed through generations.

Skilled bakers understand the delicate balance between technique and intuition required to create perfect texture.

Home kitchens can become magical spaces where simple ingredients merge into something extraordinary.

Each slice promises a journey of sensory delight, promising comfort and satisfaction.

Your baking adventure awaits with this craftative recipe.

Tips for Baking Perfect Baguette

• Master the Overnight Fermentation: Let your dough develop deep, complex flavors by allowing a slow, cool fermentation that transforms simple ingredients into a rich, tangy base.
• Control Moisture with Precision: Keep your hands and workspace well-floured to manage the wet, sticky dough without compromising its delicate structure during shaping.
• Perfect the Baguette Shape: Gently stretch and roll the dough using smooth, consistent motions to create those signature long, slender French bread loaves with an elegant profile.
• Create Steam for Crispiness: The hot water pan technique generates crucial moisture, helping develop that classic crisp, golden-brown crust baguettes are famous for worldwide.
• Score with Confidence: Make swift, decisive cuts across the dough's surface using a sharp blade to allow proper expansion and create those beautiful traditional baguette markings.

Storing and Reheating Baguette

• Storing and Reheating Leftovers
• Refrigerate freshly baked baguettes in an airtight container or sealed plastic bag for up to 2-3 days to maintain optimal freshness. Wrap the bread loosely to prevent moisture buildup and preserve its crispy crust. Freeze whole or sliced baguettes in freezer-safe bags for extended storage, lasting up to one month without compromising quality. Thaw frozen baguettes at room temperature for best texture restoration. Reheat baguettes in a preheated oven at 350°F for 5-7 minutes to revive their crispy exterior and warm, soft interior. Avoid microwave reheating, which can make the bread tough and chewy. For day-old bread, slice and toast lightly for a delicious crunch perfect for sandwiches or bruschetta.

Pairing Baguette with Delicious Dishes

• Craft a Rustic French Cheese Platter: Pair your freshly baked baguette with a selection of creamy brie, tangy camembert, and sharp aged comté. Drizzle some local honey and add a handful of fresh walnuts to create a perfect French-inspired appetizer that highlights the bread's crispy texture.
• Elevate Wine and Bread Experience: Complement the baguette with a crisp French white wine like Chablis or a light-bodied Sauvignon Blanc. These wines cut through the bread's richness and enhance its delicate flavor profile, creating a delightful sensory experience.
• Match with Mediterranean Dips: Serve sliced baguette alongside homemade tzatziki, roasted red pepper hummus, or olive tapenade. The bread's crusty exterior provides the ideal vehicle for scooping up these vibrant, flavorful spreads, making it a crowd-pleasing appetizer or snack.
• Create a Charcuterie Adventure: Layer thin slices of prosciutto, salami, and sopressata on your baguette. Add some cornichons and Dijon mustard to create a classic French-inspired charcuterie board that celebrates the bread's versatility and rustic charm.

Variations of Baguette to Try

• Whole Wheat Wonder: Replace half the white flour with whole wheat flour for a nuttier, more nutritious baguette that adds extra fiber and a rustic depth of flavor.
• Herb-Infused Classic: Mix dried herbs like rosemary, thyme, or oregano directly into the dough during the initial mixing stage to create an aromatic and flavorful bread perfect for serving alongside meals.
• Olive Oil Enriched: Incorporate 2-3 tablespoons of high-quality extra virgin olive oil into the dough for a softer texture and subtle Mediterranean undertone that enhances the bread's overall complexity.
• Seeded Sensation: Sprinkle sesame, poppy, or sunflower seeds on top of the baguette before baking to add crunch, visual appeal, and a delightful nutty dimension to the traditional recipe.

Crispy and Fluffy Baguette

• Craft an Overnight Masterpiece: Discover the magic of slow fermentation that transforms simple ingredients into a spectacular baguette with minimal hands-on effort, developing deep, complex flavors during the 12-20 hour resting period.
• Achieve Bakery-Quality Crunch: Create that iconic crispy exterior and soft, airy interior by using the professional steam technique of placing a water pan in the oven, which mimics professional bakery conditions and guarantees a perfect golden-brown crust.
• Beginner-Friendly Bread Adventure: Embrace a straightforward recipe that requires only basic ingredients and simple techniques, making artisan bread-making accessible to home bakers of all skill levels with step-by-step guidance and minimal specialized equipment needed.
• Nutritious Comfort Carb: Enjoy a wholesome bread option packed with 7 grams of protein, low in fat, and providing a satisfying source of energy without unnecessary additives or complicated processing.

Key Ingredients for Making Baguette

• Flour: High-protein bread flour ensures perfect gluten development and creates chewy texture.
• Water: Hydrates flour and activates gluten, room temperature works best for dough development.
• Yeast: Crucial for fermentation and helping dough rise, ensures light and airy bread structure.
• Salt: Enhances flavor and controls yeast growth, adds depth to breads overall taste.

• Flour (Extra): Additional flour for dusting workspace and preventing dough from sticking.
• Towel: Helps cover rising dough and maintains moisture during proofing process.
• Sharp Knife: Used for scoring baguette surface before baking, creates signature bread pattern.

• Hot Water: Creates steam in oven, helps develop crispy exterior and golden-brown crust.
• Baking Sheet: Provides surface for shaping and baking baguettes, essential for even heat distribution.

How to Make Traditional Baguette

Step 1: Prepare Overnight Dough

Mix ingredients in a large bowl, starting with dry components. Gradually add water until dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest 12-20 hours at room temperature.

• Flour
• Yeast
• Salt
• Water

Key tip: Mixture should become bubbly and wet overnight.

Step 2: Prepare Workspace

Generously flour your hands and baking sheet. Dough will be very sticky, so extra flour prevents sticking.

Step 3: Shape Baguettes

Gently shape dough into 2-3 long, slender loaves. Use flour-coated hands to prevent sticking. Consider watching online shaping tutorials for perfect technique.

Step 4: Final Dough Preparation

Transfer shaped baguettes to floured baking sheet. Sprinkle additional flour over loaves. Use sharp knife to score tops with diagonal cuts.

Step 5: Rising and Preheating

Let baguettes rise in warm area for 1-2 hours. Preheat oven to 450°F.

Step 6: Create Steam Environment

Place deep pan with hot water on lower oven rack. This creates crispy exterior during baking.

Step 7: Bake to Golden Perfection

Slide baguettes onto middle rack. Remove water pan after 10 minutes. Continue baking until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes total.

Baguette Recipe

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4.6 from 29 reviews

• Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x

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Description

Classic French baguettes bring Paris bakery magic home with crisp golden crusts and tender, airy interiors. Kneading, rising, and baking create irresistible bread perfection you can savor with every delicious slice.

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Ingredients

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Main Ingredients:

• 6 cups (720 grams) all-purpose flour
• 3 cups (720 milliliters) lukewarm water

Leavening and Seasoning:

• 2 teaspoons (8 grams) yeast
• 2 teaspoons (12 grams) salt

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Instructions

1. Prepare the initial dough mixture the evening before baking by combining all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Gradually introduce water until a cohesive, slightly shaggy dough forms. Shield the mixture with plastic wrap and allow it to ferment and develop flavor at ambient room temperature for 12-20 hours.
2. After resting, examine the dough’s texture – it should appear bubbly, wet, and dramatically transformed from its original state. Liberally dust your workspace, hands, and a baking sheet with flour to prevent excessive sticking.
3. Gently manipulate the dough on a well-floured surface, carefully stretching and folding to create elongated baguette shapes. This technique requires patience and practice; aim to produce 2-3 uniform loaves without deflating the delicate air pockets developed during fermentation.
4. Delicately transfer the shaped loaves onto the prepared baking sheet, ensuring generous flour coverage to prevent adhesion. Using a sharp blade or razor, make precise diagonal scoring cuts across the surface to facilitate controlled expansion during baking.
5. Allow the unbaked baguettes to undergo a secondary proofing phase in a draft-free, warm environment for approximately 1-2 hours. Simultaneously, preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C), positioning two oven racks strategically.
6. Create steam environment by placing a deep metal pan filled with boiling water on the lower rack. This crucial step helps develop a crisp, caramelized exterior characteristic of authentic French baguettes.
7. Carefully slide the baguettes onto the middle rack, maintaining the steam pan underneath. After 10 minutes, remove excess water to prevent soggy results. Continue baking for an additional 25-30 minutes until the loaves achieve a rich, golden-brown coloration and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Notes

• Start prepping the night before by mixing dry ingredients first, then gradually adding water to form a sticky, bubbly dough.
• Cover the mixture and let it rest at room temperature for 12-20 hours, allowing flavors to develop and fermentation to begin.
• Flour your workspace generously and shape the dough into 2-3 baguettes, using extra flour to prevent sticking.
• Carefully transfer shaped baguettes to a floured baking sheet, scoring the tops and covering lightly with a towel.
• Rise the shaped loaves in a warm spot for 1-2 hours while preheating the oven to 450°F, creating a deep pan of hot water on the lower rack.
• Bake on the middle rack, removing water after ten minutes and continuing until the baguettes turn a beautiful golden brown.

• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 50 minutes
• Category: Snacks, Lunch
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: French

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 4
• Calories: 200
• Sugar: 0 g
• Sodium: 400 mg
• Fat: 1 g
• Saturated Fat: 0 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 1 g
• Trans Fat: 0 g
• Carbohydrates: 42 g
• Fiber: 2 g
• Protein: 7 g
• Cholesterol: 0 mg