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French Baguette with crispy and golden crust. Nothing beats hot-off-the-oven baguettes to accompany a family meal. This is a fail-proof baguette recipe!
Baguette is a long, narrow loaf of French bread that is hard, crusty and golden-brown on the outside.
The crispy crust is what sets French baguettes apart from other similar breads.
Baguette is iconic to France; French baguette sandwich is famous the world over.
Baguette can be served and eaten as is, to accompany a meal. They are also cut lengthwise and served as a sandwich, such as French-Vietnamese Banh Mi, a popular bread with savory meat and vegetables in Vietnam.
How To Make Baguette
To make baguette, you need a mother dough, or Poolish. This is a baguette recipe with Poolish.
Poolish is also called Pre-ferment, a technique in bread making where a starter dough is made the night before by mixing flour, water and yeast together.
The dough is left to ferment overnight, or 12-16 hours until bubbles break out from the surface of the Poolish.
The mother dough is then used to create the final dough to make the baguette.
Making baguette at home is actually quite easy, and I have step-by-step picture and recipe guide below.
This recipe is fail-proof, fool-proof and the end results are very authentic.
It does take a bit of time to make the baguettes, but they are so worth it as the aromas of fresh bread fill and linger in the kitchen.
How To Make Homemade Baguette
The night before, dissolve the yeast in the water, then mix in the all-purpose flour. Cover and let it sit at room temperature for 12–16 hours. It’s ready when the surface is bubbly and slightly wrinkled.
Transfer the Poolish to the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Add the water, salt, yeast, and all-purpose flour. Knead on low speed for 2–3 minutes, just until combined. Cover and let the dough rise for 2 hours, doing a stretch-and-fold after the first hour.
Divide the dough into three equal portions. Cover and let them rest for 20 minutes. Shape each piece into a 12-inch baguette, then cover and let them rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until puffy.
Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C). Score the tops of the baguettes with a sharp knife or lame. Place a tray of water on the lower rack to create steam, then bake the baguettes for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, let them cool, and serve.
How To Eat A Baguette
Here are a few common ways to serve and eat a baguette:
- Serve as a side to a meal like Garlic Butter Shrimp. Slice the baguettes and spread some butter.
- Slice a baguette lengthwise and turn it into a sandwich, such as Banh Mi.
- Garlic bread
- Texas Toast
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 284 calories per serving.
What To Serve With Homemade Baguette
Serve this bread with Zucchini Dip. For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Homemade Baguette
Ingredients
Poolish
- ½ cup water, plus 3 tablespoons
- 1 pinch instant yeast
- 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Dough:
- ½ cup water, plus 3 tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 + 1/8 teaspoon instant yeast
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- The night before, dissolve the yeast in the water for the Poolish, then mix in the all-purpose flour. Cover and let it ferment at room temperature for 12-16 hours, or overnight. Once the Poolish has bubbles breaking on the surface and has started to wrinkle, it’s ready.
- Transfer the Poolish to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add water, salt, yeast, and all-purpose flour, and knead the dough on slow speed for 2-3 minutes. Cover and let it rise for two hours, performing a stretch-and-fold at the one-hour mark.
- Divide the dough into three equal pieces. Cover and let them rest for about 20 minutes. Shape each piece into a baguette about 12 inches long, then cover and let them rise for 60 to 90 minutes.
- Score the baguettes and bake in a preheated oven at 450°F (232°C). Place a tray of water below the baguettes while baking to create steam in the oven. Bake for about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool, and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
New to bread making. what do you mean by, and how do you perform a stretch-and-fold of the rising dough?
To perform a stretch-and-fold, lift one side of the dough, stretch it upwards, and fold it over to the opposite side. Rotate the dough and repeat the process for all sides, then let it rest to continue developing strength during bulk fermentation.
“1/2 instant yeast + 1/8 teaspoon”
Half of what?
Hi Ben, it is 1/2 tsp + 1/8 tsp total of instant yeast.