How to Make French Baguette
With a uniquely crusty exterior and a fluffy, chewy inside, these homemade French baguettes taste bakery-worthy. Follow this in-depth step-by-step guide to make authentic French baguettes in the comfort of your own kitchen.
OVERVIEW
- Skill Level: Advanced
- Techniques Used: Pre-Ferment (Poolish), Stretch & Fold Method for Bread Making
I once heard a chef at a French bakery say that in France, an apprentice baker must make 10,000 baguettes before they can be considered competent at this skill. I say this not to scare you from making this iconic bread, but to help your perspective for how your first baguette attempt might look.
A classic baguette is extremely simple in regard to it’s ingredients. Water, flour, salt, and yeast are the only ingredients needed to make this delicious loaf of bread. However, there are two more “ingredients” that are heavily involved in the process: time and technique.
Learning how to make French baguette can seem intimidating, follow along as we master the art of this classic recipe. Put simply, baguette is a classic French loaf of bread characterized by its long, thin shape and crispy crust. In French, the word baguette means baton or stick, and is sometimes referred to as “French stick bread“.
Made with a lean dough (no fat present), a French baguette features a chewy texture inside the loaf. The process of making an authentic French baguette takes time as well as an understanding of bread making techniques. The best way to perfect the baguette craft? Practice!
What makes French baguette so special?
-
Shape: French baguettes have a unique shape uncommon to other types of bread. Each loaf is long and thin with slits cut into the dough.
-
Texture: Baguettes are ultra crunchy and crispy on the outside with a pillowy soft interior.
- The French baguette is a symbol of France and its identity! So much so that this artisan bread has been given World Heritage Status by UNESCO.
Tips and Techniques
- To fully understand the process of making French baguette, read through the entire tutorial and recipe at least twice before getting started. This ensures a complete understanding of the timing and steps involved.
- While most of the special equipment used to make bread dough is optional and can be mimicked with other kitchen items, I highly recommend using a kitchen scale. A scale is a small investment and by far the best way to accurately measure ingredients for bread dough.
- Because of the long fermentation period, the water used in this recipe is slightly cooler (90°F/ 32°C) than in most bread recipes.
- French baguette dough is a very wet dough. Do not add more flour than the recipe calls for. Keep your fingers damp when working with the dough to prevent sticking.
- Due to the high hydration ratio, this dough is essentially a no-knead bread. In order to form the gluten structure that kneading produces, this dough ferments for a long period of time with several brief stretch and folds throughout.
How to Make French Baguette
There are many ways to approach making French baguette. The technique we are using today produces artisan loaves that have a thin, crispy crust with characteristic large holes in the chewy center.
Note: I prefer to use instant yeast (also known as quick-rise or rapid rise yeast) for my baguettes because it increases oven spring and creates a beautiful texture. However, you can also use active dry yeast with a longer fermentation period – see recipe notes.
Mix the Poolish
Most French baguette recipes begin with a baguette starter, also known as a pre-ferment. To accomplish this, some of the water, some of the flour, and a little bit of yeast is mixed together and allowed to ferment before the final dough is mixed.
This recipe utilizes a poolish, which is a French pre-ferment that has a high ratio of water to flour. The advantage of adding a poolish to the dough is that it greatly improves the flavor and texture of the dough. Mix the poolish together at least 6 hours before (and up to 12 hours before) making the dough. I recommend doing this step the night before making the bread.
Mix the Dough
After the poolish has fermented, combine it with the rest of the dough ingredients. A baguette is a lean dough so it only contains 4 ingredients: water, flour, yeast, and salt.
Start by stirring all of your ingredients together. Once it becomes difficult to stir, go in with a clean hand and start squeezing and massaging the dough all over until all of the flour is hydrated. It will seem like there isn’t enough water at first, but be patient – the dough will come together. Do not add more flour or water. At this point, the dough will look shaggy – do not knead it after all of the flour is hydrated. Cover the dough and let it sit for 30 minutes.
The Stretch & Fold
Baguette dough is a very wet (high hydration) dough. Because of this, we do not knead the dough (as we do with many other bread doughs). Instead, the dough slowly ferments with a series of brief stretch and folds.
The stretch and fold technique serves three purposes: re-distributes heat within the dough, puts yeast back in contact with its food source, and layers the gluten to build the gluten structure within the dough.
The dough will ferment for 2 hours total, with 3 rounds of brief stretch and folds every 30 minutes. To stretch and fold the dough, lightly dampen your fingers (to avoid dough sticking to them) and pull up on the side of the dough and fold it back down on itself. Turn the bowl 90° and repeat. Do this until you have stretched and folded all 4 sides of the dough. Turn the dough over, cover, and allow it to ferment for 30 more minutes until the next round.
Prepare the Oven
For baguettes, you’ll need a surface to bake the loaves on (a baking stone or baking steel) as well as a surface to create steam. If you do not have a baking stone or baking steel, use a sheet pan turned upside down. Position the baking surface on the middle rack of your oven.
To create steam in the oven, preheat a cast iron pan, roasting pan, or other oven-proof skillet on the very bottom rack. The skillet should be so hot that when you throw ice cubes into it, they immediately start evaporating and create steam. Steam helps with oven spring and the texture of the bread.
Preheat the oven (with the baking surface and skillet inside) for at least 30 minutes before baking so that every part of it is extremely hot.
Pre-Shape and Rest the Dough
After the dough has fermented, divide the dough into two equal pieces. Next, pre-shape the dough. Pre-shaping the dough starts creating tension in the dough so that it rises up instead of spreading out while it bakes.
To pre-shape the dough (working one half of dough at a time), pat the dough into a rectangle and pull out on the short sides. Bring the short sides into the center and press with your fingertips to seal. Then bring the long ends into the center and press to seal. Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes to let the gluten relax before the final shaping.
Shape the Dough
After the dough has rested, shape the dough by folding down on the long sides and sealing in the center several times until a tight log forms. Keep your fingers damp while doing this to prevent the dough from sticking.
With the seam side down, roll each log of dough into 14 inch (35 cm) long loaves. Transfer the shaped loaves, seam side down, to a lightly floured lint-free cloth or baker’s couche to rest. Push the cloth up and around each loaf to create folds that will help the dough hold its shape.
Let the Baguettes Rise
Cover the baguettes and let them rise until about double in size. This should take about 45 minutes
Transfer & Score the Baguettes
Once the baguettes have risen, transfer them onto a parchment lined pizza peel, flat un-rimmed baking sheet, or sheet pan turned upside down. This way, you can slide the parchment right onto the hot baking surface.
To transfer the dough, use a baguette board or a small cutting board. I have a small wooden cutting board that I use. Flip the baguette onto the board by pulling up on the towel and flipping it back onto the parchment paper.
Using a sharp knife or a bread lame (a bread lame is a razor blade on the end of a stick), score the top of the baguettes. The cuts should be going vertical at a slight angle down the baguette about ¼ inch (0.5 cm) deep.
Bake the Baguettes
Fill a bowl with about 2 cups of ice cubes and set it near the oven. You will need to work quickly and carefully.
Open the oven and slide the parchment with the baguettes onto the preheated surface. Pour the ice cubes into the hot skillet and quickly close the oven door. Bake the baguettes until they are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.
Perfecting the art of making artisan homemade French baguettes takes practice. But even imperfect baguettes taste incredible and each attempt unveils a deeper understanding of the process.
Resources
- The Professional Pastry Chef
- Flour, Salt, Water, Yeast
- On Food and Cooking
- How to Make Baguette (tutorial from Breadtopia
How to store French Baguette
Room temperature: Baguettes are best eaten on the same day they are baked. If you do have leftover baguette, wrap it tightly in foil and keep it at room temperature for up to 2 days.
Freezer: Let the baked baguette cool completely, then place in a zipper freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Cut the loaf if necessary to fit in the bag. To refresh the frozen loaf, wrap in aluminum foil and place into the oven at 400°F / 205°C for 6 – 8 minutes until warm.
What can I do with stale baguette?
Homemade baguettes are best eaten the day they are baked. After that, they become hard and stale.
To refresh a stale baguette, run water over the bottom of the bread and place it directly into a 400°F/ 205°C oven for about 10 minutes. Adding moisture directly to the loaf creates steam in the oven and softens the bread while also crisping the crust.
An alternate to refreshing stale baguette is to use the bread in a new recipe. Slice the stale bread into cubes and use the cubes to make panzanella (chopped salad made with stale bread), Thanksgiving stuffing or dressing, or homemade croutons!
MORE RECIPES FROM BAKER BETTIE!
If you enjoyed this tutorial, you might like to try these other delicious bread recipes.
Classic French Baguette
This recipe produces authentic artisan French baguettes with a thin, crusty outside and a fluffy, chewy inside. This recipe creates two baguettes about 14 inch (36 cm) in length.
Ingredients
For the Poolish
- 90 grams (¾ cup) all-purpose flour
- 90 grams (90 milliliters) filtered water, slightly warm (about 90°F/ 32°C)
- ¼ teaspoon instant or quick-rise yeast *see note below
For the Final Dough
- 270 grams (2 ¼ cups) all-purpose flour
- 163 grams (163 milliliters) filtered water, slightly warm (about 90°F/ 32°C)
- ¼ teaspoon instant or quick-rise yeast *see note below
- 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
Instructions
- Make the Poolish: The night before making the baguettes or at least 6 hours before, make the poolish. In a large mixing bowl, combine the AP flour (90 grams/ ¾ cup), warm water (90 grams/ 90 milliliters), and instant yeast (¼ teaspoon). Stir the mixture until all the flour is absorbed.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a shower cap (my preference) and let it stand at room temperature for at least 6 hours, but preferably 8-10 hours.
- Combine the Dough: Add the rest of the ingredients for the baguette dough into the bowl with the poolish this includes the AP flour (270 grams/ 2 ¼ cups), warm water (163 grams/ 163 milliliters), instant yeast (¼ teaspoon), and salt (1 ¼ teaspoons).
- Stir until well combined. It may appear as if there is not enough liquid but as you work it together it will become a sticky dough. Use your hands to pinch the dough together to fully incorporate all of the flour. As soon as all of the flour is hydrated and you have a shaggy dough with no dry spots, cover the bowl with a piece of plastic wrap and let it set at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and Fold: After the dough has rested for 30 minutes, do a series of three stretch and folds with the dough. With the dough still in the bowl, lightly dampen your hand (this will prevent the dough from sticking) and pull on one side of the dough and stretch it up and then fold it down over the top of the dough. Rotate the bowl 90° and do the same with the next side. Do this again until you have stretched all four sides of the dough up and over on itself. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 30 more minutes. Stretch and fold the dough for the second round. Cover and let rest for 30 more minutes. Stretch and fold for the third round. Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 more minutes. This is a two-hour process from when the dough is mixed to when it is ready to be shaped. Four 30 minute resting periods with three stretch and folds in between.
- Prep the Oven & Other Equipment: During the final resting period, prepare your pans and your oven. Position an oven rack in the very bottom position and another rack in the middle position. Place a cast-iron skillet or another heatproof skillet on the bottom rack. Place a baking stone, baking steel, or a sheet pan turned upside down on the middle rack. Preheat the oven to 500°F (260°C). The oven and pans need to be heating for at least one hour before the bread goes into the oven. Lightly flour a lint-free kitchen towel or baker's couche. This will hold your shaped dough as it rises. Additionally, line a pizza peel or a flat (unrimmed) baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.
- Pre-Shape & Rest the Dough: Weigh the dough and divide it in two equal pieces with a bench knife (do not tear it). Each piece will be about 305 grams. You can eyeball this if you do not have a scale. On a very lightly floured surface, press one piece of dough into a rectangle and gently stretch the short ends out. Fold each short end into the center and press down with your fingertips to seal. Fold each long end into the center and press with your fingertips to seal, creating a seam in the dough. Set the dough aside and repeat this process with the second piece. Cover the pieces of dough with plastic wrap or kitchen towel and let them rest for 10 minutes.
- Shape into Baguettes: With the seam side up, press the first piece of dough into a thin rectangle. Starting at the top left edge, begin folding down the dough about ½ inch (1.5 cm) and sealing it with your fingertips, working your way across the top. Repeat this process, continuing to fold down on the dough and sealing to create a tight log. Once you have a thin, tight log, turn it seam-side down. Using both hands, roll the dough on the countertop, working it into a long thin snake shape. Try to keep the dough as even as possible and work it into about a 14 inch (36 cm) baguette. Move the piece of dough to your prepared towel or baker's couche. Push the towel or couche up on both sides of the baguette to create folds to hold the dough's shape. Repeat this process with the second piece of dough.
- Let the Dough Rise: Cover the pieces of dough with plastic wrap and or kitchen towel let them rest for 45-60 minutes until doubled in size.
- Transfer the Dough & Score: Place a baguette board or a cutting board right beside one of the baguettes. Gently pull up on the towel to flip the baguette over onto the board. Move the baguette over to the parchment-lined pizza peel or baking sheet. Gently flip the baguette onto the parchment paper, so that the seam side is down. Repeat this to move the second baguette over. Using a very sharp knife or a bread lame, cut 4-5 slashes in the top of the baguettes. The slashes should go diagonally and at a slight angle, going about ¼ inch (0.5 cm) deep.
- Bake: Fill a bowl with about 2 cups of ice cubes. Open the oven and carefully slide the whole piece of parchment paper with the baguettes onto the preheated baking stone or sheet pan. Quickly pour the ice cubes into the preheated skillet on the bottom rack and immediately shut the oven door. Turn the oven temperature down to 475°F (246°C). Bake for about 25-40 minutes. It is traditional for baguettes to have a very dark crust. Check them at 25 minutes and decide if you would like a darker crust. Bake for 40 minutes for a dark, almost charred, crust.
- Cool: Allow the baguettes to cool before slicing. This will completely develop their flavor. Baguettes are best eaten on the same day.
Notes
SUBSTITUTION NOTES:
- *If using active dry yeast in place of the instant or quick-rise yeast, double the amount listed. Also increase the amount of time between each stretch and fold to 45 minutes, for a total of 3 hours of fermentation.
TIPS:
- Using a scale to measure the ingredients is highly recommended for this recipe.
- Keep fingers damp when working with this dough to prevent it from sticking. It is a very wet dough and you do not want to add more flour into it.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
136 Comments on “How to Make French Baguette”
This is such a thorough and well-written post!! Awesome job.
Thanks so much lady! <3
Wondering if I can just use all purpose flour instead of bread flour
Hi Greg! Yes you can. You will just develop less chewiness in the baguette. Let me know if you try it!
omigosh I love this! Baguettes are sooo delicious
THE BEST! I can’t tell you how many times I ate an entire baguette when I was testing and developing this one. LOL!
French bakers claim that there are 5 ingredients in a good baguette. Flour, water, salt, yeast and patience. The last one is the bit that most Anglo-Saxons miss. If you don’t believe me try Googling ‘French Baguette’ and see how many recipes you get for instant or quick. Basically you can’t get a tasty quick baguette and this recipe proves it – yummy!!
Yes, I love that! Real baguettes do take a lot of time and patience but they are so worth it!
Hi! I wanted to comment because I found this recipe in March 2019 while I was on the hunt for a po-boy style TRADITIONAL French bread recipe like I was used to in south La. I wanted to let you know how it came out.
I’m an intermediate bread maker and this is one of the top 3 trickiest bread recipes I’ve ever done. I followed instructions to the “T” with the exception of using a different brand of yeast. I used Bob’s Red mill AP & Bread Flour. I baked this bread on a Rainy day at 3500ft altitude. Outside temp 55 degrees. Inside temp 68 degrees.
Okay now that I’m done with the particulars. This recipe came out AMAZING! Yes it is wordy and their are a lot of specific instruction, but read it at least 3x and follow it. I’m very very happy with how my bread came out and will double the recipe in the future. This is now my go to traditional French bread recipe!
Hi Cecile! That makes me so unbelievably happy! I know it definitely takes a lot of commitment and attention to detail but it is so worth it!
For how long do we stretch and fold each time?
Hi Pierre! You only stretch each of the 4 sides of the dough as you go around 90 degrees each time. So this should only take you about 15 seconds. It is a very different process than kneading. If you see the little video clip, I stretch and fold it, while turning the bowl 90 degrees each time. Once you go all the way around once, then stop and let it rest again. Hope that helps!
Thank you for the clarification. I really like your recipe and how you wrote it. I am following the instructions accurately. I hope I don’t screw it up.
Having recently returned from France I decided to become an expert baguette maker. Having never made bread before in my life I did what any reasonable person would do and put my trust in google to help me out. I looked at dozens of recipes and kept coming back to this one as one that seemed the most complete, descriptive and well thought out.
I followed the directions fairly precisely and cruised through to step 5 before I started encountering “issues”. Not wanting to mess with the ratios the granite countertop i was using to roll the dough to create the logs was very, very lightly dusted. Well, this didn’t work at all. It was just a sticky mess that I couldn’t really get anywhere with so i pushed ahead. Not having a couche, I used floured up a tea towel and set my ‘loaves’ inside, covered with plastic and let them rest for 45 minutes.
This is where things really got off the rails.
When it was time to take the risen loaves and get them in the oven i had sticky mess that had no intention of giving up it’s death grip on my towel. Frustrated, I scaped the dough off and quickly reshaped the ‘loaves’, plopped them on the parchment paper on my peel. I didn’t have much hope but attempted some slits which didn’t really hold their shape much at all, so in they went onto the stone in my oven along with some ice cubes in the skillet as I waited nervously for creation to finish.
After about 30 minutes (I forgot to dial the oven back to 475) they were clearly done so I pulled them out and let them cool for a while before i had my first taste, and let me tell you, these were absolutely delicious. Amazing crust, chewy interior with great flavor. It was great tasting, very ugly, loaves of bread.
Undeterred I plan to continue my quest for perfection. The one thing i know I did wrong was in using AD yeast but only resting 30 minutes between stretches. This is the most obvious thing I missed, but not sure it’s the only reason I had such a hard time shaping, handling and slitting the loaves.
A couple of questions:
1) Do you see any problems or adjustments that I’d need to make to double the recipe?
2) What would be the effect of letting the poolish sit for say 14 hours? I don’t want to get up at the crack of dawn to have hot, fresh bread for dinner, but also don’t want to have to make bread in the morning if I start the poolish the night before.
3) Any tips/hints on getting the dough easier to handle, especially on the tea towel for the long rest? I’ll probably invest in a couche at some point but want to get this a little more nailed down before i do. It might be I need to use more flower during shaping phase but I was trying to real careful not to mess up the ratios.
Thanks!!
Love this recipe and can’t wait to do it again.
Hi Mike! I’m so glad to hear you are embarking on the quest to perfect baguettes! They are quite the process and it is a learning curve for sure! Baguette dough, since it is so high hydration, is quite a thing to handle. I would suggest as you are learning to not beat yourself up too much if you do feel you need to add a little more flour. I know I encourage not doing this in the recipe, but a little more flour might help you as you are gaining a feel for the dough. High hydration dough takes tons of practice and adding a little to get your shaping down will not ruin your baguettes. You can dial it back in the future as you become more skilled. You can definitely double this recipe without making adjustments. In fact, this is a pretty small batch for baguettes so a double batch would be a more typical amount of dough. You can let your poolish go for 14 hours and up to 16 hours but I wouldn’t go beyond that unless you put it in the refrigerator. It will begin to get really acidic if it goes too long and the yeast will begin to die. I would suggest using much more flour on your towel to prevent it from sticking if you are having this problem. The dough won’t really absorb that flour into it. And once you transfer the baguettes before they go into the oven, you can use a pastry brush to brush some of it off if there is a great deal of flour on the outside. I hope this is helpful and please let me know if you have any more questions!
Can the poolish sit for a longer period of time? Say 15-17 hrs?
Hi Michael! If you let a poolish sit too long the acidity of it will get too high and the yeast will likely begin to die. 16 hours is typically the absolute maximum you would want it to sit out at room temperature. If you do need to let it go much longer, you can refrigerate it to slowly ferment for up to 3 days. Hope that is helpful!
Great information really helped me get a grasp of the process
So glad you found it helpful George!
If I substituted 1/2 a cup of whole wheat flour instead of the 1/2 a cup of all purpose flour as indicated in the recipe above will it ruin the baguette? I would like to add whole wheat for the health of it. Can this be done without affecting the bread negatively?
Hi Chris! Yes, you can definitely substitute 1/2 cup of the flour for whole wheat flour. Whole wheat flour absorbs more moisture so I always suggest subtracting 2 TBSP per cup you are substituting. So you would want to replace 1/2 cup (60 gr) of the white flour with 1/2 cup minus 1 TBSP (52 gr) whole wheat flour. Hope that helps! Let me know how it turns out!
This was a fun recipe to make and the family loved it. It was super rainy here the day I baked and I think that caused the recipe to turn out too wet. I subbed the all purpose flour for sprouted wheat and used a sour starter for the polish which both added to some yumminess! My loaves were also really dark after 20 minutes so I took them out. They probably could have taken a few more minutes for the crunchy crust but the interior was amazingly chewy and flavorful! Can’t wait to make it again!
Hi Jonathan! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed making these! They look so good! Do you by chance have an oven thermometer? I wonder if your oven is cooking hotter than it says?
Fix your measurements. They are all messed up. For example in the poolish, 3.2oz is NOT 3/4 of a cup.
Hi JP, The measurements are correct. I have checked them many times and made this recipe at least 6 times. 1 cup of flour weighs 4.25 ounces so therefore 3/4 cup of flour weights 3.2 ounces. Perhaps you are confusing volume vs weight? 1 cup is 8 ounces by volume, but what is listed here is weight measurements which varies by cup based on the ingredient. All ingredients are going to weigh a different amount per cup. Let me know if I can help with the recipe in any way!
Is it possible to freeze the baguette dough before it is left to rise for the last time. We will not eat two baguettes in a day. Also I want to give my guests fresh baguettes so it would be useful to be able to freeze them and bring them out the day before to finish them off and bake them.
Just in the process of making my first batch.
Hi Pauline! You can freeze yeast dough, however I have not tried to freeze this particular dough. What I actually prefer to do is to bake both loaves, let them cool completely and then wrap one well and freeze the cooked loaf. The day you want to serve it or gift it let it thaw at room temperature and then get the crust slightly damp. I use a clean kitchen towel and get the towel damp and then wrap the loaf in it for a few seconds. Then put the loaf in the oven at 325 F for about 15-20 minutes. This will refresh and crisp up the crust. If you do want to try freezing the raw dough, I would freeze it after the final shaping before it rises. Allow it to thaw and proof at room temperature. I’m really not sure how long this will take so you may need to experiment with it. I’m sure it will take at least several hours. And once it is proofed then you can go ahead and bake it. Let me know how it goes!
Thank you Bettie. I will try what you suggest, and let you know. I have to say for my first attempt the bread was absolutely delicious. My husband and I ate the whole loaf in one go, (I only baked one). Thank you for such good instructions and a great recipe.
I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed it Pauline! I can eat almost a whole one by myself in a day! Haha!
You have water listed twice in recipe was that meant to be. My dough never looked like yours in pic was very runny. Had to throw out. I want to try again today but want to check first
Hi Marguerite! I’m so sorry for the confusion. My website just got updated to a new recipe plugin and a few things got messed up. I’ve been going through all of the reicpes on my site to make sure they are correct but it is taking me a little time. Thank you for bringing this to my attention! I have just updated it.
Hey Bettie great recipe!! I think I’m now embarking on a new bread making journey because of this post!! I’ve made it twice this week but they are still turning out to be a bit dense. I’m not sure how to get more big air bubbles in the bread. What could be some reasons that I’m not getting the chewy and bubbly insides?
Hi Jessie! It’s possible that you aren’t building enough strength in the bread during the turns and shaping. You need to get a really nice tension on it so that it holds in the gasses. It is also possible that you just need to proof a little longer. You can experiment with increasing the proofing time after shaped. Another option would be to cold proof them overnight. A long, slow, cold proof can really improve the texture and flavor of the baguettes. I do want to update this article soon to include more information for more advanced techniques, but try increasing proofing time for now. Hope that is helpful!
I know I can convert the ingredients using online tool, but can you kindly update this recipe to please include weight measurements? I would love to try this recipe!
Also, I’m familiar with baguette using a poolish recipe, but is it true that to achieve nice, uneven airy, light crumbs with big holes, i need to be careful with how i perform stretch and fold?
im on a quest to achieve that and haven’t gotten there. Any tips you can provide is greatly appreciated!
Hi Carmen, the weight ingredients are listed in grams.
I used this recipe for making french baguettes for the first time and they came out perfect. The directions are very easy to understand and I was so pleased with the end results. The crust is crunchy and the inside is chewy and flavorful. I did have to cut the cooking time to 20 minutes. Thank you for sharing your expertise!
Hi Pamela! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed the baguette tutorial! That makes me so happy!
I used this recipe for my first attempt at french baguette and it turned out quite good. I think my dough wasn’t as strong as it should have been, but I still got a light and airy and chewy interior and an amazing crunchy crust. If such a thing is possible, there is too much crust because I divided the dough into three baguettes instead of two because I wanted to give one away but also have enough for my dinner guests tonight. Good thing, since I’m going to finish one before anyone even gets here…
See my instagram page for a video in which you can here the crust ‘crackling’ as it cools!
Hi Beth! I’m so glad you enjoyed these baguettes! I love that crackling noise! One of my favorite parts of bread making! <3
The taste and texture was absolutely fabulous, although the dough did not double in bulk even at the last rising after I shaped the loaves…any idea why?
Hi Peggy! Is your kitchen very cold? Sometimes it might take longer to rise if you have a very cold kitchen.
Hi,
I wonder if I can use whole meal bread flour for this recipe or this will make changes to the results?
And for the oven, shall we use up and down heating or pizza setting or hot air fan?
Thank you
Very disappointing end result. I usually compare recipes and then take the best from all. However, I liked this one as it uses minimal yeast.
THe problem? The temperatures are wayyyyy different from other recipes I found (but didn’t notice it).
This recipe calls for 475o for 40 minutes?? Wayyy too dark, dare I say burnt? And I pulled them at 35 minutes.
So, another recipe I didn’t choose to use calls for 375o for 20 minutes!!!
Can you double check your times/temps? My oven runs true.
Please upgrade my post to 4/5.
Now, cool, the flavour is fantastic (as to be expected with low yeast/long ferment(. Even with the extreme brown crust, it’s great.
Still would like some comment re: the temps/time though.
Hi Len, I have tested this recipe many times and yes, that is the time and temp I bake them at to get a nice dark crust as is traditional with baguette. Are you by chance using a convection fan in your oven? I will update the recipe to give a wider range of baking so that you can check on them and remove them at your desired crust color.
I have a fan (convection) b7t rarely use it. M
Compared to your pic mine looked like old brown shoes. BUT the flavour saved them✔
Hi, great recipe! I can’t wait to try it!
How would the recipe change if using active
Dry yeast? At the top of the post it said to refer to the recipe notes if using active dry yeast but I couldn’t find those instructions on the page.
I’m on my second round of making this bread and I’ve just started my poolish. Both the first time and now, my poolish looks nothing like yours. 3/4 C bread flour, 6 T + 1 t warm water and 1/4 t yeast yields a nice little blob of dough, not a thick pancake batter looking substance as in the photo above. Am I doing something wrong?
Hi Leanne, can I ask how are you measuring your flour? Make sure that you are lightly spooning it into the measuring cups without packing it down at all and then level it off. It sounds like you might be measuring too much flour. This is a 100% hydration poolish, meaning that it is equal weights flour and water, which should be a thick paste. If you can, you might get a kitchen scale! It is so helpful in bread baking!
Is the poolish supposed to be a puddle, a wet dough, or a totally normal looking dough? My poolish was very thick, not wet at all so I decided to add a bit more water and now it is a wet dough… I see photos in other recipes where it looks like a puddle?
Hi Michelle, the poolish is 100% hydration (equal amounts flour and water by weight) so it should be a thick paste. How are you measuring your flour? Are you using a scale? It is possible you ended up with too much flour in your poolish.
Bettie, I live at 5200 feet in the Rockies and the humidity here is often 20%. If a paper sack of flour sits on the shelf (probably in the freezer as well) it could be 30% or more less moisture. I have always heard that great French bread needs to be made at sea level. Likely a high humidity area. My first attempt at the Poolish produced a really dry ball. I added – slowly – more water. It took 9 TBS to get it to where it was a complete ball. At this point it was not sticky or fully hydrated as your photo.
Before I ruin this first batch should I continue to add water, or cover the polish to make it air tight, so that it will no dry out?
Thank you for this wonderfully thorough recipe. My baguettes came out tasting amazing on my very first try. The crusts were a bit harder than I prefer them however, do you have any suggestions on how I could adjust? My oven is very strong and at 32 minutes I pulled them out. Should have done it a bit sooner though, as they came out a tad too dark. I’m thinking my temperature is too high (maybe too long too)… thus the extra crusty crust?
Thank you again
That is so great to hear Maira! I’m so glad you enjoyed the tutorial!
Great recipe, but how do these baguettes taste? In France, baguettes have a unique flavor that no grocery store can seem to copy and where I live and the baguettes taste like plain, white bread and I cannot stomach eating one. I don’t think my local grocery stores understand this. There is a reason that people can sit and eat a baguette at the Louvre with a bottle of wine but try doing this with a loaf of our bread?
Baguettes in France are typically made one of two ways, with a wild yeast starter (aka sourdough starter) or with a poolish as this recipe does. The longer fermentation time with these two methods is what develops more depth of flavor. The most flavor ones are made with wild yeast, and I am working on that version as well. However, I think you will also find these to be much more flavorful than grocery store baguettes as well. The preferment really boosts the flavor. But an even longer ferment will take it even father. The things that increase flavor in bread baking is long fermentation time and diversity in the yeast culture. Grocery stores don’t typically have the ability to do these things. You are better off finding a small artisan bakery if you can. Or make your own. The only way to know how they taste is to make them. I’ve received many rave reviews of the flavor of these baguettes!
This recipe and tutorial is great! I bake challah, and want to branch out into other breads. This was my first success, and I’ve baked it three times so far.
The first time, I measured the ingredients by volume which was ok, but since then I have measured by weight and the results have been better. I’ve found 89g of flour (shoprite AP) to be significantly less than 3/4 cup, and 6g of kosher salt (mortons) to be significantly more than 1 1/4 tsp.
Fwiw, I’ve used generic ap flour (~10% protein) and Red Star active dry yeast, with good results.
Hi, I made these yesterday and they were incredible! I was wondering if you could tell me how the timing would change if I wanted to double the recipe. Thank you very much!
I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed them James! You do not need to change any of the timing if you are doubling!
Hi! I made these baguettes today, I followed the recipe exactly except I used active dry yeast and yes I proofed them longer as a result. They look beautiful and they taste amazing, nice and crusty yet so soft and chewy inside. Thank you for posting this recipe, I’ll be making them often!!!!
That is so great to hear Snydz! So glad you enjoyed them!
Just made this bread. Omg it’s fabulous. Loved every crunch of the crust & the texture of the dough. Will most definitely use this recipe again.
So glad you like it!!
My baguettes turned out perfectly with this recipe. I received an Emile Henry baguette baker as a gift and have struggled with different recipes. This recipe was so easy and the baguettes are amazing. I baked with the lid on for 25 minutes at 475, then 15 minutes uncovered at 450. The crust was a beautiful golden brown and the crumb was light and airy.
Did you preheat the baguette baker? I just got one and was wondering if I should preheat it and slip the risen loaves onto the hot surface or place them in cold and then bake.
I don’t usually comment, but I just made this recipe for the second time and it turned out perfectly—again. It’s the first bread recipe that I have baked that truly comes out exactly how I want it. Nice crust, delicious inside. The step by step instructions are thorough and incredibly easy to follow. This has become my go to baguette recipe!
can i still make this even if i don’t have a dough couche? i need to know ASAP as i am making the bread tomorrow morning
Bit late but you can always use a super clean tea towel! Hope they came out ok?
Interesting recipe thanks!
I’m just making it now for the first time but finding the dough to be considerably wetter than it looks in your pictures. I’m an experienced baker and bread maker but not used this method before. I did have to add a fair bit extra flour but it’s still super sticky and impossible to handle without it welding to everything. Maybe I made a mistake but thought I weighed accurately (Being in the UK, we tend to weigh everything rather than using those strange cup measurements! 😉 )
Anyway, dough is in the couche for the final rise – we will see how it goes. I had to use quite a lot of flour to manage it, hopefully it won’t end up with dry floury bits in it! I guess I should have used light oiling to manage the stickiness like some bakers recommend?
Just baked the baguettes on a yacht in Malaysia under covid-19 lockdown, and they were perfect! My French neighbours were delighted to receive one. No more trawling the net for a decent baguette receipt.
Hi Roy! Wow, So glad they were well enjoyed!
Absolutely excellent instructions. I just made a baguette for the first time and it is very good but I know this is the recipe I have been looking for.
I see yeast twice.. once for the poolish, and once for the final bread dough. Are you wanting us to add yeast after the poolish?
Hi Nathan, yes, so you will make the preferment (the poolish) with a portion of yeast. And then you will add more yeast into the final dough.
hi I just wanted to say THANK YOU! this recipe is soo easy to follow and the bread is amazing!
Perfect the first time!!! Your instructions, especially the videos made it possible. Technique is so important. By the way used bread flour for the poolish and gp flour for the rest (because bread flour is tough to come by at the moment. Turned out great. Thanks for the awesome recipe.
That’s so great to hear Steve! Good work!
I wanted to try some french recipe and while searching I landed up on your article. The dishes you have prepared looks really amazing you have nicely explained me all the materials required to the careful things to make a note thank you for sharing the article I will definitely try it out.
Wonderful! Let me know how it goes!
I am so glad I found your recipe and am excited to trial it tomorrow. I just wanted to ask a quick question. My grandmother brought back some “baguette trays” from France in the 1960s, and, based on your recipe, I was wondering how to use them. They’re round bottom pans that hold two baguettes each. Can I bake directly in them? Do they need to be preheated? I’d really love to use them if I can. Thanks for any advice you might have!
I made these yesterday and I can honestly say this is the hardest thing I’ve ever baked, but the most rewarding thing too! The baguettes were so delicious and had a great crust and crumb!
The only thing that I ran into was the dough was very dry! Even after throughly mixing, I ended up adding a touch more water just to get the dough to a point where it seemed correct. I was worried I ruined it but the dough came through!
I will definitely have to practice shaping these more but that only means more baguettes which I’m not going to complain about!
Hi,
I attempted to make a baguette for the first time. And unfortunately the dough on its last rise got stuck to my tea towel really bad. I had to throw it out completely:( i was so sad just cause it seemed like it wouldve turned out amazing! I want to try this again so when proofing for the last time can i just do it on the parchment paper and not use a towel? This way i can slide it in directly in the oven.
works fine with fresh yeast too
This was my first attempt at baking bread. The recipe was very well written. Coupled with the video clips, your post provides a great learning experience too. Best of all, the flavor and texture of the bread was spot on in my opinion.
Hello! My poolish seems incredibly dry when I covered it up. I googled baguette poolish and they seem more… watery. I used 3 scoops of my 1/4th cup measuring scoop, 6 TBSP and 1 tsp, and the 1/4th tsp of yeast. Will it ferment and become watery over the night? Ty!
Hi Hudson, it does get more liquidy as it ferments, but HIGHLY recommend getting a scale for accuracy with measuring for bread baking. It makes the whole process so much easier and more accurate. It is very easy to pack too much flour into a dry measuring cup. You have to be very careful to spoon the flour into it and level it off without packing it down at all.
If I put my poolish in fridge overnight because I made it early in the day do I need to let it sit out and get to room temp before mixing my dough?
This recipe worked well for me. I want to use it again, using sourdough discard. If I add 1g. of yeast to 89g of discard as a substitute for the poolish, will that work?
Amazing results!I doubled the recipe and did a cold fermentation overnight in the fridge due to time constraints. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve used a couple of baguette recipes recently and this is the best. The bread was wonderful and your instructions were so clear. Thank you for sharing xx
You’re very welcome! Glad you enjoyed it!
Hello, and thank you in advance for this lovely recipe which I’m really hopeful about 🙂 I usually bake with my sourdough starter, but today, probably due to the lower temperatures, it was not as active as usual, so I decided to give it a go with active dry yeast. I have a question about the poolish: I’m going to let mine proof for about 10 hours, may I ask how much it needs to rise? Double in size or something like that? Because it’s been proofing for about 4 hours and I almost don’t see any rise at all, just a couple bubbles on top. Looking forward to your response, thanks a lot and I wish you a lovely new year’s eve! 🙂
Don’t worry about the rise with the poolish. It’s extremely wet and doesn’t always rise a lot. It’s just about developing flavor!
Hi there,
Loved this recipe and it went down a storm at home with everyone! If I wanted to make a baguette using this recipe for my husband to take to work (baked fresh that morning), is there a way that I could do the final proof in the couche overnight in the fridge and allow it to come back to room temp before baking or would that ruin it? Thanks in advance for your response.
Absolutely! That will work out perfect.
can I use fresh yeast? Thank you
did you reply to this question, as I cannot see an answer – thanks, really want to try your recipe