Join 11,000+ other food lovers enjoying weekly recipes.

Baguette Recipe

This Baguette recipe is the gold standard of bread in my opinion. It’s hard to find something more delicious than a freshly baked loaf that’s perfectly crispy on the outside and warm, fluffy and soft on the inside. Plus, the options for using this baguette are nearly unlimited – enjoy it with soup, salad, a wedge of cheese, or just as-is!

If you love freshly baked bread as I do, you’ll also appreciate this simple Bread Machine Recipe, my Homemade Hamburger Buns, and this delicious Hoagie Roll Recipe.

Baguette close up with floured and crisped up exterior.

Baguette Recipe

Making homemade bread like this baguette recipe is always a labor of love that requires a bit of patience. This version of the baguette recipe is not how the professionals do it (which takes 2 days), but a simplified homemade version that can be done in several hours. However, the outcome is still so, so good!

This rustic baguette recipe produces a long, crispy loaf, with large holes inside and that oh-so-good bread aroma that you can only get by making bread yourself. This Baguette recipe only requires a couple simple ingredients (water, flour, yeast, salt & honey – which is optional).

When you need a therapeutic experience in the kitchen, grab this baguette recipe and start baking. It’s so rewarding to make this at home!

Baguette is torn into half exposing the inside crumb.

Tips for Making Baguette Bread

If you haven’t baked bread at home, you may feel a bit intimidated, but don’t! Making baguette bread or any type of loaf is completely doable. All you need to do is follow the recipe as outlined below! In the meantime, here are a few tips to help you along the way:

  • Give yourself extra time, especially if this is your first time making baguette bread. While most of the time making this recipe will be hands-off time as the dough is proofing or baking, it’s always a good idea sure to give yourself extra time anytime you’re working with yeast.
  • Make sure you start with good unexpired yeast, this will ensure successful results.
  • Find an ideal place to proof. When you’re proofing baguette bread, you want the area to be warm (90F – 100F) and draft-free. I recommend covering it with a tea towel and setting it in your oven with the oven light on.
  • Create steam in the oven. I know it sounds odd, but using a spray bottle to spray the inside of the oven as soon as you put the baguettes in the oven will create steam that will keep the outside of the baguettes soft and elastic. This helps a hard crust from forming that would otherwise prevent the baguette from quickly rising and expanding as it hits the oven heat.

Baguette bread on a tea towel.

How to Enjoy a French Baguette

Wondering what a baguette can be used for? If you’ve ever been to France, you may have seen people purchasing fresh French baguettes from local boulangeries and biting right into the bread, without any toppings whatsoever. That’s certainly an excellent way to enjoy a French baguette!

You can also slice it and spread on some salted butter, or better yet enjoy it with a dipping concoction of olive oil, Italian seasoning, and some well-aged balsamic vinegar. Yum!

Not to mention, this French baguette is excellent just to use with a cheese plate or for regular sandwiches (like this delicious French Dip) or bruschettas. I also highly recommend this yummy mushroom pate slathered on a slice of the bread!

How to Make a Baguette

*For detailed recipe instructions see the recipe card bottom of the post.

  • Make a polish: Dissolve active dry yeast in water (no need to dissolve in water if using instant yeast, just add it with the rest of the ingredients), then mix together with flour until well combined and uniform. Allow to rise until the top is covered with bubbles that are actively popping and the mixture is about tripled in volume.

Step by step pictures for making poolish for a baguette recipe.

  • Make the Baguette Dough: to a mixer bowl add flour, salt, risen poolish, water and quickly stir to combine. Then, knead by hand or with a dough hook until the dough stops sticking to the sides of the bowl. Form a ball, cover with a tea towel and allow to rise until doubled in size.

Step by step pictures for making the baguette dough.

  • Stretch the dough: Pour the dough onto floured surface and divide it into 3. Stretch each piece by pulling out and up on each side until slight resistance, then fold it over the dough, repeat with the 3 other sides and let rest for 10 minutes.
  • To shape a baguette press each piece down with your fingers into a rectangle. Then, roll into a log and press with the side of your palm to seal each time one rotation is made (as shown on the picture) . This helps the baguette keep shape and strengthens the gluten structure, which will trap in the air bubbles well as the yeast produces them. Pinch the edge closed, then roll the log to about 18 inches or as long as will fit on your baking sheet. Repeat with the other 2 dough pieces.

Step by step pictures for stretching and shaping the baguette.

  • Sprinkle generously with flour and transfer to parchment paper, then tuck the parchment paper so that the baguettes are separated by it, but tightly next to each other. Cover with a tea towel and allow the baguettes rolls to proof again until doubled in size.

Baguettes from being shaped, to being baked (step by step pictures).

  • Meanwhile, preheat the oven, then bake as outlined below in the recipe card.

How Long Does the Baguette Last?

If the Baguette recipe makes more than you would eat in a day or two, wrap it well in plastic wrap, and freeze. Re-crisp by placing the bread into a 350F oven for 5-7 minutes.

Enjoy!

Looking for more Bread recipes? Try these:

 

Baguette Recipe

4.5 from 12 votes

Simple Baguette Recipe - crispy on the inside, with a chewy crumb and large holes this recipe is sure a keeper!

Author: Marina | Let the Baking Begin
Course: Bread
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: rustic baguettes
Calories: 240 kcal
Prep Time: 4 hours
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours
Servings: 10 servings

Ingredients

Poolish starter

  • 1 Tbsp Instant yeast
  • 1 cup warm water (90F - 100F)
  • 1 cup bread flour

Later add:

  • 4 - 4½ cups bread flour up to 1 cup can be substituted with whole wheat flour
  • cup warm water
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions

Make the poolish first:

  1. Dissolve 1 tbsp dry instant yeast with 1 cup warm water, then add 1 cup flour and mix until no flour is seen. Allow to proof in warm, draft free place for 1 hour or until the surface is covered with bubbles that are slowly popping.

Make the Baguette Dough

  1. Mix: Dissolve 2 tsp salt and 2 tbsp honey in water and add to the risen poolish. Add the flour to a large bowl or a bowl of a mixer, then add the poolish with the water from the step above.

    Knead: Quickly stir to combine, then knead by hand or with a mixer fitted with a dough hook until the dough is tacky to touch and no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl (~10-15 min). 

  2. Proof: Form a ball and place into a well oiled bowl to proof. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and place in a warm, draft free place like the oven with the oven light on for about 1.5 - 2 hours or until the dough is doubled in size. This might take more or less time depending on the temperature of the house and yeast's freshness.

  3. Prepare the baking sheet for proofing:

    Use a large cookie sheet or an upside down baking sheet pan.

    Dust a couche (baker's linen fabric for proofing) with flour and prepare it for the shaped baguettes. If you do not have a couch I Set a parchment paper on top and dust with flour.

  4. Preheat and prep: preheat oven to 450 F with a baking stone or baking steel on the middle rack.

    Also, fill a spray bottle with water. Place a 9"x12" baking pan (not glass) with 2 cups of hot water on the bottom of the oven.

  5. Shape:

    Invert the dough onto well floured surface and divide into 3 equal pieces.

    Preshape: Stretch the dough by pulling on the right side of the dough up and out until slight resistance then folding it over the dough, then repeat with the other 3 sides. Turn it upside down and allow the dough to relax for about 10-20 minutes, covered.

    Final shape: Stretch the dough into a rectangle, then roll into a log stopping to press down and seal the rotations with the side of your palm as you keep rolling to shape a taught roll. Then pinch the end to seal. Stretch and roll the roll until about 18 inches long or as long as your baking sheet is.

    Transfer to a flour dusted parchment paper lined 12"x18" baking sheet.

    Repeat with the other 2 pieces of dough to form 3 baguettes and space the shaped baguettes evenly.

  6. Proof: Sprinkle the shaped baguettes with flour and losely cover with a tea towel. Allow to proof for another 40 minutes or until the baguettes have roughly doubled in size. When you press a floured finger into the dough about 1/2 inch deep the indentation should fill back slowly, still leaving a small indent.

  7. Score: Right before placing in the oven make 3 slashes diagonally along each baguette with a sharp serrated knife. This will help to control the expansion of the dough in the oven.

  8. Bake: Place the baguettes in the preheated oven and quickly spray the sides of the hot oven about 4 times to create steam. Shut the oven door quickly so that the steam doesn't escape and the oven doesn't cool down too much.

    Bake for 7 minutes, then quickly spray the oven with cold water again. Shut the oven door quickly and lower the temperature to 380F and bake for another 25 minutes or until deep golden color or once the internal temp is 190F.

    Remove from oven and allow to cool on a cooling rack.

Nutrition Facts
Baguette Recipe
Amount Per Serving
Calories 240 Calories from Fat 9
% Daily Value*
Fat 1g2%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Sodium 469mg20%
Potassium 66mg2%
Carbohydrates 49g16%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 4g4%
Protein 8g16%
Calcium 9mg1%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Bon Appetit & Happy Pinning

Thank you for following me on Instagram, Facebook & Pinterest!

Hashtag your photos #LetTheBakingBeginBlog so I can see your creations and for a chance to be featured!

Marina | Let the Baking Begin

Welcome to Let the Baking Begin! I'm Marina and my love and passion for eating only the most delicious foods drive me to share that love here on Let the Baking Begin (since 2009). With over 20 years of experience in the kitchen, you know the recipes are tested and retested until perfect. I'm so happy to have you here. Enjoy! Read more...

Join 11,000+ other food lovers enjoying weekly recipes.

Comments

Leave a comment

Please give this recipe a STAR RATING




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • NORMAN NARDI

    The recipe calls for a baking stone in the oven but doesn’t say what for. The bread is on parchment on a sheet pan, should I transfer it to the stone or put the sheet pan on the stone? Confused and have to wing it for now.

    · Reply
  • FATIMA B KHAN

    I followed the recipe exactly, came out pretty good, but it was too bland for me. What can I add to amp up the flavor?

    · Reply
    • You can let the polish sit refrigerated for a couple more days to build up more flavor. You can also replace 10% of flour with whole wheat flour. Otherwise, bread is kind of like bread, which doesn’t have very strong flavors.

      · Reply
    • bill

      needs more salt for flavor! 1 tablespoon kosher salt is appropriate for this amount of flour

      · Reply
  • Natalie

    May be a silly question but active dry yeast vs instant yeast? If I have active dry yeast, is that the same?

    · Reply
    • Hi Natalie,
      Active dry and instant dry yeast are almost the same and can be used interchangeably, the only thing – active dry yeast tends to rise slower than instant dry yeast. So, allow more rising time if using active dry yeast.

      · Reply
  • Jay T

    This is my go to recipe however I make my dough in the afternoon and place it in the fridge overnight and start the baking process the next afternoon. The longer fermentation adds to the flavor. Keep the dough moist.

    · Reply
  • Jeff

    Wow. Awesome bread. Unbelievable taste. Had a blast making it. Best bread dough I have ever worked with from a Pinterest recipe. Thank u!

    · Reply
  • Jeff B

    Could I add some sourdough starter to the poolish? Thanks!

    · Reply
    • I think it should be in place of the poolish, not in addition. But I can’t tell you how much to add since I haven’t tested this recipe with the sour dough starter.

      · Reply
  • Richard Heinzinger

    First time baking a French baguette I followed your recipe to the tea so I’m sure it will be good I’m confident! I guess the real test will be when we start slicing it and eating it at dinner thank you

    · Reply
  • You know I am honored to call you a friend. I am so obsessed with your baking! I love this recipe!

    · Reply

As seen in