Baguettes: DO try this at home.
Baguettes. Crusty, golden… unattainable-except-from-an-artisan-bakery baguettes.
Not so. And we’re here to prove it to you.
The late Prof. Raymond Calvel, France’s acclaimed “godfather of bread,” visited this country and did a “blind” baguette baking, using a variety of American flours to make his signature crusty loaf. The result? King Arthur Flour was Calvel’s choice as being most similar to his beloved French flour.
Flour is the baguette’s main ingredient: it makes up nearly 60% of the bread, by weight, so it’s a critical element. And guess what? The best American baguette flour is right here at your fingertips. As is yeast. They’re also available in any major grocery store. The only other ingredients are water, salt… and time.
For sure, the baguette isn’t the very first loaf you’d tackle as a beginning bread baker, no more than you’d expect to step into the box at Fenway Park the first time you held a baseball bat in your hands. But it’s something to aspire to, once you’ve gotten your feet wet (and your hands floury).
The feeling of accomplishment you’ll get from pulling a deep-brown, crackly-crisp baguette out of your own oven is indescribable. Even the loaf itself celebrates your success: hold it up to your ear to hear its signature “song” as it cools. (What, you’ve never done that? Try it…)
The path to homemade baguettes is long, but not rocky. You’ll spend most of the time going about your business as the flour, water, and yeast quietly make their magic. Some initial kneading is followed by lots of resting and rising; a minimal bit of shaping precedes the finale, 25 minutes in a very hot oven. And that’s it: baguettes.
Ready? Let’s make Classic Baguettes.
First you’re going to make a starter. Mix flour, water, and just a pinch of yeast, and let it rest for about 14 hours at room temperature. The picture above shows what it’ll look like after its rest: soft and bubbly, kind of like a pancake when it’s ready to flip to the other side. If you’re planning to bake on a Saturday, make the starter late-afternoon Friday, and it’ll be ready to go Saturday morning. This first rest gives the yeast a chance to start growing.
Next day, place the starter, flour, and salt in a mixing bowl (or bread machine bucket). Then, pour the designated amount of water into your starter container; you don’t want to waste any of those stuck-on bits of starter. If you’re using active dry yeast, stir it into the water, as pictured above.
Whisk it around; it’ll soften, but not fully dissolve.
Pour it into the bowl with the other ingredients.
If you’re using a stand mixer, knead briefly with the beater, just till the dough becomes cohesive.
Then switch to the dough hook, kneading for about 5 minutes on speed 2; the dough will still be a big “gnarly.” If you’re kneading by hand, knead till the dough is soft and elastic, but not totally smooth. In the bread machine, let it knead for about 10 minutes.
Gather the dough into a ball; notice its surface is fairly rough. You don’t want to knead it too much, as the gluten will continue to develop during its long rise. If you kneaded the dough till it was absolutely smooth, it would be over-developed by the time it was done rising: too stiff, difficult to shape.
Put the dough into a greased, covered container, and let it rise for 1 hour.
See the bubbles forming? The yeast is doing its work. Deflate it, and let it rise for another hour. Repeat once more; the dough will rise for a total of 3 hours.
Now look how smooth it’s become—all on its own!
Look how lovely and elastic it is, too. If you’d kneaded it fully at first, it wouldn’t stretch like this.
Divide the dough into three pieces, flatten into rough ovals, and let them rest for 15 minutes. This gives the gluten a chance to relax. Gluten can be recalcitrant; the more you stretch it, the tighter it gets. Letting dough relax before shaping makes it MUCH easier to work with.
After 15 minutes, flatten one piece of dough into a rough rectangle.
Fold it over…
…and seal the edge with your fingers.
Flatten again…
And fold and seal again. Look how the dough has lengthened from 8” to 12” during this process.
Turn it so the seam side is down.
And roll gently, starting in the center…
And working your way out to the edges. Don’t press down hard; just gently roll the dough under your cupped fingers, and it’ll lengthen on its own. If it doesn’t, give it a 15-minute rest, while you work on the other two pieces, then come back to it.
Put the 15” baguettes onto a parchment-lined or lightly greased baking sheet.
Or do what they do in France: let them rise on a couche, a flour-rubbed towel. Sprinkle flour heavily on a linen couche or smooth cotton towel; I’m using a towel here. Rub the flour into the cloth.
“Cradle” the baguettes in the folds of the towel.
Here they are, ready to rise; cover them with a free-standing cover, or with greased plastic wrap.
And here are the risen loaves. Don’t let them rise TOO much; they should be puffy, but nowhere near doubled in size. If you let them rise too much, they’re hard to handle, and they won’t rise well in the oven.
If you’ve used the couche method, gently roll each baguette onto the prepared baking sheet. (If you want to bake on a pizza stone, roll onto a piece of parchment which you’ve set atop your peel.)
The baguette will probably land floured side up.
Gently roll it over so the floured side is on the bottom. Repeat with the remaining two baguettes.
Spritz heavily with warm water. This mimics the effect of a steam oven, and will help give the baguettes a slightly shiny, crunchy crust. If you’ve made baguettes before and like to a) spray water into your oven, b) throw ice cubes into a hot pan on the oven floor, or c) make steam via some other method, go for it. Whatever works for you is fine. I find spraying with water easiest, as I don’t have to keep opening the oven (and letting heat escape) once the baguettes are in.
Next, you’re going to make three diagonal slashes in each baguette. Hold the sharp knife at a 45° angle to the bread, be quick, and use firm strokes.
Notice the lovely air bubbles inside the slash. The yeast has been doing its work for probably 18 or 19 hours now…
If you’ve done your slashing correctly, the loaves will look a bit deflated; that’s OK.
The heat of the oven will pick them right back up again!
And here they are: your very own baguettes! Be sure to bake them long enough; they should appear almost charred in spots.
Homemade baguettes won’t have QUITE the large-holed interior of artisan bakery baguettes, but they’ll still be “holey” enough to trap and hold olive oil or butter.
Here’s a cross-section view. For larger holes, make a softer dough by adding more liquid. The challenge is to find that “sweet spot”: more liquid, more holes; too much liquid, the baguettes flatten out.
Bake vs. Buy
BUY: Artisan bakery 9-ounce baguette: $2.95
BAKE: Homemade 9-ounce baguette (ingredients cost): 43¢
OK, here’s another fun thing to make: stuffed baguettes. Divide the dough into six pieces instead of three, and shape each into a 5”-long rectangle.
Layer with meat and cheese (in this case, ham, Swiss, and mustard). Don’t use too much filling, as it’ll make the baguettes soggy.
Roll up like a jelly roll, sealing the long seam and pinching the ends closed.
I might have been able to put all six on this pan, but I decided not to crowd them.
Slash twice; or don’t.
Slashed baguette on the left; plain on the right. It’s mostly a matter of looks.
YUM! The tunnel in the center is pretty much inevitable, as the bread rises and the filling doesn’t. But never mind the look, this is just plain delicious. Enjoy!
Check out our recipe for Classic Baguettes and Stuffed Baguettes.
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Thanks so much for posting the step-by-step. I love baguettes but have never really been very successful at making them. I am, most likely, over-kneading the bread. I think I might try the stuffed baguettes this weekend. Since I don’t think I can eat 6 baguettes this weekend, I wonder if you could prep all the way up rolling the stuffing in and then freezing the portions you can’t eat, yet. Something to try, at least!
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Ooh I’ve been wanting to try this - looks yummy, thank you!
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:32 pm
Thanks for this creation. I’ve been a yeast bread baker for over 20 years and I’ve never thought to fill the baguettes this way. I can’t wait to try it! One question though. What do you use to grease your container for rising? I find that using the sprays prevent the sealing of the dough when shaping. Your grease definitely looks ‘yellow’. Is it butter?
May 2nd, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Jennnifer, yes, you could definitely do up to the point of sealing the stuffing inside the baguettes, then freezing. Just be sure to leave lots of time at the other end for both thawing, warming up, and rising - if you thaw in the fridge overnight, I’m betting the warming/rising would take 3 hours or so…?
Kat, I use a very light coating of Everbake spray, which we sell here in the catalogue. (It’s not yellow, that’s just my shaky photography skills!) the tip then is, once you take it out of the container, fold it over on itself and knead it gently just enough that the oily part goes into the center and kind of gets ocmbined with the rest of the dough.Give it a try-
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:06 pm
they turned out great. thanks for posting!
May 2nd, 2008 at 9:21 pm
You made this look like such fun. I’m going to try it.
May 3rd, 2008 at 6:59 am
wow! I tried making baguettes once or twice but never turned out REALLY good…
and the stuffed ones… what can I say?
YUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 4th, 2008 at 3:13 pm
Hi PJ,
Just curious if you’re figuring out the cost based on the old price of flour, or the NEW price of flour. I used to pay 1.92 for a bag of KA flour( and I thought that was high) and yesterday I paid 3.99.
May 4th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Randi, I’m using the new price of the flour -I get up-to-the-minute prices online at Peapod, the online grocer. Right now they’ve got it priced at $4.99/5-lb. bag. So you’re getting a deal at $3.99 - stock up! Still, when you think about it - there aren’t many foods you pay less than $1/pound for these days. And a 5# bag of King Arthur Flour will create an awful lot of yumminess…
May 5th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Hi , how do I get my baguettes to be crusrt brownish? Mines are always pale. Is there any trick?
Tks
Denise
May 5th, 2008 at 11:05 am
Maria, if your top crust isn’t browning, try baking baguettes on the upper rack of your oven, rather than middle rack. Also, if you let the dough rise TOO long, they yeast devours all the sugar and the bread loses much of its ability to brown. So don’t let it rise too many times. Finally, is your oven temperature right? Bread baked at 450°F should definitely brown, and pretty easily at that…
May 5th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
What is the purpose of using a cloche (floured cloth) for the last rise?
May 5th, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Hello, FallsChurch! Hope it’s warm down there… rising in the couche (or cotton towel) does two things: 1) makes the crust chewier, and 2) gives it that floury, “artisan” look.
May 5th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Any adjustments for high altitude (7,000 ft.)?
May 5th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Love the blog-it makes it so easy to see if you are doing things correctly,please keep it up and don’t archive I keep referring to the banter and passing the Baker’s Banter on to others.
Thanks again
May 5th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Hi, PJ: It’s pleasantly cool and breezy today, but kinda overcast. Thanks for your reply. I’m a newby to baking, but I’m fast losing my cluelessness, reading your comments section. Thanks again.
May 5th, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Barbara, yeast dough rises much faster at 7,000′, so cut the yeast back to 3/4 teaspoons. Add 2-3 additional tablespoons water, too, till the dough is the consistency pictured. Hope this helps-
May 7th, 2008 at 9:17 am
In the recipe you make the 45 deg slices then spray, but in the blog you spray then slice. Does it make a difference?
May 7th, 2008 at 9:29 am
Snitz, I actually tried it both ways, and it doesn’t seem to make any difference at all which comes first, spraying or slashing; sorry to be confusing!
May 8th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
This is the best bread I have tasted in a long time. i made both the plain and the stuffed version. came out perfect the first time. I baked them in the barbecue grill. I have old saltillo tiles that act like a brick oven on the bottom and the top. perfect crust and even just a touch charred. thanks so much.
May 8th, 2008 at 12:17 pm
ABSOLUTELY THE MOST INFORMATIVE PRESENTATION AVAILABLE. FIRST TIME WAS PERFECT. BEGINNER’S(TOTALLY) LUCK.
WHILE I HAVE NOW ORDERED YOUR RECOMMENDED INSTANT YEAST, I FIND THAT THE WORD “INSTANT” DOES NOT APPEAR ON THE FLEISCHMANN’S “RAPID RISE HIGHLY ACTIVE YEAST” OR FLEISHMANN’S “ACTIVE DRY” YEAST THAT I FIND IN MY LOCAL GROCERY STORE. DOES THE “RAPID RISE HIGHLY ACTIVE” YEAST SERVE THE SAME PURPOSE AS “INSTANT” IN THAT IT CAN BE ADDED DIRECTLY WITHOUT GOING THROUGH THE ACTIVE DRY SEPERATE STEP?
AND SPEAKING ABOUT YEAST, YOUR ANSWER TO BARBARA’S QUESTION REGARDING ALTITUDE IS CONFUSING. THE CLASSIC BAGUETTES RECEIPE WE ARE WORKING FROM REQUIRES 1/16 TEASPOON INSTANT YEAST IN THE STARTER AND 1 TEASPOON INSTANT YEAST IN THE DOUGH FOR A TOTAL OF 1 AND 1/16 TEASPOONS. YOUR INSTRUCTION TO CUT BACK TO 1 1/2 TEASPOONS IS RATHER HARD TO DO.
ALSO, THE DOUGH IS RISING THREE TIMES IN THE BOWL ACCORDING TO THE RECEIPE SINCE IT IS BEING DEFLATED AFTER ONE HOUR AND THEN AGAIN AT THE SECOND HOUR AND LEFT TO FINISH THE THIRD HOUR.
DOES MY ALTITUDE OF 2000′ REQUIRE AN ADJUSTMENT?
CAN YOU TELL I AM RETIRED AND ENJOYING THE FACT THAT I MADE THREE WONDERFUL BAGUETTES THANKS TO YOUR EXCELLENT GUIDANCE?
May 8th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Hi Hiawassee: Instant yeast is NOT RapidRise or active dry; it’s called “instant,” and the most common kind if made by SAF. Please don’t use RapidRise in this recipe; it’ll give up the ghost too quickly. Active dry is fine.
You’re right: I should have said cut back to 3/4 teaspoon yeast at altitude… thanks for catching this! And the part about rising, too. I was thinking of a totally different recipe (olive rolls) when I answered her…
Your altitude won’t require an adjustment; it’s just over 3,000 feet, usually, that adjustments start.
Glad you’re enjoying the blog and SO happy your baguettes came out well!
May 8th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
I used to work in a bakery back in my high school days so I had the opportunity to watch bread and baguettes made live! But this step-by-step process is extremely helpful since I cannot remember the exacts. I’m so excited I can bring back my bakery memories in my own household =)
May 9th, 2008 at 10:34 am
These look fantastic. It looks like a lot of work, however I imagine that the outcome is a great taste as well as a feeling of self accomplishment: very rewarding.
May 10th, 2008 at 6:58 am
Antiques, not a lot of work at all. Just a lot of time… time you spend doing other things while your dough is doing its own thing!