Baguettes: DO try this at home.
July 13th, 2011 by PJ Hamel
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 and Stuffed 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. If you have a triple baguette pan, lay each of the baguettes in one of the lightly greased wells of the pan.
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.
Buy vs. Bake
Buy: Artisan bakery 9-ounce baguette, $2.95
Bake at home: Homemade 9-ounce baguette, 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!
May 14th, 2008 at 1:30 am
PJ, I loved the detailed pictures.
I only put in about 3/4 of a cup of water and by then the dough was getting a bit soupy, so I had to add nearly 3/4 of a cup more flour to get it back to something that could be worked. (It looked pretty much like the picture at that point, though it didn’t get quite as smooth after the 3rd rise.
I was using KA AP flour.
They rolled out fairly well, though one of them still had a lump in it that looked a little like the snake that swallowed the mouse.
In the end, they came out really great, though I think I could have left them in a few minutes longer to get even browner. (Next time I think I’ll try them on stones, too.)
My wife was cutting herself a slice of angel food cake for dessert, she picked up one of the warm baguettes to smell it and nearly put the slice of cake back on the platter. When we did break into the 1st baguette a little later it disappeared quickly.
I do have a question about slashing French bread. I’ve got a lame, it seems to stick in a soft dough badly, so I usually just use a serrated steak knife, and even that was sticking in these baguettes. What’s the secret?
May 14th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
The flatten-and-fold technique for shaping the baguettes is
a winner! I’ve tried for years to stretch dough into a long
thin shape but never managed better than a (very) lumpy
rope of dough.
I’m in (dry) California and had to add more water to get the
dough wet enough to knead. Will add even more water next
time as the dough was still not wet enough so didn’t have
the big holes in the crumb.
And will try KAF’s French flour instead of AP flour, as it makes
a fantastic white bread.
Before baking, I wet the shaped dough, then use a very
sharp serrated knife for slashing. Being in a dry climate,
sometimes the outer layer of the loaf dries a bit during
the last rise. Wetting the loaf before slashing softens
the outer layer. And you have to be quick with the slash
or the blade drags in the dough and doesn’t make a clean
cut.
The recipe is great–we re-heated the leftover loaf to re-crisp
the crust the next day (350 degrees, 10-15 min.).
May 16th, 2008 at 6:45 am
Mike, personally I don’t use a lame – have never liked them. Our bakers herein the bakery are very adept with them, but I don’t seem to be able to get the technique! Like Julia, I use a very sharp knife – serrated, or plain. the trick is to be swift, fairly “brutal,” yet not heavy handed. Hold the knife at a 45° angle to the bread; I like to pinch a tiny corner and hold it up, to stretch the bread’s”skin” and give the knife someplace to get its initial purchase. Then I VERY quickly slash it, probably 1/2″ deep (which, since it’s a 45°F angle, actually doesn’t go 1/2″ perpendicularly). the loaf will definitely deflat,e but if you get it into the super-hot oven RIGHT AWAY it picks back up. Give it a try – good luck!
Julia, thanks for all the great tips-
May 17th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Hi — I look forward to trying this recipe. I have a perforated baguette pan, and its instructions advise reducing oven temps by 25 degrees. However, I tried that with another baguette recipe last month, and my loaves came out pale.
If I use the baguette pan for this recipe, should I aim for 425, or stay with 450? Also, can I place the pan directly on a baking stone?
Thanks,
David
May 17th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
David, I’d leave the temp. at 450°F, and yes, you can place the pan right on the stone. Should come out fine -just watch the loaves towards the end…
May 17th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Do you use a thermometer to test the bread for doneness or does it come out right every time?
May 17th, 2008 at 7:17 pm
Mary, I don’t use a thermometer to test baguettes – when they’re dark brown on the outside, they’ll be done inside. I ALWAYS use a thermometer to test sandwich loaves and round country loaves – anything NOT long and skinny – because it’s so much more accurate than trying to eyeball or tap on the bottom or anything else. Sandwich loaves aregenerally done between 190°F and 195°F; dense whole-grain rounds, like a big round country rye, it’s more like 205°F.
May 18th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Do you recommend using the convection oven for this?
May 18th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Mary, you can certainly use a convection oven for this. I never have, so wouldn’t know the timing – just keep your eye on them, and bake till deep golden brown.
May 18th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
PJ
Thanks for the reply. I baked today and think the temps worked out right — the color was good, with a bit of char at the ends.
However, other things did not work out. First, the appearance of my loaves is not as authentic and “crackly” as your pictures. Very smooth, apart from the slashes — almost like a Pillsbury version of a baguette
Second, the crumb is really tight and dense.
I should note that I initially misread the recipe as saying to do a first rise of 3 hours. So I did a single rise of that duration. Would that account for the plain appearance and tight crumb?
Thanks,
David
May 18th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
David, did you give the loaves a heavy spritz with warm water? I mean a real bath, just a perfume-type spritz.they should be dripping.That would help give the crust it’s somewhat mottled, crackly appearance. I think the tight crumb might be due to a little too much flour; did you perhaps add more flour while kneading? Or it could be due to not deflating the dough during that 3 hours; deflating it hastens the growth of yeast, which of course makes the bread rise higher… Baguettes are a real case of practicing and learning as you go. See, already you’ve made improvements; the next time will be even better. And they’re all edible, right? : )
May 19th, 2008 at 7:38 am
PJ
I used a hand-pump mister to spray them, as I don’t have a clean “Windex” bottle. Still, I gave them what I thought was a pretty good soaking.
I used a stand mixer to knead (no extra flour), and was careful about measurements. But I did read your comments about a wetter dough.
And yes, living is learning. Next time I will add a bit less flour, get the rise right, and use a hose for the spraying
Thanks again for the help!
David
May 20th, 2008 at 6:53 am
Hi PJ, just wanted to let you know how my baguettes turned out. I had the starter doing its thing for the entire 14 hours in a rather cool kitchen, and it certainly was bubbly by that time. I weighed all the ingredients, and for me they were perfect proportions. I didn’t have to add any extra flour or water except the minimal amount of flour used to flour my hands. I used the KAF Bread Flour. I kneaded by hand about 10 minutes, and after the first hour of rising, things looked so-so, but after about 45 minutes into the second hour, the dough appeared to have nearly doubled. Could that have been because instead of just deflating the dough, I folded it over a few times? At that point I deflated it and stuck it in the refrigerator, because I had to go out for awhile. It cooled in the fridge for almost 2 hours.
I have to stay before I forget that this was a great dough to work with except for one problem. After I had divided them into 3 pieces (by weight about 10 ounces each), and after the 15-minute rest, trying to get them rolled out to make a 15-inch baguette was no easy task. Even letting them rest and going back and forth from one baguette to the other, I could only get them rolled out to about 13 inches. I was worried the French gendarme might come knocking at my door any minute!
I let them rise on a flour-covered cotton towel, and in a 68-degree room after about 1 hour and 15 minutes, they was ready to go in the oven. I still don’t have the slash and burn technique perfected yet, but after 30 minutes, they came out looking very nice – maybe not quite the charred look, but close. My husband took them to work this morning (he told me, “I don’t think these guys have ever tasted a real baguette.”), so I’ll be expecting the compliments around midday.
Thanks for the great instructions and photos, PJ.
May 23rd, 2008 at 12:08 pm
I would like to Thank King Arthur Flour for being so helpful to the home baker. I have been baking bread for 40 years and I use KA Flour as often as I can find it. I used to bring it back to the south after vacations at home on Cape Cod. It has been available about the last tem years in larger cities so I would stock up, now it is carried locally. I have only been making these baguettes in the last 5 years after my second trip to a King Arthur Travel Class. One in Knoxville TN and another in Atlanta Ga.
This is completely different methodology than the normal breads I have made in the past. So much so I have had to completely learn this new process of wet and sloppy compared to firmer. Your pictures and write up make it almost sailor proof. I had a skipper on the submarine I served on said only one sailor would make it to heaven.
Any way what I want to ask about is to ask about using barley to improve browning of the crust. There are several kinds and was wondering what is used for what and what amount to use.
For example:
Malted Barely liquid,
Diastatic Malt Powder
and Non-Diastatic powder (your package says this is for Bagels, does this act as a gultton inhibitor or dough relaxer and can this also be used for making pizza doughs)
I have noticed that Diastatic Malt Barlety is added to your Artisan Bread Flour.
Canany of these Barely Products be used, instead of flour on a roast to enhance browning and thicken juices for making gravies.
THanks and keep up the good work
Hi David – YOU keep up the good work, too! Congratulations on your baguettes-
Malted barley is actually barley that’s roasted till it becomes sweet, then ground. It’s added to flour to help the yeast: enzymes in the malted barley convert the starch in flour into simple sugars, which the yeast then feeds on. Non-diastatic malt actually does NOT contain enough of these enzymes to convert starch, and thus is used purely as a sweetener. Diastatic malt has the full quotient of enzymes, and is used as explained above. Malted barley syrup is like non-diastatic; used purely as a sweetener. So if you’re looking for something to help your yeast breads (including pizza dough), choose diastatic malt. But only use a tiny bit- maybe 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon per 3 cups of flour. I wouldn’t see any use for any of these in roasted meats… – PJH
May 23rd, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Great baguettes! Even though we live in the Rocky Mountains at 8000′ this recipe produced excellent results. I cut each rising to about 50-55 minutes, however I think the keys to this bread are your hints: 1) slightly sticky dough 2) move the oven rack to the upper position.
I’ll be making these baguettes often.
May 26th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
I have been baking bread long before going to culinary school and these were the best I’ve made so far. The crust had just the right crunch and the inside was wonderful. Since there were three baguettes I shared the other two with my daughters. Thank you so much for this recipe.
May 27th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
I have been working with an earlier baguette recipe that I was given at the King Arthur Baking Education center. It calls for 16.25 ounces of King Arthur All Purpose Flour and 10.5 ounces of water in a formulation that yields 2 baguettes about 17 or so inches long. I would have thought that to get 3 baguettes, I would have had to increase the flour and water to 22.875 and 15.75 ounces each, an increase of 50%. Your formulation gets there with 19 ounces of flour and only 12 ounces of water. Am I not thinking correctly about how to increase the yield of a recipe?
Also, why does the use of ‘bread’ flour require more water?
Using my old and very much trusted formulation for baguettes, I have stuffed them as you suggested with wonderful results. A variation that my wife enjoys is a mixture of spinach, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a few chunks of provolone. Be sure to squeeze as much moisture out of the spinach as possible. Two tablespoons or so of the mixture does the trick.
Hi Kevin: Well, bread baking is as much art as science. Perhaps the baguettes you made were fatter; they were longer, which makes a difference. You’re kind of thinking correctly about how to increase the yield of a recipe… but not taking into consideration how much more volume is involved in a fatter, longer baguette (because it’s impossible to tell, really). As for bread flour, it’s higher gluten (higher protein), and the higher the protein in flour, the more water it will absorb. So you need more water (compared to all-purpose flour) to produce the same consistency of dough.
Love your suggestion for Parmesan, provolone and spinach – that’s now on my to-do list! Thanks, Kevin- PJH
June 15th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
PJ, we’ve made the stuffed baguettes several times now, and it may take us weeks before we run out of ideas for what to stuff them with. On the list of things to try are pepperoni/marinara/mozzarella, tuna/tomato/cheddar cheese, brown sugar/cinnamon, and some kind of fruit stuffing, most likely peaches.
So far our favorites have been ham with pepper jack cheese, sun dried tomato turkey with pepper jack and beef with either cojack or pepper jack. (I think the latter are even better with a little tomato, which I sliced fairly thin then blotted with a paper towel to keep the baguette from getting too soggy.)
Today we tried some with shrimp and marinara, shrimp and asiago/romano/parmesian, and crab with asiago/romano/parmesian. The shrimp ones were a bit of a disappointment, but that’s probably because the shrimp was a bit short on flavor. I also added a little butter to the cheese ones, to make sort of an alfredo-like sauce.
We’ve also learned that they can be made up a day in advance, but you need to give them about 2 hours to warm up and they take a little longer to bake. (I may try warming them up in my proofer to see if we can speed that up.) I’ve also got 3 in the freezer to see how well they handle being frozen before being baked.
Yesterday, I substituted 2 oz of medium rye flour and made a set that way,the ham and cheese were excellent, I thought the best was a stuffed reuben with pastrami, a little mayo, swiss cheese and some sauerkraut. I think I could have nearly doubled the amount of rye flour.
WOW, Mike – you certainly know how to take an idea and run with it -big time! Thanks for all the great ideas. I love anything involving cheese and tomatoes, so I think I’ll go that route first… thanks again – PJ
June 29th, 2008 at 3:58 am
I just want to thank you for this excellent run through! I used this recipe over the last day as a way to test out my stand mixer. It was the first time I’d ever baked bread… and both the regular and stuffed baguettes came out amazing! I used half unbleached white and half traditional whole wheat flour for the dough and londonport, fresh mozzarella, and hot mustard for the stuffed. If it weren’t for the quality of this walkthrough (and KA flour), I doubt my first loaf would’ve turned out so well… and I’d be out a new hobby!
Will, that’s GREAT! Welcome to the great big wonderful world of bread-baking. It can be as simple (or complicated!) as you want, and make it… Check out the other yeast recipes we have here (hot cheese bread, and onion buns, for instance) – and stay tuned for my next post later today, Focaccia Five Ways. And kingarthurflour.com is loaded with bread recipes. Thanks for using King Arthur Flour (it’s the best – no brag, just the truth); and ENJOY. (P.S. Are you using SAF instant yeast? Instant yeast is SO much less expensive and easier to use than active dry…) – PJH
June 30th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Wow, I’m really enthusiastic about trying baguettes again after seeing the pictures and reading the comments. My earlier attempts following Julia’s recipe and directions turned out only so-so. I’ll let you know how it works. Here in Central Ohio I can’t get an authentic baguette, so I’m really hoping this will work.
Good luck, Peggy. Having those step-by-step, “hold your hand” photos is really useful, I think. And remember – practice makes perfect. If they’re not exactly what you want the first time, don’t give up – they’ll still be edible, I’m sure! – PJH
July 10th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Hi. If Mike in Nebraska is still watching this (or if anyone else wants to comment), I’d be curious to know how the baguettes that were frozen turned out. I may have to make 15 or more baguettes for a wedding coming up soon, and just can’t see staying up all night trying to make them for a morning wedding. Wish I could convince the bride to have rolls like those yummy, yummy semolina rolls.
Thanks.
August 2nd, 2008 at 8:19 am
The French never intended to have chocolat croisants,now it’s a pest and worse.Stuffed Baguettes?Sounds like a Bill Wyman franshise to me.Leave it alone.The French bread is just fine by itself,in all the various regions.I never saw that one in France.Nothing wrong with the bread though,just don’t call it a Baguette.
Robert
August 11th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
I have the perforated italian bread pan – you bake two loaves at a time in this pan. Can I use the same recipe and just divide it in half instead of thirds? Do you happen to know what recipe came with the pan?
Yes, divide it in half and bake till golden. Sorry, don’t know what recipe came with the pan… Maybe our customer service team can chime in here? – PJH
August 29th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Great article, Thanks
I have been baking bread and pizza for about 20 years. I have not been able to create a loaf or baguette with “big eyes”. After mixing with a stand mixer and adding flour until the dough ball comes clean from the bowl, I complete the kneading by hand. When I turn it out onto the counter, it sticks to my hands and the counter so I add enough flour until the dough does not stick. I feel that my dough ends up too dry and the crumb is too dense.
How can I tell if the mixture is correct?
How do you convert measurements to weights?
PS: I recently built a brick oven and the results are better than ever. How about making a DVD of your processes?
When will you be giving a course in the Greenwich, CT area or even in NYC?
The dough is reaching the bench at the correct consistency. I believe that you are working too much flour into the dough at this late stage and this in causing the close grain and dense texture. I have sent you an email regarding your other questions. Frank from KAF
September 1st, 2008 at 9:38 am
Your recipe is going around the world – in this case Denmark (-;
Had a little trouble converting it in terms of country specific ingredients and not least to metric system measurement and weight – but it’s done and it’s by far the best baguettes I’ve ever made.
The fold and seal technique is brilliant and made it very easy to make 15″ long breads which under normal circumstances can be quite a drag!!
Next time I’ll try the stuffed version as well – they look quite yummy (o:
Thomas, thanks for connecting. I love the fact that these words travel all over the world. Bakers speak a common language, no matter where we live. As you say, it’s sometimes problematic translating ingredients and amounts, but we celebrate food, and share a creative love of baking, and of giving to others, don’t we? Cheers – PJH
September 1st, 2008 at 8:48 pm
I saw this posting after trying my hand (first time) at making baguettes. Mine looked like snakes because I didn’t use the parchment to place them on the stone, so they cooked as they landed.
It was fun though and they were gobbled up so fast I wished I had made a double batch! Now I know how to ensure they are shaped properly. Thanks. I had a lot of fun (and a snake story too).
Hi Arlene,
Actually, we have a snake shaped bread on display in our bakery case. It is made to be a snake with an egg in it’s mouth, definitely a decorative bread. So, you were just being avante guard and artistic and didn’t know it!
MaryJane @ The Baker’s Hotline
September 2nd, 2008 at 3:36 pm
PJ: I followed the directions religiously and the only thing I had a problem with was the dough was quite sticky. This made shaping the loaves difficult and 2 of the 3 loaves gaves us (family) a good laugh. What did I do wrong. The interior of the bread after baking look just fine and they tasted great BUT the stickiness was a problem.
Thanks for the anticipated help.
Rich
Rich, flour absorbs moisture, so during the summer (esp. during humid weather) the flour/liquid ratio is bound to change. You didn’t do anything wrong – the weather didn’t cooperate! Make it a rule of thumb to decrease the liquid in any bread recipe a bit in the humid summertime, and increase the liquid a bit in the dry wintertime, and you should be fine. Practice makes perfect – but as you see, even the “mistakes” are quite tasty. Enjoy – PJH
September 3rd, 2008 at 7:17 am
My baguettes look great on the outside and I even get them to smell as they do in france (well… just about) but there’s still one thing I can not seem to master: the structure. Yes it is with large irregular holes but I find it too plastic-like. A bit like ciabatta and those rustic style breads. I know the baguette in France has a more drie-ish and white interior I think. Does it have to do with the water content or is it the flour that does the trick?
I use a mix of all purpose and patent flour with as much water as it will tolerate (usually less than 70%), a poolish starter (1:1) with previous fridge cooling during 10 hrs before adding it to the rest of the dough. My oven goes up to 300C and I use a baking stone.
Anyone?
Thanks!
Hi Olaf — You might try kneading the dough more. The whiter interior is the result of oxidation of the flour, which comes with longer/stronger kneading. OR you might also try using less yeast, and using a longer rise with some “turns” – let the dough rise for an hour, deflate, and turn over, let rise for another hour, deflate and turn over, let rise, deflate, and shape. This allows a rather loose, sticky dough (high hydration) to firm up as the gluten continues to develop while the dough ferments. Hope this helps – PJH
September 23rd, 2008 at 7:26 am
This is an awesome, fantastic post! I’m glad I tracked you down!! I followed your image link from a very interesting post here (love the history), and just had to read more info on making french baguettes. Can’t say enough on how much I appreciate this tutorial.
October 9th, 2008 at 4:45 am
Wow you’ve made that look really easy and tasty! I’m a big fan of baguettes but have not made any myself. Maybe I will have to now! Thanks!
That filled baguette looks yummy too!
October 13th, 2008 at 12:52 am
It seems to me that a lot of ppl have questions regarding Baguette. It is actually VERY simple. I was trained the French way (Le Cordon Bleu).. so here is a couple pointers… I had also post another recipe of Baguette at http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/9104/baguette-baguette-and-more-baguette
1. Active yeast vs. Instant yeast – most of recept called for instant yeast or fresh yeast but NEVER active yeast. However, it that is all you have on your hand… here is the conversation…
if fresh yeast is called….
* Active yeast = fresh yeast x 0.5 and increase the water in the wt. of Active.
*instant yeast =fresh yeast / 3 and increase the water in the wt of 2 x wt of instant
Instant to Active
Instant yeast = Active yeast * 2 / 3
Active yeast = Instant yeast * 1.5
2. Scoring of the baguette…
Traditionally, it should be 5 or 7 slashes, about 4″ long and the starting of the next slash should be about 1″ apart from the end of the previous slash (on a traditional 22″ baguette, 3 slashes on the Batard, but never even numbers!) . Slashes should be just on the surface of the baguette, not side to side. Lame or knife should be about 45 degree, slashing angel should be about 20 (yeah.. it’s confusing.. I know.. just remember… the long slashing should look like about 20 degree angle line to you, then you got it).
3. Not enough open crumb…
Ok.. this is has to be done by experience.. the best way to explain this is.. EASY DOES IT… especially w/ sponge method (yeast + wtr + flour, preferment). You only need to ‘punch & fold’ ONCE. Extra folding will decrease the air cells which means you won’t have open crumb. Also, let the dough bench rest for about 20 minutes before you shape them (covered, please), otherwise, the dough will fight you & you won’t be about to roll them into the nice long even shape that Baguette so famous for.
Thanks for all the great tips! Molly from KAF
October 20th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
hi
what quantities of flour, water, yeast etc are used for the dough and the starter?
Hi Ethan – Please click on the link at the end of the blog – it’ll take you to the complete recipe. Or click here. PJH
October 22nd, 2008 at 7:42 am
My baguettes have a crispy crust when they first come out of the oven… but the crust seems to get softer as the baguette cools. It’s not that crispy, break apart, flakes all over the place type of crust on baguettes I get in France. It’s a bit soggy.
I tried leaving the baguettes in the oven to cool… with the door open… but results were the same.
Any ideas on how to keep the crust crispy?
Jan, Even the baguettes we bake here in our bakery will start to lose their “snap” by dinner time, if they last that long. Two things that really helps get a great crust on baguettes, and many other hearth breads, is using a poolish and keeping a close watch on the fermentation. We do have a baguette recipe on our site that can walk you through this. Have fun. Frank from KAF.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:03 am
Thank you for such a wonderful receipe. Have tried many other receipes for bagettes — but they nevery turned out like the real French. THESE DO!!!! Came out perfect the first time. Thanks again.
Could you tell me how much whole wheat I could use in this receipe to make a little more healthy bread?
Hi Barb – You can use as much as you want, but the more you use, the denser and tougher the bread will be. Start with 1/4 of the total flour whole wheat, and see how it works for you, then go from there. PJH
October 26th, 2008 at 9:53 am
I love these baguettes! I am a pastry student and I love your website I am addicted. I use your flour all the time for the best results in all my products. Your education site is so wonderful I can’t believe its free. I hope to get up to vermont and take a class someday. Until then I will be a loyal baking junkie of your site. Thanks so much you really give newbys confidence.
Ah, Alix, just the response we love. Did you know King Arthur Flour is the largest educator of home bakers in the world? Time out for an ad: We teach bread-baking and community responsibility (kids bake and donate loaves to food shelters) to middle school students; bread, pie, and other treats in our national baking classes, held all over the country; and anything/everything you can think of here at our Baking Education Center in Vermont. Plus our online classes, plus this blog. And all except our Education Center classes are absolutely free. How’s that for baking and giving? Hope to see you up here sometime – PJH
October 27th, 2008 at 11:50 am
This is my second attempt to bake french bread. The first was terrible, that was before I found out about King Arthur Flour. So far I have started my POOLE..I await the results patiently.
If all turns out I will be dancing with joy.
October 31st, 2008 at 2:58 pm
Can someone estimate how many *bread bowl* size rounds this recipe would make? I am looking to turn this into the cut-out bowls we all know, but am not sure how many round loaves one recipe would amount to… And I’m not a skilled enough bread baker to be able to look at the unrisen amount and tell just how big it could get :>)
Kim, you’ll get 6-8 “personal size” bread bowls out of this, depending on appetites. I get six nice-sized bread bowls out of a 3 1/2-cup flour recipe (recipe for Stuffing Bread Bowls with turkey potpie filling will appear here day after Thanksgiving); this is 4 1/2 cups of flour, so… Have fun – PJH
November 6th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
The site\’\’s very professional! Keep up the good work! Oh yes, one extra comment – maybe you could add more pictures too! So, good luck to your team!
November 6th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Lucky to find you, keep on the good workk guys! Best of luck.T
November 6th, 2008 at 11:18 pm
Sentimental and nostalgic. Great.w
November 11th, 2008 at 11:54 am
Greetings,
I’m new to breadmaking so I’m glad I found this website. I purchased a Cuisinart Food Processor and have made one single batch of baguettes and yesterday, a double batch with it. In my kitchen, this breadmaking is truely an adventure. In spite of my “errors” as in: not following the recipe precisely, timing of the dough, not enough water in the oven, switching from round to long loaves in the middle of the kneeding, using cheap unbleached flour, squishing the unbaked loaves ( yes, I managed to do that), my baguettes have turned out delicious but on the scrawny side. Thanks for the heads up on the misting options and not letting the loaves rise too much before going into the oven. Now they will be really yummy. Thank you all for the great advice. May the bread gods be kind.
Hi Mort,
Wow! You have had a lifetime of baking adventures already. Glad to see you are keeping a sense of humor and have not given up. We hope you enjoy the blog and don’t ever hesitate to contact our baker’s hotline if you have questions.
bakers@kingarthurflour.com
MaryJane @ The Baker’s Hotline
November 12th, 2008 at 2:34 am
This site is really superb!!! Thank you for you work! Good Luckw
November 14th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Should the starter be more liquidy than doughy? I measured and came out with a dough ball…it is very humid here right now, maybe more water?
It should be a soft dough, not liquid. You couldn’t knead it – it’s not THAT stiff; but it’s definitely not pourable at all. It’s sticky, not liquid. Does that help? Wouldn’t hurt to add more water if it’s so dry you can’t knead all the flour in. But if it’s just like a regular dough, leave it; it’ll be fine. You can adjust the liquid tomorrow if you feel the dough is too dry. PJH
November 14th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
OK..I got it right then….thanks!!! YAY!!!
November 29th, 2008 at 9:51 pm
This looks great, I’m really excited, I want to try making those ’sandwiches’ that you bake, those would be great for lunch.
“Is that a loaf of bread?” “No, it’s my sammich!”
December 8th, 2008 at 2:17 am
I tried the recipe and it turned out great, just the baguette color is not as golden brown as yours. Maybe my oven isn’t hot enough (I’m using a counter top convection oven, set the temp to 450F, which is the max)?
Also I use my bread machine to knead the bread. Seems like my machine dough cycle kneaded longer than 10 minutes, will that affect the outcome?
Btw, can you also provide a recipe for the wheat version?
Thanks
Jo, yes, it could be your convection oven just didn’t really get hot enough. Or maybe you need to bake them longer? As for a whole wheat baguette, we have a recipe for those in our King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book. You can probably access it at your local library. I don’t recommend whole wheat baguettes – it’s kind of oxymoronic. You might want to try the whole-grain ciabatta recipe I blogged a few weeks ago instead. PJH
December 9th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
Magnificent collection of prayers – and I haven\’t begun to explore the rest of the website!
December 23rd, 2008 at 12:53 am
First attempt was a great success. Delicious, chewy, gorgeous!
Question, what controls the thickness and softness of the crust. Using more or less water? Thanks!
Thickness of the crust is the heat of the oven and the length of baking – the cooler the oven, the longer/slower the bake, the thicker the crust. A crispy crust comes from steam in the oven; we replicate that at home with a pan of steaming water on the floor (or bottom rack) of the oven or, more simply, by spraying the loaves with water just before baking at a HIGH temperature (425°F or so). Congratulations on your successful baguettes! – PJH
December 31st, 2008 at 8:54 am
I notice that the recipe calls for instant yeast in the starter and either instant or active dry in the dough. Can you use active dry in both the starter and dough, or does the starter have to be instant
Cee, you can use either instant or active dry in both starter and dough. Active dry is a bit slower, that’s all. PJH
December 31st, 2008 at 10:15 am
I’m visiting my daughter in NC and couldn’t find a decent baquette in the town where she lives. For that matter, I live in LA and cannot find one to really compare to the ones in Paris. We were trying to find one last night; imagine my delight to find this in my email this morning! I have never baked a baquette but have baked bread for about 30 years. We are going to try this and my daughter has no excuse for not having a good baquette from this day forward. Thank you so much.
December 31st, 2008 at 11:12 am
I made this recipe for Christmas. I was amazed that everything looked the same as in the photos – which I admit I kept up on the computer so I could run in and take a look every step of the way, LOL. OH MY, what beautiful baguettes I made thanks to your help. I didn’t have time to have to order and have the King Arthur Flour shipped to me in FL, but will do that soon and imagine they will turn out even better! I do LOVE this site, every page of it. Happy New Year everyone!
December 31st, 2008 at 1:07 pm
I have used an ‘almost’ New Orleans recipe for baguettes up to now. I am trying your recipe today, the last of 2008. My earlier crumb is without holes – too much kneading? Anyway I have used KAF and am very hopeful. Even my ‘not up snuff’ baguettes are the best my wife says she has tasted. I will let you know.
Mike from Annapolis
Look forward to hearing back from you, Mike. The holes are a result of a combination of less kneading, more rising, and a wetter dough, in my experience. – PJH
December 31st, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Thanks so much for the great, clear instructions and pictures. I tried these today for the first time and they came out just great. They looked like the ones in the bakery. My husband is hooked and wants more on the weekend. I did use some of the diastatic malt powder (1 tsp) and that seemed to work well for me. The flavor and the crumb of this bread is wonderful. Thanks again. Your site and products are the best.
Thanks, Judith – Happy New Year! – PJH
January 1st, 2009 at 12:03 am
Yum! I just tasted the baguette. Mine is not as pretty as yours. The slashes did not open up. Maybe making the starter wait more than 14 hrs spent some of the yeast. But despite that it is very tasty and the holes are nicely sized and distributed. I made one baguette and 4 stuffed ones in the refrigerator for tomorrow. I’m really looking forward to them.
Thanks so much for the step-by-step instructions and photos for us visual learners! It really makes trying so much easier.
Happy New Year!
Slashes are tricky, Teresa – and you never know if your oven will cooperate in “opening them up” sufficiently. It’s a real art, and even the pros don’t always get it right, so just enjoy them for what they are – delicious! PJH
January 1st, 2009 at 9:09 pm
Happy New Year. This was my very first bread ever. In fact I just got a Kitchen-aid Stand Mixer. I did make a pizza dough a few days back, but never a bread. This baguette came out great! I followed your steps to the T. However I have a few questions. I think my oven got too hot. I use an italian all gas oven. The temperature setting is very loose. That is I have no way of knowing if the 425 really means 425. Also The fact that the oven is gas, I assume it gets more dry than the electric equivalent.
The baguette tasted wonderful. The crust was good, but I did not get the golden color. It did get brown, but it was doll, not golden.
My questions:
1) Do you have any suggestions for an all gas oven? Would it be better to use a pan of water as well as spraying the baguette to compensate for extra dryness of the gas oven?
I’ve never noticed a gas oven being drier than an electric, but if you feel it is, sure, spray the dough. I often do that anyway.
2) I have a few Kory tiles which I use to bake pizza on. Could I just lay the baguette directly on the stones?
Yes, absolutely!
3) My dough was not as relaxed as yours. I kneaded exactly the way you described as well as deflated every hour for 3 times. Any suggestions?
I’m betting your dough was a bit stiffer, which can come from a bit of a change in the flour/liquid ratio. This time of year, you may need to add a bit more water, as flour is very dry in the winter.
Thanks again for this wonderful recipe. I, and my family LOVED the bread and am looking forward to many hours of bread making as it is a great meditative activity that has an instant (tasty) result
Hooman-
Congratulations, Hooman – enjoy the adventure! PJH
January 2nd, 2009 at 4:54 pm
I made the baguettes and was satisfied with every thing except the shape. My baguettes flattened out too much. My slashes were not deep enough I see now from the photos. The taste was great and the texture was good. Any suggestions??
Try using a couche for the final rise, this will help the shape. Make sure that your lame is sharp, this will give good cuts on the first try. Frank from KAF.
January 4th, 2009 at 3:21 pm
Adjustments for making this Classic Baguette at 7300ft? I’ll give this recipe a try tonight by making the starter–and continue tomorrow without changing the recipe but I’m afraid it will die from exhaustion with so much unhampered rising. Bread is a real challenge at high-altitude–less yeast sacrifices flavor, but more yeast isn’t the solution either.
Less yeast doesn’t sacrifice flavor at all, Mari. I’d go with less yeast, and a longer, slower, cooler rise. Yeast will end up doing its flavor thing, if you give it long enough. It’s not the yeast itself that tastes good, it’s the organic acids and alcohol it releases as it grows. Time is key. Good luck – PJH
January 4th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Hello, this is my first time attempting breadmaking, and I must say that I am very pleased with the results from this recipe! I wouldn’t say that my baguettes came out perfect (I could have probably used a tad more h2o), but overall I found this to be a great tutorial. Thank you for the excellent post, and I look forward to more breadmaking experimentation.
Alan, congratulations! Remember – with bread-making, practice NEVER makes perfect, because the more experienced you get, the higher you set the bar. But the journey is always a happy one… PJH
January 4th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
I am just trying this the first time after several other recipes. While I had reasonably good results and very tasty bread, I did not like the consistency and looking to improve my bread. I just received a baguette pan with those round holes and can’t wait to see the end results.
So far it looks FANTASTIC. After the start worked so well I even went searching the internet for my close by towns and found the KAF bread flour. After the rises worked so well and looked so close to the pictures in the article I went out and bought the KAF flour for my next attempt.
The air bubbles from the yeast are not so uniform like my previous attempts so I expect a lighter internal structure this time. I only made two larger baguettes from the recipe and just past 25 minutes now. I used a steam bath pan for the steam. The slashes opened up great and just waiting for the crust to darken.
Well after 30 minute bake this stuff is fantastic. Golden brown and yummy. Might consider an egg wash for that pretty glaze look.
Did I mention YUMMY!!!!!!
Excellent, Thomas – glad your bread adventure is coming to a happy (and tasty) conclusion. Profesional bakers get that nice glaze from steam-injected ovens – so we can’t match that at home. But try the egg wash, it’ll definitely give some shine. I’d suggest just egg white, not yolk, for shine without darkening. PJH
January 5th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
I retried the baguette recipe this weekend with much better results. I used a couche for the final rise. The loaves look great. Now if I had just remembered to put the salt in, it would have been perfect. The bread was a little flat tasting without salt. You’d think with so few ingredients, you wouldn’t miss any. With dipping oil or salty cheese and salami, the taste wasn’t bad. I am already looking forward to making the next batch baguettes. 3rd time’s the charm!!
Hi Janet – you just made Tuscan-style baguettes. Tuscan bread is saltless, due to the salty things (salami, cheese, etc.) they put on top. So your baguettes were PERFECT – so long as you’re in Tuscany…
PJH
January 9th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
These came out beautifully–the loaves were probably not as neat and pretty as they could be–but the crust was golden brown and “sang” as it cooled. The crumb was excellent and the texture just as it should be.
I stored the loaves in a paper bag. Interestingly, the cut loaf didn’t harden as quickly as store bought bread–in fact they all kept nicely. I baked the loaves Sunday afternoon and didn’t have to soften any of the leftovers until I was finishing off the last few pieces Thursday evening.
My one quibble is that the FLAVOR wasn’t as nicely developed as I’d like it. I may add an extra pinch of salt the next time I make this-and I may very well be making it this weekend.
Great recipe!
Thanks for
Another thing to do to heighten flavor is to let the shaped loaves rise overnight in the fridge. let them rise about halfway, refrigerate (covered), then next day let them finish rising and bake. the reason homemade baguettes store better than store-bought is that anything made with a starter, which makes it slightly acidic, stays fresher than bread NOT made with a starter. PJH
January 12th, 2009 at 1:00 am
Well the next attempt worked better in some ways. The egg wash (whites only) was a success. However last time I had flowered the counter while shaping the bread this time tried greasing the board (used a little light olive oil).
While eating my last baguettes I found where I folded the dough while shaping left harder ridges inside my bread. This time The insides were great but the outside was coming apart. So my Baguettes this time were prettier in the crust and texture was fantastic they were in the end a bit malformed. The pinched edges along the length opened up and did so while rolling into final shape too.
Tastiest mistake I have ever made though!!!
Practice, while it might not make perfect, is often a lot of fun, Thomas. Keep up the good work – every attempt will be a bit different, and probably closer to your goal, whatever your own personal goal is. PJH
January 12th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Are there adverse effects on the starter if it is more than 14 hours before using? I saw in a previous post that the loaves can rise in the fridge overnight. Will that method work to slow the starter down or does it matter if the rise time is longer?
Yes, slight adverse effects not particularly at 14 hours, but when the starter has risen, then obviously fallen. It’s best to use it while it’s still domed/flat, before it’s started to (con)cave in. I don’t quite understand your second question. Letting the partially risen loaves continue to rise very slowly overnight in the fridge (covered, of course) increases both flavor, and the crackliness/shininess of the crust; that’s what it accomplishes… Does that help? PJH
January 13th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Wow! This is officially my favorite recipe in the world. I can’t wait to try it out with my students. First time I made it was perfect. Then I purchase unbleached flour and the bread turned out heavier but still great. I will try using more water next time. Must I add a little more yeast to the extra water or just the water? Thank you for sharing this recipe, I’m sure it has blessed many!
No extra yeast needed, Heidi. Glad you’ve enjoyed it! PJH
January 14th, 2009 at 6:45 am
I just had to let you know that I have lately become obsessed with learning to bake bread. I stumbled upon this website a few days ago, and I’m so excited about finding it. I baked these baguettes yesterday, and they were so delicious. My first attempts at baguettes, using other recipes, were miserable failures. But your detailed instructions and photos made all the difference in the world. Being winter in Ohio, I found that I had to use about 1/4 cup more water in my starter than your recipe called for. The crusts were crispy like I’ve been looking for, and really reminded me of the bread I had in Paris. The inside texture was nice and chewy, but I still didn’t get the nice big holes I was hoping for. My dough looked just like your photos right up until they went into the oven. It was nice, soft, and somewhat sticky, yet easy to work. I never added any additional flour. It rose beautifully for 3 hours, deflated every hour. My question concerns the rising time after the loaves are shaped. Your recipe says it should take between 60 to 90 minutes, and that rising too much will cause the bread not to rise in the oven. I think this was where my problem was because my loaves didn’t seem to rise any more after they were put into the oven. I let them rise for about an hour, and they looked ready to me. I guess I still have to learn when enough is enough, and not too much. But, still they are beautiful, delicious, and I can’t wait to make them again.
Bev, this is the wonderful secret about yeast bread baking—the more you experiment and try things, the closer your loaves are to being exactly what you want. And the experiments along the way are so delicious! Stay connected here—I think you’ll enjoy the back-and-forth with this pretty dedicated community of bakers. PJH
January 28th, 2009 at 8:55 am
the receipe is wonderful. I tried it out with high protein flour or bread flour as we do not have King Arthur Flour unless it is available at some upmarket gourmet supermarket in Singapore.
Asian made french bread is used in Roti John ( where the bread is split in half and dip in a batter of eggs chicken or mutton chopped onions) and fried on a griddle and served with cucumber and tomato sauce in most hawker centres.
French bread also goes well with mutton soup (a localised version with spices),
if its hot off the oven it goes well with pork luncheon meat and cucumber with tomatoes or fried egg
Here the favourite is to have it with chicken curry where the pieces of french bread are dip in the curry and eaten (good in winter)
I am still looking at experimenting with the Vietnames version of french bread where it has a crispier crust (under the dough is mixed with a bit of rice flour) – it has a lighter taste
Have you come across where they serve the sandwich Bahn minh
January 28th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
Oh wow, that looks tasty! I know what we’re having for breakfast next weekend.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:00 pm
This is the best bread I have made over all. It is crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.
February 7th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
Gerald Yap, I think you mean “banh mi,” which is a Vietnamese “hoagie” — usually with pate, ham, pork skin, or some other meat, along with cilantro, cucumber, and hot peppers. One of my husband’s favorites (he’s Vietnamese).
I’ve found these baguettes to be wonderful for making substantial banh mi. But in Vietnam, the baguettes are ridiculously airy — they are light as a feather and very insubstantial (in fact, it’s heartbreaking whenever I get one in the morning to eat with jam and the whole thing gets smashed down when I put the jam on it!). I’ve tried substituting some rice flour in this recipe, as well as adding some more water, to make Vietnamese-lightness baguettes, but to no avail. I suspect they have some mega-hot ovens they are cooking them in over there and some secret for combining the ingredients. Next time I go I’ll try to sleuth it out. ^_^
As for these baguettes, WOW! First time I ever made a decent baguette was with this recipe. Now I make them about once every other week. Perfect for my cheese and bread addiction, as well as my aforementioned bread and jam addiction.
And can I just say, these are perfect if you shape them into boules and then make muffuletta, or keep them as baguettes and make Italian hoagies. YUM. Bravo on this recipe.
Thanks, Kim – I know what you’re talking about, the totally airy baguettes and yeah, I think it’s the super-hot steam oven, something we just can’t emulate at home. But if you ever get a chance to find out – please share!
PJH
February 8th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
This bread is very good but takes a long time with all the rising. I’m wondering if olive oil can be added to this recipe or if I should use my old recipe with olive oil and spray it with water to give a crunchier crust.
Either one, Diane – add olive oil to this recipe (replacing some of the water), or use your favorite recipe, spraying the crust with water. Be advised that the longer the rise, the deeper and richer the flavor of the bread. Baking bread isn’t a sprint; it’s more like a casual jog… PJH
February 9th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
I invited a couple over for dinner yesterday. In order to serve a nice dinner to go with a vintage wine that this couple offer to share with me and my husband, I decided to make some homemade bread. I found your recipe on the web. I’ve never made bread before, so I read all the comments and tips and everything carefully. Then I calculated the time so I can bake the bread an hour before dinner. I was taking my chance that if I was not successful there will be no bread to go with the seafood chowder. I’m pleased that everything turned out very well, I just made one mistake by slashing the dough before spraying with water. I used my round pizza stone to bake, so had to divide my dough in 4 to make a smaller baguette to fit them all on the stone. Any easy way to transfer the dough to the hot stone? I had fun making the bread and would like to thank you for the wonderful recipe. They were great and we ate more bread than we should. I live in the British Virgin Islands, your brand of flour is not available here, and I cannot sign up neither.
Try shaping the loaves on parchment, then using anything large and flat – the back of a cookie sheet? – to slide them onto the stone. Glad they came out well for you, Teresa- PJH
February 11th, 2009 at 3:23 pm
Thank you for the absolute best step by step directions with photos! I made this recipe for Christmas. It was my first try at bagguettes and they turned out BEAUTIFULLY!
I also got my exercise that day running from the kitchen to the computer to check the photos, LOL. Step by step and photo by photo, we could have interchanged pictures – this recipe went exactly as expected.
I loved the feel of this dough in my hands. It was a very good experience.
I had to fight my husband – he wanted to take them out way too early. He has no paitience, LOL. They got lovely and BROWN, but I never did get the charred looking spots.
I cut the bagguettes into thirds and split them to be used as bread for the roast beef I’d baked. The combination of the bagguettes, the roast beef and the horseradish sauce was exceptionally good.
The varied textures and flavors made the bagguettes a big hit Christmas day.
THANK YOU!!!
Congratulations, Deb – success on your first try with baguettes is success indeed! PJH
February 25th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
I have a question about adapting this recipe to use the KAF French-style flour for baguettes. The recipe on the back of the bag doesn’t include making a poolish, and it has different proportions. Shouldn’t you still make a poolish even with the baguette flour? Specifically how much of the French-style flour should I use in place of the AP or bread flour in this recipe? Thanks in advance!
Karen, use the same amount of French-style flour as AP; they’re basically the same protein. I prefer making a poolish first; I think it improves the flavor. But it’s not strictly necessary. No “shoulds” and “shouldn’ts” about bread baking; just preferences! PJH
March 2nd, 2009 at 4:05 pm
I’ve just made the bread for the third or fourth time and I’m finding it addictive.
Two questions. The starter is supposed to look like a batter, but the flour/water proportions makes mine into a sticky dough. It rises and the bread is just as it should be, but is there something I’m doing wrong?
Second, do you think I could allow the starter to rise in the fridge for 24 hours or so instead of 14 at regular temperature? This is a hard bread to make on a weekday, but if I could make the starter one evening and do the bread the next, that would work well. And as I said, this bread is addictive.
Thanks!
It’s winter, your flour may be dry. I wouldn’t worry about the starter if the final bread is working. A cool rise is certainly an option. Give it a try and see what you think of the flavor. Frank from KAF.
March 2nd, 2009 at 5:43 pm
I just may try it tonight. I made a half recipe yesterday, shaped it into 2 smaller batards and it’s all gone today–we had a snow day so everyone has been eating it!
March 4th, 2009 at 5:00 pm
These turned out so nicely – especially for a first attempt. I was skeptical about using so little yeast, and so put a little extra in. Go figure, the yeast taste is a bit too strong. Other than that, the texture and look of these is just how the pictures look. What a great recipe for a rainy, boring day!
Claire, I love it when first-time baguette bakers are pleased with the results. It’s not the easiest bread to bake, so kudos to you!!! Enjoy – PJH
March 11th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
Excellent bread. After following all the instructions, and 2 hours of rising/deflating, I placed the dough in the refrigerator overnight (fatigued after making two other recipes from your site). Baked it the next day and the taste was excellent. My friends suggested I quit my day job and make bread instead.
Congratulations, Red! Baguettes aren’t the easiest bread to make at home – glad you were successful. PJH
March 17th, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Your instructions and illustrations are wonderful–but–I see no mention of how much of each ingredient to use-no recipe. Please advise.
Van, please click on the link to the baguettes recipe right before the pictures, or at the end of the pictures. Or link from here. Good luck – PJH
March 29th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
I tried it with prosciutto with roasted red bell pepper and it was delicious. Thanks for the tips!
Oooh, Lea, prosciutto, great idea! Thanks for sharing – PJH
April 2nd, 2009 at 6:26 am
The ham and cheese baguette looks absolutely divine, I am going to have to have a go at that, thankyou!
April 16th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
I tried the baguettes today, using 1 cup of white whole wheat flour. This gave the dough a slightly tan color and probably a bit different taste. The loaves looked beautiful, but when I turned them over, they were quite charred on the bottom. Does this mean I over-spritzed? I certainly don’t have the hang of the diagonal slashes, but I think I can get there. The bread really does taste great.
It could be that too much spritzing will take it longer to bake because the surface is so wet. Glad they tasted good. Slashing just takes pratice. Do not try to cut deep just skim lightly over the surface. Joan@bakershotline
April 24th, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Joan, I wish Martha luck with the slashing! I’ve purchased two lames and both are useless–I’m back to using a bread saw. It’s serrated, with large teeth, and the blade is attached at both ends to a bow shaped handle. It takes a little effort to hold it at the right angle, but at least it cuts! The lame just drags and pulls and deflates and doesn’t cut–both the one I bought from KA, and one I bought locally at a fine cookware shop. I’ve heard that a razor works well–but the idea feels a little hazardous.
May 21st, 2009 at 2:47 pm
The baguettes were great! I just want to clarify one thing that I have read here. Can I prepare the baguettes right up until the point of shaping them and then put directly in the refrigerator to take out the next day for the final rise? Thanks for your help ( I love this web site!! )
In this Blog posting dated Jan. 9, 2009, PJ writes about refrigerating baguettes – Let them rise about halfway, refrigerate (covered), then next day let them finish rising and bake. Thanks to PJ and to you for highlightling this method which will be helpful to many other bakers. Irene @ KAF
May 24th, 2009 at 1:08 am
Wonderful pages! Keep up the great work.
May 24th, 2009 at 5:02 pm
I am so excited to try this recipe! I live in rural Arkansas and good bread of any kind is so hard to find here. Do you think the baguettes could be frozen and baked at a later time?
Susan, best to par-bake them – bake for 10 minutes or so, just to set them, but not completely brown. Wrap VERY WELL and freeze. Then, prior to serving, bake the rest of the way. I’d say, put them in the oven, frozen, and bake at 425°F for 20-25 minutes or so? They should be a very deep, golden brown. Good luck – PJH
May 25th, 2009 at 10:58 am
Help! Every time I tried to make the diagonal slashes in the baguette, the “cut” closed by itself, and I ended up with no cut on the surface after baking! What should I do? Is it because my dough was too wet?
I think you need to be more aggressive, Iris. REALLY slash it (at a 45°, not 90° angle), then IMMEDIATELY pop it into the oven. It’ll deflate like a balloon, but then the heat should blow it right up again. Give it a try – PJH
June 4th, 2009 at 4:25 am
This is the best step by step guide I have found. Thank you, I can’t wait to try it.
Rosemary, good luck – I think you’ll enjoy this. PJH
June 5th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Thanks so much for these easy to follow recipes! I had only baked soda breads before but on the first try got three lovely crispy baguettes by following your great instructions. On my second try today I’m going to make the stuffed ones, they look SO good! Thanks!
Good for you, Jen – baguettes are a challenge – one you’ve successfully met. Congrats! PJH
July 10th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
I greatly appreciate your recipe and step-by-step instructions. I grew up eating a lot of European style breads and have always loved that bakery smell and crackling sound of freshly-baked baguettes. Well last night I (a novice) was able to replicate the smell, texture, and flavor in high altitude in my own kitchen thanks to your guidance and excellent instructions. I have also been enjoying reading your “Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes Cookbook” all along marrying in my head the art and ’science’ of bread baking. What a thorough and technical read!
Finally, I would like to thank you for including us in your world. The baker’s job seems hard and often thankless (at least directly). Please accept my thank you and utmost appreciation… Thank you!
July 10th, 2009 at 9:47 pm
Too much mixing spoils the big holes.
STOP mixing the dough !
Autolize only, 1 hour, then fold.
To the frig 24 hours.
From the frig, let it rise 25 to 50 %
Fold again. Nice and tight. pinch the seams. try not to de-gas.
Then bake. You get nice big holes, with glassy insides.
The secret ?
Easy, it is the folding, you layer the baguette, the same way you layer a french croissant. In the bake, the baguette seperates along the layers, and you get lots of oven spring, and HUGE HOLES !
September 20th, 2009 at 10:30 am
This is truly awesome guide for making baguettes! I will try it myself soon. Pictures and tips are just fantastic! Thank you very much.
You’re welcome, Petrus – enjoy! PJH
September 30th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
I had NEVER baked any yeast/raised bread EVER until this past Sunday. We have a foreign exchange student from France and she was very disappointed with the baguette from the store so I decided to jump into the deep end of the bread baking pool and make baguettes. SUCCESS! We greatly enjoyed ALL THREE loaves
CONGRATS BROOK! That’s great to hear – you managed to satisfy a French student with her national bread, made with your own two hands – and the first yeast loaf you ever baked, to boot – terrific!! PJH
October 14th, 2009 at 8:25 am
This blog-entry is great and I thank you for posting it.
However, I have one suggestion/request, if this is possible.
I’ve noticed that several of the posters have expressed uncertainty as to what the starter should look *before* it starts the 14 hr rise. (This is certainly true in my case. My starter initially looked like a large lump of school-room paste. And, sadly, it looked pretty much the same the next morning.)
So my question is, would it be possible to add a picture to the blog entry above which shows what the starter should look like at the beginning. (The descriptions above are helpful; but as they say “a picture is worth…..”)
Thanks
Great idea, Nichae – I’ll get to it ASAP. PJH
October 27th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
PJH- You don’t have to post this if you don’t want to.
But I wanted to thank you for the “before” picture for the baguette starter.
Seeing what it’s supposed to look like before-hand *really* clarifies a lot.
Thanks,
Nichael
Ah, wondering if you’d notice – I now have 3 baguettes I wasn’t planning on, but lo and behold, I’m testing creme brulée French toast Thursday, and it calls for stale French bread – now how serendipitous is that?! PJH
November 7th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
So I made the bread today – awesome. A nice changeup from the no knead. Question: I have some KAF sour dough starter that I use in other bread recipes. Could that be used instead of the starter? If so, what quantity?
Greg, sure – use 1 cup (a generous 8 ounces) of your fed sourdough starter. Should be delicious- PJH
November 13th, 2009 at 9:35 am
I have tried to make the baguettes twice and have had poor results. My loaves do not rise after I put them in the oven and after 25 minutes of baking they have a light grey appearence. The crust is very crisp but they a very dense. The taste is pretty good but they do not look anywhere close to the pictures of your loaves.
Things seem to go well up until I form the dough into three loaves. After 90 minutes of rising they do not appear to have risen enough but do not appear like they will rise any more. At this point, however, I have gone ahead and baked the loaves.
I did check the temperature of the dough after kneeding with the mixer and it was 83 deg. F. Could I have over kneeded it? I also had to use Active Dry Yeast. I have your instant yeast on order.
Any suggestions?
Any help would be appreciated.
Hi Everett – The gray appearance and lack of rising at the end makes me think that the yeast is exhausted; it eventually consumes all the sugar, which means it’s very hard for the bread to attain a nice, deep-gold color, or to rise in the oven. I think your problem is the active dry yeast, which tends to poop out faster than instant. Once you try this with instant, I think you’ll have much better results, so hold off on another attempt till you get that instant yeast, OK? Good luck – PJH
November 26th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
Those baguettes look great !!!. Can I use KAF 3413 Diastatic malt powder, to help yeast job and improve raising ?
Thanks.
Absolutely, Danny – use 1/4 teaspoon. Good luck – PJH
November 28th, 2009 at 8:47 pm
I would never have thought that just using the instant yeast could make such a difference. this batch looks great, taste great and the crust is so crisp. Just what I wanted to achieve.
Thanks for the help.
Good show, Everett. Glad that SAF worked well for you – it’s all we use here… PJH
November 29th, 2009 at 9:05 am
First experience, great success !!!. However I followed the recipe step by step but the interior of the loaf was a little grayish and not completely white as I expected. Suggeestions ?. Thanks.
Danny, you don’t want the loaf completely white – cream-colored, yes. White, no, as it signals that the dough was over-oxidized (overworked). “Grayish” could also mean a bit under-baked; or a bit under-risen. It’s sometimes hard to get fabulous oven-spring in our home ovens, without steam. Try again, and see if you get the interior you want – with yeast bread, there are so many variables, you just can’t be sure exactly how the bread will turn out form one time to the next. I know this isn’t particularly helpful, but it’s a fact of bread-baking life… go with the flow, you’ll be fine! PJH
December 6th, 2009 at 9:12 am
I’ve heard that in France they also make breads and baguette’s the Old World way, with no yeast. Instead they use a starter culture made from rye and water which creates sourdough bread. While using brewer’s yeast makes the fermentation more regular and rapid, and bread rises better, the fermentation becomes mainly an alchoholic fermentation and bread is less digestible. While baking with natural leaven maintains the nutrition of the grain and makes it easier for our body to absorb the nutrients as well. Natural leaven/sourdough breads also keep longer. Doesn’t stale, but ages. When yeast was first introduced in France in 1668, it was rejected. I got this info from Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon.
Has the author or anyone else tried making the baguette the natural leaven way? I’d like to try it but first just want to make my first sourdough starter culture and make regular loaf with it
In our “King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Book” the authors write about making Desem bread. This is a similar process to the Old World way you refer to. While this is not a baguette it does make a nice loaf using this technique. They give a referrence to “The Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book” (Ramdom House 2003) and suggest you take a look at this book is you want to explore this technique. When you make your baguette using this technique let us know how it works.
Joan D@bakershotline
December 13th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
I made these tonight for the first time. I didn’t plan my time very well, so my husband and I ate an entire baguette after dinner! But it was delicious. The flavor was exceptional and the crust was unbelievable.
I have two questions though for improvements…
1) My dough was very sticky. At what stage do you recommend adjusting the flour? And / or how sticky should it be? I was hesitant to add any flour after the knead because of the long rise in front of me, but I think I should have.
2) I didn’t get much of a rise once the loaves were formed or in the over, so I had pretty flat bread – nice bubbles, but flat. Was that because of my wet/ sticky dough? Or maybe I spritzed them too much? I used active dry yeast.
Thanks for an awesome piece of bread!
Not the spritzing, Denise – I think your dough was simply a bit too wet. Try to see if you can make it look like the blog photos, OK? As you can see, the dough isn’t really that sticky – soft, yes, but easy to work with. And if you’re going to be baking much bread – get some SAF instant yeast, OK? SO much cheaper than active dry, SO muh easier to use, SO much more reliable compared to those supermarket packets… Good luck next time – keep trying, it’s all good. PJH
December 15th, 2009 at 8:08 pm
PJH you were so nice with my Brioche comments-maybe you’d be willing to help on this one too(or should I be doing the ask our Bakers thing-I’m a newbi here)My folks oven as far as temperature is pretty much spot on(at most 3 degrees over)but lately using my tried and true recipes, and this one-I’m using KAF All Purpose Flour, and Fleischmann’s Active Dry Yeast(my local grocery doesn’t stock KAF Bread Flour, nor KAF Yeast[Stater Brother's-PS, CA]). My problem is that while the interiors are coming out OK-the crusts are thick hard and cracker like(though nowhere near that pleasant). I follow the timing recommendations to the letter in the recipes-should I go for a much shorter cook time? Could I be over kneading the dough?(you know I knead by hand-though sometimes I will use a hand mixer in the beginning stages)…
Do you have an independent thermometer in your oven, Phil, or are you going by the dial? That hard, thick surface is a sure sign of too cold an oven. If you spritz your loaves with water and put them in a hot oven (at least 425°F, some go for 450°F), your bread should rise and brown before the crust thickens too much. I totally know hat you mean; my bread does that sometimes, too. It can also be a sign of not rising enough. And yes, I suggest you call the Baker’s Hotline, as they discuss issues like this with folks every day. I’m sure they can help you. The number is 802-649-3717, so give them a buzz, OK? Good luck – PJH
December 16th, 2009 at 2:22 am
Thanks PJH-
Yes I do have an independent thermometer; my first thought was that the oven was too cold-but the oven thermometer(brand new-in fact bought yesterday)tells me that the oven temp is spot on. I’m going to call the hotline. But I also like the blogs and your sage advice…What about jacking the oven up to say 500, then dropping the temp back down to the recommended bake temp(much the same way the site instructs to do muffins)…Just a thought…
You could try that, Phil – many recipes call for an initial blast of heat, followed by lower temperatures. Called a “falling oven,” this is how wood-fired ovens work. But do call the hotline – I think they can help you. Good luck – PJH
December 20th, 2009 at 4:33 am
PJH
SUCCESS!!!OMG after a shaky start I finally hit the right method!…Thanks to your advice and the Bakers Hotline(which I now have on speed dial-lol)…I made the starter-but due to events beyond my control was not actually able to make the bread til the 18th so I “fed” the starter again with a small hand full of flour(1/8 C if that), and a pinch more yeast(original starter was made the 15th)…but I added to to the dough(I had printed 26 pages of the step by step)and proceeded as instructed-only letting the dough rest a bit(autolese?)during the initial kneading(about 10 minuets)made a lot of difference in the final texture…Anyway with much trepidation I slashed the loaf(saved the other two pieces to try the stuffed baguettes)no deflation-whew; spritzed them with water and put them in the oven-quickly spritzing the oven too…Instantly dropped the temp down to 450-and you could almost see the bread dough spring(I had preheated the baking sheet also)!…Truly a joyful sight…A spritz after 15 minuets, and another about 5 minuets(plus a raise in temp to 500-to improve crust color)before the end of the bake time and I knew I had done it!…Actually PJH we did it-thank you
The success of this gave me the courage to try the Italian Supermarket Bread(and to get all fancy-adding chopped dried onion, rosemary-and infusing the water with Herbes de Provance)what came out of the oven was the best bread I have ever made-bar none!
May your daughters all marry princes-and your camels spit nothing but dates!-LOL…
Phil, if I had a daughter I’d be happy to accept your blessing – but I’m definitely in favor of my camels spitting dates! Thanks for sharing your success here – PJH
January 3rd, 2010 at 9:27 am
Here is a Happy New Year greeting from Down Under. I tried to make the classic baguettes, but I had three problems: (1) when I tried to slash the loaves, the knife simply dragged the dough and deflated it, possibly because the dough was still very wet. (2) when I put the loaves in the oven, the bread did not rise again, so I finished with baguettes that were only about 1 inch high, and a little more than 1 inch across the middle. They looked nothing like the solid creatures in the picture. (3) Although the crust seemed quite crisp at the end of baking, within 20 minutes it had become quite soft.
I would appreciate some feedback.
I envy you good American citizens who have easy access to King Arthur. I dream of visiting the US just to go to Vermont for a visit!
Hi Terry – bet you’re a bit warmer than our 0°F! 1) Be assertive with that sharp knife – fast fast fast and fairly strong. Otherwise yes, it drags and sticks in the dough. 2) Was your oven hot enough? Or perhaps you spent enough time trying to slash the loaves that they fell and didn’t have the oomph to rise again. 3) Try leaving your bread in the oven to cool. Just turn off the heat, crack the door open about 2″ and let bread cool. The crust will stay crispier, as the moisture migrating from inside will evaporate, rather than sitting on the crust and making it soft. Good luck – and thanks for connecting from so far away! PJH
January 3rd, 2010 at 10:06 pm
Hi, I just wanted to say these baguettes were EXCELLENT!! The step by step instructions as well as the Q/A from the “peanut gallery”helped a lot.
I did have to make a minor adjustment in the water amount, as it is january in chicago and dry as a desert! I also did a light spritzing and baked them with a pan of water in the oven. my breads were crispy and yummy. Thank you for being here. This was the first time I ever made baguettes. a definate keeper recipe!
Could you guys come up with a “stuffed bread” like the stuffed baguettes, but I’m thinking something more tender, less crusty? I’m thinking of my own “pockets” I just dont care for a dense crust, the stuff sqwooshes out!
Cheri, glad the baguettes worked well for you. You might try pitas, or our soft sandwich wraps. Both should give you the soft sandwiches you’re looking for – with minimal squooshing! PJH
January 4th, 2010 at 9:49 am
Thank you so much for this step by step guide. I just started baking again, after a failed attempt a few years back. The pics helped by showing how me how the dough should look like. Unfortunately, I didn’t realise my oven was a little off and therefore couldn’t ensure that I got the right temperature, took much longer to rise as it’s winter here. But all’s well, the dough turned out well, except that the finishing touch wasn’t as beautiful as your pics shown here, but I certainly enjoyed the whole process, baking up till 1 am last morning…..I will definitely try again to get the right outcome….thanks….
January 9th, 2010 at 11:55 am
Can the stuffed baquettes be made in advance, refrigerated and then popped into the oven when football fans arrive? Thanks!
Yes, but try to keep it within 8 hours or so. Too long in the fridge, and the baguettes will not rise as well. ~ MaryJane
January 12th, 2010 at 4:48 pm
Thanks for these great pics but I disagree with your contention that “Homemade baguettes won’t have QUITE the large-holed interior of artisan bakery baguettes.” I’ve had great success in achieving a good “crumb” that is both large holed, creamy-colored and gelatinized. Perhaps it’s because I fold the bread in intervals during the first rise rather than “deflate” it.
Barbara, you’re right – folding to redistribute the yeast and release some CO2 does work well. I’d forgotten about that… thanks for the reminder! PJH
January 21st, 2010 at 5:18 pm
Once again, I want to thank you for this article. I’ve always been a not-too-good baker, but now, after a bit of practice –and to be fair, my share of flops– I’m actually able to turn out some pretty darn good baguettes.
So, if you don’t mind a couple other “beginner’s” questions.
1] Is there a way to reduce (or minimize) the “starter” step? (For example, if I find out at 9 in the morning that we’re having dinner guests, it’d be nice to impress them with some of my snazzy new baguettes; but this is not really practical if I needed to have started 14-hrs earlier.
)
Alternately, is there a useful way to “pre-make” some starter and (for example) keep it in the fridge for a few days?
(I understand if the answer is “no, there’s no realistic way of doing this”, or “you’d hate the results”. But I thought I’d ask.)
2] Also, do you have any thoughts on “ready-to-bake” dough?
Here my ideal would be something like making the dough for a number of loaves on the weekend, letting them rise until they’re ready to go into the oven. Then wrapping the unbaked loaves, putting them in the freezer, and, say, pulling out one or two each evening and having freshly baked baguettes for supper each night.
Does this make sense? If so, where would be the right “place to stop” in the recipe?
(Again, “no” is a perfectly reasonable answer. Likewise, I realize that in each of these cases, that the baguettes my not be _quite_ as good doing it the normal way. But sometimes convenience is handy; so I thought I’d ask the experts.)
And once more, thanks so much.
Hi Nichael,
Have you checked out no knead breads? They are simple, easy to put together and taste fantastic! Best of all, you put together one batch of dough and can make up to 4 breads over the course of several days. Check out our blog here, and see what you think. ~MaryJane
February 14th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
Beautifully and apparently tasty. Thank you.
February 28th, 2010 at 8:25 am
Great post thanks, all the best. I really like reading this blog, it has a great position on my favourites bar!
February 28th, 2010 at 8:30 pm
This is a great recipe and the instructions were wonderful! I did have to try the starter a few times, but then saw something you said about dry climates or seasons, so I actually used closer to 2/3 of a cup of water (not quite), and my bread was PERFECT! Thank you so much!
I made these while studying with my friends- everyone came into the kitchen and ooh’d and aaah’d when they came out of the oven!
What do you think about using part whole wheat flour in this recipe? I know the white is for the most authentic french baguette, but trying to get some fiber and whole grain in would be more fun with a bread like this… Should I try it or use a recipe designed for whole wheat?
Try 1/3 whole wheat (white whole wheat, if possible), to start, Tara. That way you get an idea of what the ww will do to the baguette, and how it changes the process. If you like that, increase to 1/2, then go up from there if it’s satisfactory. The texture will change for sure – but it may be a tradeoff you’re willing to make. Good luck – PJH
March 5th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Instead of deflating and turning the dough over, would it be helpful to do a stretch and fold at the end of each hour?
They do pretty much the same thing, Ron, so if you’d rather, by all means do so. Both actions help the gluten to get organized, and give the yeast a chance at some fresh food by being redistributed. Susan
April 6th, 2010 at 10:05 am
Hi, i made this yesterday. Tough it took a long time to make, the result was very satisfying. It was perfect baguette i’ve made. Thanks KAF team.
I little bit confused with the water amount in dough, so I put between 1 -1 1/4 cup (I’m not sure precisely) but i was not too soft and elastic as yours. But it’s OK. Next time I’ll try to add more water.
Once again thank you.
Tika, baguettes are an endless journey with an ever-changing destination. There’s no “one right way.” Keep experimenting, understanding that the weather and seasons will change your results nearly as much as the ingredients. And don’t forget to have fun!
PJH
May 10th, 2010 at 11:21 am
My bread sang!!!! I made this recipe this last weekend and had great success! I have been baking for years and this last weekend I opted to make the stuffed baguettes. When I pulled them out of the oven thes sang to me. This is the first time this has happened.
I live in Alabama. The enviroment here is inhospitable to bread baking. The air is always humid, very humid, and the place I live is only 200 feet above sea level. All of which combines to make bread making a real art and science. I think that the atmospheric conditions were just right last night for bread baking. It was cooler than usual and very dry air. When I pulled those little loaves out of the oven it wasn’t long and they were singing. It was a great accomplishment.
Thanks for the great recipe. and all the wonderful help and advice.
May 16th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Wow, I almost had to put my ear plugs in! Very noticeable cracking sounds! They are still cooling off at this point so I have to restrain from just ripping into one before it developed it’s flavor.
Good show, Thomas – I’m sure their singing is music to your ears!
PJH
June 15th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
#*(%&@) those cheesey bubbly beauties look divine! I’ve made the baguettes before.. my advice, don’t get discouraged on them if they aren’t perfect.. just keep practicing and you will achieve the perfection of the crust and crumb. It took me several times to get exactly what I wanted.. beautiful. I’m hungry now.
July 4th, 2010 at 5:42 pm
Hi PJ,
I don’t much care for lames either! Instead I use a bamboo skewer, onto which I ‘thread’ a double-sided razor blade. I put the blade on the non-pointed edge (otherwise the point tend to drag in the dough) by squashing it slightly lengthwise and inserting the bamboo skewer into the holes. This makes a nice thin, curved blade that is perfect for slashing!
Sifu Natalie Kravetz
Chi Ho Tzu Buddhist Temple
Prescott Arizona
What a great idea, Sifu – this mimics more closely the lames our professional bakers use, methinks. Thanks for sharing- PJH
July 25th, 2010 at 9:06 pm
Once again, KAF, you ROCK! I tried this recipe for the first time, today, with amazing results!
I had ordered the triple baguette pan and, when it arrived last week, I knew I wanted to try it out. I followed this recipe “to a T” with outstanding results. I made no modifications. I used my bread machine for the initial kneading phase; setting the timer, I removed it from the bread machine bucket after ten minutes.
When it came time to form the loaves, I pulled out my brand new KAF pastry rolling mat. I LOVE that product! It is the perfect surface for shaping the loaves and the measurements printed on the mat are so handy! (I can’t wait to use it for a pie crust!)
On to baking; I spritzed the loaves generously with warm water prior to putting in the oven, I also spritzed the oven. Fifteen minutes into baking, I opened the oven door and generously spritzed the loaves and inside of the oven again.
The loaves came out perfect! I could barely wait until they were cool enough to slice! Crusty outside, warm, soft, inside.
I’m thrilled with this recipe and the results I achieved today! PJ, thank you, so much for the time and effort you put into this blog; every single recipe I have tried as a result of your step by step instructions have turned out perfectly!
I can’t wait to try this again…any thoughts or tips on how I might modify this recipe into “5 Seed Baguettes”?
For a seeded style, try beginning with a seeded topping. Adding seeds to the dough directly is more of an experiment, they have the potential to weight down the crumb of a baguette. Give it a try. Frank @ KAF.
August 24th, 2010 at 9:26 am
Would you always use all AP flour, versus bread flour for this? What’s the benefit of AP versus Bread Flour in this case?
AP flour gives a more “mellow” dough; easier to shape. And, the protein percentage in our AP flour mimics that of the flour that most French baguette bakers use. However, feel free to substitute bread flour, if that’s what you like to use; you’ll need to increase the water, probably by 2 to 3 tablespoons, to get the same consistency in your dough. Good luck – PJH
August 31st, 2010 at 8:51 pm
I found this website yesterday, and made the baguettes for the first time today. I used bread flour, and they taste awesome, although they are not quite as pretty as the picture. My dough was a bit sticky, and hard to work with. I found the directions above great, but made the mistake of following the recipe which is a bit different. I used the floured towel, and found it easy to roll the baguettes right onto my baking sheet. Can’t wait to perfect this. Here on the Hilo side of the big island of Hawaii, you just can’t find a great loaf of bread like this. The first loaf was devoured in 10 minutes. Thanks.
That is so great you were successful! Yes, baguette dough is not for sissies. You will just have to double the recipe next time. Elisabeth @ KAF
September 1st, 2010 at 10:13 pm
I did these for a family get together. I froze stuffed ones before I baked them then defrosted and baked. Also I totally overstuffed them and they came out soggy and sooooooooooo good, kinda like an au jus but from salami
man they are awesome.
September 2nd, 2010 at 2:39 pm
I am making the stuffed baguettes for company on Saturday night, and will not over stuff them. Just using smoked ham, cheese, and honey mustard. I am totally in love with this website, the recipes and things in the store. I am making a huge order of things I just can’t live without. The one issue I have living in Hawaii is that I have been “shopping deprived” for years, as the best we have on our side of the island is WalMart, Sears, Ross, and an inadequate kitchen store. I am thrilled to find all these things that I didn’t know I needed.
September 5th, 2010 at 7:56 am
I made these yesterday and they were, none other than fabulous. I have never made bread before but I really wanted to make these. I followed everything step by step, and finally the result was stupendous! The crumb is beautiful and it tastes like it came from a bakery! I still can’t believe I made them, (and neither can my Mom
). Thanks so much KAF!
Rachie, that’s AWESOME! Making baguettes when you’ve never baked bread before is an unbelievable accomplishment. Welcome to the wonderful world of bread-baking – hope you turn out lots and lots of yummy loaves – and have fun doing it! PJH
October 27th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
I’ll be making these tonight. I ordered the SAF flour and the triple baguette pan because I don’t want to leave anything to chance. Wish me luck…
Best of luck – call us (802-649-3717) if you need help- open till 9 p.m. EST. PJH
November 7th, 2010 at 10:48 pm
Ahhhh….baguettes …. most definitely the one thing that I miss …lol My daughter and I have Celiac’s disease so we can’t make them but your instructions are awesome and your pictures make me drool
I am sending this to my mom and best friend so that hopefully they can enjoy them .. THANKS!
November 7th, 2010 at 11:47 pm
I made this recipe first and the baguettes were just right. However I wanted to use my sourdough starter that I have been developing so I used the Ultimate Sourdough Baguette recipe. This is the second time I have used it and the results were okay, just not as successful as when I used this Classic Baguette recipe with the pre-made starter that is just flour water and yeast. The Ultimate sourdough recipe just does a two hour rise and no folding (or turning) is that a difference that would cause the baguettes to be heavier this time? I think also I over worked the dough since it didn’t seem to be wet enough, last time it got too wet (I was using half recipe of the USB) I added more water and had to work it into the mixed dough. They still taste great even if they didn’t rise as much as when I made Classic Baguettes. I read above that I could just adapt this recipe using my sourdough starter so I will try that next. Some of the sourdough recipes mention using citric acid, would it be okay to add it to this recipe?
One good thing about have to try, try again is that I have been cutting up one of the baguettes each batch to save for making stuffing this Thanksgiving. The bread is still delicious and I am sure it will be great for stuffing!
You are exactly right on a few counts. Drier dough will make for a denser baguette with fewer holes. Wetter dough is key for this. Also, overworking the dough can cause issues as well. Lastly, adapting a recipe to something new like sourdough will definitely take a few tries. Take it one step at a time, keep good notes, and you’ll have your own “secret recipe” in no time. Have fun! ~ MaryJane
November 8th, 2010 at 1:13 pm
Thanks MaryJane for the feedback. I agree about the wetness of the dough, my best batch was where it was not too wet, not too dry, just haven’t achieved it yet using my starter, but practicing is fun too (and I have the most delicious croutons with the extras)
I am going to try again tomorrow and will post my results.
November 9th, 2010 at 12:48 pm
Thank you KAF!!!!! I am swooning over the baguettes I made over the weekend. Soooooo yummy, with a great crunchy/chewy crust and variation of holes in the loaves!! I was doing a practice run as I’m in charge of bread for Thanksgiving dinner. Now, thanks to KA, I can be sure I’ll arrive with confidence! Love love love you guys, keep up the great work!
November 12th, 2010 at 1:19 am
Hi, I am back with another sourdough attempt and would like to share my no-so-secret recipe. I used a very generous cup of bubbly, fed starter, a cup of lukewarm water, teaspoon of instant yeast, one teaspoon of organic sugar (like Demerara but more finely ground), one quarter teaspoon of citric acid (crushed chewable vitamin C), one and three quarters teaspoon salt and about three and a quarter cups of flour. I was a bit shy about putting in too much flour so kept it on the more wet side, could have put a tiny bit more in, but it was okay. My starter is a little bit thinner than the starter made over night with the flour, water and yeast, but I also only use KAF bread flour so that balances.
I used the sugar because I noticed most sourdough recipes have it, even if there is added yeast and also because Chef Novelli (of Chef’s Academy TV show) said, when he was showing how to make French Bread that, “if you use salt in bread, you also use sugar” but just a small amount. I used the citric acid because other sourdough recipes had it, but I think I will skip it next time. I don’t think it needs it and I taste a slight, well barely noticeable, aftertaste, but I did just almost eat half a loaf. But I do think I wouldn’t use it again for this recipe.
When mixed all of the ingredients I followed a suggestion I saw in someone’s comment here, of putting in a cup of flour first with the wet and yeast, stir, and then with the next cups of flour incorporate the salt. I barely mixed the ingredients so not to over mix and then finished with the dough hook. The dough was sticky, but not too much (Chef Novelli also made a big deal about the dough being sticky) the balance is between just the right tackiness and where it clings to your hands and is annoying… that is definitely too wet of a dough.
So with the rises, I did just one, but let it go a bit longer, so I folded just once since I saw a post here where someone said not to over do the folding and the Ultimate Sourdough baguette recipe I had been using had no folding at all, so I was conservative on that part.
I shaped the baguettes, no problems after a 20 minute bench rest, put in my lovely (thank you KAF) baguette pan and I cover with a plastic lid that I got off of my trays for starting seedlings (well actually bought a second so it is clean and my seedlings still have their cover) It is around a three dollar investment, covers the pan perfectly and I don’t waste so much plastic wrap.
While I was waiting for the baguettes to rise, I found Susan Reid’s video on the Classic Baguette recipe page. I hadn’t seen it before, so I watched it. She does only one folding as well and lets her dough rise longer (so I was sort of close there) She showed how to slash, one of my problem spots, it was good to see her technique and I also thought her idea of using a cast iron pan for the steam was brilliant, (better than what I was doing, which was to open the door and spritz every five minutes) so I ran to the garage to find my old one in storage.
Okay, on to the bake (hopefully there isn’t a word count limit here!) I slashed the baguettes much better this time (I used a sharp chef’s knife) I had put the cast iron pan with water in the 450 degree oven, spritzed the baguettes and got them in. They came out better this time, but always there is room for improvement.
The verdict…(clue Iron Chef music) I think I pretty much have the right balance of ingredients, (without the citric acid and a tad more flour) I like adding a small amount of sugar, it helps with the long rises, there is a beautiful golden crunchy crust on these baguettes. I am really happy using a developed sourdough for the starter. Mine is coming along nicely for one that was created using dried starter (part San Francisco starter, part Oregon Trail starter, long story, but since I live just south of the San Francisco Bay area, I think that strain will win)
The crust on the baguettes is excellent, the inside is fluffy, light and chewy, nice combo of small and larger holes, but not as chewy as a bread made entirely with the no knead method, and that is okay, I like a fluffy bread better for the most part. The sourdough tang is subtle, not the in your face San Francisco type, but pleasant and flavorful.
Where to improve… I like the longer rises shown in the video and will do that next time to make up for only folding once. Next time I will start with a hotter oven. Mine tends to run hot (old electric beast that it is), usually if set at 450 degrees it is up almost to 500. But I think the stream kept it at a lower more consistent temp, that and the fact I wasn’t opening it which makes the thermostat on this old oven over react. So I will start it higher so it is hotter at the start and then turn it down a little. The one improvement I would most like to see is a bit more oven spring and higher loaves.
Sorry to run on so long, but this has been a journey, with my trying so many no-knead, semi-knead, beer enhanced, you name it recipes out there, this is the ultimate recipe in my book (especially since I bought the stand mixer several months ago) The perfect balance of kneading, rising, and ingredients. This is the one I am a sticking with and will always endeavor to perfect my results. With much appreciation… Gabrielle
Thank you for providing this in-depth journey on the exploration of sourdough, Gabrielle. Maybe we should call you Dr. Gabrielle? It does take a lot of experimenting to create the most perfect loaf. We can all learn so much from one another. Thank you for taking the time to share with everyone here. Congratulations and I admire your perseverance. Elisabeth
November 12th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
Thank you for posting my forever long post, eating a sourdough baguette the second day is just as delicious, just wanted to share in hopes it can help. Baking with sourdough starter always intimidated me, my first attempts years ago were complete failures. But the info and recipes here are so well written and the photos and videos are just what I needed to be brave and try again and I am so glad I did, the taste is well worth the effort to raise and nurture the sourdough beasties and practice and adjust for the difference in working with the starter.
But please not “Dr.”… I am just someone who has a passion for baking and is ever so happy to find this blog, I learn so much from everyone here. PJ’s three cheese semolina bread is next on the list and of course I will put sourdough starter in that too! (hmmm, was Dr. in reference to Dr. Frankenstein? In that case you just might be correct!
December 5th, 2010 at 6:31 pm
MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM those look soooooooooooooooo good can’t wait to make them.
December 13th, 2010 at 4:29 pm
Can I suggest (yet one more) alternative to a lame?
I’ve never been able to get a knife to work for slashing my baguettes –I clearly needed something much sharper. And, clumsy as I am, I didn’t want to mess with a simple razor blade.
So, to make a long story short, I’ve start using a utility knife with a retractable blade. Or, more precisely, a “snap knife” from my local Ace hardware store.
It’s perfect. Razor sharp, and when the blade gets dull you just snap the tip off the blade, and get a brand new edge. For $1.79 the price was hard to beat. And –as an added benefit– since it’s made out of bright orange plastic, it’s trivial to keep clean, and easy to find in the mess on my counter.
Yup, we use these in our warehouse – good idea! I’ve been known to use an X-Acto knife, too – anyone familiar with graphic arts “back in the day” will recognize those… PJH
December 21st, 2010 at 9:48 pm
OK, I officially give up. Every recipe I’ve made from this website has turned out badly, and I’m a pretty experienced cook. These baguettes are ugly lumps of clay. Goodbye King Arthur.
Oh Nicki, we are so sorry to hear that you are having trouble, honestly. Please, please call or email our bakers hotline, 802-649-3717, and they will be very happy to help you troubleshoot. We are here to help! ~ MaryJane
Nicki, are you using King Arthur Flour? It’s the key to baking success, and all the recipes are formulated using King Arthur… If by chance you’re using some other flour, that could be the difference. PJH
December 22nd, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Hi,
Just found this website by accident. WOW! Jackpot!
This recipe is just what I’ve been looking for. Excellent instructions.
One question though, I’ve been making N.Y. style pizza for a while now and I intially went through the whole hydration question what’s too wet, what’s not. The point is, that, at least when making pizza dough less H2O = less air pockets in the crust but easier handling. More H20 gives you more air, but the stickness makes it hard to work with. So with that in mind, and assuming I’m going to add the last bit of flour slowly to adjust the hydration. How should the kneaded dough feel to your fingertips when it’s ready? “Feel”, and measuring in grams is how I do it for the pizza dough. I don’t measure with cups etc.
Thank you,
Eric
It feels silky, Eric. It would be pretty sticky if you plunged your fingertips into it, but if you kind of handle it gently – I think of “babying it along” – with small amounts of flour to prevent too much stickiness, it’s fine. The interesting thing is, you can make baguettes with large air holes with a much stiffer dough; it’s not always “more hydration, more holes.” But I have to say “more hydration, more holes” is more reliable for me; I haven’t quite figured out what set of circumstances, exactly, yields holes with a stiffer dough. Keep notes as you experiment; the more you practice with baguettes, the better you’ll get. And the practicing is such fun! Good luck – PJH
January 7th, 2011 at 12:15 pm
Hi,
Thank you so much for the great recipe.
Just wondering if there is a specific temperature range for the water used in the starter. My ADY says that it needs to be between 100 and 110 to start to work… but the recipe calls for cool water.
Just wondering which way to go with it.
Many Thanks in advanced
t
Water temperature is a fantastic way to help control a yeasted bread doughs development. If you are making a long slow-rising, cool fermented dough, you will want the overall dough temperature to be cooler coming out of the mixer. These baguettes under-go a longer slower rise. However, if you are creating a dough that is meant to be baked a few hours after mixing, you would desire the final dough temperature to be warmer. So, the water temperature can vary depending on the processing method and your preferences. Lukewarm typically means 90-110º F. Your best bet would be to stick with the temperatures asked for in each specific recipe. – kelsey
January 7th, 2011 at 3:59 pm
Hey Kelsey
Thank so much for the quick reply. Much appreciated.
The receipe on the blog as well as on the receipe card calls for cool water without actually specifiing a temperature… What would cool water be in baking terms?
Many Thanks
t
A little less than room temperature. 65°F maybe? PJH
January 10th, 2011 at 7:40 pm
“For sure, the baguette isn’t the very first loaf you’d tackle as a beginning bread baker…” in the words on Barney Sinson – Challenge Accepted! Had a fun weekend diving into the deep end for my first bread baking experience and gave this a try. A snag or two along the way, but stuck with it and was able to get my very sorry looking ‘baguettes’ into the oven. They came out okay, and edible even, but far from great. My biggest obstacle was the stickiness of the dough. When it came time to shape them, the dough was still quite sticky and did not want to relax enough to elongate even after a long bench rest. I’m thinking I might have used too much water (or too little flour) at the outset. Could i have salvaged them by adding more flour at the point of shaping, or is too late then?
HI Mark,
Too much flour is the enemy of a good crusty holey baguette. If the dough is still a bit sticky, use some water or oil on your hands to work with the dough. Baguettes definitely take some practice, I’m sure each batch will just get better and better. ~ MaryJane
January 26th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
This is such a good recipe, and so easy it makes you wonder why everybody doesn’t just make their own.
I particularly appreciate the spraying with water method; it’s just as good as making steam in the oven for helping the bread to rise, and it produces a thinner crust, which I like better for sandwiches.
We don’t have King Arthur flour in this part of Canada, and I’ve found that the unbleached AP flour I use needs to be treated like bread flour, i.e., it needs the extra water. Without it, the texture wasn’t as good.
Today’s batch was as good as any I’ve bought at a French bakery. That’s why I’m recommending your recipe on my blog: http://www.the-cooks-corner-blog.com/2010/03/why-making-your-own-french-baguette-is.html
February 2nd, 2011 at 6:24 pm
I made these today with KA flour, half whole wheat, half bread flour.. I would have used AP instead but the bread flour was open! They came out very nicely! Not quite as photogenic as yours, but so delicious! I think I will change the proportion of whole wheat next time, using less, to try to get that holey texture. But overall I’m really happy with how they came out! Thanks for this great information!
You go, Jennifer! Welcome to the eternal quest for The Perfect Baguette!
PJH
February 22nd, 2011 at 12:57 pm
I’m so excited to try this! I love fresh baguettes with creamed honey and salted butter…but I had a question about freezing – for the parbaking, am I still spritzing it with water? Thank you in advance and thank you for the wonderful step by step process!!
~Krys
Yes, still spritz even if parbaking. The moisture on the outside of the loaf helps it to expand to its fullest. Susan
April 10th, 2011 at 12:15 pm
I am about 8 hours through the first step of making the starter and unlike your starter which looks nice, soft and gooey on top, mine is dry on parts (although looking through the glass bowl on the bottom it looks lovely)…Is this normal? I live in California where it is pretty dry so not sure if I should add more water or just leave the starter grow for another couple of hours?
Clara, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a shower cap to keep dry air out. If you have a spritzer, give the starter a light misting first. ~ MaryJane
June 18th, 2011 at 8:41 am
I made this yesterday and it turned out beautifully, but I did a few things differently: 1. After combining the starter, water, flour, yeast, and salt, I mixed them to combine then did not immediately knead it. I let the mixture sit for 20 minutes so the flour particles had a chance to absorb the liquid and expand. This helped to develop the gluten faster. I’ve found this method will cut down on kneading time if you let it rest after mixing it.
2. If you don’t have a warm, moist place to proof your dough, a pan of boiling water in your oven works fantastic. Be sure to change out the water with fresh hot water now and then to help maintain the warm environment in your oven.
3. I didn’t form the dough into baguettes after its rise; I just made little boules out of it and they came out wonderful. These freeze well; just put in a freezer baggy, thaw when you need them, and re-crisp in the oven for a few minutes when you want fresh bread.
Thank you for posting your ideas and suggestions with us. ~Amy
July 8th, 2011 at 9:37 pm
I would love to try this, but where is the recipe? When I click on the “classic baguette” link near the beginning of the article it takes me to a “page not found”. Could you please post the amounts of yeast, flour, water, salt and sugar required to make this deliciously looking bread. Thanks!
Sorry, Thomas, we were combining some recipes and missed one of the links. Here it is: Classic Baguettes and Stuffed Baguettes. Enjoy! PJH
July 14th, 2011 at 3:07 am
Hello:)
I’m from Singapore and I love it here except that I can’t find ANY stores that sell your products. Before I post my question, I want to thank you for the great recipes, accompanied with clear instructions and excellent photos. It really does help budding 18-year-old bakers like me:)
Now, I’m in a dilemma about trying this recipe out. I want to make these lovely baguettes but my family simply cannot finish this much bread in a day! Hence, I was wondering if I could freeze the dough just before the “slash and spritz” step so I can have fresh baguette everyday?
Thank you very much for being such a support to my love for baking and cooking!
Love,
Pristine:)
Hi Pristine – kudos to you for learning to bake! We need your generation to continue these (delicious) cultural traditions… For a small amount of crusty bread, fresh every day, I think our no-knead bread would be perfect. The dough lives in the fridge, and you break off and bake just the amount you want. Give it a try – I think you’ll be hooked! PJH
July 14th, 2011 at 10:04 am
Thank you for putting the bake vs buy line back in again!
July 14th, 2011 at 1:03 pm
I like to mix flours- 20% whole wheat to 80% Bread flour as a minimum up to 50/50 depending on how much desire for whole grains I’m feeling in the moment. This gives a nice deeper flavor to the loaf, and the poolish is another key element to the flavor… hope folks won’t skip that as it adds so much! It’s worth the extra time and planning ahead
July 14th, 2011 at 4:43 pm
Do you have any soft bread-stick recipes?I can’t find any.
You bet – try our Soft Bread Sticks recipe. YUM… PJH
July 14th, 2011 at 5:36 pm
These look wonderful! I’ve baked baguettes before but had mixed luck. Now I’m inspired to try again!
I had a general bread baking question. When I make loaves of bread, they frequently end up somewhat flat and squashy on top, and the bread seems dense. I can never get that nice dome-shaped lightness. Should I be trying a mixer rather than by hand? Is my technique off? Any tips are appreciated…
It is possible that the dough is not being kneaded and rested properly. With a recipe such as this one, the gluten development is not only reliant upon the kneading, but even more so on it’s long fermentation period. It is important that the kneading not be carried too far, so that the gluten can continue it’s slow development during the rise. Even the 15 minute rest before shaping is crucial for the dough to cooperate. If you do continue to knead by hand, be sure to knead long enough to make the dough cohesive (7-10 minutes or so), but not smooth as it will become smooth as it rises and the water continues to aid in the gluten development. ~Amy
July 15th, 2011 at 11:46 am
Well, I have to ask… why the recycled blog post? Vacation time? LOL. Maybe I’ve just been reading the blog for too long.
Love this recipe, but personally prefer to use a little more aged, sourdough starter to the simple overnight one. Gives a little bit of a tang to these lovely baguettes. Cheers!
Joey, we like to re-purpose older content when we can – it’s “green”! And yeah, vacations in the summer do play into it, too…
PJH
July 26th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
I love sourdough, how can I adapt this recipe to use my sourdough starter?
Vicki, try our Wild Yeast Baguettes recipe, using sourdough starter… PJH
July 28th, 2011 at 8:38 pm
Any tips for people baking in the tropics? Temperatures here hardly drop below 23 C at night and average about 28-30 C in the day.
In other KA recipes I tend to decrease the yeast by up to 1/2 tsp and decrease the 2nd proof drastically.
I’ve never tried baguettes so I wouldn’t mind some tips before I take the leap.
Baking in extreme humidity is challenging. What I can recommend is that you hold back on the amount of water a bit with baguettes and again, watch the proofing time carefully; however, I don’t think decreasing the yeast is necessary. I hope you can defeat your climate with some great tasting breads! ~Amy
August 1st, 2011 at 9:36 pm
Hi everybody I’m posting this from Brisbane Australia. I’m a lousy cook but bread is one thing I have some successes with. Haven’t tried this recipe yet but intend to.
Anyway I’ve penned a few tongue in cheek verses for the King Arthur crew. Couldn’t find an applicable posting place so I’m adding it here.
Cheers …Wazza
I Wish
I wish I could bake like King Arthur.
Just how good would that make me feel.
I wish I could take all the tips they provide
And Hey Presto – be baking for real.
I’ve read all their recipes: seen how it’s done,
From the photos they post on their site.
But guys … it’s what I end up with,
It never looks good or tastes right.
After reading all comments I don’t feel so great,
Knowing everyone else has success.
When what I end up with nine times out of ten
Is really one heck of a mess.
My sponges, my cupcakes, my slices, my rolls …
“Oh my God, get a rubbish bag quick.”
Says my son as he exits the kitchen.
“I can’t look it’s making me sick.”
It’s the same with the pizzas, the pies and the quiche.
Even though no comment was sought,
My daughter said “Dad, on a one to ten scale
Your culinary skills come to naught.”
I’ve got every ingredient money can buy.
Every herb, every sauce, every spice.
Though I boil and I bake. I grill and I fry,
No one ever says “Wazza – that’s nice.”
My wife told me “Darling, you know how I feel
I’ll support you through thick and through thin.
But your cooking’s a proper disaster.
Been there once. Won’t go there again.”
Yes I wish I could cook like the King Arthur Gang,
And all who subscribe to their site
But you know what?
I’ll keep right on trying.
‘Cause I’m certain
One day
It’ll all turn out right.
© Wazza 2011
Wazza, I’m going to post this to our company newsletter, so that all 200+ of us employee-owners can enjoy your “doggerel”! I’m sorry for your “disastrous” times in the kitchen…hopefully you’re truly writing tongue in cheek. But if not, perhaps practice WILL make perfect at some point, and your wife and kids will be showering you with praise – not barbs!
We love anyone out there who bakes
PJH
Breads and pies, scones and cakes
So we’d never steal the poetic thunder
From a KA fan baking Down Under!
Here’s to pavlovas, anzacs, and tarts
You’ve plenty to teach us American upstarts
Don’t put yourself down; you’re good enough
To feed your family the tastiest stuff
So long as you stick with the King Arthur Web site
You’ll have wife and kids sampling more than a bite!
September 30th, 2011 at 4:35 pm
This recipe worked out well for me. I could not get 15″ out of each rope, but will try stretching it a little next time. Since I live in an altitude of 4500′, I used 3/4 tsp. active yeast; will increase to the full amount next time. Can’t wait to try the sammies! Thanks for the recipe! -m. PS – EVOO with fresh minced garlic and Parmesan cheese as a dip was amazing…….yum! -m.
October 24th, 2011 at 11:01 am
how do these differ in look and taste from the recipe for french baguette?
Terry, imperceptible difference, if any, IMHO – use either recipe. PJH
November 11th, 2011 at 5:54 pm
I’ve made these 3 or 4 times and they are wonderful! I know they are not meant to last long, but how do you recommend storing the loaves, at least for the next day? Plastic bag, paper bag, other? Or do baguettes need to be turned into croutons or french toast on day 2?
Yes, unfortunately baguettes are a one-day bread. It is best to store them in plastic after the first day, but you will loose that crispy wonderful crust. If you store them in paper, they will harden and be harmful to chew. They do become great candidates for French toast and croutons at this point. ~Amy
December 30th, 2011 at 7:51 am
My question is about your bread flour vs. your all purpose flour to be used in baguettes please. I use King Arthur bread flour for my baguettes. The King Arthur recipe calls for bread flour. But, this recipe calls for all purpose.
I would be delighted to buy the King Arthur all purpose flour and use it instead of bread flour (as indicated in this recipe), if I knew it would work best, but as a result of the fact that this wonderful recipe calls for all purpose, and the recipe in the King Arthur website uses bread flour, I just don’t know which would ultimately be the best.
Thank you for your advice.
Ben – Kansas City
For this particular recipe, we have found that using AP flour yields the best result. ~Amy
January 15th, 2012 at 11:51 pm
I have never been able to find the perfect crusty french bread that I came to love while living in Belgium as a teenager. So, I thought I would try to make it myself. I’m just learning to bake bread. I’m starting this recipe tonite. Would I be able to decrease the first rise time to 11 or 12h? What will this do to the final product if I do? Thank you! Looking forward to the process and the delicious rewards!!
Shortening fermentation will effect the flavor of the loaf and the consistency of the crust. 1 hour is not going to make a big difference. The recipe will still perform. Give it a try. Frank @ KAF.
February 2nd, 2012 at 5:29 am
Is there anything as gorgeous looking as these baguettes?
Thanks for the great advice on bread making. The best tip of all that has made the difference in my baguettes is that when you think the baguettes are done, you should leave them in the oven to cool with the door ajar. Keep up the good work!
Jane
March 21st, 2012 at 4:40 pm
This was so easy, I almost can’t believe I made it! Thanks so much for the pictures step by step. This was the first time making bread and it came out great. Not as hard as I thought it would be.
YAY, Valerie! So glad to hear about your success. Baguettes aren’t the easiest bread to start with – you’re ahead of the game already! Enjoy – PJH
April 2nd, 2012 at 11:21 am
I’ve been using both of your baguette recipes for ages — this one and the “almost no-knead” one, and they make a fabulous baguette, but now I’m trying to get the crust to remain somewhat thinner, so that when I make a sandwich my gums and palate don’t get raw!
I tried spritzing, I tried steaming, I tried no spritzing and no steaming, and the result is always a very thick crust.
I bake at 450 degrees and my oven is accurate. I use unbleached AP flour (yours is not available here, unfortunately). I follow the instructions to the letter.
I realize that a crunchy crust is what we should be looking for, and I don’t mind that, it’s the thickness that is the problem.
Any suggestions?
Usually a thick, chewy crust is the result of low baking temperature/baking too long. But, I have this same issue – and I bake in a hot oven, too. Maybe you could try skinnier baguettes, baked at 500°F? Also, make sure your dough remains nice and moist as it rises; be sure it’s well-covered. Worth a try… PJH
April 3rd, 2012 at 4:14 pm
PJH: I’ve done all of this in the past: skinny baguettes, higher temperature, and I always keep the dough covered when it’s rising.
Oh, by the way the crust isn’t “chewy”, it’s dry and flaky, just very hard.
The irony of it is if I freeze the bread, then reheat it by starting with a cold oven, the crust gets a lot thinner, yet nice and crisp. Go figure.
Then, the only thing I can suggest is the way professional bakeries get that ultra-light, flaky crisp crust is steam injection – which we, as home bakers, can’t really mimic. How about asking this question on our community? Bet you’d get some good feedback. PJH
April 5th, 2012 at 8:55 am
Made my first batch of baguettes yesterday. I though they turned out well. I do have a couple of questions. I used a baguette pan, and placed the pan right on the oven rack. Would it be better to use my stone, and put the pan on the stone? They weren’t quite as crispy as I though they would be, left them on the oven rack till they cooled. Any thoughts on how to make them more crispy.
When using a baguette pan, bake on a rack. When using a stone, bake directly on the stone, no pan. For a crispier baguette, the solution is steam, to encourage more oven spring. Try misting the tops of the baguettes just before they go into the oven. Frank @ KAF.
April 6th, 2012 at 11:57 am
Hi!
Thanks for a lovely recipe. Can i make this baguette without a bread making machine?
Absolutely, Chitra – the blog gives directions for making these baguettes by hand, or using a mixer. Enjoy! PJH
April 15th, 2012 at 9:32 pm
Ok, two tries in one week and it’s coming along! The final results have been very good, but my starter doesn’t bubble up like your picture: since I know my yeast is working, what might be going wrong? Thanks for the great post – it really helped me.
It could simply be that your starter is a bit thicker than the one pictured; the thicker the starter, the less evident the bubbles will be. So long as it’s working – don’t worry about it, OK? Enjoy – PJH
April 20th, 2012 at 2:55 pm
I’m looking for a (at least partially) whole-wheat baguette recipe.
What ratio of whole-wheat to all-purpose flour would you recommend?
To retain the classic characteristics of a baguette: thin crust, open honeycomb-esque crumb, I think the most to change is about 5% of the flour. Beyond that the crumb will become significantly closed and firmer, due to the bran. Give it a try. Frank @ KAF.
May 9th, 2012 at 12:52 am
Hi! I watched Julia Child make French baguettes on youtube today and thought I’d try my hand. Incidentally, the clip I watched had Julia learning from Professor Calvel.
Anyway, I made these for the first time today using KA AP flour. Do you have any advice for slowing or overcoming the chewy texture that seems to overrun the baguette in a few short hours after baking?
I ate a sandwich using a baguette moments after it came out of the oven and the crisp exterior and soft interior made for a great experience. I was so giddy over having made a baguette that I had another small sandwich about 4 hours later and it was quite the task to eat due to how chewy the bread had become.
Thanks in advance!
Joel, baguettes have a notoriously short shelf life. As soon as you take them out of the oven, they start gradually losing their lovely crisp crust; and there’s nothing you can do to stop the process. Your best bet is simply to reheat a piece of baguette just before you make your sandwich; about 10 minutes in a 350°F oven, lightly tented with foil, should do it. Enjoy – PJH