Classic French Baguette Recipe: Learn How to Make Baguettes at Home

A national symbol of France, the baguette is a long, thin loaf of bread made from white wheat flour. It has a crispy, golden-brown crust and a chewy interior marked by very large holes and an open crumb structure (caused by the steam that’s added at the beginning of baking). According to French law, baguettes must be made with just four ingredients: wheat, water, yeast (starter), and salt.

The baguette was likely developed during the nineteenth century, when longer breads and white flour became more popular and both Viennese steam-oven baking and compressed yeast were introduced to Paris. The word baguette, which means wand or stick, was not used to refer to the French bread until the mid-20th century.

1. 1. Many bread recipes call for a poolish, a portion of wet dough that gets fermented ahead of time and helps kick-start fermentation. You can make a poolish for your baguettes up to three days ahead of time.
2. 2. Resist the temptation to add too much extra flour—baguette dough should be pretty wet. Dampen your fingers with water to prevent sticking when working with the dough.
3. 3. The “windowpane test” is a way to check the gluten development of your dough during kneading. Break off a small piece of dough, and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough to see through. If you can indeed see through it, you’re done kneading. If the dough breaks before you can stretch it out that thin, keep kneading.
4. 4. Use a baker’s lame (or make your own by attaching a razor blade to a small stick) to cut the slashes into the top of the dough ahead of baking, which allows the bread to expand rapidly. Unless you have a very sharp knife, cutting can tear the dough and break gas bubbles.
5. 5. Using a specialized baguette pan can help you get the best crust. If you have a baking stone or baking steel, now’s the time to use it. If not, use unrimmed baking sheet or turn a rimmed baking sheet upside-down.
6. 6. Professional bakers use special ovens with steaming functions to get their baguettes to expand quickly at the very beginning of the bake, creating the large holes and open crumb distinctive of a good baguette. To replicate this at home, set an oven-proof baking dish or cast-iron pan on the very bottom rack of the oven before heating. When you’re ready to bake, pour boiling water or ice cubes into your pre-heated pan to create steam in the oven. Keep a spray bottle of water on hand to spritz the loaves as they bake.
7. 7. You want your oven to be super hot by the time the baguettes go in, so heat it at least an hour before you plan to bake.

Shaping baguettes involves a pre-shape, which creates tension in the dough. To pre-shape:

1. 1. After bulk fermentation, divide the dough into the number of baguettes you will make.
2. 2. On a clean work surface, pat each chunk of dough into a rectangle.
3. 3. Stretch out the two short sides and then fold them in to meet in the middle of the dough.
4. 4. Press to seal.
5. 5. Then fold the top and bottom (the “open” sides) in to meet, and press to seal.
6. 6. Let the dough rest 10 minutes after the pre-shape.

For the final shape:

1. 1. Fold the long ends of the rectangle into the middle, and press to seal. Repeat until a log forms.
2. 2. Seam side-down, roll into logs and allow to proof in a couché (a special floured cloth), a clean kitchen towel, or a piece of parchment paper that has been lightly floured.
3. 3. Fold the towel or paper up between the loaves to create ridges that will support the shape of the baguette during proofing.

Baguettes go stale very quickly and should ideally be eaten the day they are baked—there’s really nothing like a fresh, still-warm baguette. But if you need to, you can keep a baguette from drying out by wrapping it in aluminum foil for up to two days. If you need more time, try freezing and then reheating the frozen baguette in the oven.

You can attempt to rescue a dried-out baguette by placing it under running water to get the crust wet, and then baking in a 300–325°F oven until crisp, about 6 to 12 minutes. If you can’t bring it back from the brink, use leftover stale baguettes to make French toast (pain perdu—literally “lost bread”), bread pudding, croutons, breadcrumbs, or knödel.

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