Fresh Baguette

Fresh Baguette

  • Prep Time: 3 hrs
  • Total Time: 3 hrs 30 mins
  • Yield: 1loaf

    • About This Recipe

    “Make your kitchen into your own personal boulangerie with this fantastic bread recipe!”

    Ingredients

  • 1 (1/4 ounce) packet active dry yeast
  • 1teaspoonsugar
  • 1 1/2 cupswater( 105 -115 F)
  • 4 -4 1/2 cupsunbleached all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoonssalt

    • Directions

  • In a large bowl sprinkle yeast and sugar over warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
  • With a wooden spoon stir in 2 cups flour until combined.
  • Stir in salt and 2 cups of remaining flour until mixture forms a stiff dough.
  • On a lightly floured surface knead dough with lightly floured hands 8 minutes, or until smooth and elastic, kneading in enough of remaining 1/2 cup flour to keep dough from sticking.
  • Transfer dough to a lightly oiled deep bowl, turning to coat with oil, and let rise, bowl covered with plastic wrap, until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 475-500°F (My oven does best with 475°, but it runs hot).
  • Punch down dough and form into a long slender loaf about 21 inches long and 3 inches wide.
  • You can also form individual mini-loaves.
  • Put loaf diagonally on a lightly greased large or 17 x 14-inch baking sheet and let rise, uncovered, about 30 minutes.
  • (Baguette may be made up to this point 4 hours ahead and chilled.) Make 3 or 4 diagonal slashes on loaf with a razor and lightly brush top with cool water.
  • Bake loaf in middle of oven 30 minutes, or until golden and sounds hollow when tapped, and transfer to a rack to cool.
  • Notes: For a chewy interior and perfect, crusty exterior, place a dutch oven filled with water in oven as it preheats for about an hour.
  • The humid enviroment will ensure the texture comes out right.
  • Baking stones don’t hurt either.
  • If you don’t want to put water into the oven, you can use a spray mister to keep the enviroment moist as it cooks.

    • Reviews

  • “AWESOME! I made this the day before yesterday–divided the recipe in two to make TWO fresh baguettes–used one for a bruschetta and just ate the other plain! Your technique of putting water in the oven really makes a difference!! Thanks Skat!”

  • “I made this this weekened the only addition I did was add an eggwash to the top of the loaf, and it came out great made it on a pizza stone wtih some yellow cornmeal on the bottom.What a great breat recipie.”Anyone else have any other trade secrets on this?””

  • “Awesome!This bread was soft on the inside and had a crispy crust on the outside… just perfect!I had to use regular all-purpose flour because that was all I had on hand, but it turned out just fine.I will definitely be making this again!”

  • “Fantastic recipe!Super easy in the food processor.Definitely worth it!”

  • “Wonderful recipe! Smelled really great when it was cooking, and it turned out perfect. Thanks.”

  • “This was really great and restored my faith in my ability to make bread.It reminded me of the great bread we used to get in Brooklyn.I even forgot to add the sugar (duh) but it came out great anyway !! Crisp crust, tender inside.Thank you so much!”

  • “This was a really easy recipe.I took a short cut and threw the ingredients in my bread machine to do the kneading and rise, then pulled it out for a second rise before separating it out into 4 mini baguettes. The outside was crusty and perfectly browned-my DH did brush it lightly with a little olive oil – the inside was soft and perfect.Thanks”

  • “Even though I don’t think this recipe really needs another review, I have to say that it was amazing!I used whole wheat flour and a little extra sugar, but other than that held true to the recipe; and like everyone before me found this bread to be amazing!”

  • “Really excellent recipe! Very simple to make. We had it right out of the oven w/pasta last night, and if there’s still some left tomorrow morning it will be french toast!”

  • “fantastic recipe. this is the first bread i have ever made and it turned out ideally. i used 4 cups bread flour and only had to cook it for about 22-25 minutes but i made 2 smaller baguettes instead of one bigger one. i’m eating it right now still warm with some olive oil and balsamic and i can’t get over how good it is.”

  • “Very simple recipe to follow; incredible results!I will definitely be making this again!”

  • “I halved the recipe and baked a smaller loaf, and it came out perfectly. Let’s just say, it didn’t last the whole day. The bread had a nice, crispy exterior, and the interior was soft and moist. What I did was place a baking tray with water inside the oven while it baked to ensure it was steamy inside. I also brushed a little olive oil on it prior to baking.If I made this again, I would play it up and add oregano or sun-dried tomatoes.”

  • “I’m so excited about this bread! It was simple to put together and had the perfect density inside with a nice crusty outside. I used half AP/ half whole wheat flour and baked two slender loaves on Chicago Metallic’s Perforated Baguette Pan which helped keep the loaves evenly shaped. I also kept the dutch oven with water underneath while baking. With a loaf always in the freezer, there’s no reason to buy baguettes again. Thanks!”

  • “This recipe was delicious and easy. I have never made bread before, and if I can make it (I’m 15), anyone can. One note, though–Make sure that you put the water into the oven for an hour before baking so it becomes humid. Otherwise it is dense, but still good. Thanks again, s’kat, for an incredible recipe”

  • “This recipe is so simple and has worked for me everytime. I prefer a softer crust so I just take the bread out earlier. I’ve also made buns with this recipe. The only reason I didn’t give five stars is that the salt quantity is far too high. I find a quarter of what is asked for works great.”

  • “I don’t see how I could add anything new to this review so I’ll just say….”What everybody else said!” Great recipe and thanks for sharing!”

  • “Super easy to make, beautiful and what a lovely texture.I made 4 mini loaves out of this recipe to make Portabello French Dips for lunch with friends.Fantastic!”

  • “Made this bread for dinner tonight to go along with my homemade Broccoli Potato & Cheddar Soup….and YUMM!!!! It turned out super delicious. Made just as recipe instructed…except I must not have put enough water in my pan in the oven because half way through cooking I realized it had all evaporated! So…I panicked for a second…then just grabbed a stick of butter from the fridge and rubbed it all over the outside of the bread and let it continue to bake for the rest of the time. Let me just say…the buttery crust made it even better!! So I’d probably do the butter thing again next time, but on purpose. Thanks for posting this recipe. I’ll never buy the store made bread again!”

  • “Made this for a smoked Gouda fondue. The crust was excellent and the flavor was what I expected but I was hoping for something with larger holes so as to soak up more cheese. Still a very good recipe.”

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