Renae Diggles

July 14, 2021

The Best French Baguette Recipe

Renae Diggles

July 14, 2021

Whether you call it a french stick, a breadstick, or a baguette, it doesn’t matter. This is the only baguette recipe you’ll ever need. It’s light, fluffy, and very tasty.

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This is a classic French baguette that is crusty on the outside, but fluffy yet chewy on the inside. We love it and we hope that you do just as much.

It is classically a dough that is lighter or lean because it has no oil or fat added to it. That’s what gives it the chewy texture on the inside.

While it’s a little more complicated than other bread to master, be sure to follow the instructions step by step. For example, it needs a lot of rising time, and it’s a water bread, requiring a large amount of humidity to make the crust better.

All that being said, practice makes perfect, so let’s get into it, and make some great bread to enjoy!

sliced french baguette
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French Baguette Recipe

A long, thin loaf of french bread that is crusty on the outside. This is a classic water bread recipe, enjoyed immediately after cooking, or on the same day.
Keyword baguette, bread, breadstick, french stick
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 4 hours

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp Dry yeast
  • 1 tbsp Honey
  • 1 tbsp Table salt
  • 2 cups Warm/ hot water
  • 6 - 7 cups All-purpose white flour

Instructions

  • Place water into a bowl with the yeast, honey, and salt. Whisk well.
  • Next, add 2 cups of flour and whisk through.
  • Continue adding flour and mixing well until ready to knead the dough.
  • Turn out onto a floured board and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes
  • Allow the bread to rise. Punch down the dough and allow it to rise a second time. Punch down the dough after the second rise.
  • Shape free-formed loaves into 4 small baguette shapes. Then allow them to prove on trays (20 to 30 minutes).
  • Slash the top of the loaves diagonally.
  • Place a pan of boiling water on the bottom shelf of the oven. This is to increase the humidity to improve the crust.
  • Spray the loaves with cold water. Then bake in a conventional oven at 200°c or a fan-forced oven at 180°c.
  • Bake for approximately 30 to 40 minutes, spraying the loaves with cold water at 10-minute intervals.

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Notes

This is a recipe for classic water bread. This means that it tends to get stale quickly, so it is best to be baked and eaten on the same day. But, if you add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, it will improve the longevity of the bread. It will slightly change the texture though, and make the bread a little denser.

Try Other Bread Recipes

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