French Bread – Easy to make Baguette

AuthorYun Zhang JohnCategoryDifficultyBeginnerRating
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Yields2 Servings
Prep Time1 hrCook Time25 minsTotal Time1 hr 25 mins

I hesitate to call this a baguette recipe because I feel that the only French bakers in boulangeries françaises can qualify themselves to share authentic recipes for these symbols of France.

But I am qualified to say that this is a damn good, easy-to-follow recipe for crusty, long French bread. Bread that’s got a crispy, crunchy exterior and a chewy, moist interior. Bread that’s flavourful and perfect to enjoy as is or used to make the most delicious sandwiches. But above all, bread that is so easy to make that anyone can do it in their home.

No knead bread

Many artisanal breads like the baguette or focaccia contain a lot of water, in baking talk, these are called high hydration doughs. This baguette recipe is a 70% hydration dough which means that there is roughly 70g of water to every 100g of flour. The resulting bread will have a more open crumb structure and be more moist.

The techniques with working and handling high hydration doughs are different than regular yeasted bread doughs. Instead of mechanical kneading of the dough, as the case with my Japanese Milk Bread. High hydration doughs like these baguettes, rely on time and stretching to develop and strengthen gluten structures. And the method is so easy that anyone can learn it, making these bread completely manageable for the average home baker, even for a beginner!

Long fermentation

Aside from flour, water, yeast and salt, time is added to give this baguette their robust, complex flavour. Basically, you mix up the dough the night before and stretch it twice before putting it into the fridge overnight. It can sit there for anywhere between 12-24 hours. The next day, you bring it out, shape it, let it rise for a short time again at room temperature and bake it! Super simple right?

It takes a bit of planning ahead but the dough and the yeast does all the work, no extra effort from you! In return, you are rewarded with a superior, strong flavoured bread than if you were to bake it on the same day.

Water and steam

Water is not only an important component within the dough, it is also necessary during the baking process. We need to generate steam to help keep the exterior of the baguette soft in the first minutes of baking in the very hot oven. If a hard crust forms immediately, the interior won’t have enough space to rise and puff up as much as we would like.

Most home ovens are not equipped with steam functions so we must create the steam by other methods. Enter: hot water baths and spray bottles. They are the economical way to inject steam into the baking process, essential tools to get that crispy, crunchy, chewy crust.

Storage and reheating

This baguette recipe makes two long breads and while it takes no time for my family to go through them, I must admit that it might be too much in one go for others.

So my suggestion would be to par-bake one of the baguette and take it out after 12-15min in the hot oven. Cool it down and freeze it. When you want to eat a freshly baked French bread, just bake in a preheated 482F/250C oven for 8-10min, with steam of course!

You Will Need

 550 g All purpose flourOr bread flour
 370 g Water
 1 tsp Instant dry yeast
 2 tsp Sea salt

Instructions

The Night Before
1

Mix together all the ingredients by hand. Squeezing the dough between your palm and fingers to thoroughly mix. Once combined, cover the shaggy, sticky dough and leave it to rest for 30min.

The Night Before: Stretch and Fold
2

After 30min, we want to develop some of the gluten in the dough. Wet your hands thoroughly and start stretching the dough a section at a time by pulling it up as far as you can without breaking it and folding it over itself. The first few times, the dough will be really easy to stretch long so repeat this move over and over until the dough starts resisting back.

3

After about 2-3min of stretching and folding, form the now smoother and more formed dough into a ball and let it rest again for 30min. After which, we repeat the process again.

4

After two stretching and folding. Cover the and put it into the fridge to rise and ferment overnight. Between 12-24 hours.

The baking day : Shaping
5

Take it out of the fridge. Turn it onto a table with a light dusting of flour. You don’t need to punch out the air too much, here we would like to maintain a lot of the bubbles within the bread.

6

Pull it out a bit and divide into 2 equal pieces. Cover these and let it rest for 10min.

7

After 10min, it's time to shape the baguettes. Sprinkle small amounts of flour as needed so the dough is easier to work with. Make dimples all over with your fingers and start rolling it lengthwise, pushing the seams down as you go to create tension and make the roll as tight as you can. Then pinch the ends close

8

Finally roll with both hands so the baguette is thick in the middle and tapers off on the ends. I made 2 baguettes that measure about 35-40cm long. You can also make 3-4 smaller and shorter baguettes, just adjust the cooking time accordingly.

9

Get a baking tray and line it with some parchment or baking paper which is a lot longer than the tray itself. Spread a thin layer of flour to prevent sticking and gently lay one of the baguette on it. Then roll up the paper to create a barrier and repeat the process with the next baguette.

French baguette | Yun's Family Table

10

Dust the tops with some more flour. and cover the tops with plastic or towel or both like your tucking in a baby to bed. Then Leave it to rise for about 30min.

11

Preheat your oven to 482F / 250C while the bread is rising.

The Baking Day : Baking
12

After about 30min, unwrap the baguettes carefully and cut off or remove any excess paper from underneath the dough, they've done their job. Score the top of the baguettes with a blade with short diagonal strokes. Be quick and decisive with your movement to get the cleanest cuts.

13

Then spray the tops of the breads with water, all over.

14

Add some boiled, hot water in a oven proof dish in the rack under the bread. Put the baguettes in and spray more water into the oven before quickly closing the oven door.

French baguette | Yun's Family Table

15

Bake at 482F/250C for 20min. Then lower the temperature to 428F/220C, remove the water bath and bake for another 5min.

Ingredients

 550 g All purpose flourOr bread flour
 370 g Water
 1 tsp Instant dry yeast
 2 tsp Sea salt

Directions

The Night Before
1

Mix together all the ingredients by hand. Squeezing the dough between your palm and fingers to thoroughly mix. Once combined, cover the shaggy, sticky dough and leave it to rest for 30min.

The Night Before: Stretch and Fold
2

After 30min, we want to develop some of the gluten in the dough. Wet your hands thoroughly and start stretching the dough a section at a time by pulling it up as far as you can without breaking it and folding it over itself. The first few times, the dough will be really easy to stretch long so repeat this move over and over until the dough starts resisting back.

3

After about 2-3min of stretching and folding, form the now smoother and more formed dough into a ball and let it rest again for 30min. After which, we repeat the process again.

4

After two stretching and folding. Cover the and put it into the fridge to rise and ferment overnight. Between 12-24 hours.

The baking day : Shaping
5

Take it out of the fridge. Turn it onto a table with a light dusting of flour. You don’t need to punch out the air too much, here we would like to maintain a lot of the bubbles within the bread.

6

Pull it out a bit and divide into 2 equal pieces. Cover these and let it rest for 10min.

7

After 10min, it's time to shape the baguettes. Sprinkle small amounts of flour as needed so the dough is easier to work with. Make dimples all over with your fingers and start rolling it lengthwise, pushing the seams down as you go to create tension and make the roll as tight as you can. Then pinch the ends close

8

Finally roll with both hands so the baguette is thick in the middle and tapers off on the ends. I made 2 baguettes that measure about 35-40cm long. You can also make 3-4 smaller and shorter baguettes, just adjust the cooking time accordingly.

9

Get a baking tray and line it with some parchment or baking paper which is a lot longer than the tray itself. Spread a thin layer of flour to prevent sticking and gently lay one of the baguette on it. Then roll up the paper to create a barrier and repeat the process with the next baguette.

French baguette | Yun's Family Table

10

Dust the tops with some more flour. and cover the tops with plastic or towel or both like your tucking in a baby to bed. Then Leave it to rise for about 30min.

11

Preheat your oven to 482F / 250C while the bread is rising.

The Baking Day : Baking
12

After about 30min, unwrap the baguettes carefully and cut off or remove any excess paper from underneath the dough, they've done their job. Score the top of the baguettes with a blade with short diagonal strokes. Be quick and decisive with your movement to get the cleanest cuts.

13

Then spray the tops of the breads with water, all over.

14

Add some boiled, hot water in a oven proof dish in the rack under the bread. Put the baguettes in and spray more water into the oven before quickly closing the oven door.

French baguette | Yun's Family Table

15

Bake at 482F/250C for 20min. Then lower the temperature to 428F/220C, remove the water bath and bake for another 5min.

French Bread – Easy to make Baguette

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