Easy Baguette Recipe: Classic Baguettes in Just 6 Steps!

Want to enjoy the aroma and taste of a classic baguette at home but think it’s too complicated? Not anymore. I’ve created this easy baguette recipe especially for home and beginner bakers and it’s the first of 15 baguette recipes series I’ll be making on Bread Flavors. Unlike traditional baguette methods, this quick French bread recipe does not need special technique or tools: Just six easy steps and simple ingredients you may have in your hand, and you can make a baguette with a crispy golden crust and a chewy inside right in your kitchen! 

What Makes a Good French Baguette?

A classic French baguette is made only from four ingredients: flour, water, salt, Levain (French sourdough starter), and requires autolysis for more than 3 hours, multiple rising times and other fancy requirements. This can be complicated, especially when making a French baguette recipe for the first time. 

All perfect baguettes should have a crispy golden crispy crust that crackles slightly as you bite into it, and an interior that’s airy and slightly chewy: these characteristics are what make the baguette so special. And that’s exactly what this recipe aims to achieve.

You may be surprised how to make a baguette with these qualities, but as a baker who makes thousands of fresh baguettes every day, I can tell you that the key is in your patience, and in this recipe I will show you how to achieve these qualities at home in less than two hours.

Why You’ll Love This Easy Recipe for Baguette?

This no knead recipe helps you to create a bakery quality result in your kitchen with simple ingredients and easy to follow instructions, without the need for professional skills like coil fold  or long fermentation time. Unlike other easy recipes that include honey, olive oil and sometimes eggs, you’ll love how to bake delicious baguettes with crisp crusts and air crumbs using just a few basic pantry staples. 

Essential Ingredients for an Easy Baguette Recipe

To make this quick and easy French baguette recipe, you’ll need just five ingredients, each plays an important role in making homemade French baguette with the desired crispy crust and soft interior. Here’s a closer look at each component and its importance:  

• Flour: Bread flour is the base of any yeasted bread, due to its high protein content that allows the dough to stretch and create more stronger structure that gives baguette its chewy texture and perfect volume. If you don’t have bread flour, you can substitute it with all-purpose flour, just like I made this bolillo recipe, which uses the exact same ingredients as this recipe. 
• Water: Water is essential to hydrate the flour and allow the gluten to form a network. Baguette dough is typically more hydrated than other bread doughs. I make this recipe with 75% hydration level, which you can reduce up to 60%. Room temperature water is sufficient to make the baguette dough.
• Salt: I use coarse sea salt to enhance the overall flavor and balance the taste.
• Yeast: Yeast is the key to leavening the baguette and creating the airy pocket that marks this French bread. Both instant and active yeast work well in this recipe. But I use instant yeast for a slightly faster effect. If you use active dry yeast, remember to mix the yeast with water before combining your ingredients to give yeast time to activate: 5 minutes are enough.
• Sugar: Although not traditionally used in authentic baguette recipes, a small amount of white sugar gives the yeast an extra boost that allows the dough to rise more well. It also adds a lightly sweet taste and helps create a golden brown crust during the baking process. 

Related: Important Ingredients in Baking Bread.

Overview: How to Make French Baguette in 6 Steps

This concept of baguette making that doesn’t require a long preparation time can be found in the top French bread consuming countries in the world such as Algeria, Tunisia, and France. With almost the same ingredients of traditional baguette but a different method and in a maximum of 3 hours. All you have to do is knead, let sit, divide, let rise, score and bake.  Here’s a quick overview of this baking method.

• Mix the dough ingredients together: The first time you knead the dough, the dough will seem dry and you’ll wonder if it will ever come together. But it will be in less than 6 minutes. But why increase the speed and keep kneading if the dough is coming together? Good question. The answer: in this second phase of kneading, the baguette dough begins to create its gluten network.
• Let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes: Cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature for about 30 minutes. This rise or rest period, called autolyze, and it allows the bread flour to fully hydrate which helps the dough develop its structure without any effort on the part of the baker. This is an important step that makes the dough easier to work with and improves the flavor and best texture.

• Divide the baguette: The dough will still be sticky after the first rising time. That’s no problem! Dust the dough with flour, divide into equal pieces, roll each piece into a ball shape and place them on your work surface or a baking sheet covered.  

• Shape the baguette: Take a ball, gently flatten it into a rectangular shape on a lightly floured surface, fold the long edge of the dough inward about one-third of the way. Press down to close it, then continue with the remaining two-thirds and make sure to close the seams by pressing them together. Place your palms in the center of the dough and gently roll it outward to lengthen the dough from the center toward the end, aiming for a 12-14 inch length.

• Let rise and score: Cover the shaped baguette with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let it rise for 30-45 minutes before scoring. Using a sharp knife, razor blade or bread lame, score your baguette as you wish. It’s your signature.
• Bake with steam: 20 minutes before baking, place a baking sheet filled with 3 cups of water in the bottom of the oven to create steam and preheat the oven. Bake the baguette until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Press the loaves lightly because if they look hollow, they are done.

Avoid Mistakes: Solutions to Common Baguette Issues

• The dough is sticky or hand to work with: It’s okay for the dough to be sticky due to the high hydration level. Lightly flour your hands, dough and your work surface with a small amount of flour to make it easier to work with. Avoid overusing flour, as it can make the baguette denser.
• The dough didn’t rise enough: Make sure your yeast is still fresh. Expired yeast often fails to rise properly. I made this baguette at 78.8 Fahrenheit (26 Celsius), So you should adapt the recipe to your home temperature by adding or reducing a small amount of yeast and adjusting the rising time. You can also use lukewarm water if your home is colder, place the dough in the oven or leave it a little longer until it rises perfectly.
• Underbaked bottom or overbaked crust: Avoid over-steaming and bake your baguette at the top of the oven or use an upside -down baking sheet under your baguette pan to ensure the underside is baked.  
• Baguette Crust is Too Soft or Pale: A pale of soft crust often results from low oven temperature or the lack of steam. Baguette should be baked in a preheated oven about 250°C (480°F) with steam to get its crispy crust.