This post takes you through step-by-step instructions for Easy French Baguettes that you can make in an hour. Crispy on the outside and soft and chewy in the middle. This bread recipe is perfect for beginners and yields incredible results every time.
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Hello friends!
The sun is out today and my heart is happy. Oh I love the sun. I always miss it during those dreary grey days. This girl is really looking forward to spring, let me tell you.
Today I’m sharing another love with you.
These easy French Baguettes are A-M-A-Z-I-N-G in every way. They are crispy and firm on the outside and soft and chewy in the middle.
This is another great bread recipe for any bread making beginners. Or…if you’ve been making bread for years, perhaps I can give you a few pointers to simplify your process. Because some recipes just don’t need to take more than an hour, my friends. And this is one of them!
Are you ready to dive in? I’ve got step-by-step instructions so you’re sure to be successful.
Making the Dough
First of all I love my Bosch mixer (aff. link). Have I told you that a thousand times yet? Oh seriously, it is the best for bread making. I’ve never tried making this with any other stand mixer, but feel free to give it a try.
The process is simple. To the mixing bowl, add the hot water (you are looking for right around 110 degrees F – I usually warm mine up in the microwave for a minute or so), the sugar and the salt.
Next measure out the flour called for in the recipe (I like to use my kitchen scale, aff. link for this) and add half the flour to the bowl with the yeast on top of the flour (making sure the yeast doesn’t touch the hot water or it may kill it).
Then turn on the mixer and mix it, adding additional flour from the measured amount until the dough starts to pull away from sides and center of the bowl. Then let the dough mix for 6 minutes with the Bosch.
Keep in mind that you may need more or less flour than the recipe suggests. Always go by the texture of the dough, rather than the recipe amounts when making bread. Since a baguette is a freestanding loaf of dough, it will be slightly firmer than say a roll dough, which is very sticky and relies on the other rolls being close to it to help it rise upward.
When fully mixed, the dough should be tacky, but not so sticky that you can’t work with it. If it is over floured then it will be hard and stiff, which is also not what you are going for. It should be smooth and elastic and easy to roll out in the next step.
Forming the Loaves
Place the dough on a floured surface and divide it in two. Roll out half in a large rectangle (about 10×16-inches). It doesn’t have to be perfect. As you can see, mine is more like an oval and that’s okay.
Next roll up the loaves like a cinnamon or jelly roll starting on one long end. Roll tightly, using a little water on your fingers to seal it together, if needed. Tuck the ends under by pulling the dough on top over and under each end. Place on a greased baguette pan. The baguette pan (aff. link) makes for a bit fancier loaf but in a pinch you can use a half baking sheet lined with parchment paper. It works just fine.
Then repeat with remaining dough to form another loaf.
Rising and Baking
Once you have both loaves formed, score the loaves with a very sharp knife or baker’s lame (aff. link). You will make a few shallow cuts at an angle or one shallow cut down the center, depending on the look you are going for. You want to cut quickly with a sharp knife so that the knife doesn’t pull at the dough and deflate it.
Cover with a light dishcloth and let rise for 30 minutes in a warm place until doubled.
Meanwhile adjust the center oven rack so it’s in the bottom third of the oven and place a rack underneath. Place a shallow pan on the lower rack (I use a broiler pan). Then preheat the oven to 450 degrees F or if you have convection, use 425 degrees F convection bake.
When baguettes are risen, place them in the preheated oven on center rack. Then carefully add 1 cup of water to the shallow pan on the lower rack, closing the door quickly. This will create steam in the oven as the loaves cook. The steam gives the loaves that delicious crispy outer crust. Let loaves bake for 15 minutes or until properly browned according to your preference. I like a light browned color. Loaves should have a hollow sound when tapped with a knife when they are completely cooked.
Now it’s time to dive in! I love to serve these baguettes with a delicious Italian dinner or cut them into thirds for the best hogi sandwiches of your life. And there’s no way anyone could resist a hot sliced baguette spread with butter. Mmmmh.
Update (5/21/2020): If you are new to breadmaking (or just looking to up your breadmaking game), I wrote up a super detailed guide to baking with yeast. It will walk you through a lot of common breadmaking pitfalls and help you become a breadmaking expert.
Easy French Baguettes
This post takes you through step-by-step instructions for Easy French Baguettes that you can make in an hour. Crispy on the outside and soft and chewy in the middle. This bread recipe is perfect for beginners and yields incredible results every time.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups very warm water about 110 degrees, see note
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 3 ½ cups (17.5 ounces) all-purpose flour divided, see note
- 1 ½ tablespoons instant yeast
Instructions
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Grease a baguette pan or use a half baking sheet with parchment paper.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook attachment add hot water, sugar, and salt. Measure out the full amount of flour in a small bowl and add half to the mixer. Finally add the instant yeast on top of the flour, being careful to not let it touch the hot water directly.
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Start mixer and let it mix for a few seconds until the ingredients are incorporated, then add the remaining measured flour gradually until the dough begins to pull away from the sides and center of the bowl (see note). Let the dough mix for 6 minutes with the mixer then remove and place on a floured surface.
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Cut the dough in half (I use a bench scraper) and roll half of the dough into a rectangle about 10×16-inches. Starting at one end of the long side, carefully roll the dough up tightly like you would a cinnamon or jelly roll, using a little water on your fingers to seal it together, if needed. Tuck the ends under and place on prepared pan. Repeat with remaining dough.
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Score the loaves with a very sharp knife or baker’s lame: a few shallow cuts at an angle or one shallow cut down the center, depending on the look you are going for. Cover with a light dishcloth and let rise for 30 minutes in a warm place until doubled.
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Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450 degrees (or 425 convection bake). Adjust rack to bottom third of the oven and place a shallow pan underneath this rack on the bottom of the oven.
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When baguettes are risen, place them in the preheated oven on the rack in the lower third of the oven. Then carefully add 1 cup of water to the shallow pan, closing the door quickly to create steam. Let bake for 15 minutes or until properly browned. Loaves should have a hollow sound when completely cooked.
Recipe Notes
1. I’ve found that tap water is usually not hot enough so I microwave the water for a minute to a minute and a half until it’s very warm, but not scalding.
2. When adding the flour keep in mind that like all bread recipes, you may need more or less flour than the recipe suggests. When fully mixed, the dough should be tacky, but not so sticky that you can’t work with it. If it is over floured then it will be hard and stiff, which is also not what you are going for. It should be smooth and elastic and easy to roll out.
Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat, adapted ingredients from The Food Nanny, simplified mixing & baking process, included step-by-step instructions and details on how to form baguette loaves
All images and text © The Cook’s Treat
Disclaimer: post contains affiliate links for items on Amazon.
Can I substitute maple syrup for the sugar and spelt for the all purpose?
Hi Shay, yes you can substitute the maple syrup for the sugar. For the whole-grain spelt I would probably start with subbing in just half. If you go more than half it will have a drier texture. You can also experiment with 1/4 cup gluten flour plus the rest spelt flour and see what you think. If you change up the flour types make sure to go with the amount needed based on the look and feel of the dough rather than what the recipe says because in general whole-grain flours are “thirstier” than white flours meaning you generally need less flour. Hope that helps.
First time i tried this french bread,which came out well i love it.
Thank you Nancy!