Easy Crusty French Baguette

4.93 from 67 votes

This Easy Crusty French Baguette is simple enough to be made at home but tastes just like you bought it at your local bakery!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine French

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Resting 2

Servings Baugettes

Calories 869kcal

Author Tracy

Equipment

Ingredients

1/4 cup warm water 50 g or 1.75 fl oz
2 1/4 teaspoons active yeast 1 packet, 10 g
3 2/3 cups bread flour 1 lb or 454 g
1 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt 9 g
1 1/4 cups water 10 fl oz or 296 g

Instructions

Add the 1/4 c warm water to a bowl and dissolve the yeast and let activate until bubbly, about 10 minutes. If using instant yeast, no need to wait the 10 minutes.
In a medium sized bowl, measure out flour, add salt and stir and then add it to the yeast.
Add water (a little at a time) to the dough and mix into a a shaggy dough. The dough shouldn't be sticky, so you may not need to add all of the water.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, add dough to a lightly floured surface and gently knead a couple of times before putting in a lightly oiled bowl to rise. Cover with plastic again and let rise for 1 hr.
Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.
Lightly flour surface. Divide dough in half. And then halve again to get 4 equal portions that are about 10 inches long. Shape doughs into long loaves with pointed ends. Cover with oiled plastic wrap or a dry linen towel and let rise again until almost doubled - about 30-45 minutes.
Once doubled, gently transfer loaves to parchment lined baking sheets. Sprinkle with flour and then slash with a bread lame slashing tool.
Spray loaves with water and then add to oven. Set time for 30 minutes. Let bake for 5 minutes (25 min mark) and then spray with water. After another 7 minutes (at 18 min mark) spray again with water.
Bake for a total of 30 minutes or until baguettes are brown and crusty. Remove from oven and let cool. When the bottom is tapped, they should sound hallow.
Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Make Ahead:

After kneading the dough, add it to an oiled bowl, cover it tightly with plastic wrap, and place it in the fridge. The next day, punch it down, let it rest for about 10 minutes, and then shape.

Baguette Length:

Use this recipe to make either 2 extra-long baguettes or 4 shorter baguettes. Nutritional value 1 whole extra-long baguette.

Storage:

Let your baguettes cool completely before storing them in a plastic bag, bread box, or wrapping them in foil and storing them on the counter. The crust may soften, but it can be crisped back up in the oven.

Fresh baguettes are best used within the first day or two.

Freeze for up to 3 months.

Substitutions:

Yeast: If you only have active yeast that's not quick rise, add yeast to water and let it activate for 5-10 minutes until the yeast begins to be foamy.

Crust:

For a softer crust, add an oven-safe dish with water to the bottom rack in the oven when you pre-heat the oven.

Nutrition