Classic French baguette

The pinnacle of lean bread baking — just flour, water, salt, and yeast transformed into a loaf with a crackly golden crust and an airy, chewy interior. Mastering baguettes teaches you fundamental shaping and steam techniques that apply to all bread baking.

Yield: 2 baguettes | Prep: 20 min | Rise: 2.5 hrs | Bake: 25 min

Ingredients

• 360g (3 cups) unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
• 8g (1 1/4 tsp) salt
• 5g (1 tsp) instant yeast
• 300ml (1 1/4 cups) room temperature water (about 70F)

Instructions

1. Mix and knead: Combine flour, salt, and yeast. Add water and stir until a rough dough forms. Knead by hand 10 minutes or by stand mixer 6-8 minutes until smooth and elastic.
2. First rise: Cover and rise at room temperature 1.5-2 hours until doubled.
3. Shape: Divide dough in half. Gently flatten each piece into a rectangle, fold in thirds like a letter, then roll into a 14-16 inch log with tapered ends. Place seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
4. Second rise: Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap. Rise 45-60 minutes until puffy but not quite doubled.
5. Score and bake: Preheat oven to 475F with an empty metal pan on the lower rack. Score 3-4 diagonal slashes on each baguette. Slide into the oven and pour 1/2 cup hot water into the pan below for steam. Bake 24-28 minutes until deep golden. Internal temperature: 190F.

Tips

• Steam is the secret to a crackly crust — you can also spray the oven walls during the first 5 minutes
• Unbleached all-purpose flour closely mimics French T55 flour
• Do not over-flour during shaping; slight tackiness helps build surface tension
• Baguettes are best eaten within hours of baking — they stale quickly without preservatives