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Incredibly Easy French Baguettes

Best Baguettes Recipe (French bread Baguettes)

dana vento
You will have unprecedented success in bread making, specifically, crusty, artisan-crafted French baguettes with this simple, beginner's level option, as you create the best baguettes recipe!
The crust that actually rips the roof of your mouth open but you still keep on eating it, because it is addictive?
This recipe is for you! P.S. I have a secret to getting the dough crusty, you gotta read on to get it! 
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Ingredients
  

  • 4 1/2 Teaspoons of Yeast Bread Yeast
  • Honey 2 1/4 Tablespoons
  • 3 1/2 C of Bread Flour
  • 1 C of Water 110°
  • 2 Tsp of salt keep separate from the yeast!
  • Bread Machine to Dough Mode

Instructions
 

  • Add your ingredients to your bread machine
  • Program bread machine to dough mode.
  • Once the dough cycle is complete, before removing the dough to your work surafce, begin the oven and tray prep then move on to working with the dough

Tray + Oven Preparation for Easy French Baguettes

  • Preheat your oven to 400°F and prep your trays for baking
  • Use brown rice flour to coat your parchment paper or (read post to learn more options) Now you are ready to work with the fresh dough from the bread machine

Bread After Dough Cycle Completes

  • Once the dough cycle is complete, transfer the dough to a lightly Floured work surface and do tray and oven prep then move on to working with the dough
  • Punch out the bread dough that has risen.
  • Once done, lightly coat workspace with flour again.
  • Now
    Cut dough into 1/2 or 1/3's depending (remember you are attempting to make rectangular cuts) so length-wise cuts, not width.
  • Portion the dough with how big you want your loaves.
  • Of course for rolls, cut into smaller pieces and go about the procedure the same way. 
  • Work with one loaf at a time, covering the other dough pieces you are not working iwth.
  • Place the dough in front of you, lengthwise, and pinch each end together (the sides)
  • Form the dough again and ping and fold as you go (see video)
  • Working on the length, fold it over itself, seaming it, which is actually lengthening the dough (the loaf) as you go!
  • As you do this you will be rolling the dough on the floured surface and you need to keep the edges (side top and side botom sealed)
  • Think of folding a piece of paper into segments, you will do this for both sides. 
  • DO this at least 3 times to each side (folding like a letter) and the baguette just gets longer and longer.
  • Repeat this for each additional dough portion creating 3 or 4 loaves.
  • Place the first loaf on the tray, to one side, you can fit more than one loaf on the tray and then add a second loaf to the tray
  • Repeat the lengthening method for dough piece number 2 and place it on a tray as well.
  • Cover, and allow to rise at least 30 minutes. These baguette loaves will double in size

Before Placing Loaves In The Oven ...

  • Before you open the oven door and place the tray in, prepare another Oven Proof bowl or tray with ice-cold water.
  • I use the coldest tap water or refrigerator water. 
  • I place the water in the bowl and put it on the bottom shelf of the oven and then immediately put the bread in above the water.
  • I close the oven and do not open it the entire time it is baking.
  • This makes the crust, incredibly authentic and crunchy.
  • Bake for just about 13 minutes, and remove from oven to cooling tray and then serve.B
  • Bake 450° F for 13 minutes and remove to a cooling rack

Video

Notes

For baking, you need to transfer the dough to the trays.
Use brown rice flour, is the best nonstick solution ever.
Your dough won't stick and it will crisp.
Alternatively, you can use cornmeal, I do that too, it just depends on what I see first in my pantry!
If you don't have either of those on hand, parchment paper will work too. 
Cover dough always, so it does not dry out, while you are prepping the other. 
Dough Will double in size!