Level: Easy Total time: 3h + overnight in the fridge
This recipe for crunchy French baguette is really easy to succeed. It literally makes itself by resting while you have time to do other things. It should be allowed to rest overnight in order to get the optimum airy and crispy French baguette result. I have tested various ways of making baguettes but this final version is what I found made the best result without having to work too much for it. If you want to make more in one go and keep some in the freezer, just double the recipe. They are as crispy and airy heated back up again!
THE TIPS TO SUCCEED
1: Let it rest, let it rest, let it rest…
2: Put an oven-safe bowl or plate with water in the bottom of the oven while cooking to get the crust and color
LET’S GET STARTED
Ingredients
- 380 g Flour
- 300 ml Water
- 9 g Salt Approx. ½ cs, less if on low salt diet
- 6 g Fresh Yeast Approx. ¼ of a pack
How to do it
Start by mixing flour and water at level 1 with the dough hook in your kitchen machine for 1 minute. The water can come straight from the tap, no heating is necessary.
While you let the machine keep turning, add the salt and the crumbled fresh yeast. Increase the speed to level 2 and let it turn for 5 minutes. It is important that the dough gets worked for 5 minutes to get the right texture and letting the yeast well worked into the dough. The dough will come out quite sticky.
Day 1: First step of resting
Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 1 hour. Once that is done fold the dough 3 times on itself (either in the bowl or on a lightly floured table). Then cover the bowl in plastic and leave it in the fridge over night. Please make sure your bowl has enough space as your dough will more than double its volume.
Day 2: Second step of resting
The next day remove the dough very delicately from the bowl onto the table lightly floured. Cut the dough in 2 equal parts. Cover it with a kitchen towel for 50 minutes.
Fold the dough inwards towards the middle from both side. Turn it over and delicately roll it out to a baquette shape and place it in the mold. Alternatively, you can put them on a grid covered by baking paper (see test further down).
Cover the baguettes with a kitchen towel and let them rest for 30-35 minutes. Use a scalpel or a razor blade to cut 2 stripes in each baguette so that it will open up and become an authentic crunchy French Baguette during cooking.
Cooking
While the baguettes are resting one last time you can heat the oven. Put it to 250°c and add the bowl of water at the bottom of the oven. Use the bread cooking option on you oven or alternatively hot air. When you add the mold or the grid to the oven decrease the temperature to 220°c and cook for approx 25 minutes.
Serving the crunchy French baguette
The crunchy French baguettes are ready to eat as soon as they have cooled down for a few minutes. You can serve them as the French do, which means with everything!
Alternative to the baguette mold
You can always cook the French baguettes on a baking paper placed on a grid instead of the mold. The differences I found testing the two different methods are 1; the mold version in crunchier underneath, 2; the mold version is prettier with a more even color and shape. So cooking them on a grid works but for a perfect result, I recommend you invest in a baguette mold.
The baguette on the right side in the photos below is the baguette mold version.
A super easy recipe for making the famous crunchy French baguette at home
Equipment
- Kitchen machine
Ingredients
- 380 g Flour
- 300 ml Water
- 9 g Salt Approx. ½ cs, less if on low salt diet
- 6 g Fresh Yeast Approx. ¼ of a pack
Instructions
The Dough (10 minutes)
- Add the flour in the bowl of your kitchen machine
- Pour in the water, tempered from the tap – no need to heat
- Turn on the machine at speed 1 for 1 minute, using the dough hook
- While the machine is still on add the salt and yeast in crumbles
- Increase the machine speed to speed 2 and let it turn for 5 minutes. Your dough should come out quite sticky.
First Step of Resting (1 hour)
- Release the bowl from the machine and cover with a kitchen towel. Rest 1 hour
- Fold the dough on itself 3 times (either directly in the bowl or on a lightly floured table) and cover the bowl with plastic. Put in fridge until next day. Make sure the bowl is big enough, your dough will more than double its size over night.
Next day, second and third step resting (1 hour 30 minutes)
- Remove the dough very delicately from the bowl onto the table lightly floured. Cut the dough in 2 equal parts. Cover with a kitchen towel for 50 minutes
- Fold the dough outwards towards the middle from both side. Turn it over and delicately roll it out to a baquette shape.
- Put them in the baguette mold or alternatively on baking paper on a grid
- Let it rest for 30-35 minutes under a kitchen towel
Cooking (25 Minutes)
- While the dough rests, heat your oven to 250°c with a bowl of water placed on the bottom of the oven. Use the bread function of your oven or alternatively air circulation. The water steam is what makes the famous crust! So adding the bowl of water in the oven is a must do for this recipe.
- Cut 2 stripes in each baguette using a scalpel or razor blade so that it can open up during cooking.
- Add the mold with the baguettes onto a grid in the oven and reduce the temperature to 220°c. Cook for approx 25 minutes.
