Cooking Class: Classic Baguette

I'd like to start a new segment on my blog (not sure about how frequently yet), featuring how to do different things so if there's anything you'd like to know, leave a comment and I'll see if I can help you out. Feel free to leave your feedback as well.

Today's Cooking Class I'd like to feature a simple and classic baguette.

As I've said before, making bread is not really that hard, it just takes practice and "getting it." Over a year and a half ago I endeavored to make bread for our family instead of buying it. I found a good recipe from my husband's great aunt in a family cookbook we had and since I actually knew her I gave her a call. I had her talk me through her recipe and I wrote down notes and I thought I was good to go. However, I made the bread and my loaves turned out like bricks!

For me, the "getting it" part didn't happen until I actually saw for my self how to do it. I took a bread-making class and my bread has been forever changed; for the better. Hopefully these step-by-step instructions and photos will help you "get it" as well and make beautiful bread.

This recipe takes some forethought and several hours from start to finish, but minimal effort on your part. Most of the time the dough will be sitting on the counter while you go about your business.


First of all you'll need to mix together the flour, water and a little yeast for the starter. Cover and let sit. You'll want to let this sit at room temperature on your counter at least 4 hours, up to 14 hours. I just do mine overnight. The picture above shows what it will look like after you've let it rest.


The next day, add your flour, salt and *yeast to your mixing bowl and whiz a second or two to mix it up. Then, add all of the starter and water.

*I use instant yeast and just throw it in with my dry ingredients. If you are using active dry yeast, you'll want to add the warm water to your starter then sprinkle the yeast on top to proof it. Stir it around a little bit to get the yeast off the sides of the bowl, then add it to your dry ingredients.

You may have to adjust the amount of water you use because it will vary depending on type of flour, yeast, weather conditions, etc. I measure approximately the amount in the recipe then when I've poured almost all of it in, I turn on the mixer for a second to see how it's coming together. You don't want it too dry so it's already pulling off the sides of the bowl at this point, you want it just wet enough to leave a little on the sides. Knead the dough in the mixer for about 5 minutes until it's cohesive and somewhat smooth.


Dump it out into a greased bowl and form a ball. Cover with either a lid, light dish towel or plastic wrap. Let raise about an hour (or until doubled).


Gently punch it down and flip it over. Replace cover and continue to let it raise. After about another hour, punch it down and turn it over again. Replace the lid and let it rise for the third time.


This was my dough at the end of the third rise.


Turn the dough onto a lightly greased work surface and divide the dough into 2 equal balls (you can do 3 if you want skinny baguettes). Cover with a light towel or greased plastic wrap and let rest about 10-15 minutes.


Roll out the dough into a rectangle. Fold the dough in half, flatten it and seal the edges. Fold the dough over again and seal the edges. Turn the seam under and gently roll it back and forth, starting from the center, to lengthen and shape it.


Pinch the ends closed and tuck them under if you wish.




Gently lay the loaf on a greased baking sheet. (Obviously I have trouble dividing my dough evenly. You could use a kitchen scale to weigh each dough ball if you wanted to get them the same size.)


Once the loaves have been formed, cover them again with either a light kitchen towel or greased plastic wrap. Let rise until puffy but not quite doubled. Near the end of the rise, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Liberally spray the loaves with warm water.


Take a very sharp knife and, holding it at 45 degree angle, make 3 diagonal slashes down the baguette.


Throw them in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes. Make sure you bake them long enough, they should look pretty golden.


When you take the loaves out of the oven you will hear them snap and crackle. Listen closely! From the cross-section here you can see, I rolled my dough up and didn't flatten it very well so air was trapped in between.

Typical artisan breads are holey. While these homemade loaves won't be quite as holey, they'll be holey enough to hold onto some garlic butter or herbed olive oil. Hope you enjoy!

The Recipe

For the Starter
1/2 cup (4 ounces) cool water
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) Bread Flour
1/16 teaspoon instant yeast

For the Dough
All of the starter
1 teaspoon instant yeast or 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 cup (8 ounces) lukewarm water*
3 1/2 cups (14 3/4 ounces) Bread Flour*
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

*If you use bread flour, increase the water to 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (9 ounces).


For the starter, mix together the flour, water and a little yeast for the starter. Cover and let sit. You'll want to let this sit at room temperature on your counter at least 4 hours, up to 14 hours (or overnight).

The next day, add your flour, salt and *yeast to your mixing bowl and whiz a second or two to mix it up. Then, add all of the starter and water. Knead the dough in the mixer for about 5 minutes until it's cohesive and somewhat smooth.
*I use instant yeast and just throw it in with my dry ingredients. If you are using active dry yeast, you'll want to add the warm water to your starter then sprinkle the yeast on top to proof it. Stir it around a little bit to get the yeast off the sides of the bowl, then add it to your dry ingredients.

Dump kneaded dough out into a greased bowl and form a ball. Cover either with a lid, light dish towel or greased plastic wrap. Let raise about an hour (or until doubled).

Gently punch it down and flip it over. Replace cover and continue to let it raise. After about another hour, punch it down and turn it over again. Replace the lid and let it rise for the third time.

Turn the dough onto a lightly greased work surface and divide the dough into 2 equal balls (you can do 3 if you want skinny baguettes). Use a kitchen scale to make them the same size if you wish. Cover with a light towel or greased plastic wrap and let rest about 10-15 minutes.

Roll out the dough into a rectangle. Fold the dough in half, flatten it and seal the edges. Fold the dough over again and seal the edges. Turn the seam under and gently roll it back and forth, starting from the center, to lengthen and shape it.
Pinch the ends closed and tuck them under if you wish.

Gently lay loaf on a greased baking sheet. Once the loaves have been formed, cover them again with either a light kitchen towel or greased plastic wrap. Let rise until puffy but not quite doubled. Near the end of the rise, preheat the oven to 450degrees F. Liberally spray the loaves with warm water.

Take a very sharp knife and, holding it at 45 degree angle, make 3 diagonal slashes down the baguette.

Bake the baguettes for about 25 minutes. Make sure you bake them long enough, they should look pretty golden.

Remove loaves to a cooling rack and let cool completely.


SOURCE:King Arthur Flour