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With this easy baguette bread recipe, you can enjoy crusty, chewy homemade French bread — even when you’re not in Paris! Here you’ll find all of the best tips and tricks for a perfect, golden brown loaf every single time.
If you’re looking for more homemade yeast breads, don’t miss this homemade focaccia bread, this cranberry walnut no-knead bread, and our favorite easy homemade dinner rolls, too!
First time I tried making baguettes and not only was this easy, they turned out beautifully. I made some fantastic garlic toast with this bread and can’t wait to dip it too. Thank you for sharing!
– Karen
This Homemade Baguette is Easier Than You Might Think
When I was growing up, my mom did most of the day-to-day cooking in our house — but my dad was in charge of the bread. From biscuits to baguettes, he has mastered the science of bread-baking. Of course, I consulted Granddaddy when I decided to learn the art of the French baguette myself.
My goal was to create an easy French baguette recipe with a crisp crust and light, airy center — while keeping the process approachable and manageable — even for beginner bread-bakers. Because let’s be honest: very few of us have the time (or desire) to work on a loaf of bread for an entire day, and very few of us will devote our lives to creating authentic artisan French baguettes in a boulangerie. Instead, what you get here is a really simple process that yields two very delicious loaves of bread!
What is a Baguette?
A baguette is a long, thin loaf of French bread that’s made with a lean dough. It’s distinguished by its shape and its crisp crust. The word baguette simply means “wand,” “baton,” or “stick” — obviously referring to the bread’s long, thin shape.
Authentic French baguette recipes have a reputation for being some of the hardest homemade breads to achieve. Artisan-style loaves are usually made with a pre-ferment called a poolish, which increases the flavor complexity of the bread and may include whole wheat flour and other grains such as rye. These loaves require a significant amount of time to rest and rise and can be quite tedious to master. As I mentioned above, this particular baguette bread recipe is an easy version that’s perfect for beginners. I’ll walk you step-by-step through the process, which is fairly quick and only requires 5 basic ingredients.
The Difference Between French Bread and a Baguette
A traditional French bread recipe yields a much wider loaf with a softer crust than a baguette, making it ideal for recipes like toasted appetizers or garlic bread. Baguettes are long and thin with a thicker crust. You can use French bread to make sandwiches, French toast, or flatbreads like a French bread pizza. Since baguettes are more narrow, they’re great for bite-sized recipes like crostinis and bruschetta. Slice them into small slices and toast them for the perfect dippable chip, or cube a day-old baguette and use it for bread pudding or homemade croutons.
Ingredients You’ll Need for this Baguette Bread Recipe
This is just a quick overview of the simple ingredients that you’ll need for a homemade baguette. As always, specific measurements and complete cooking instructions are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Dry active yeast: helps the dough rise.
- Lukewarm water: activates the yeast. Make sure that you use warm water when preparing the dough — not too hot and not too cold. You want the water to feel like warm bath water (about 110-115°F). If it’s too hot, you will kill the yeast; too cold, the yeast will not be activated.
- Sugar: feeds the yeast.
- All-purpose flour: while I typically prefer bread flour in homemade bread, the baguette recipe works best with all-purpose flour. All-purpose flour is a blend of hard and soft wheat and is wonderful for making airier (less chewy) bread, like baguettes.
- Salt: enhances the other flavors in the bread. I use Morton’s iodized table salt for this recipe (not kosher salt, sea salt, or other varieties).
- Cornmeal for dusting, optional: helps to prevent the dough from sticking to the pan.
How to Make Baguette Bread
There are only about 20 minutes of actual hands-on time required for this easy baguette recipe. Otherwise, you’ll give the dough two separate short rises and then bake it off in the oven.
- Proof Yeast. Since we’re using active dry yeast (not instant yeast), you’ll need to soften the yeast in a small bowl with warm water and sugar before adding it to the dough. Traditional baguette recipes don’t usually include sugar; however, the sugar here feeds the yeast, creates carbon dioxide, and helps the dough rise faster.
- Mix Dough. Mix together the dough using flour, salt, and the yeast mixture. Add warm water until a soft dough comes together.
- Knead. Kneading the dough makes bread light, airy, and chewy by developing gluten. See my notes below for the full details on this easy process!
- First Rise. Let the dough rest in a warm, humid environment until it doubles in size — about 45 minutes – 1 hour.
- Shape Baguettes. Divide the dough into two equal portions, and then shape each portion into a baguette loaf.
- Second Rise. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap or towel; allow the loaves to rise until they’re slightly puffy, about 25-45 minutes.
- Slash Dough. When your dough is puffy, remove the cover and use a baker’s lame (a special curved blade), a razor blade, or a very sharp knife to make a few lengthwise slashes in each baguette.
- Bake. Transfer the dough to a 450°F oven while at the same time carefully pouring boiling water into a cast iron pan on the bottom rack of the oven. The steam from the water will help create that super-crisp crust that’s a hallmark of an authentic French baguette. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the loaves are a deep golden brown. Tap the top of the loaf lightly — it will sound hollow when it’s done.
How to Knead Bread Dough
Kneading bread dough is what helps create gluten strands. Gluten helps to create gas, which allows the bread dough to rise (proof) and built that fluffy texture once baked. And yes – it is possible to over-knead (and under-knead) bread. Over-kneading is easy to do when using a stand mixer, so watch for signs of overworked dough. Overworked dough will tear quickly and feel dense and tough to handle in the mixture. On the other hand, under-kneaded dough is floppy and loose, and you’ll struggle to form it into a ball. If your dough displays these signs, you’re in the clear to keep kneading.
To knead the dough by hand, flour the worktop, and then push, pull, and stretch the dough. When it’s properly kneaded, the dough should be elastic and smooth. If you’re fortunate enough to have a stand mixer, simply use the dough hook to knead the bread in the mixer. This is my preference because it’s hands-off — just let the machine run for about 4-6 minutes.
Here are the before-and-after kneading shots:
How to Proof Bread Dough
If you’re having trouble proofing the bread, check the temperature of your kitchen. If your kitchen is a little too warm (above 75-80°F) or a little too cool (below about 65°F), it might be affecting the proofing stage. If it’s on the warm side and you ended up with a dense loaf, it’s likely the bread was over-proofed — the yeast got too active and produced so much gas that the dough effectively popped like a balloon. If it’s too cold, then the opposite might have happened. The yeast didn’t get a chance to become active enough and create enough gas to lift the dough. You should try letting it sit out a little longer.
This recipe instructs you to proof bread dough in two increments for a total of about 2 hours, but the total time required will really depend on the temperature of the room. The ideal room temperature for proofing bread is between 75°F and 80°F.
Here are the before-and-after proofing shots:
How to Shape Baguettes
Punch the dough down and then divide the ball into two equal pieces. Working with one piece of dough at a time, flatten the dough into a small rectangle. Fold one edge into the center, and seal the seam. Turn the dough around, and repeat on the other side. Repeat this process again, using your thumb and the heel of your hand to seal the seam as you go.
With the seam side down, gently roll from the center outwards, lengthening the dough into a log that’s about 12-14 inches long. Taper each end of the log slightly to create the baguette’s typical “pointy” end, if you like. Place the dough onto a cornmeal-dusted baking sheet, baking stone, couche, or baguette pan (or line with parchment paper).
Tip: Watch this video for a great demonstration on how to shape a baguette.
Serving Suggestions
A versatile loaf of baguette bread has so much potential! We usually serve it as a side dish with soups and salads, minestrone, pasta, or a beef burgundy recipe for dinner. A crusty baguette is perfect for soaking up any extra broth or sauce on your plate, and you can also make homemade garlic bread with your loaves.
Use sliced, toasted baguette for appetizers like bruschetta or with cheeses and meats on a charcuterie board. At cocktail hour, pair the sliced baguette with crab dip, shrimp dip, or pimento cheese.
And finally, don’t forget that a ham and brie sandwich on baguette is amazing, as well as French toast made with day-old baguette or toasted baguette with butter and jam. Honestly, it doesn’t get much better than that!
Storage Tips
- How to Store: Baguettes are best when enjoyed within about 4 hours of baking. To store a baguette overnight, wrap it loosely in a paper bag and store at room temperature for 1-2 days. If it starts to get slightly stale, just toast it or reheat it in the oven.
- Freeze: While a French Boulanger may not agree, I like to freeze the extra baguette to enjoy at a later date. Just allow the loaf to cool completely, wrap tightly, and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter at room temperature, and then reheat in the oven just until warmed through.
- How to Reheat: Preheat the oven to 300°F. Sprinkle the loaf with water, wrap it tightly in foil, and place it in the oven for 10 minutes. It should be perfectly warmed through!
- How to Soften: To soften a stale baguette, run it under warm water. Don’t soak through the bread entirely, but give it a nice coating of warm water. Place the damp bread directly on the rack in a 350°F oven for about 10-15 minutes.
My husband and I do caviar every Friday night! Last Friday we didn’t have our usual baguette so I had to find a recipe and whip one up in less than three hours. This recipe was quick, easy and delicious! Thank you.
– Kristy
- 2 (0.25 ounce) packets dry active yeast (about 1 ½ tablespoons total)
- 1 ¼ cups lukewarm water (about 100-110°F), divided
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- Cornmeal, for dusting
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Combine the yeast, ½ cup of warm water, and the sugar in a small bowl. Let the mixture rest for 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast. It should look a little bit foamy.
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In the large bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture. Gradually (not all at once) add the remaining ¾ cup of warm water and mix (or stir by hand with a wooden spoon) until a soft dough comes together in a ball. You might not need all of the water. If the dough is too sticky, you can add a bit more flour. It shouldn’t be sticking to the sides of the bowl.
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Once the dough comes together in a ball, knead with a dough hook or by hand until smooth and elastic – about 4-6 minutes. If the dough is sticking to the bowl or to your hands, add extra flour (one tablespoon at a time).
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Transfer the dough to a greased bowl (I spray my bowl with a light coating of nonstick cooking spray). Turn to coat the dough with the grease on all sides.
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Cover the bowl and let the dough rest in a warm place until it’s doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
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Punch the dough down to release the air. Cut the dough into two equal portions.
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Working with one piece at a time, flatten the dough slightly into a small rectangular shape. Fold one edge into the center, and seal the seam. Turn the dough around, and repeat on the other side. Repeat this process again, using your thumb and the heel of your hand to seal the seam as you go. With the seam side down, gently roll from the center outwards, lengthening the dough into a log that’s about 12-14 inches long. Taper each end of the log slightly to create the baguette’s typical “pointy” end, if you like.
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Place the dough onto a cornmeal-dusted baking sheet or baguette pan. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap; allow the loaves to rise until they’re slightly puffy (but not doubled in bulk), about 25-45 minutes.
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Towards the end of the rising time, place a cast iron pan (or other non-glass oven-proof pan or bowl) on the lowest rack in the oven. Place another rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Bring 1 ½ cups of water to a boil.
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When your dough is puffy, remove the cover and use a baker’s lame (a special curved blade), a razor blade, or a very sharp knife held at about a 45° angle, to make three to five long lengthwise slashes in each baguette.
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Transfer the dough to the middle rack of the 450°F oven, while at the same time carefully pouring the boiling water into the cast iron pan. Quickly shut the oven door. The steam from the water will help to create a crusty exterior on the bread. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the loaves are a deep golden brown. The bread should sound hollow when you tap it. Remove the bread from the oven and cool on a wire rack before slicing.
I like a darker, crispier crust, so I bake my bread for about 18-20 minutes. If you prefer a softer, lighter crust on your baguette, you may only need to bake it for about 15 minutes. Check it early and pull it out when it reaches your desired color.
Recipe slightly adapted from Food Network.
Serving: 1hunk (about 1/6 of a loaf)Calories: 140kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 4gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 292mgPotassium: 50mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gCalcium: 5mgIron: 2mg
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This recipe was originally published in December, 2020. It was updated in February, 2025.
