Crusty, Open-Crumb Baguettes
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Made with a no-knead, four-ingredient dough, these baguettes have an open crumb and a shatteringly crisp crust. The overall process is simple, but the key to an excellent baguette is twofold: time, which develops flavor, encourages browning, and promotes a light and airy crumb; and baking in a steamy environment, which you can create easily in your home oven. You’ll find step-by-step instructions below.
Nearly every week someone writes me asking if I have a baguette recipe. They’ll say: “I checked your bread archives and couldn’t find one, but wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything.”
They hadn’t!
I’ve hesitated to add a baguette recipe here for a number of reasons, namely because before recently, I hadn’t had much success with them. Over the years I’ve dabbled, but I’ve found the process discouraging from the shaping (requiring very practiced hands) to the equipment (couches, lames, lava rocks) to the baking (demanding steam). Baguettes, I resigned, were best left to the professionals.
But at some point a few months ago, I rolled an extra round of pizza dough into a log, threw it in my Challenger Bread Pan, and baked it. And when it emerged golden and crusty, I felt hopeful. And when I halved it to reveal a wild amorphous crumb, I nearly cried.
Kidding. However, there is something very satisfying about producing a deeply burnished, light and airy baguette, in your own kitchen.
Since this first successful bake, I have experimented with a number of different baking methods, and in this post, I have outlined the two (actually three… see below) I’ve had the most success with: one calling for the Challenger Bread Pan or other oval-shaped Dutch oven and the other for a Baking Steel or baking stone plus a turned-over disposable aluminum pan.
What do the two methods have in common? They both use a lid for the first ten minutes of the baking process. Why? To create steam. And why is steam good? Let’s jump right in.
Warning: This post gets a little nerdy. I consulted two books, Chad Robertson’s Tartine Bread and Jeffrey Hamelman’s Bread, while writing this post. Know this: if I can get it, so can you!
Why is steam good for baguettes?
Steam is good for baguettes (and many breads, such as this simple sourdough bread recipe and Jim Lahey’s no-knead bread) for two reasons: oven spring and crust development (both color and texture).
Let’s start with oven spring. First of all: what is oven spring? In short, oven spring is exactly as it sounds: dough springing in the oven upon entry.
Dough springs in the oven for a few reasons: 1. Increased fermentation activity, meaning as the yeasts rapidly multiply in the hot oven, the dough produces carbon dioxide gas. 2. Steam: As water in the dough evaporates it transforms into steam. Both the carbon dioxide gas and the steam push against the gluten structure, causing the dough to spring.
A moist, steamy environment allows for maximum oven spring because it allows the dough to expand to its fullest potential before a crust forms. In other words: when dough stays soft during the early phases of baking, its oven spring will be greater because it isn’t being restricted by a dry, hard crust.
And the reason we want dough to spring to its potential is because a greater spring promotes a crumb that is light and airy.
Make sense?
Now onto crust color and texture. In the early stages of baking, the rapid increase in enzymatic activity on the surface of the loaf breaks down the starches in the dough into simple sugars. These sugars ultimately contribute to crust color. In a steamy environment, the enzymes remain active for longer, leading to an even richer color.
A steamy environment will also help produce a crust with a subtle sheen. This is because, during the early stages of baking, the starches on the surface of the loaf gelatinize — meaning they swell with water, and as they break down, they form a gel. During the last 10 minutes of baking, when the lid is removed and the baguettes are baking in dry heat, that gel layer dries out, transforming into a shiny crackly crust as opposed to one that is dull and hard.
Compare the two photos below. This first one shows a baguette baked with steam:
In the below photo, the baguettes were baked on the Baking Steel without steam. In the above photo, observe the caramelization of the crust, the score differentiation, and the slight sheen. Compare it to the dry, lusterless crusts below:
Note: In my experiments, I tried using other methods to create the steamy environment: ice (adding ice cubes to a skillet placed next to the loaf during the first 10 minutes of baking) and water (pouring water into a hot skillet set next to the loaf). While both methods indeed created steam, I found them mostly ineffective in terms of creating a nice crust.
So, to recap: baking in a sealed environment is important to create steam, which is optimal for good oven spring and crust formation. But steam is not the only factor responsible for producing a baguette with a beautifully burnished crust and light and airy crumb.
Time is essential, too.
Why is time good for baguettes?
When dough rises slowly, good things happen: during a long, slow fermentation, enzymes in both the flour and the yeast break down the starches in the flour into simple sugars, which contributes both to flavor and to browning.
If you make your dough at least a day before you plan on baking it, you will see improved flavor and browning. It’s for these reasons, I always make my pizza dough two to three days before I plan on cooking it.
Timelines
This dough calls for a long slow initial rise, roughly 6 to 10 hours depending on the time of year and the temperature of your kitchen. Following this first rise, you’ll ball up your four portions of dough and, ideally, store them in the fridge for a day or two for the above-mentioned reasons: time = goodness.
The beauty of this method is that you can store the dough balls in the fridge for as long as a week, and you can bake off the baguettes one at a time as needed. Unless you are baking for a lot of people, you don’t want to have lots of extra baguettes on hand — while they reheat fine on subsequent days, baguettes are best eaten the day of.
On baking day you’ll want to remove your dough three hours before you plan on baking.
All of this said, you can skip the fridge time all together — find a photo just before the recipe card at the bottom of the post that shows a baguette that experienced no fridge time: the dough was mixed Friday evening; the baguettes were baked Saturday afternoon.
Example Timeline #1: Fridge Time
- Wednesday Evening: Mix Dough
- Thursday Morning: Ball Up Dough, Transfer to Fridge
- Friday Afternoon (or any subsequent afternoon for as long as a week): Remove Dough Ball From Fridge 3 Hours Prior to Baking
- Friday Evening: Bake Baguette
Example Timeline #2: No Fridge Time
- Thursday Evening: Mix Dough
- Friday Morning: Ball Up Dough, Transfer to a Lidded Vessel (such as a DoughMate), Leave at Room Temperature for Two Hours.
- Friday Midday: Shape the Dough Balls into Baguette Shape and Return to Lidded Vessel, Leave at Room Temperature for Roughly Two Hours More.
- Friday Afternoon: Bake the Baguettes
Ready? You got this 🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖
How to Make Baguettes, Step by Step
I’ve broken down this step-by-step guide into three sections:
Part I: Mixing and Portioning the Dough
Gather your ingredients: flour, salt, yeast, and water. I conducted most of my experiments with King Arthur Bread flour, since it is widely available and such a reliable flour. SAF instant yeast is my favorite. See notes in the recipe box regarding salt.
I also had excellent results using this Petra 0102 flour, which is made from partially sprouted wheat flour and which I love for the flavor and texture it lends to a bread or pizza.
Measure everything out, ideally with a scale:
Combine the dry ingredients together first:
Whisk them together:
Then add the water:
Mix until you have a shaggy dough ball:
Let it rest for 30 minutes or so, then stretch and fold it (see video for guidance):
Cover the bowl with an airtight lid, then let it rise at room temperature until it doubles in volume and its surface is covered in bubbles.
Using lightly floured hand, deflate the dough:
Then turn it out onto a work surface and divide it into four equal portions. I do like to use a scale to ensure each portion is identical, roughly 237 grams each.
Ball up each portion:
Transfer to storage vessels:
Then transfer to the fridge ideally for at least a day. The dough balls can stay in the fridge for as long as a week.
Part II: Shaping and Proofing
Shaping baguettes takes a little bit of practice, but I find using cold, refrigerated dough makes the process easy. Below you will find video and photo guidance of the process.
On baking day, turn the dough out onto a work surface. I do not use any flour here, but if you find the dough to be sticky, use flour lightly as needed.
Pat the dough into roughly a 6×7-inch rectangle:
Fold the dough from the top down:
Rotate the dough 180 degrees, and fold from the top down (also known as an “envelope” fold).
Then fold again from the top down, essentially folding the envelope in half.
Then, repeat (see video for guidance):
Pinch the seam closed.
Turn over so that the seam is down and gently roll.
Transfer to a floured, lidded storage vessel. I love these DoughMates, but you could use a large Tupperware or a 9×13-inch dish tucked inside a 2-gallon ziptop bag.
Often I’ll proof two at one time, though I try to stagger the entry of each by 30 minutes so as to avoid overproofing the dough.
Cover the container and let the dough proof for 2.5 to 3 hours or…
… until it feels very light and airy to the touch. One assessment tool you can use is the “poke” test: using a lightly floured finger, poke the dough making an indentation roughly 1/2-inch deep; if it springs back immediately, the dough needs more time; if it springs back slowly initially, but then holds a partial indentation — in other words, if it doesn’t completely refill — the dough is ready to be baked. (And if it doesn’t spring back at all, the dough is overproofed, but push on anyway, because it may bake up just fine.) I don’t love this method because I find it to be misleading: my dough behaves nearly the same way at the 2-hour mark as it does at the 3-hour mark, and yet my baguettes consistently have a lighter, airier crumb if I wait 3 hours before baking them. Nonetheless, it is a tool you can use.
Part III: Baking
When the dough is ready for baking, remove it from the DoughMate and place it on a sheet of parchment paper — I take full sheets, fold them in half lengthwise, then cut them in half.
Use a razor blade to score it.
Then bake it…
Method 1: Preheated Challenger Bread Pan. Place the Challenger or other oblong-shaped Dutch oven into an oven and preheat to 450ºF. This takes roughly 30 minutes in my oven. Lower the scored log, parchment paper and all into the preheated pan.
Cover it and return it to the oven for 10 minutes.
Uncover it, and return it to the oven for another 10 minutes…
… or until the baguette is beautifully golden brown:
Transfer to a cooling rack. Let cool for 15 minutes or so before…
… serving.
As noted above, I’ve been experimenting with Petra 0102 flour. The baguette on the left is made with Petra flour; the one on the right is King Arthur bread flour.
Left: Petra flour; right: King Arthur bread flour.
Method 2: Baking Steel or stone. Note: This method is inspired by this post on Serious Eats. Place a Baking Steel (the original or the pro) or a baking stone in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 450ºF. This may take 30 or so minutes.
Score your dough:
Then shimmy it onto the hot Baking Steel or pizza stone using a peel (this is my favorite peel).
Cover the baguette with a disposable aluminum pan (lasagna-sized) and weigh it down with something heavy enough to seal it down without collapsing it:
Bake for 10 minutes. Then remove the weight and pan.
Continue baking the baguette for another 10 minutes…
… or until it’s golden and bronzy to your liking:
Let cool for 20-ish minutes or so before halving:
A few other bakes with this method: left Petra; right KAF bread flour.
The below pictured loaf is made with KAF bread flour, and this dough experienced no refrigeration: I mixed the dough on Friday night, portioned it and balled it up Saturday morning, let the balls rest in a DoughMate for 2 hours or so, shaped into baguettes and let rest again for another 2 hours; then baked:
Bonus Method: Covered Emile Henry Baker
I bought this Emile Henry baguette baker on a whim several years ago but it has mostly sat unused in my basement. I pulled it out to experiment because when I mentioned I had been baking baguettes in my newsletter, someone emailed me telling me she had just purchased an Emile Henry baguette baker and was looking forward to using it.
I was incredibly pleased by the results, which consistently produced a beautiful crust if slightly less crusty than the two methods outlined above. The crumb, while light, similarly isn’t as open or airy as the other two methods. That said, it’s still delicious. Moreover, a slightly smaller amount of dough might produce a lighter, airier baguette because it wouldn’t fill the baguette well so tightly.
This method is perhaps the easiest of the three in that you don’t have to preheat a vessel. For this sort of baker, simply place the baguette into the buttered well, score it, then bake covered at 450ºF for 10 minutes and then uncovered for 10 more minutes.
For its ease, this is a great option:
The crumb is the least open of the three methods, but the flavor is still great:
PrintCrusty, Open-Crumb Baguettes
- Total Time: 48 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 baguettes
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Adapted from the outdoor variation of the Neapolitanish pizza dough recipe from my cookbook, Pizza Night.
Notes
- For best results, use a scale to measure everything.
- Flour: In most of my experiments I used King Arthur Bread flour but I also got excellent results and often an even more open crumb when I used Petra 0102 Flour, which is made from partially sprouted wheat.
- Salt: I use Diamond Crystal kosher salt, but you could use fine sea salt in its place. Again, for best results use a scale to measure. 16 grams of salt may seem like a lot, but the rule for bread and pizza dough is that the amount of salt should be 2 to 3% the weight of the flour. 16.5 grams is 3%; 11 grams is 2%. If you are using Diamond Crystal kosher salt, you’ll use roughly 5 teaspoons. If you are using Morton kosher salt or fine sea salt, you’ll use 2.5 teaspoons.
- Yeast: SAF instant yeast is my favorite.
Timing
Plan Ahead: This recipe calls for a long slow initial rise of roughly 6-10 hours followed, ideally, by some fridge time.
Example Timeline #1: Fridge Time
-
- Wednesday Evening: Mix Dough
-
- Thursday Morning: Ball Up Dough, Transfer to Fridge
-
- Friday Afternoon (or any subsequent afternoon for as long as a week): Remove Dough Ball From Fridge 3 Hours Prior to Baking
-
- Friday Evening: Bake Baguette
Example Timeline #2: No Fridge Time
-
- Thursday Evening: Mix Dough
-
- Friday Morning: Ball Up Dough, Transfer to a Lidded Vessel (such as a DoughMate), Leave at Room Temperature for Two Hours.
-
- Friday Midday: Shape the Dough Balls into Baguette Shape and Return to Lidded Vessel, Leave at Room Temperature for Roughly Two Hours More.
-
- Friday Afternoon: Bake the Baguettes
Three baking tools for baguettes:
- Challenger Bread Baker
- Baking Steel (the original or the pro) + a disposable aluminum lasagna pan
- Emile Henry Lidded Baguette Baker or other
Other Equipment:
- Dough Storage Containers: This set of four has become a favorite.
- DoughMate storage vessel
- parchment paper
- razor blades
Ingredients
- 550 grams (about 4¼ cups) bread flour or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting, see notes above
- 15 to 16 grams salt, see notes above
- 2 grams (about ½ teaspoon) instant yeast, see notes above
- 385 grams (about 1 2/3 cups) cold (about 60°F) water
- Extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Mix the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the water and use a spatula to mix until the dough comes together into a shaggy dough ball. If the dough is dry, use your hands to gently knead it in the bowl until it comes together. Cover the bowl with a towel and let rest for at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.
- Stretch and fold: Fill a small bowl with water. Dip one hand into the bowl of water, then use the dry hand to stabilize the bowl while you grab an edge of the dough with your wet hand, pull up, and fold it toward the center. Repeat this stretching and folding motion 8 to 10 times, turning the bowl 90 degrees after each set. By the end, the dough should transform from shaggy in texture to smooth and cohesive.
- Pour about 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the dough and use your hands to rub it all over. Cover the bowl tightly and let the dough rise at room temperature until it has nearly doubled in volume, 6 to 10 hours. The time will vary depending on the time of year and the temperature of your kitchen.
- Portion the dough: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and use a bench scraper to divide the dough into 4 equal portions, roughly 237 grams each. Using flour as needed, form each portion into a ball by grabbing the edges of the dough and pulling them toward the center to create a rough ball. Then flip the ball over, cup both your hands around the dough, and drag it toward you, creating tension as you pull. Repeat this cupping and dragging until you have a tight ball.
- Store the dough: Place the dough balls in individual airtight containers (see notes above) and transfer to the fridge for 1 to 3 days.
- Shape and proof the dough: On baking day, remove however many rounds of dough you wish to make into baguettes. Place on a clean work surface. I prefer to use no flour here, but if you are finding the dough to be too sticky, lightly flour your work surface. (Note: I suggest watching the video before you attempt shaping.) Pat the dough into roughly a 6 inch square or 6×7-inch rectangle. Fold the top down toward the center and pinch it gently. Turn the dough 180º and fold the top down again toward the center and pinch it gently (creating an “envelope”). Fold the top down again toward the center, pinching gently. Repeat one last time folding the top down all the way to end, pinching to seal the two halves together. (Again: Best to watch the video here!) Use both hand to gently roll the dough, then flip the log over and pinch the seam together. Flip the log over one last time, roll gently, then transfer to a lightly floured DoughMate container. (Alternatively you could use a 9×13-inch baking pan, which you will tuck inside a 2-gallon ziptop bag to create an airtight environment.) Roll the log in the flour, letting it rest seam-side down. Cover the vessel and let rest for 2.5 – 3 hours or until the dough passes the poke test: when it’s pressed gently, it springs back slowly.
- Prepare Your Baking Vessel of Choice:
- Challenger Bread Baker: After the dough has proofed for roughly 2 hours, place your Challenger bread pan in the oven on a middle rack and preheat it to 450ºF. This will take roughly 30 minutes. Fold a standard sheet of parchment paper in half vertically, and tear or cut along the seam.
- Baking Steel: After the dough has proofed for roughly 2 hours, place your Baking Steel in the oven on a middle rack, and preheat it to 450ºF. This will take roughly 30 minutes. Fold a standard sheet of parchment paper in half vertically, and tear or cut along the seam. Have the disposable aluminum pan at the ready as well as a small oven-safe skillet or vessel, strong enough to weigh down the pan without collapsing it.
- Emile Henry Baguette Baker: Butter your baguette baker and set aside. Preheat your oven to 450ºF (you do not preheat this vessel).
- Score your Dough: Open the lid of the DoughMate and gently roll the log back and forth a few times to release it from the bottom of the vessel. Use your hand to brush away the excess flour. If you are using the Challenger Bread Baker or Baking Steel, lift up the dough and transfer it to one of the parchment paper strips. Using a sharp blade, make three diagonal slashes evenly spaced along the top of the log. If you using something similar to the Emile Henry lidded baguette baker, simply transfer it to the buttered baker, then using a sharp blade, make three diagonal slashes evenly spaced along the top of the log.
- Bake Your Dough:
- Challenger Bread Baker: Using reliable oven mitts, remove the lid from the baker and lower the parchment sheet into the bottom of the pan, orienting it on the diagonal to allow for the most space. Cover the vessel. Close the oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes more or until the baguette is evenly golden brown or to your liking.
- Baking Steel: Place the parchment sheet on a peel, and shimmy it parchment paper and all onto the steel. Cover with the aluminum pan. Place a small oven-safe skillet or something heavy enough to weigh the pan down without collapsing it. Bake for 10 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes more or until the baguette is evenly golden brown or to your liking.
- Emile Henry Baguette Baker: Your scored dough is in the baker (per step 8). Cover the vessel and transfer to your preheated oven (450ºF). Bake for 10 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 minutes more or until the baguette is evenly golden brown or to your liking.
- Let Cool: Remove the baguette from the oven and let cool for 20-ish minutes before serving.
- Storing: Baguettes are best eaten the day they are made, but if you must store them, transfer them to a ziplock bag and store at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Always reheat before serving: 350ºF for 15 minutes or so.
- Prep Time: 2 days
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American, French
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
83 Comments on “Crusty, Open-Crumb Baguettes”
Post was exceptional, very informative. I can’t wait to try this. Can you use a pizza stone with the parchment/foil pan instead of the steel? Don’t want another gadget in my kitchen! Thanks!
Totally get it! Glad you found your answer 🙂
Never mind!!! Yes!
Then shimmy it onto the hot Baking Steel or pizza stone
Did you experiment with Gluten Free flours?
I did not.
What do you think about using an oval shaped granite ware lid instead of a disposable foil pan as a topper if baking on a stone? I’m going to try it.
Definitely! As long as it lays flush to the steel or stone, and as long as it fits over the baguette.
Alex thank you for this precise post. Would the pizza steel/alum pan option or the oval le creuset pot be the better choice? I ask as the creuset is significantly deeper than your oval lidded pot so not sure which direction would give the better results. Thank you. Can’t wait.
Hi Denise! How many inches long is your oval Le Creuset? I mostly worry about having to lower the bread into a deep pot… it feels tricky. Do you think you could lower it onto the lid? Or is there a knob?
Oh, I didn’t think this through. I see what you are saying. I will do the steel with lid. At least I know it’s a proven option. Thank you.
Good luck Denise!
Qoestion: Have you tried a perforated baguette pan and poring boiling water in a pan at the bottom of oven.. Thank you
I have not tried but I have one… I will try to experiment with that soon-ish and report back.
Super instructions. I’ve been wanting to make dinner rolls with roughly the same crumb and crust. Do you have any sense of how to do this (weight of dough ball per roll, differences in rising time, if any; differences in baking time)? I’m assuming baking methods 1 and 2 would remain the same. Would it be possible to use 3 and just spread the rolls out in the wells?
I took your pizza classes this summer at Baking Steel and Milk Street. You’re a very good teacher. Thank you!
So nice to hear this, Nancy! Thank you 🙂
Regarding your questions:
Do you have any sense of how to do this (weight of dough ball per roll, differences in rising time, if any; differences in baking time)?
No difference in first rise, possibly less time for the room temperature proof because the portions will be smaller: maybe 50 to 75 grams each? I’d guess slightly less baking time as well. You could try for 8 minutes covered, 5 to 8 minutes uncovered or till browned till your liking.
I’m assuming baking methods 1 and 2 would remain the same. Would it be possible to use 3 and just spread the rolls out in the wells?
I think the wells will be too small — they’re very narrow.
Great advice. Can’t wait to try. Many thanks!
Hi, I’m curious to know the process/results of using a baguette pan (perforated metal). I have/love your “Pizza Night!” Thank you for all of your free resources, recipes, etc.!
I have not tried a perforated metal pan! But I have one… I will try to experiment with that soon-ish and report back.
Thank you for your kind words 🙂
Great recipe! Can’t wait to try it. Do you think I could use sourdough instead of yeast?
Yes! I am planning on sharing a sourdough baguette recipe soon.
Hi Ali,
Your baguettes look delicious! Fresh bread with Camembert cheese 😋
Unfortunately, I cannot find Petra flour. I checked on Amazon but this one does not come up. Besides KA flour, can you recommend another kind of Italian flour?
I have an Émile Henry Baguette Baker but on your video, I saw the difference between the Challenger and the Émile Henry bread Baker. The Challenger has more holes like the true French baguette. Which Challenger bread baker would you recommend?
As always, thank you for your recipes and helpful videos!!
Hi Silvia! This is the Challenger Bread Pan I have… not sure there are other variations of it, but you can’t go wrong with this one. It is very heavy, just a warning.
I wish I had some other flours to recommend, but I haven’t experimented extensively. You can find the Petra 0102 here. For instance, I love so many of the Cairnspring Mills flour, but I haven’t experimented using them with baguettes, so I’d had to have you buy a bunch of flour without knowing how they will perform.
KAF bread or ap is a great place to start in the meantime, and as I experiment with other flours, I will update the post. Thank you for your kind words 🙂
Hi Sylvia, KA Bread flour is 14% protein, which is what most European all-purpose (00) flours are.
There is another flour, cheaper than KA, made by a company that supplies flour to hundreds of U.S. pizza places. Labeled Ceresota or Heckers all-purpose unbleached flour, it still has 14% protein, and is great to work with. You can find it in 4lb & 10 lb bags at supermarkets, and sometimes even bigger ones at Costco.
The higher the protein, the more gluten in the flour, and the more texture in the bread.
KA all-purpose flour is 11.7% protein, and most other U.S. all-purpose flours are less than that.
I don’t see that you put any steam in yet you talked about the need for it in the post. Did you not spritz the loaves before baking or add any steam to the oven?
Hi! The steam is created by the lidded Challenger pan and the turned-over aluminum pan. There is no spritzing or adding steam in other methods — the tight closed baking environment generates all the steam necessary.
Thank you Thank you Thank you!! I have been wanting a baguette recipe to make at home and haven’t found a good one. Can’t wait to try yours!! Is there a recipe for a sourdough baguette as well! All of your recipes are FABULOUS!!
Hope you love it, Lisa! Stay tuned for a sourdough one soon 🎉
Wonderfully detailed instructions and I’m going to give it an go. After making pizza the outdoor wood oven remains hot enough for baking bread and it seems a waste not to use the heat. Have you tried? I’m wondering about the best pan and how to hold in steam. Parchment paper not a good plan!
You are so right about that, and I love this idea. One of my friends, Christy Alia, who is now a Gozney Ambassador, told me she loves making bread in her Gozney. We are trying to find a time for her to come up her soon-ish, so we can make a video doing this. Stay tuned!
Hi Ali,
Thank you for your reply!
As soon as I read it, I ordered the Challenger bread baker as well as the Petra flour 😊
Oh wonderful! Good luck 🙂
Thank you!
Hello Ali,
I baked baguettes several times with the Petra flour in the Challenger bread pan. The baguettes looked wonderful and delicious!! My family thought I bought them 😂 after they tasted them, they said it was better than the bakery 😊
Many many thanks for your recipes and being helpful!☺️
Amazing! Great to hear this, Silvia! Thanks so much for writing and sharing this 🙂 🙂 🙂
What are the green square/round lidded containers that you use to store dough in fridge?
Hi! They’re these Kevjes containers.
Thanks so much. Will be wonderful for your pizza crust recipe and the baguette dough
I am also curious to see how you make out using a perforated baguette pan (https://shop.kingarthurbaking.com/items/french-baguette-pan) and the water in the pan in the oven method. While I love cast iron, I am loathe to spend $300 on a cast iron bread baking pan. But, given that I have a pizza stone in my oven 24/7, I could try some kind of covering, like the graniteware item someone else suggested. Thanks for sharing and doing all the experimenting for us!
I totally get it Bill! That’s why I was excited when the disposable aluminum pan worked because so many people have a baking steel or stone. And yes, a turned-over graniteware item should work well. I will report back once I give the perforated baguette pan a go!
I am so excited to try this!! I love the Sourdough Neapolantanish Pizza Dough from Pizza Night. Could I use that recipe but reduce the water to 335 grams so that I’m at the 385 grams of water including the water content of the starter?
Yes!! That will work. So nice to hear this, Caroline. Thanks so much for writing 🙂
Was just wondering if a regular lidded roasting pan would do? Or does the pan need to be heavier in weight?
Hi! It should work. Are you going to preheat it? As in are you using the “challenger bread pan” method or the turned over pan over a baking steel method?
The Challenger pan method…heating it up first. My Le Crueset Dutch oven is round and heavy but too short. I guess I could try just using the lid over my round pizza stone too…just depends on how long the bread is.
Yes, this is what was tricky when experimenting — most people have round Dutch ovens, not oblong ones.
I think you could try either. What’s nice is that the recipe makes 4 rounds, so you could try one preheating your lidded roasting pan, and you could try one inverting the lid over the stone.
Good luck!
I saw your post and happened to have some extra SD Neopolitan dough in the fridge for tomorrow, so decided to experiment. I have an Emile Henry Italian loaf pan and used that. It did not rise as high as hoped but airy and delicious. My last proof may have been too long. The house was cool and it did not seem to be doing anything so put in my bread proofer until it looked as described, but I am inexperienced. Can’t wait to see your sourdough recipe soon and try that. Maybe conditions were not perfect? I also have your Pizza Night book and am enjoying it!!
So nice to read all of this, Jennie! Thank you for your kind words 🙂 🙂 🙂
Can you describe your EH Italian loaf pan for me? How long is it? And does it have a cover? And you didn’t preheat it, right? Roughly how long was the room temperature proof? And when you scored it, did it deflate or did it hold its own?
We’ll get to the bottom of it 🙂
Hi, thanks for responding!
The baker is 15 1/4 x 6 1/2 x 6 with a lid. Here is the link to see it:
https://breadtopia.com/store/emile-henry-italian-loaf-baker/
I did pre-heat it because I read to do that on a recipe. The proof was probably 4-5 hours, I did not write it down. Most of that was about 3.5 at a cooler room temp. The proofer box was at 78 degrees and things changed faster in that. The dough seemed to pass the poke test but I do recall it may have lost some of it’s shape when scored. I feel like a lot of my loaves do somewhat.
Thanks again for your feedback!
Oh that’s a beautiul pan! Yes, I totally see why you went with that and honestly I’m surprised you didn’t get better results especially with preheating it — maybe it’s too deep? And, remind me: do you have a steel or a stone? If you do, I wonder if using the lid for this pan on the steel or stone might work better.
I think you may have over-proofed the dough. If you still have dough on hand, I’d shoot for closer to 3 to 3.5 hours.
I think over proofing my be the culprit. Next time I will go straight to my proofing box to control temperature and timing better. Again, looking forward to your Sourdough recipe instead of just winging it with my pizza dough I had in the fridge. Probably then a much more fair judgement on how successful I can be.
Thank you again!
Sounds like a plan!
I have a baguette recipe that I use all the time but is not airy, crusty and gorgeous like yours so I decided to invest the time and effort for this recipe. Everything seemed to be going along fine, but when I baked it, using my steel stone and overturned foil pan, things went south. I just pulled them out of the oven and they are not gorgeous crusty and brown as I had hoped – they’re kind of flat and bland like a hockey puck! I’m sure it’s the baker that went wrong here but what a disappointment for me. I’ve got two more in the fridge so I’ll try to do better!
Oh no! I’m sorry to hear this, Anne! Let’s start from the top:
Are you using a scale to measure?
What type of flour are you using?
How long was the first rise and did it go OK? As in did the dough double in volume and look very bubbly?
I made it on Thursday night (it took about 10 hours for the first rise). I put it in the fridge Friday morning and baked it on Sunday morning. My dough was quite sticky so i definitely had to lightly flour it. I have a circular dutch oven that i use for my sourdough. So… when i took it out on Sunday morning, i made a half circle baguette (that’s how i got it into the pan) and then two buns (that almost looked like ciabatta buns) so they’d fit into the pan (note that i made half the recipe). It was fabulous! I baked the buns longer than the half circular baguette and there was a big debate as to which one was better! But everyone agreed that they’d eat either one! Thanks for this. I’ve never had any luck with baguettes in the past and this was so simple!
So great to read all of this, Sarah! I love that you shaped the dough to fit your pan and that you had great results with buns, too — others have asked about making buns this way, so it’s super helpful. Thanks so much for writing and sharing 🙂
Such an informative post, made it so easy to make! They turned out delicious, crunch on the outside, soft on the inside absolutely divine…family finished all four in one night!
Thank you!
So nice to hear this, Ali! Thanks so much for writing and sharing this 🙂
I was so excited when you posted this recipe because I just got back from Paris and had been itching to branch out into baguettes. I tried it this weekend in an Emile Henry pan, and they were great but I wanted them just a little crustier. I know you said that pan had slightly less crusty results than your other methods, but any suggestions for improving? I ended up leaving them baking uncovered for an extra 5 minutes (so 10 covered + 15 uncovered), but I’m wondering if there are other variables I should try tweaking. Longer covered? Raise the oven temperature by 25° (for some or all of the bake time)?
Hi Jen! I think you could try increasing your oven temperature. Do you feel your oven is mostly accurate? I think that would be the first step. Try 450ºF or 475ºF even. And my only other thought would be if you have a stone or a Baking Steel, would be to place the EH pan on the stone or steel, and then for the uncovered step, removing it from the pan and baking it directly on the stone/steel.
Final thought: if you made the baguette portions slightly smaller: 200 grams each, they might be less cramped in the wells, and therefore they might rise a little bit more, which would make the crumb lighter and the crust potentially crustier, too.
So I think raising the oven temp from 450° to 475° did the trick! I still might do some experimentation with size, but the one I baked yesterday had much better crust than last weekend’s. Thanks for the tips!
Wow 😵💫 amazing baguette recipe! I bake a lot of breads but haven’t been too successful with baguettes until I came upon your recipe! Thank you so much 😊
So nice to hear this, Mo! Thanks for writing 🙂
I made two of these baguettes for the first time last night. I followed the recipe closely, but not exactly. I subbed in 200 gm sourdough discard and I only left the dough to refrigerate for one day. I also may have slightly overrisen my dough in the last step, it hadn’t sat too long but the kitchen was warm.
All of this aside, the baguettes were delightful! They were not nearly as open crumbed as the photos, but they were pretty airy. I couldn’t believe the effect of just 1/2 tsp of yeast.
My husband proclaimed this his new favorite bread recipe… even better than the sourdough! I don’t know that I agree with him about that, but I’ll definitely add these to the rotation.
I was not convinced that the very specific shaping steps would matter, but I followed them anyway because I’ve learned to trust Alexandra and the video was there. I’m so glad I did… seeing those curved air holes in the dough definitely brought to mind authentic baguettes. Very fancy! 😊
I’d love to experiment with some of the bread making pans and tools shown here. If only I had room to store them! I ended up baking on a pizza stone and covering them with the lid of my Dutch oven.
So nice to read all of this, Amanda! Thanks so much for writing and taking the time to share your notes. I am working on a sourdough recipe, but I love that you were able to use your discard with success — people are always looking for ways to use up their discard, so this is helpful 🙂
The best. I have been baking bread for at least 40 years starting with James Beard, Bernard Clayton then onto everyone else. I had my own bakery for many years and was featured in the restaurant issue of 2003 by Gourmet Magazine. This was fun and I’m sure will continue to be fun. Its perfect, both times this week so far and now a batch in the fridge. Our ten year old grand daughter keeps popping in the house to see if I have more and her “educated” self says she has never had better. I agree.
Oh my goodness, Carla! It’s so nice to read all of this. Thank you for taking the time to write and share this. So glad you and your granddaughter approve. And I’m so in awe that you were featured in Gourmet! I still miss that magazine.
Beautiful recipe! I use both methods as you describe depending on the length and size baguettes. I’m definitely ordering the Petra flour ASAP.. love your open crumb results. Thank you for another wonderful recipe 🥖❤️🥰
Recommended temp for convection bake? With most recipes I go down about 20 degrees but still working on this – my oven is accurate but is top burning the pizza dough and your french tart and apple bonzano cake. I may go down 25 degrees.
Hi! Apologies for the delay here. Yeah, I’d try reducing by 25-50ºF. Is convection the only setting your oven has?
It has Convection Bake, Convection Broil , Pure Convection and Bake. I tend to use Convection Bake because the rep for the stove maker (Dacor) told me its a commercial oven and should always be used in convection mode for the best results but I am not sure honestly that’s true – I’ve played around a bit and don’t notice too much of a difference! I did make the loaves and they turned out fine with a 25 degree temp reduction for Convection Bake so I think I’ll stick with that moving forward since it is covered for the first 1/2 of the time. I think for your pizza recipes I will try Bake. 🙂
Got it! Yeah, I do think it’s all about experimenting and figuring out what works with your oven. For instance, I find I get the best browning on my pizza when I place my Baking Steel on the top rack and use convection roast, but other people have better luck with their Steels in the lower part of the oven. Glad to hear lowering the temp 25 degrees worked. Thanks for reporting back 🙂
This bread is delicious, and very fun to make. One trouble I have is getting the slashes to look like yours. I am using a razor blade like yours, but they seem to fill in and the bread does not get that characteristic look. Any suggestions?
Also, I love your videos, and I make the whole-wheatish sourdough ALL the time!
So nice to hear this, Carol, thank you 🙂
It’s possible you just need to make deeper slits. Don’t be afraid to reinforce the slit a few times (after the initial slash) with the razor blade from end to end. I would try that first.
Success finally!!! Ali – you are the real deal. OMG. Thank you for sharing your experimentation with the Emile Henry baker. I had tried numerous times to make baguettes in my EM baker as well as other methods only to get mediocre to awful results. Thing is … I am very successful at making breads (sourdough and yeast) in various ways and also make amazing pizza in a pizza oven. So the baguette success was something I had decided was just not going to happen for me. When I read your blog and watch the video (which was excellent btw) I was inspired. A revelation was to butter the EM baker and not to use rice flour (as EM suggests) which made things stick like crazy. I cut into 5 even sized loafs instead of 4 to avoid overfilling and used a 475 oven and finished off with about 3 minutes out of the baker. Love the long cold fermentation and the flavour comes through. I cooked the first two after two days and the final three after four and they were all so delicious. On the final batch I spritzed the logs with some water before putting them into the oven to try to attain a better crust. It may have helped a bit. I’ll continue to play with this recipe but wanted to say thank you for this and so many other recipes I’ve enjoyed.
Oh hooray! I am so happy to hear all of this, Michelle. Your statement — “baguette success was something I had decided was just not going to happen for me” — resonates so much for me. They’re just tricky at home and require a little more planning, finesse, and thought, but overall still relatively easy once you understand the process. Also: I too had disastrous results using flour in the EH baker!! Butter was a revelation for me as well. Anyway, thanks for sharing your notes. So glad the smaller sized baguettes worked well for you!