Quick Easy French Baguettes (Baking Baguettes for Beginners)

This is the best quick, easy French Baguette recipe ever! Want to learn how to make the most beautiful, crusty French Baguettes even if you are a complete beginner at baking?

This French Baguette recipe will immediately add a "je ne sais quoi" to your meal. The perfect accompaniement to a French cheese board or French charcuterie board. You will also love my French Onion Soup Gratinée recipe , Lemon Thyme French Roast Chicken (Poulet Rôti) , French Salade Niçoise Recipe or Authentic Olive Tapenade. Any of these recipes will immediately transport you to France.

You might have heard that the French Baguette was recently inducted into the UNESCO World Heritage List as an element of Intangible Heritage. In other words, the French Baguette is a BIG DEAL! The French have always known that the Baguette was special, but it is a significant recognition to have the Baguette awarded a place on the list of Intangible Cultural Heritage with the expertise behind the French Baguette named an essential part of human culture.

Making French Baguettes at Home

While the authentic French Baguette takes a few days and some serious practice to make, I am happy to share my version of Baguettes for Beginners - a 2 hour recipe that results in crusty delicious baguettes in your own home, even if you have never baked before.

You can follow the recipe below or else order the Baguettes for Beginners workshop - where I walk you step by step through baking your very first Baguettes. Each order also includes a Baking Baguettes for Beginners Ebook that includes very detailed instructions for baking, storing and recipes.

Easy French Baguettes

If you live in France, you have access to an incredible "Boulangerie" (bakery) that makes fresh baguettes everyday, their perfume wafting through the air, luring you in, sometimes multiple times in the same day. The morning, it is for a baguette, a croissant or a pain au chocolat. The afternoon it is for a palmier or a chouquette as you pick up a baguette artisinal to savor with your evening cheese plate.

For those of us who do not have a Boulangerie on the corner of our street - finding fresh baked crusty French Baguettes can be more of a challenge. Admittedly, I have succumbed from time to time to the Baguettes at my local grocery store in the suburbs of Washington, DC, but the pale, thin crust and pasty inside quickly remind me that no, these are not the same thing. To say that they pale in comparison would be an understatement.

Quick, Easy French Baguettes at home

Baguettes have always intimidated me. They seem too complicated, requiring too much expertise for a busy working mom like me to be able to master. But over the past 2 years I have been perfecting a recipe for the quickest, easiest baguettes EVER.

I can wake up on a Saturday morning at 7am and, with a few ingredients and minimal intervention, have fresh baked crusty artisanal baguettes on the table for the family by 9am. There is nothing better than putting crusty, hot baguettes out on the table with some butter and jam. The perfume of baguettes gets even the sleepiest kid out of bed!

A simple meal of homemade soup is rendered sublime with a good baguette. As is a summer salad Niçoise. The joy of tearing into a homemade baguette is second to none and is a key ingredient for keeping the "joie de vivre" (joy of life) that I loved so much on the French Riviera alive, now that we live in the USA.

After literally hundreds of baguette trials, I was happy to host my very first Baguettes for Beginners Workshop!

The live recording is available for you to watch over and over again.

Quick and Easy French Baguette Recipe:

Recipe Ingredients

Total Prep time: 20 minutes.

Total cooking and rising time: about 2 hours

• 8 grams dry active yeast (or about 2 teaspoons)
• 1 tablespoon honey (natural honey worked better than the squeezable one)
• half tablespoon fleur de sel ( if you are using table salt, use only a teaspoon!)
• 1 ¼ cups warm water (not too hot - you don’t want to cook the yeast, just wake it up)
• 2 ½ cups bread flour (I used all purpose flour which also worked fine)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Tools needed for baking baguettes for beginners:

• A pastry scale ( definitely worth the $26 if you plan on baking a lot, but is not necessary for this recipe). This is the one we have.
• a spatula ( I love this Marseille Blue set from Le Creuset)
• a big mixing bowl
• measuring cups
• a baking sheet that supports high temperatures (460 degrees)

If you want to get fancy with me you can also use a baguette pan, but it is not necessary!

Instructions

Proof the yeast with the honey and warm water. For bread making novices, this means putting the warm water in a large bowl and adding the yeast and honey. Give it a little stir and then let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes. You will see the grains of yeast wake up and rise to the surface and expand. This is a cool process to share with kids!

Below photo shows yeast that is proved, it looks almost foamy.

Once proofed, add salt and slowly add the flour and olive oil until a shaggy dough is formed. I started using a spatula and then dug in with my hands to work in all the flour. Form a round ball in the bowl but be careful not to work the dough too much. No need to use the Kitchen Aid for this recipe!

Dust the top of your dough ball with little bit of flour then cover with a towel. My Nanny’s trick was to wet a thin tea towel with hot water to cover the dough with and then place the bowl on top of the fridge. The motor gives off a little extra heat. I don’t have room on top of my fridge but placing the bowl on top of my dryer worked wonders. Ideally a warm place works best but this is not necessary. Let the dough rise until it doubles in size (about an hour). Split dough in 2 and roll out your baguettes. 

Rolling out a Baguette

This is where it gets a little technical and where I struggled in my first attempt. Don't expect to make a perfect baguette on your first try. Rolling out dough takes some skill.

Sprinkle flour over your countertop.

Take the first ball of dough and gently knead it with the palm of your hand, until the dough gains a firmer consistency. Fold the dough over itself. Add a little more flour if necessary. (this is necessary if you are baking in a place with high humidity- don't be afraid to add more dough if the consistency is sticky)

Flatten the dough into a rectangle form with your hands (you don't need a rolling pin). Then fold the top of the rectangle down like the top of an envelop, about ¾ of the way down. Using your fingers, press down on the seam.

Roll the folded top of the dough down so that you have a mini oblong rectangle. Press the seams and the flip the seam side down.

Spread your fingers on both hands and gently roll the dough down to create a baguette shape. Roll back and forth to elongate the baguette dough until it is about 12 inches long.

Set the first baguette on your cookie sheet or baguette pan.

Roll out the second baguette.

If you have a razor blade you can make incisions on the top of the baguette. A sharp knife also works using just the tip to make deft cuts into the baguette.

For beginners I suggest using a pair of kitchen scissors to score the baguettes as show below.

See video below for how Le Chef rolled out our baguettes and then cut (or scored) them beautifully to create tearable pieces to the baguette.

Place the baguettes on a cookie sheet sprinkled with flour and then sprinkle a little more flour on top. Sprinkle a little fleur de sel. Let baguettes rise for another 30 minutes (uncovered) while oven preheats.

Quick & Easy French Baguettes

Heat oven to 460 degrees. Once the oven is hot, fill a 9 inch pan halfway with water. Place on the bottom rack of the oven. The water pan creates steam and and is the key factor to that crackly crust we love and soft chewy bread interior.

Place the cookie sheet or baguette pan on the middle rack of the hot oven. If you have a baking stone, let it heat up completely in the oven before placing your baguettes directly on the stone.

Bake for 25 minutes**. Remove the pan of water (very carefully!) and bake another 5 minutes or so. The baguettes should be beautifully golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.

** Le Chef's Wife tip: Oven temperatures can vary drastically! If this is the first time you are making these baguettes keep a very close eye on them, especially after 18 minutes or so. You want the crust to be a deep, rich golden brown but not too dark. If the top gets too dark too quickly, bring the rack down a notch and take out a few minutes earlier. Resist the temptation to bring the heat down too much - it is the hot heat that creates the delicious crust!

What we cover in the Baking Baguettes for Beginners Workshop:

• Working with yeast for beginners (we will use dry active yeast - super easy!)
• How to proof your baguettes
• Rolling out baguettes (with a few professional Chef tips you will be able to make beautiful baguette shapes!)
• Different ways of scoring baguettes
• Cooking baguettes with a simple electric oven
• Correcting mistakes in baguettes
• As well as storing baguettes and baguette recipes (in case you don't eat them all in one setting!)

Also included in the workshop:

• 1 hour live recorded Zoom session
• Live Q&A Session
• Making Baguettes for Beginners ebook
• Lifetime access to the video
• BONUS! Best French Soup Recipe Ebook

Soup Recipes that pair perfectly with fresh baked baguette

Enjoy immediately. I served with a bowl of soup and a wheel of camembert for a simple, comforting weekend lunch. I suggest you try any of my following soup recipes:

• Soupe au Pistou
• Creamy Asparagus Soup
• Minestrone Soup
• French Onion Soup
• French Lentil Soup
• Honeynut and Pumpkin Soup with Rosemary

How to store and reheat the baguettes

If you don't manage to eat both baguettes in a day, here is an easy way to save them. Wrap the remaining baguette pieces in a kitchen towel and leave on your counter.

Le Chef's Tip: To make stale baguette taste first day fresh, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Then pop the random pieces of leftover baguettes directly on the oven rack for 5 minutes. Very important that you let your oven get fully hot before putting in the baguettes. The outside will be crusty and the insides soft and warm. Bon appétit!

Have you tried my baking baguettes for beginners recipe? What tricks have you picked up along the way?

About Le Chef's Wife

Bonjour! I am Anina Belle. I translate the fancy cooking of my Michelin-star trained French Chef Husband, Le Chef, into easy to make dishes that busy people with no culinary training (like me!) can make at home. We have two young kids (5 and 2) and I have a full time job in hospitality in addition to this blog. I strongly believe that even busy people deserve to eat well at home.

We were just recently featured on the TODAY SHOW for our recipes of French Onion Soup Gratinée and Moelleux au Chocolat. You can watch our full segment here:

I share our home cooking on Instagram, pinterest and tiktok. Sign up for my newsletter to be the first to receive my new recipes and have advance access to cooking classes. I look forward to cooking with you!

Au plaisir,

Le Chef's Wife

French Baguette Recipe

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 22 reviews

• Author: Anina Belle Gianini
• Prep Time: 2.25 hours
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
• Yield: 2 baguettes 1x
• Category: bread
• Method: baking
• Cuisine: French

Print Recipe

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Description

Quick, easy French baguette recipe. Deliciously simple yet crusty and crackly, homemade French Baguettes. Follow this recipe for easy French Baguettes even first time bakers can make and with only a couple hours.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 8 grams traditional yeast ( or 2 teaspoons)
• 1 tablespoon honey (natural honey worked better than the squeezable one)
• 1 ¼ cups warm water (not too hot - you don’t want to cook the yeast, just wake it up)
• 1 tablespoon fleur de sel ( if you are using table salt, use only a teaspoon)
• 2 ½ cups bread flour (I used all purpose flour which also worked fine)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

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Instructions

1. Proof the yeast with the honey and warm water. For bread making novices this means putting the warm water in your big mixing bowl and adding the yeast and honey. Give it a little stir and then let it sit on the counter for 10 minutes. You will see the grains of yeast wake up and rise to the surface and expand (this is a cool process to share with kids!)

2. Once proofed, add salt and slowly add the flour and olive oil until a shaggy dough is formed. I started using a spatula and then dug in with my hands to work in all the flour. Form a round ball in the bowl but be careful not to work the dough too much. No need to use the Kitchen Aid for this recipe!
3. Dust the top of your dough ball with little bit of flour then cover with a towel. My Nanny’s trick was to wet a thin tea towel with hot water to cover the dough with and then place the bowl on top of the fridge for a little extra heat from the motor. I don’t have room on top of my fridge but placing the bowl on top of my dryer worked wonders. Let the dough rise until it doubles in size (about an hour) then split dough in 2 and roll out your baguettes.
4. 
   

   Rolling out a Baguette

   This is where it gets a little technical and where I struggled in my first attempt. Don't expect to make a perfect baguette on your first try. Rolling out dough takes some skill.

   Sprinkle flour over your countertop.

   Take the first ball of dough and gently knead it with the palm of your hand, until the dough gains a firmer consistency. Fold the dough over itself. Add a little more flour if necessary. (this is necessary if you are baking in a place with high humidity- don't be afraid to add more dough if the consistency is sticky)

   Flatten the dough into a rectangle form with your hands (you don't need a rolling pin). Then fold the top of the rectangle down like the top of an envelop, about ¾ of the way down. Using your fingers, press down on the seam.

   Roll the folded top of the dough down so that you have a mini oblong rectangle. Press the seams and the flip the seam side down.

   Spread your fingers on both hands and gently roll the dough down to create a baguette shape. Roll back and forth to elongate the baguette dough until it is about 12 inches long.

   Set the first baguette on your cookie sheet or baguette pan.

   Roll out the second baguette.

   If you have a razor blade you can make incisions on the top of the baguette. A sharp knife also works using just the tip to make deft cuts into the baguette.

   For beginners I suggest using a pair of kitchen scissors to score the baguettes as show below.

   See video in the blog post for how Le Chef rolled out our baguettes and then cut (or scored) them beautifully to create tearable pieces to the baguette.

5. Place the baguettes on a cookie sheet sprinkled with flour and then sprinkle a little more flour on top. Sprinkle a little fleur de sel. Let baguettes rise for another 30 minutes (uncovered) while oven preheats.
6. Heat oven to 460 degrees. Once the oven is hot, fill a 9 inch pan halfway with water and place on the bottom rack of the oven. This creates steam and and is the key factor to that crackly crust we love .
7. Bake for 25 minutes **(oven temperatures vary greatly! Please keep a close eye after 18 minutes - if they look dark golden brown and sound hollow when you tap them, they are done!). Remove the pan of water (very carefully!) and bake another 5 minutes or so. The baguettes should be beautifully golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.

Au plaisir,

Le Chef's Wife

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Notes

** Le Chef's Wife tip: Oven temperatures can vary drastically! If this is the first time you are making these baguettes keep a very close eye on them, especially after 18 minutes or so. You want the crust to be a deep, rich golden brown but not too dark. If the top gets too dark too quickly, bring the rack down a notch and take out a few minutes earlier. Resist the temptation to bring the heat down too much - it is the hot heat that creates the delicious crust!