This sourdough Baguette recipe was inspired by Julia Child’s French Bread Recipe, with forming and scoring techniques learned from the teachings of the famous Raymond Calvel, a baking expert and teacher at ENSMIC in Paris, France. A classic French baguette with a crackly crust, golden and creamy color, sliced open to find light and airy holes throughout. Using wild yeast for leavening and tangy flavor, and cultured gut healthy benefits. Bon Appétite!
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Below is the printable version of this recipe. For a more detailed look at the recipe, and to find the answers to commonly asked questions, scroll down! Keep going, keep trying, and please remember that even the most imperfect loaf of bread always comes out delicious! Don’t hesitate to ask me questions, it brings me joy to help you!
Sourdough French Baguette
Ingredients
- ½ cup/100g active sourdough starter
- 1 ½ cup/330g tepid filtered water
- 3 cups/485g unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 ¼ tsp/15g salt
Instructions
- Start by measuring/weighing the tepid water into a bowl. Next measure/weigh the active sourdough starter and add to the water. At this point your sourdough starter should float on top of the water. This is an excellent sign that your starter is active enough to make this recipe. Whisk the starter and water. Next, weigh the flour into the bowl, and weigh salt on top of the flour. Using a spatula to mix, until a soft and hydrated dough forms. Turn onto a board or counter top and let autolyse (rest) for 15-30 minutes.
- After the dough has rested on the counter, it should be soft. You can begin to chop it up with your bench scraper, slap it, and knead it for about 10 minutes. Give it a few minutes of rest and then begin kneading it again for another 10 minutes. You will continue kneading until the dough looks smooth and passes the window pane test.
- After your dough is properly kneaded, shape into a tight ball and place the dough back into the bowl with a lid to rise at a temperature no higher than 75℉. You want it to rise to 3 ½ it's original volume or bulk. It will be about 3 cups of unrisen dough and rise to about 10 ½ cups.
- After the first rise, with lightly floured hands turn the dough onto a floured board or countertop. Deflating it and then reshaping into a tight ball. Place back into the bowl. Cover and let it rise again.
- Form and shape the loaves. You will start by weighing (approx. 855 grams) the dough. Divide into three equal pieces, each weighing approx. 285 grams.
- Pat each piece of dough flat into a small rectangle-like shape. Then, fold the bottom half into the middle, and pat down again. Then fold the top half into the middle, and pat down.
- Taking the palm of your hand make a trench across the middle of your dough, and then again fold the top half into the middle. Pressing your palm along the side to pinch the crease closed.
- Placing your hands flat, one on top of the other in the middle of the dough, begin to roll the dough moving your hands in opposite directions, outwards to the end of the dough. Tapering the ends if you'd like. Quickly and confidently transfer each shaped baguette to a floured tea towel or cloche. Keeping the baguettes close to each other without touching.
- Cover and let rise again until almost tripled in size about 1 hour depending on environmental factors. They should look nice and supple to the touch when they are ready. While you wait for the final rise, preheat the oven to 500℉
- Add a cast iron skillet filled with water, to the bottom rack of the oven. Gently but quickly flip your loaves, one at time, onto a floured sheet pan or baguette mold, seam-side down. If you are using a pizza stone, you will slide the baguettes off the sheet pan directly onto the pizza stone. If you are going to do that, lay your baguettes on an upside down floured sheet pan, so they can slide right off into the oven on the pizza stone.
- At the very last minute before putting them in the oven, lightly flour the surface of your dough and cut three deep slashes with a razor or lame: Start on the left side with a 45° angle cut. Another 45° angle cut that goes slightly by the first slash. The last cut on the right side will go slightly past the second cut at another 45° angle.
- Spray with water and quickly get the pan into the oven, or slide the baguettes on the hot pizza stone. Turn the oven down to 475° After 15 minutes, take the cast iron skillet filled with water out of the oven. Let your baguettes bake for an additional 15 minutes until perfectly golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack.
- Don't get discouraged, just keep practicing!
Notes
- Before starting your dough, measure out 10 ½ cups of water in the clear glass vessel that you will be using to let your dough rise. Make a mark on the vessel with a permanent marker (It will clean right off later). You will want your dough to rise to that mark.
- You will notice in the recipe I tell you to add the salt on top of the flour, this is because salt can kill the yeast in the starter when it comes in direct contact.
- You want this dough to be soft, NOT stiff, it’s better to have it too soft and add more flour if need be.
- If you would prefer not to knead this dough by hand, put it into a mixer with a dough hook, and knead for 10-15 minutes, checking every so often to see if it has become smooth and passed the window pane test.
- You can always skip the second rise. By bulk rising, shaping, and a final rise. I have tested it this way, and while it lacks the flavor development that three rises will give the bread, it still turns out lovely.
- After you remove the bread from the oven, immediately transfer it to a cooling rack. This is important because it lets the heat/steam from inside the bread escape through the crust causing it to soften a bit, making it a more pleasurable crust to bite into. If you let it sit on the pan it cooked in, the heat/steam cooks off instead of escaping through the crust.
Equipment you may need:
- A bowl that fits 10 1/2 cups, with a lid
- Kitchen Scale
- Whisk
- Spatula
- Razor or lame
- Bench Scraper
- Parchment Paper, tea towel, or canvas bakers cloche
- Sheet pan, Baguette pan, Baguette Baker, Pizza Stone
- Cast Iron skillet
Ingredients you will need:
- 1/2 Cup/100g. active sourdough starter
- 3 Cups/485g. unbleached all-purpose flour– King Arthur’s all-purpose, unbleached
- 2 1/4 tsp./15g. salt– Himalayan Salt or Celtic Sea Salt
- 1 1/2 Cup/330g. tepid filtered water– we use a Berkey Water Filter System in our farmhouse
How to make Sourdough French Baguettes:
Step One: Measure/weight & Mix Ingredients
Start by measuring or weighing the tepid water into a bowl. Next measure/weigh the active sourdough starter and add to the water. At this point, your sourdough starter should float on top of the water. This is an excellent sign that your starter is active enough and ready to make baguettes. Whisk the starter and water. Next, add flour and salt on top of the flour. Using a spatula to mix, until a soft and hydrated dough forms. Turn on to a board or countertop and let autolyse or rest for 15-30 minutes.
Step Two: Kneading
After the dough has rested on the counter, it should be soft. You can begin to chop it up with your bench scraper, slap it, and knead it for about 10-15 minutes. Give it a few minutes of rest and then begin kneading it again for another 10 minutes. You will continue kneading until the dough looks smooth and passes the window pane test.
Step Three: 1st Rise
After your dough is properly kneaded, shape it into a tight ball and place it in the bowl, or other straight-sided glass vessel, with a lid to rise at a temperature no higher than 75 degrees Fahrenheit.
You want it to rise to 3 1/2 times its original volume or bulk. It should be about 3 cups of unrisen dough and rise to about 10 1/2 cups. I like to start this dough in the morning and let it rise all day.
Step Four: 2nd Rise [Overnight]
After the first rise has been completed, with lightly floured hands turn the dough onto a floured board or countertop. Deflate, and reshape into a tight ball, and place it back into the bowl.
Cover and Let it rise again.
Step Five: Forming/shaping Loaves:
The forming of these baguette loaves comes with practice. Please don’t get discouraged. The more you try it the better they will get. And all homemade bread, however imperfect, is delicious in the end.
- You will start by weighing the dough and dividing it by three. Then separate your dough into equal pieces.
- Pat the dough flat into a small rectangle-like shape.
- Folding the right side of the dough long ways 3/4 of the way into the center, and pat down.
- Then fold the other side (left), and pat down. Take the palm of your hand to make a trench down the center of the dough, and then again fold the top half, into the middle. Pressing your palm along the side to pinch the crease closed.
- Placing your hands flat, one on top of the other in the middle of the dough, begin to roll your dough moving your hands in either direction to get an even proportion of dough through the long-shaped baguette.
- Quickly and confidently transfer each baguette to cornmeal or lightly floured tea towel seam side up. Cover and let rise again until almost tripled in size they should look nice and soft and have a slow spring back if you poke at it.
Step Six: Slashing and Baking
Preheat your oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit, and add a cast iron skillet filled with water to the bottom rack of the oven. Gently but quickly flip your loaves, one at a time, onto a floured sheet pan or baguette mold, seam-side down. You can slide your loaves right onto a pizza stone.
At the very last minute, before putting them in the oven cut three deep slashes with a razor or lame:
- Start on the left side with a 45° angle cut.
- Another 45° angle slash that goes slightly by the first slash
- The last cut on the right side, going slightly by the second slash.
Spray with water and quickly get the pan into the oven. Turn the oven down to 475 degrees Fahrenheit After 10 minutes, remove the cast iron with water. Let your baguettes bake for 15 more minutes until perfectly golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack.
Step 7: Don’t get discouraged, just keep practicing!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Do you need to autolyze?
Yes. I would NOT recommend skipping this step. This rest period or autolyze stage after flour and water have been mixed is a time-tested technique that helps the flour to absorb the water or liquid. It becomes helpful in the following step of kneading your dough to activate the gluten molecules. Gluten molecules act like glue. Letting the flour absorb the water properly, helps to activate the ” glue” in the kneading process. The properly moistened floured begins to join together creating a gluten network, that gives the dough the elasticity you desire.
What is the purpose of the window pane test?
The window pane test helps you to identify that you’re bread dough is properly kneaded. It means that the gluten network has properly formed within your dough. If the gluten network is well established, you will be able to stretch your dough to create a “window pane” that does NOT break. If it DOES break before a thin “pane” can be made, it’s a good sign to keep on kneading!
Why do you let the dough rise more than once?
The yeast is active and it’s eating the starch in the flour. While it’s eating, it’s multiplying itself, releasing gases pushing up the gluten, and rising. Through this transformative work, there is flavor and texture developing. Then you knock it down and make it start over, to give it more flavor and texture. The more you do this, the more character development you’re building within your dough.
What’s the difference between French Bread and a Baguette?
A French-style bread refers to any type of bread where only flour, water, salt, and yeast are used; and is typically free form (not baked in a pan). French-style breads are also known for their crackly crusts. A Baguette is a type of French Bread; being one of the most popular styles. A baguette is shaped long and thin.
Why does my sourdough baguette not have holes in the crumb?
- Using a bubbly and active starter helps give nice big holes in your crumb. If you don’t use your starter in the most active window of time, it can cause a dense crumb.
- Letting your dough proof long enough. It’s imperative to have patience while the bread is proofing. Rushing through this step will create a denser crumb. Waiting for your dough to rise properly will result in medium and large holes and an airy crumb. Bulk rises can take more time depending on environmental factors like room temperature and ambient temperature.
How do you get a crackly, golden crust on a French baguette?
Moisture is important. A coagulated starch (a wet glue-like formation) begins to form on the surface of the bread, the moisture helps with this coagulation, and a nice crust forms because of it. Although nothing can duplicate a baker’s oven, you can make very nice bread at home, and it should crackle and be golden in color. To achieve this it’s imperative to add moisture to the oven during the baking process. Add a cast iron skillet filled with water to the bottom rack of the oven. Or, using a spray bottle full of water, begin spraying your loaves right before putting them into the oven. Then spray the inside of the oven at the 2, 4, and 6-minute mark.
Paring your Sourdough French Baguettes with a meal:
- Soups & Stews
- Pasta dishes
- Seafood boils
- We like serving our sourdough baguettes toasted and buttered with eggs in the morning.
- This sourdough baguette makes a lovely crostini paired with your favorite dips, hummus, spreads, and soft cheeses.
- No one in the history of the world was ever mad about a loaf of homemade bread and soft butter at a gathering.
More sourdough bread recipes for you to try:
- Sourdough Focaccia
- Easy Sourdough Boule
- Sourdough Ciabatta Rolls
- Sourdough Sandwich Rolls
- Sourdough Pizza Dough
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