Community Pick
Traditional Artisan Style Baguette - Rustic French Bread
"A traditional country-style French bread, made the old-fashioned way (although you can use the bread-machine if you wish). The result is a lovely full-flavored loaf with a wonderful crust. Best eaten the same day. Makes 2 baguettes."
photo by Papa D 1946-2012
- Ready In:
- 32mins
- Ingredients:
- 5
- Yields:
-
2 Baguettes
- Serves:
- 4-6
ingredients
- 1 (1/4 ounce) packet active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon organic honey
- 1 1⁄2 cups warm water
- 2 teaspoons natural sea salt
- 4 - 4 1⁄2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
directions
- Place the yeast, honey and warm water in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the salt and the flour. Use a wooden spoon to stir 2 cups of the flour mixture into the yeast mixture; stir in the remaining flour mixture (dough will be stiff).
- Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead with floured hands until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5-7 minutes. Add a little flour, 1 tablespoon at a time as necessary, to prevent dough from sticking.
- Place in an oiled bowl, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap (or a clean kitchen towel) and leave to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 400F degrees.
- Gently punch dough down to deflate it and shape into two oblong baguettes. Dust tops lightly with flour and place on a lightly greased baking sheet; let rise uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Use a serrated knife to cut 3-5 small diagonal slits across the tops of the baguettes, and lightly sprinkle with cool water.
- Bake in the middle of oven for 25-30 minutes, until golden. Transfer to a rack to cool.
- Best eaten the same day.
Questions & Replies
-
Can this be frozen or the recipe halved to make just one loaf? Ty. -
2 questions. Will be using stand mixer with dough hook. How long to knead? What size should the loaves be shaped into? TH for a response. Where will I find the response?
-
Hello all... My daughter can only have organic whole grains. (nothing bleached or processed) I would love to make this bread for her. What flours can I mix to get similar results. I was thinking whole grain wheat and oat flour... but I've only ever used regular flour at home. -
You are giving US or Metric units as option this is nice however the metric system is not using volumes for solids. Flour is measured in grams not in ml. -
Can you use sugar instead of honey in this recipe.
see 1 more questions
Reviews
-
I'm a newbie at baking bread and I have made this recipe a few times and we loved it. Not quite what I was expecting (very dense) but good. The last time I made it I added an egg and it was amazing! I've added quite a few ingredients on occasion like garlic, cheese, pineapple juice, or even cinnamon and it always turns out great. This is my go-to basic bread recipe.
-
WOW !!! This is by far the "BEST" bread recipe I have ever made. Great texture and wonderful flavor. I was a little skeptical of the ingredients but what great results! Thanks for posting BecR. Made and reviewed for the Tea Time Event in the Photo Forum February 2010. EDIT to say I did use bread flour and let my bread machine do all the work on dough cycle.
-
This bread is WONDERFUL!! It is PERFECT! It turns out nice and crusty on the outside so and soft on the inside! Absolutely Delish! No need to change a thing with this recipe!
-
I made this to go with my French Onion Soup (from another site) for dinner tonight. I used another's suggestion and after consulting yet another site for tips regarding how to get a nice outside crust, I placed a ramekin of water in the lower rack of the oven when I turned it on to preheat (left it in the entire time it baked) and spritzed the loaves lightly with water before placing them in the oven. This yielded a very soft inside and a nice crusty outside. The directions were on point and the bread is lovely. I used 1/2 AP & 1/2 whole wheat flour; placed the yeast mixture, salt/flour mixture in my Kitchen Aid w/dough hook instead of kneading by hand and ended up adding just a little more warm water so it would hold together and knead (the whole wheat may have made it a little drier initially). Thanks so much for sharing, this is a great recipe! -
I have been making this every weekend lately. I use sugar instead of honey, and add some flax seed meal. I love how crispy the outside is and how soft the inside is. I make one big loaf bake at 400 for about 28 minutes.
see 33 more reviews
Tweaks
-
I have been making this every weekend lately. I use sugar instead of honey, and add some flax seed meal. I love how crispy the outside is and how soft the inside is. I make one big loaf bake at 400 for about 28 minutes.
see 1 more tweaks
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
<p>Married to my sweetheart for almost forty years and we have two wonderful children who are grown and have flown the coop. Also, we have been blessed with a wonderful son-in-law and beautiful daughter-in-law, plus FIVE grandchildren: two beautiful granddaughters ages five and eight, and three sweet adorable little grandsons ages 2 months, 2 years and 3 years. My husband and I share a combination of English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Dutch, Swiss, Polish, Austrian, German and French heritage, and our son-in-law and daughter-in-law are both Hispanic. We've traveled extensively to many countries abroad (we lived in Germany), and have traveled and lived in several states here in the U.S.A. Many of the recipes I post here are influenced by our combined heritage or from our travels, or they are old family favorites that I want to share with you. I hope you enjoy! Have been to culinary school with many years of cooking (mostly for my family) under my belt, so know my way around a kitchen. And I'm very lucky to have the best sous chef in the world, dddddh! One of my favorite chefs of all time is Jacques Pepin! I have several of his cookbooks, and enjoy watching his television cooking show Fast Food My Way. Another top favorite is Julia Child (of course!). A few other chefs I read/enjoy watching on t.v. are: Giada At Home, Ina Garten's The Barefoot Contessa, Nigella Lawson's Nigella Bites, and Patti's Mexican Kitchen, and many more. On my bucket list is dining at Thomas Keller's establishment The French Laundry in Napa Valley, California... as well as Alice Waters' Chez Panisse in Berkeley, and the James Beard award winning Tartine Bakery and Cafe in San Francisco. One day!! Hobbies/Interests: Decorating with fresh flowers and herbs from the garden is my passion, and brings me deep joy! It's really hard to beat!! I love connecting with others who enjoy the same. Gardening, decorating, sewing, music, dancing, film, and reading are also up there. Spending quality time with my grandchildren, family, and friends (and cooking holiday meals!). Currently, a newfound passion has been so richly rewarding for me: genealogical research. I heart ancestry dot com. And last but certainly not least, I absolutely LOVE cats--we have two half-Siamese fur babies (cats) that allow us to live here!! A Note of Thanks~ I try to personally thank everyone who kindly makes and reviews my recipes, but sometimes I am busy, late, or may forget. Please know that I am always humbled that you would try one of my recipes, and I enjoy reading the reviews and seeing all the pretty photographs. Thanks so much! </p>
