Baguette

Classic French Style

This French baguette recipe uses the classic poolish pre-ferment to produce café-quality loaves with a crackling blistered crust, a creamy open crumb, and the nutty aromatic depth that only slow fermentation can deliver. Four ingredients — flour, water, salt, and yeast — are transformed through time and technique into France’s most iconic bread.

Two artisan French baguettes from the poolish recipe, golden and crackling, styled rustic

The poolish is a 100% hydration pre-ferment with a lineage tracing back to 19th-century Polish bakers working in Vienna and later Paris (hence the name). Over a 12–14 hour overnight rest, a pinch of yeast pre-digests part of the flour, building organic acids, aromatic esters, and the extensible dough structure that a straight dough cannot match. This is the same foundational method behind the baguette de tradition, Parisian bistro breads, and most serious artisan French loaves.

What you will need:

Poolish

Ingredient	Quantity
Flour	175g
Water	175g (175mL)
Instant Yeast	1g

Dough

Ingredient	Quantity
Flour	175g
Cold Water	90g (90mL)
Salt	7g
Poolish (all of the above)	351g

Equipments:

Digital scale (accurate to 1g)
Large mixing bowl with lid or plastic wrap
Bench scraper
Linen couche or floured kitchen towel
Baking stone or heavy-duty baking steel
Cast iron skillet or lava rocks for steam
Baker’s peel or inverted sheet tray
Lame or single-edge razor blade for scoring
Instant-read thermometer (optional)
Spray bottle (optional, for additional steam)

General Details:

Prep Time: 40 minutes (active)

Cook Time: 22–25 minutes

Total Time: 16–18 hours (mostly hands-off fermentation)

Yield: 2 baguettes (~330–350g each)

Difficulty: Intermediate

Cuisine: French

Category: Bread

Storage: Best within 4–6 hours of baking. Store cut-side down on a board for 1 day; freeze wrapped for up to 1 month and refresh at 180°C for 5 minutes.

Instructions:

Prepare Preferment (Night Before)

Dissolve 1g instant yeast in water at 24–26°C.
Add flour and mix by hand until smooth with no dry pockets.
Cover and ferment 12–14 hours at 24–26°C until bubbly, domed, and just starting to collapse at the centre.

Building the poolish for French baguette recipe — flour, water, and yeast mixed by hand into a shaggy pre-ferment. Fully fermented poolish for French baguette recipe, bubbly and domed, transferred to a container for mixing

Mix and Autolyse

In a large bowl, combine flour, all poolish, and the cold water (80% of 90g).
Mix by hand until shaggy with no dry flour remaining.
Cover and rest 20 minutes to autolyse.

Mixing and folding French baguette dough on a floured surface to develop gluten during bulk fermentation

Final Mix and Bulk Ferment

Add remaining cold water and salt; mix on low until medium gluten development (smooth, cohesive, slight resistance).
Transfer to a lightly oiled container and bulk ferment 2 hours at 24–26°C.
Perform 2 sets of stretch-and-folds, one at 1 hour and one at 1.5 hours into bulk.

Shaping, proofing, scoring, and baking French baguettes on a floured couche to a golden crackling crust

Divide and Shape

Tip dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 2 pieces of 330–350g each.
Pre-shape each piece gently into a loose log and cover.
Bench rest 20–25 minutes, seam-side up.
Final-shape into classic baguettes without degassing — elongate to fit your stone or tray.
Transfer seam-side up onto a floured couche, pleating between loaves for support.

Finished French baguette recipe whole loaf, sliced piece, and torn cross-section showing open airy crumb

Proof, Score, and Bake

Proof 35–45 minutes at room temperature until lightly aerated and jiggly when nudged.
Preheat oven with stone and steam pan to 250°C for at least 45 minutes before baking.
Flip baguettes onto a peel seam-side down and score 4–5 overlapping slashes at a low angle.
Load onto stone, introduce strong steam (boiling water into the hot pan), and close the oven immediately.
Bake at 250°C for 10 minutes, then drop to 230°C for 12–15 minutes, venting the oven for the last 5 minutes for a crisp crust.
Cool on a wire rack at least 20 minutes before slicing so the crumb can set.

Serving Suggestions

Tear while still warm and serve with salted cultured butter and flaky sea salt.
Split lengthwise for a classic jambon-beurre with ham, butter, and cornichons.
Slice thin for tartines topped with fresh goat cheese, honey, and cracked pepper.
Pair with a cheese board featuring Comté, Brie de Meaux, and Roquefort alongside a crisp Sancerre.
Serve alongside French onion soup, bouillabaisse, or leek and potato soup.
Cube and toast for croutons or the base of a proper ribollita, panzanella, or French onion soup.
Split and toast for bruschetta or crostini — rub with garlic and brush with olive oil.

Freshly baked French baguette with blistered golden crust and classic scoring on a cream linen cloth

Applied Techniques

Poolish : A 100% hydration pre-ferment with a pinch of yeast, fermented overnight to develop flavour, extensibility, and keeping quality.
Autolyse : Resting flour and water before adding salt and yeast to hydrate the flour fully and jump-start gluten development with minimal mixing.
Stretch-and-Fold : A gentle in-bowl strengthening method that builds gluten and aligns dough structure without the shear of machine kneading.
Couche Proofing : Proofing shaped loaves on heavy pleated linen to hold their form and wick surface moisture for a better crust.
Scoring : Strategic shallow slashes that guide oven spring, preventing the crust from tearing randomly and creating the signature baguette ear.

Authentic French baguette torn open to reveal an open crumb and steamy aromatic interior

Nutrition Profile / 100g

Nutrient	Amount
Calories	240 kcal
Total Fat	0.7 g
Saturated Fat	0.1 g
Carbohydrates	50.2 g
Sugars	0.2 g
Protein	6.6 g
Fiber	1.8 g
Sodium	520 mg

Note: Approximate values based on recipe formula. Calculated per 100g of finished baguette, assuming ~15% baking moisture loss. Actual nutrition may vary with flour type and bake.

Approximate values based on recipe formula. Actual nutrition may vary.

Tips for Best Results:

Use a strong bread flour with 11.5–12.5% protein; T65 or a good all-purpose bread flour gives the best balance of extensibility and strength.
Watch the poolish, not the clock, if your kitchen is warm it may be ready in 10 hours; if cold it may need 14–16. Bubbly, domed, and just starting to collapse is the visual cue.
Cold water in the final mix keeps final dough temperature close to 24°C, which is ideal for a controlled 2-hour bulk.
Shape with a light hand — a baguette crumb is earned by preserving gas, not kneading it out.
Flour your couche generously; wet baguette dough sticks fast and will deflate if it tears on transfer.
Steam is non-negotiable. A dry oven gives a pale, leathery crust; a steamy one produces the blistered, crackling shell that defines the loaf.
Listen for the crust — a properly baked baguette sings (crackles audibly) as it cools on the rack.
Internal temperature should hit 96–99°C when fully baked; use a probe if unsure.

Homemade French baguette from scratch, sliced on a wooden board with butter and sea salt

Troubleshooting Guide:

Issue	Possible Cause	Fix
Dense, tight crumb	Under-fermented poolish or bulk, or over-degassed during shaping	Wait for the poolish to be fully domed and starting to collapse; shape with minimal pressure.
Flat, spread loaf	Over-proofed or under-shaped; weak gluten structure	Shorten final proof; build more tension in the shape; ensure medium gluten at final mix.
Pale crust with no blistering	Insufficient steam or oven not hot enough	Preheat stone 45+ minutes at 250°C; pour boiling water into a preheated cast iron pan at the moment of loading.
Crust is tough and leathery	Too much steam for too long, or oven not vented at the end	Vent oven for the last 5 minutes; remove steam pan halfway through the bake.
Scores tear raggedly, no ear	Dull blade, wrong angle, or over-proofed dough	Use a fresh razor at ~30° angle in swift confident strokes; score before the dough fully slackens.
Gummy crumb when cut	Under-baked or sliced too hot	Bake until internal temperature reaches 96–99°C; cool at least 20 minutes before slicing.
Poolish smells sharply alcoholic or sour	Over-fermented — collapsed fully and past peak	Use within the window when it is domed and just starting to fall; in a warm kitchen, reduce the 1g yeast or refrigerate.
Dough sticks to couche or peel	Insufficient flour on couche; slack, under-developed dough	Flour couche generously with a 50/50 mix of rice flour and bread flour; build gluten strength during bulk.

A proper baguette is defined as much by restraint as by technique — minimal degassing during shaping to preserve the alveolar crumb, a short watchful proof, and a very hot oven with strong steam. Serve within hours of baking with salted butter, alongside charcuterie and cheese, or torn at the table while still warm.

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