My family's been making easy, 4-ingredient baguettes for years, and I think everyone should know the recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret of best baguette? ›

One of the secrets of a great baguette is to start with a sponge (a mix of flour, water, and yeast), which gives the yeast time to mature and combine with the other ingredients, creating the mildly sour and nutty flavors and chewy texture.

Constantly evolving, the “de tradition” baguette is strictly governed by a 1993 decree, whose aim is to protect artisan boulangerie chefs and to ensure they adhere to strict requirements, such as a ban on additives.

Baguettes are high in calories and are generally higher in calories than regular white sliced bread. The calories in baguettes primarily come from the high carbohydrate content of baguette bread.

It's hard because: The crust is thin and crackly (use of steam is essential). the length of a normal baguette is not possible in home ovens (but so what?). The dough is wet.

Overall, the ideal flour for baguettes should have a moderate protein content, a fine texture, and should be of high quality. While traditional French type 55 flour is the ideal choice, a combination of all-purpose and bread flour can also work well in its place.

In France, you can choose between an ordinary baguette and one made in the traditional French way (Baguette de Tradition). The choice has a 20 cent impact on the price, and also the taste. For true bread-lovers, only traditional baguettes will do, as these bring out the real aromas of quality bread.

The French bread law

The law states that traditional baguettes have to be made on the premises they're sold and can only be made with four ingredients: wheat flour, water, salt and yeast. They can't be frozen at any stage or contain additives or preservatives, which also means they go stale within 24 hours.

In France, most good bakeries put their energy toward the most artisanal baguette: the baguette “tradition”. By a law enacted in 1993, a baguette “tradition” can only contain four ingredients: flour, leavening, water, and salt. There are usually hand-formed and baked on the premises, and have sourdough starter in them.

1 – Regular French Baguette = Cheap Bread in France

Hence, the bakers use the cheapest ingredients to keep it low cost. And some people apparently like that taste because “le pain” (the bigger loaf of French bread”) and “la baguette” still sell like… hot cakes (pun intended). Of course, it's a question of taste.

Of all the food in the country, the French baguette is perhaps the one that most unites France and its culture. Okay, so perhaps that's overstating it a tiny bit. But the French — every man, woman and child of them — do manage to eat an entire baguette every day. To many French a meal without a baguette is not a meal.

Do French people eat baguettes every day? ›

95% of French people eat bread every day. This is the number of baguettes sold in France every year. That means more than 300 baguettes sold every second, and more than 27 million per day.

French Baguettes are so good

First and foremost, the flour used in France is of very high quality. But the major difference between French and an American baguette is the fermentation process. Most French bakers use a poolish process, which consists of a mix of yeast and water that's allowed to ferment overnight.

Perfect Your Yeast Levels

Carbon dioxide is responsible for all the bubbles that make holes in bread, making it lighter and fluffier. Because gas is created as a result of yeast growth, the more the yeast grows, the more gas in the dough and the more light and airy your bread loaf will be.

Wrap the baguette in aluminum foil.

Tear off a large sheet of aluminum foil and lay the baguette on it lengthwise. Fold the long sides of the foil over the baguette and tuck the ends of the foil under. Crimp the aluminum foil so it's sealed shut.

Spraying water when putting the the dough in the. oven helps keep the crust soft to allow maximum. oven spring.

First and foremost, the flour used in France is of very high quality. But the major difference between French and an American baguette is the fermentation process. Most French bakers use a poolish process, which consists of a mix of yeast and water that's allowed to ferment overnight.

In France, bakers pay careful attention to where their flour is made and which grains are used in the milling process. The result is usually softer, heartier, and tastier bread than can be found in other parts of the world. French flour tends to be made with a lower ash content than the flour from other countries.

A French baguette de tradition is obliged to respect a number of rules. For example, it cannot be frozen in any way while being made (such as freezing pieces of dough), nor may it contain any additives or enhancers that might be used to facilitate or shorten one or several stages in the cooking process.

A baguette is a long, thin type of bread that is commonly made from basic lean dough (the dough, though not the shape, is defined by French law). It is distinguishable by its length, crisp crust on the outside and soft inner core.