Try this Baguette recipe next time you decide to bake bread! If you ask me which flour is best for baguettes? Wheat flour for sure! Sometimes you want a little kick to your baked goods, which may be the case here. Because the bread is so soft and crumbly, it doesn’t need to be very chewy, and wheat flour will give you that. Other grains, such as spelt flour and rye flour, may have a better rise rate and a richer taste (and a more enjoyable to eat). With both of these, the loaf is drier than that of wheat flour.
How To Make Homemade French Baguette?
The taste of a homemade freshly baked French baguette first thing Monday morning is unbeatable. Golden brown outsides, with chewy-soft insides is enough to sweep any bread-lover off their feet. It’s hard to get exact measurements when it comes to an essential baguette because the sizes of the ingredients can vary widely. The volume of all four ingredients is roughly the same, but the ratios differ slightly. For example, since there is no yeast, they use a little water in their dough. Baguettes are commonly baked in just about every culture. with a plethora of unique ingredients. The dough and the ingredients should taste a bit of everything, from grain to rye to wheat.
Besides the fact that it’s the simplest bread to make, baguettes are made with a specific type of flour and an open heart. A traditional French baguette uses a mixture of different kinds of flour and oil, usually between 40-50 percent oil and 60-65 percent flour.

What Makes A Perfect Baguette?
A good baguette needs a thin crust and an interior that is moist, light, and fluffy. First of all, it must be fresh out of the oven. Second, there must be enough air in the crust to not brown too fast or too long. Third, the crust should not be too dense, as a baguette with a thick crust will lose moisture quickly. Lastly, the crust should not be too shallow or deep. For example, in a baguette from my hometown, the crust is a bit on the thin side and has a nice golden color. A good baguette needs to be thin, but not so thin that it tears easily.
What’s in Panera’s French Baguette?
Panera has tried to mimic this by playing around with the white whole wheat flour. They’ve also removed the shellfish flour in favor of pumpkin. The casing of the bread also has a lower gluten content, so your bread stays together longer and does not crack when you bite into it. The loaves are also bigger than average. But the key ingredients are flour and yeast. Panera’s flour are made from four different flours, it doesn’t exactly behave like the Pahara brand, but it’s still pretty good. The bread tastes lighter and airier with more flavor and is just sweet enough.

French Baguette Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 oz warm water
- 1½ tsp active dry yeast
- 16 oz bread flour
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 10 oz cool water
- all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Pour warm water in a small bowl, add yeast and set aside.
- In a large bowl, add flour and salt. Stir to combine.
- In the large bowl, make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Stir in warm water with yeast.
- Add cool water slowly and stir. Continue until a dough forms.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow dough to rest for 30 minutes.
- Lightly flour a surface to knead the dough. Turn out the dough.
- Lightly oil a large bowl, place dough inside and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise by resting it for 1-2 hours.
- Divide dough into 4 parts, shape each into a long baguette style loaf.
- Place loaves on a dry towel with flour. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and allow it to rise (45 minutes).
- Preheat oven to 450°F, place a pan filled with water on the bottom rack.
- Lightly grease baking sheets and uncover baguettes. Sprinkle with flour, create slashes on each dough.
- Bake for 40 minutes, until crusty and golden brown.
Nutrition

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