This easy whole wheat baguette is rich in flavor, loaded with fiber and so darn delicious. Made with wholesome ingredients you will have zero guilt going for that second slice.
Wheat baguettes might look complicated to make, but this recipe is actually quite simple. It doesn’t even require any kneading! The most time consuming aspect of this recipe is allowing for the rise times.
Whole wheat baguette makes for the perfect addition to just about any meal. Serve it with a bowl of Zuppa Toscana or Russian Borscht. You could even use it as a base for Bruschetta.
How to Make Whole Wheat Baguette
Baking doesn’t have to be intimidating. Follow these easy steps to get a bakery-worthy baguette:
- Mix your ingredients to make your dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 12-20 hours on the counter top. Use a stand mixer or give it a good old-fashioned stir.
- The next day, your dough should be wet, sticky and bubbly. Generously flour your hands and a baking sheet. Form the dough into a loaf shape.
- Sprinkle it with flour and cover with a towel. Let dough rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours.
Hot tip: It’s important to let your dough rise in a warm, moist place because that is the best temperature for fermentation to occur.
- Preheat your oven to 450 ℉. Place two cups of hot boiled water in a deep baking dish. Place on the lower level of the oven. Place your bread loaves on the top rack. Remove the baking dish with water from the oven after 10 minutes. Keep on baking bread for another 30 minutes or until golden brown.
The Best Yeast for Whole Wheat Baguettes
Active dry yeast is the best bet for making whole wheat baguettes. It’s slow to get going but provides more growth than other yeast types. This is perfect for baking with wheat flour, which requires long and steady rising times.
What Seeds Can You Add to Bread?
Adding seeds to whole wheat bread is a great way to passively up the nutritional benefits of your loaf. It also makes each slice that much more filling. That’s a win-win! Read on for some options to choose from:
- Pumpkin seeds – You can use raw or roasted depending on your preference.
- Sesame Seeds – These are best for dusting the top of your loaf with. Not only do they look pretty, they add a lovely nutty flavor.
- Sunflower Seeds – Raw or roasted work well here too.
- Poppy seeds – Mix poppy seeds directly into your dough. The little speckles make your loaf look bakery-worthy.
- Flax Seeds – If you are really upping the health content, these seeds are high in protein and low in cholesterol.
- Chia Seeds – Chia seeds aren’t just for smoothies or acai bowls! They are perfect to bake with.
Storing Whole Wheat Baguettes
If you love to have a couple of loaves on deck for a rainy day, don’t be afraid to double or triple the recipe. Here’s how to store your bread for later use:
- Refrigerate: Pop your loaves in the fridge to keep them fresh for longer. Bread will last one to two weeks when refrigerated. Refrain from slicing your bread until you need it to keep it moist for longer.
- Freeze: After baking, allow your loaf to cool down completely to room temperature. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store in a freezer-safe bag. Freeze for up to three months. When you are ready to eat a loaf, take it out and allow it to thaw on the counter. Heat it up by baking it in the oven for five minutes at 350 ℉.
Other Whole Wheat Recipes
If you love cooking with whole wheat flour, we have a few more recipes for you:
- Whole Wheat Banana Bread – There is truly no better way to use those overripe bananas hanging out on your counter. When made with whole wheat flour, banana bread is much more filling and perfect for a breakfast on the go.
- 5 Minute Wheat Bread – This dough round is perfect for hosting. It’s impressive and perfect for pairing with a spinach artichoke dip.
- Oatmeal Wheat Bread – Oatmeal isn’t just for breakfast, it’s perfect to add into your favorite baked goods. This bread pairs well with high-quality butter and raspberry jam.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 1/3 cup coarse whole wheat flour (or use wheat flour)
- 1/3 cup flax seeds
- 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp dry yeast
- 1 3/4 cup lukewarm water
Instructions
- The night before, mix dry ingredients together and add water, mix the ingredients until the dough comes together. Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for 12-20 hours on the counter top.
- The next day, the dough should be wet, sticky and bubbly. Generously flour your hands and baking sheet. Take the dough (if it sticks, flour your hands more) and form an oval shape.
- Place it on a baking sheet and sprinkle a generous amount of flour on it. Cover it with a towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours.
- Preheat your oven to 450 °F. You will need to have 2 shelves in your oven. Place 2 cups of hot boiled water on the deep cooking sheet, on a lower level, inside your oven. This will make the bread crispy on the outside. Place the bread on the top level. Remove water from the oven after 10 minutes. Keep on baking the bread for another 30 minutes or until golden crispy brown.
Thank you for the recipe, it's really nice, but unfortunately I messed it up. I made four little baguettes (becuse i prefer the smaller ones for vegan hotdogs) and forgot to reduce the time. Could you tell me how long should I bake them this way next time? Yes, it will definetaly be a next time, and I'm not upset with my too-brown little baguettes, they become croutons for my broccoli cream soup. 🙂
Hey Anna, I would just keep an eye on them after you remove the water. Check on them about ten minutes later and once they're golden crispy brown, they're done baking.
Thank you so much! I baked them yesterday and they turned out wonderful. The best baguettes I've ever had.
I'm so happy to hear that Anna!
Hi Natalya, I want to try this bread, however, I am curious how the yeast blooms without any sugar? Thank you
Hi Libby, The yeast feeds on the starch in the flour. 🙂
This is a terrible recipe. Lacks flavor and is more doughy than anything. Tastes nothing like a baguette. Just because you shape dough into a baguette doesn’t make it one. There is a reason why traditional baguettes take so long to make because the dough needs time to develop flavor. Also, the recipe seems to be missing instructions between steps 2 and 3. Overall, very disappointing.
Hello Francois, I'm sorry you were disappointed with the results. We do recommend 12-20 hours for the dough to rise and develop flavor. Thank you for your feedback regarding steps 2 and 3, we will take that into consideration when updating/reviewing the recipe.
Thank you natalya
You're welcome, Shakila. Enjoy!
WOW! Delicious and so easy! I used a mix of 2/3 white winter winter and 1/3 bread flour and maybe too much yeast. I got up this AM and it had almost risen out of the bowl. I was afraid that it had overproofed but I proceeded. I'm pretty familiar with using a scraper instead of my hands to work with wet sticky dough, so this was no problem. I made two baguettes in a baguette pan and put them in the oven to rise and rise they did. So much so that they were hanging over the sides. I cut off the overhangs and just made a sloppy looking 3rd baguette. Baked at 450 with water on the lower shelf, removed the water after 10 minutes, lowered the temp to 400 and baked 15 minutes. Even the sloppy baguette turned out great and so nutty flavored. Will definitely make this recipe again. Thanks much!
Hi Jana, Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your process with me. I am thrilled that the recipe was a success. Thank you for taking the time to leave feedback! Enjoy it dear!!
What brands are there for coarse whole wheat flour. I have Bob's Red Mill Stoneground Whole Wheat flour but cannot find the coarse type. Any recommendations?
Hi Doreen, here is a good brand for coarse flour: https://centralmilling.com/pr…. If you decide to use Bobs Redmill, you can use bread or wheat flour. A bit of bread flour makes them fluffier. Let me know if you have other questions. Thanks
Hi,
I used all stone ground whole wheat flour( hard red wheat) let sit for 21 hours, then formed into loaves. Its been over 20 years since I baked yeast bread - so, I really was not clear on how much kneading and stretching should happen as they are formed into baguettes. I just added a little flour, formed them and let them rise.
The mixture foamed as described over the 21 hours, but as loaves they went flat- I placed them on parchment paper with a towel over them.
I baked for 30 minutes total- loaves are pretty crunchy hard on the outside and seemed to be done.They are tasty but CRUNCHY So would more kneading help them to be puffier?
Hi Rosalie, The kneading should not help with the rising of the dough any extra. We are working on putting out a video for this recipe to make it easier to follow. Sometimes, with bread, it just takes a few tries to get it down.
Love this recipe. I would have loved to add the seeds but my husband doesn’t care for it in his bread. I used all whole wheat flour and I had no problems working with the dough as others had mentioned since I floured my hands well like you instructed in your recipe. I agree with the person who stated the baking time was too long. I baked it 10 minutes with the pan of water and 20 minutes without and it turned out perfect. I only proofed it for 16 hours. Will be making this bread often in the future. Thanks so much.
Hi Rita, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience. I am so glad this recipe was a success! I love making homemade bread! I appreciate your helpful tips. Enjoy!
Good part: The ingredients make for a delicious and highly nourishing bread! However: It was miserable to work with. The dough was so loose and wet even after 24 hours of rising that I had to add a lot of regular flour so that it would form into baguette shapes and not sag. (I have over 50 years in baking bread so have experience in handling dough.) I placed these on parchment paper on the baking sheet, and good thing... they stuck to the parchment paper but at least it could be peeled off. Also, the baking time was only 20 minutes at 450°, not the total of 40 minutes. Otherwise they would have burned and hardened into baseball bats. Other than that, they're quite tasty, and are very satisfying as a meal.
Hi Brenda- thank you for taking the time to leave feedback! This indeed is a wet dough, lots of flour is needed to shape the baguettes. I'm glad you enjoyed them regardless!
Hi. Do I shape this recipe into one or two baguettes? You say both them and it but there’s a photo of 2. Tx so much.
Hi Gay- you can shape it into 2 baguettes, that way they fit on your baking sheet. Enjoy! 🙂
I tried this recipe with 100% whole wheat flower and it came out quite dry and didn't rise enough. The flavor was on point and was still able to enjoy the loaves I made, but it didn't have that nice baguette interior. I highly recommend adding more water and maybe more yeast.
Hi Jack - Thanks for the feedback here. We like to use a combo of course wheat flour and regular wheat flour to get a good interior, but agree that using 100% wheat flour can be a little tricky. Glad you enjoyed the flavor overall, though.
Made recipe with 100% stone ground whole wheat….not sure if this was considered coarse whole wheat. Had to add more water when mixing as was way too dry. Overall the mixture was dry even thought after 22 hours when I stirred the dough it was moist. Crust was crisp with using the water in the oven as instructions said. Overall was not sure I was doing it correctly. Wax paper stuck to baguettes. Considering trying again with whole wheat pastry flour and 100% stone ground whole wheat.
Hi Sue, coarse wheat flour is wheat flour that is milled to a coarse texture. It has flakes of wheat in it. Every brand of flour will have a different result and it may take a little more practice. If it does look like it needs more water, add more. The ough will not be wet but it should be able to easily combine flour with water. When you shape them, flour the surface generally and I would suggest using parchment paper not wax paper. Hope this helps.
Used all 100% stone ground whole wheat. Water was 110 degrees. Added more water when mixing as was way too dry. Didn’t get bubbly despite 22 hours on counter. Also wax paper stuck to baguettes. Crust was crispy when added water in oven as instructions said, but disappointing process overall…. maybe need to under whole wheat versus coarse whole wheat flour better. Thinking of try whole wheat pastry flour with 100% stone ground whole wheat.
Hi Sue- ah, I'm sorry it didn't turn out as you'd hoped. I hope the next round comes out as expected!
Greetings, Natalya! Is it okay to bake the baguettes on a baguette pan rather than a baking sheet? I am talking about the special long pans shaped like a half pipe with little holes throughout. Thank you!
Hi Jane- yes, you can use a baguette pan for this recipe! Enjoy!
I am a belieber and you are now my favorite follow on Pinterest! The white flour baguette was absolutely perfect and I had high hopes for the wheat baguette and was NOT DISAPPOINTED! Five star bread yet again!
Thank you for the kind feedback, Amy! So glad you are loving the bread recipes.
Am I missing something or is there no need for sugar?
Nope! You're 100% correct. No sugar necessary, Roy. 🙂
I followed this recipe exactly, using yeast I had just purchased from the store and making my own coarse whole wheat flour using a grain grinder attached to my KitchenAid stand mixer. Something went wrong, because the dough was not wet, sticky and bubbly the next day, although it did smell yeasty. I made it in January in a very cold climate and I wonder if that had anything to do with it. It just never rose either. I put it in a warming drawer on low and nothing happened.
I had exactly the same problem I used all whole wheat white flour all the other ingredients exactly and my loaves are dry and hard as a brick didn’t hardly rise at all in the oven and we’re never sticky and wet looking!
Hi Martha- I'm so sorry to hear the dough didn't rise or turn out. My suggestion for the future is making sure water is warm and not too hot, it sounds like the yeast didn't bloom for you in this case. I hope the next time yields successful results!
Hello, Patti. It sounds like the yeast may not have bloomed this time around, even though you just purchased it. Water temperature is another factor to consider. I recommend Active Dry Yeast for this particular recipe, and the water temperature needs to be lukewarm- if it's too hot it may kill the yeast. I hope these tips help and you have better success next time!
Hello Natalya, I am very tempted to make this bread. Can I half the ingredients, and will it take the same baking time? And on which shelf shall I keep the bread to bake as we need to keep water too...Thanks
Hi Nidhi - YOu Can half the recipe and just bake one, single baguette. Also, bake them on the center rack. Hope this helps!
I do not have flax seed, but I have flax meal! Will this work, or will this change the texture of the bread too much?
Hey Samuel, you can add flax meal. Maybe slightly lower the amount. Enjoy
What if you don't have 12 hours to let it sit? Is there a way to hurry it?
Hey Jamie, it will not have the same texture. You do want it to sit for at least 24 hours.
24? Recipe says 12?
Hi Gay- minimum 12 hours, but up to 24. Hope this clarifies it!
The dough didn’t go bubbly and wet the next day. Not sure which step did I miss.
Hey Andrea, it can be that yeast is not fresh.
Hi! Can i replace whole wheat flour with bread flour or apf?
Yes, you can. You can follow this recipe: https://momsdish.com/baguette
Could the flour be all whole wheat?
Yes, but keep in mind that whole wheat flour will make the baguette a bit dense.
I'm not understanding this answer. Your recipe calls for whole wheat and coarse whole wheat. Which one of those is not whole wheat?
This recipe looks great! I made regular baguettes and they came out very tasty. Question: at which point do you add seeds or nuts? Are there any seeds that can me mixed into the dough and when?
Thank you!
Hi Marina, you can add seeds to the dough. I would add them when you add flour. You can add sesame, pumpkin and sunflower seeds. Just don't add too much because you don't want the dough to get dense.
I couldn't believe how easy these were to make! So fresh and delicious!
Jen, thank you!
This is seriously good!! I would love to make it again!!
Tony, thank you! Glad you liked it!
This looks so delicious! I love making anything homemade! It's so much better than store bought! So excited to make this!
Beth, So good to hear. Glad you enjoyed it!
Where did you get your coarse whole wheat flour from?
I typically get it at our wholefoods but they don't always have it in the bulk section. You can also replace it with whole wheat flour.
Can we replace coarse whole wheat flour with whole wheat flour?
if i want to preheat the bread so as to serve it at another time, I bake it at 350F with the water for 10-15mins, the water comes out after 10 mins, and then when I want to serve it I assume I just bake it a further 10-15 mins at 450F... Is that right? Thanks.
You would normally bake the bread as instructed in step 3. Notes are just for reheating the bread.
ok, thanks.