A homemade baguette is a true treat! Better yet, this recipe requires only four simple ingredients and absolutely no kneading.
Baguette is perfect for every occasion. From soups to salads to hearty roast dinners, fresh baked bread is always welcome on our table.
Baguette making can be an extremely time consuming process, but with this no-knead recipe you will cut corners without compromising taste. We are obsessed with the chewy inside and crispy exterior. It’s just like the baguette we had on our last family trip to Paris!
What is Baguette?
If you have eaten at a French restaurant, it’s likely you have tried this iconic bread. Simply put, a baguette is a long, thin loaf of French bread that is characterized by a crisp crust and chewy center. The ingredients are pure and simple, consisting of water, flour, salt and yeast.
How Do You Make Baguettes From Scratch?
This method is the easiest way to make baguette and happens to also be my personal favorite. Follow these simple steps to nail the loaf each time:
- Mix the dry ingredients together and add water. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit overnight (up to 20 hours) on the countertop in a well oiled bowl.
- Generously flour your hands and your baking sheet.
- Form dough into baguette shape (about 12 inches long) and let it rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours.
- Bake in the oven for ten minutes with a pan of boiled water resting on the bottom rack. Remove the water and bake until golden brown.
DON’T PANIC! The dough will be really sticky and that’s perfectly OK. To make handling it easier, make sure the work surface is really well-floured or wet your hands periodically throughout the shaping process.
Tips for the Best Baguette
- Use the right flour. Try using flour with higher protein content to get the best texture. A couple of my favorites include King Arthur or Bobs’ Red Mill. Any Canadian brand will typically fit the bill.
- Score the top with a very sharp knife. Scoring, or slicing, the top of your baguette isn’t just for decoration. When you initially shape your bread, you are creating a very taut surface. When you pop your baguette into the oven without scoring the top, the heat causes a burst of gas called an “oven spring” that can rupture the top of the bread and destroy its shape.
- Freeze and reheat your baguette. I like to bake a couple loaves of bread at once and freeze a couple for later. Reheat them in the oven and they will be just as good as freshly baked bread!
- Make sure your yeast is fresh. This common mistake happens to the best of us. Over time, active yeast deactivates and loses its ability to make your bread rise and fluff. Always check the label to make sure it’s not expired!
- Don’t skip the steam bath. The steam bath is crucial to making the outside of your bread crusty. It’s well worth the extra step!
Serving Baguette
I probably don’t have to tell you too much about how to enjoy baguette, but here are some of my favorite ways to serve it.
- European-style butter or high-quality olive oil. Pulgra and Kerrygold are delicious options you can find at most grocery stores.
- Smoked Salmon Dip. This 15-minute recipe is super easy and features an instructional video with yours truly and my husband, Tim! 😉
- Slathered with Raspberry Jam. Our recipe only requires 3 simple ingredients and our boys are hooked on it.
- Alongside a steaming bowl of borscht. It’s sorrel season! Pair a toasty piece of baguette with our schavel borscht.
- Make a steak sandwich. C’mon, you deserve one!
- Serve up some bruschetta. Nothing says summer quite like bruschetta made with farmer’s market tomatoes.
Share Some Love ❤️
Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 cup all-purpose flour (depending on a brand, you may need to add more flour)
- 3 cup lukewarm water
- 2 tsp yeast
- 2 tsp salt
Instructions
- The night before, combine all ingredients together. First mix the dry ingredients together and then add water. Mix the ingredients until the dough comes together. Cover it with a plastic wrap and let it sit for 12-20 hours on the countertop.
- The following day, the dough should be wet, sticky and bubbly. Generously flour your hands and the baking sheet.
- Take the dough (if it sticks, apply more flour to your hands) and form a baguette shape. Place it on a baking sheet and sprinkle a generous amount of flour on it. Score the top with a sharp knife and cover it with a towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 450 °F. You will need to have 2 shelves in an oven. Fill a deep cooking sheet with 2 cups of hot boiled water, and place it on a lower level, inside your oven. This will make the bread crispy on the outside. Place the bread on the top rack. Remove water from the oven after 10 minutes. Keep on baking the bread for another 30 minutes or until golden crispy brown.
Hi Natalya! I’m going to bake this in a few days for when my in-laws will be here, but I have a few questions! I see there’s no sugar, (I’m not a bread expert, but most bread I’ve made needs a little bit of sugar to help the yeast) do you use a special kind of yeast? If it’s just norma yeast do you use instant or active? Thanks so much!
Hi Emily - You use active dry yeast and no sugar at all. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Is the recipe for 2 baguettes as shown in all the photos, or 1 baguette as stated in the instruction?
This clarification may address many of the questions and / or negative outcomes.
Hi Gary - The recipe is for two baguettes. Thanks for reaching out.
This recipe looks delicous. I really want to make it but it doesn't say when and how to add the yeast in. Am I supposed to mix the yeast in with the flour and salt? I'm sorry if this is a dumb question I just want to make sure I'm doing this right.
Hi Ripley - No such thing as a dumb question! You mix all the ingredients together in the first step. Hope this helps.
Mine turned out great! I made four loaves and did it in two batches, as I didn’t want to overcrowd the baking sheet or my oven. I just ate half of the first loaf and better put this away before I eat it all, but how should I wrap and store it?
Hi Jill - Thanks so much for your feedback. So glad these came out tasty for you. Depending on how quickly you plan to eat the baguettes, you can 1) store them in a sealable plastic bag on the counter for 1-2 days or 2) wrap them in plastic wrap and pop them in the freezer for up to a month. Hope this helps.
My 4th time making it. Love ♥️ this overnight recipe! I freeze them and the minute I run out I make more!
Going to try forming 3 smaller baguettes this time
Hi Lisa - Thanks so much for the love. Really appreciate the kind words and so happy this recipe is a part of your regular rotation. 3 smaller baguettes should work great, but you may need to lower the cook time to compensate for the smaller loaves.
If you are having troubles please watch the shaping baguettes video by King Arthur Flour on Youtube .
It’s not the recipe that is the problem it is just a matter of learning how to do it by indulging in a little due diligence .
I’ve been making this recipe as well as the Dutch Oven no knead every second day since the start of the pandemic .
Also to dive a little deeper, watch the Jim Lahey no knead videos on YouTube .
Best breads ever
Hi Terry - Thanks for sharing this. The dough can be a bit tough to work with because it's so wet and sticky. This got us thinking that it might be a good idea to record a video tutorial ourselves. Could be really helpful. Many thanks and hope you're having a great Sunday.
Should I oil the bowl I'm putting the bread mixture in? ( I'm worried when taking the dough out it will stick)
Hi Andrew - There's no need to oil the boil, but you will definitely want to flour your hands and your work-surface VERY well when shaping the baguettes. The dough is wet and sticky, so it needs a lot of flour to handle well. Hope this helps!
amazing 5 out 5 but I couldn't get the dough to get into the baguette shape. My best conclusion is that the dough didn't get worked into enough of a solid
Hi Charles - Thanks for the feedback! The dough is actually supposed to be pretty wet and sticky. To handle it, you need to work on a REALLY well-floured surface with well-floured hands. I often have to reflour a couple of times while I'm shaping. Hope this helps and so happy you liked the results to give us a 5/5!
This is definitely not “entry level” bread but if you’ve looked at other baguette recipes it is easier than most! I read all the comments-good and bad. My bread fell somewhere in the middle. It spread a bit when rising but baked into pretty nice loaves. It’s crunchy outside, fluffy inside and tastes amazing!! It took some tweaking/finesse but I will surely make it again!!
Hi Karen - Thanks for the thoughtful feedback. I really appreciate it! The dough can definitely intimidate, but it's supposed to be very wet and sticky. Glad that the loaves came out well for the most part. Might I ask what kind of flour you used? This can affect the bread's texture.
I gotta say I’ve been baking for years and always follow recipes to the T. I rarely change anything because I want my result to be perfect. I floured everything thoroughly as suggested. After shaping, the loaves flattened out. I even used the recommended flour brand. My dough was wet, sticky, and bubbly as it should’ve been. Not sure what went wrong here. Very disappointed with this recipe. About to pop it in the oven but not too optimistic.
Watch a video on line on how to shape a baguette. Very helpful and takes practice!! 🙂
Hi Sara - Sorry that you're having a rough experience. We are here to help! The dough can be really intimidating because it is supposed to be very wet and sticky. Let me know if we can help in any way and how it turns out - but from the sounds of it, you are on the right track. Thanks for the feedback!
I just finished making this bread. It is really good. Followed the recipe exactly, came out perfect, and I can’t say that about most of the bread I have made. Also, I live at 6700 feet altitude, in the high desert, Didn’t have to change anything . Easiest, most successful bread ever. Thanks.
Hi Paula - That is so cool to hear! Glad you enjoyed it and it was easy to make on your side. Hope you have a great weekend full of tasty food. 🙂
I know the recipe says to leave dough out on the counter overnight. . . But I'm worried about leaving it out so long (risk of bacteria growth). Is it better to refrigerate overnight, like other recipes suggest, or to actually leave it out at room temp all night??
Hi Melp - It's best to let the dough rest on the countertop because the fridge is too cold to support the rise. Hope this helps!
What if our dough rises and is sticky/bubbly well before the 12 hours? Keep waiting or good to shape and bake?
Hi Jenny - To air on the safe side, I would recommend following the recipe exactly. Going through with the full 12 hours will also help give the baguettes a light and fluffy texture. Hope this helps!
For all those using metric: the recipe is pretty messed up.
In US Units, the ratio of water to flour is 50%. In the metric recipes, the ratio is 94% which results in an unworkable dough.
Hi M - Thanks for flagging this! It looks like the measurements didn't transfer properly. We will fix this.
I don’t understand all the hateful comments, my bread came out just fine. I’ll admit it would be nice if there were instructions on how to make the dough into a baguette shape
Thanks for the kind words Ryan! That's a great idea - we could definitely add more details to the shaping process.
This is by far one of the best baguette recipe ever! I strictly followed the instructions and it turned out fabulous.
Will definitely make it over and over again. Thank you for sharing this easy and delicious recipe.
Yay! So happy to hear that Anita. I hope you find some delicious ways to use it. Thanks a mill for the kind words. 🙂
im sorry i thought this would be good, but i should have done the convertion from us units to metric my self, 6 cups of flour is equal to 1400g of flour, not 750g my dough is way to wet, and it proberly want be that good... but you have fail to learn sometimes i guess. just wish i had done it before i wasted 12 hours to let it rise:/
The weight in grams listed in the recipe is a good conversion. A cup of enriched white flour milled for the US market weighs on average 120 grams, so actually 750 grams is slightly more than the 6 X 120 that would be calculation.
It is an extremely wet dough, making it somewhat difficult to work with, but it will produce a bread with good texture if you stick with the process. (Please pardon the pun.)
Some standard bread making techniques can help. After the dough has more than doubled, lightly flour the surface and then punch the dough down. This is just as it sounds: use your fist and push down on the center of the dough. Once it’s collapsed, pull the sides of the dough toward the center and allow it to rise again. You can do this several times during the rise.
I know know it says “no knead” but it will help the dough to hold its shape if you use the sourdough bread technique of folding before forming your loaves. Lightly flour a surface and turn the dough out on it when the rise in the bowl is done. Sprinkle flour lightly over the mass of dough and then pull the edge farthest from you toward you to make a fold. Turn the dough clockwise 1/4 turn (90°) and fold it the same way again. Lightly flour the surfaces and keep your hands well floured so that you can work the dough in this way. Ten or so such folds will improve the shape-keeping property of the dough. Once the folding is done, it’s best to cover the dough with a light cloth and let it rest about 10 minutes before forming. This allows the body of the dough to develop a little more. If you don’t have time to wait you can of course simply start forming your loaves.
I use this recipe to make bread for banh mi and it makes 12 little baguettes just right for the sandwiches. You have to reduce baking time to account for the smaller loaves—about 22-25 minutes, I’ve found.
Ah! Sorry that happened to you Rasmus. I hope you get to try the recipe again and it turns out great for you. Let us know if you have any questions along the way - we're always here to help.
Hi Natalya,
I tried the recipe yesterday.
I followed the instructions accurately.
The dough did not stay in baguette shape, it just spread out.
So many people have had this problem, can't see any comments where it was a success 🙁
Hi Fiona - Thanks for reaching out. Did the dough spread while it was raw or during the baking process? This will help me better understand where it went wrong for you. It's a super sticky dough and requires you to work with well-floured hands. Hoping I can help you troubleshoot the problem!
I probably should have read the comments because it left me in tears. This is a horrible recipe the bread was way to sticky to shape and instead of it holding its shape it ended up spreading out I don’t recommend and I won’t ever try it again.
Hi Mara- ah I am sorry, I know how frustrating it can be when something doesn't work out. To clarify, this dough is quite sticky and bubbly, that is normal. You will have to have very well floured hands and a well floured surface to shape it. Some people like using baguette pans to help retain the shape as well. We hope to update this recipe in the future with some added tips and tricks so that everyone can succeed!
When you make bread dough the full ingredients is patient and love. if didn`t work for the first time then try it again, how simple is that! I used this recipe all the time and it works for me.
Honestly, I’ve never had this much trouble with any bread recipe. The instructions are so vague and the amount of flour (even pallpark) to add to the flour after it risen to make it pliable isn’t available. My bread didn’t raise after shaping, they just spread out. I added cups of flour to it to shape it but obviously that didn’t help at all. Find a different recipe, the amount of others saying they had issues should have been a clue not to attempt but I did and it was a waste of time, energy and ingredients.
Hi Maddie- I'm so sorry this recipe didn't work out as hoped. This is a pretty hydrated dough, it'll be wet and sticky and will take more flour to shape it. That being said, I know it's still frustrating when the recipe doesn't turn out even after you added extra flour. We plan to review this recipe in the near future and to update it with more helpful tips and info.
Hello! I followed the metric values and the dough was to wet and impossíble to handle.
Its almost the same amount of water as flour...
O added some flour before oven let see
Hi Raul- you are correct, this dough is a very wet, hydrated dough. After rising it will be wet, sticky, bubbly and you'll need very well floured hands and a well floured surface to shape it. Keep us posted how it turns out!
Hello again
I tested again and I added more flour (used cups instead of grams) and it gets lets wet but i still cant mame the baguete formar, because it expands. But anyway.the final result is great. I love it. 🙂🥖🥖
Hi Raul- I'm so glad your final result came out! I hope to update this recipe in the future to show how to shape the baguettes.
Might want to change the recipe to make 3 baguettes. Flavor is good but baguettes are huge and hard to handle.
Hi Allison- you're right, there is a lot of dough and it can definitely be used to make 2-3 baguettes easily.
Hi,
When you say 2 tsp yeast, you are talking about fresh or dry yeast? If it is fresh, what would be the equivalent amount in dry yeast?
Hi Monica- I'm referring to dry yeast, like the kind you'd get at the grocery store in the little packets. Hope this helps!
Hello,
Is it Active Dry Yeast, or Instant Dry Yeast?
Thanks!
Hi Katie- I generally prefer active dry but you really can use either yeast in this recipe!
My dough was super dry and tough… I used 3 cups of flour and 1.5 cups of water but there were flour left over so I added more till I could mix it all together into a dough but still a very heavy and tough dough
It’s better to weigh the flour since a cup can be a lot more depending on how compact the flour is
That's very true, Tiny. Having a kitchen scale for baking is so helpful!
Hi Clara- oh that is so interesting, this dough is normally very wet, sticky, etc. How do you measure your flour? I'm curious if perhaps you added more than 3 cups? Either way, I'm sorry it came out heavy and tough. Did it rise at all?
I tried searching the comments but could t find an answer. If I want one loaf. Do I half all the ingredients including the yeast? I know that sometimes there minimum requirements.
Hi Amanda- correct, you would half ALL of the ingredients. Great question. Happy baking!
Followed instructions exactly.
Absolutely impossible to form the soggy wallpaper like mess of a dough into anything!
Threw the whole lot in the bin.
Hi David- I'm so sorry to hear it didn't work out. The dough is quite bubbly, sticky, etc after rising. You need a lot of flour on your hands and on the surface to shape it.
Hi! The dough is rising right now, however, I have a concern that it will go sour after 16 hours? Is that unnecessary concern?
Thank you!
Hi Annie- it shouldn't go sour since this isn't a sourdough bread. Hope this helps!
I live at 6800 feet, are there any changes for high elevation? Thank you
Hey Gail- great question. I am pulling this information directly from another commenter, Holly, who made these baguettes and also lives at higher elevation. Here is what she said, I hope it helps you!
“I can attest to the fact however that if you are doing this 7000+ feet above sea level in a dry climate as I was, I used additional water and a full packet of yeast (2 1/4 tsp) with great success. Because the dough is looser than the traditionally made dough, getting a great baguette shape was more challenging and I simply made it the best I could and none of the dinner guests were any the wiser.”
This was my first go at a baguette, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with the way they turned out. I will definitely be trying this recipe again.
My only critique is that you don't explain how to shape a baguette. When I read the recipe, I assumed it was as simple as shaping the dough into the baguette shape, but mine just laid there like pancakes, so I googled how to shape a baguette and followed instructions found online. It is easy but not quite as simple as just "forming a baguette shape". It would have saved me some trouble if you explained how to do this, or referenced a resource. There are lots of helpful videos online!
All that to say, I am still enjoying my baguettes and I have shared them with my neighbors as well 🙂
Katie, thank you so much for sharing your feedback. You make a great point, we will work on creating videos and more step-by-step photos. Additng this to the top of our to-do list. Thanks again!
I halved the recipe and got a ciabatta. Next time I will half the dough and probably add more salt. It was baked in 20 minutes and it got a nice golden color under but the top was brown. What would happen if I would keep the water in the oven? I read somewhere that steam helps with golden color.
Hi Eni- thank you for the feedback! Hmm, I'm not sure why the top browned so fast! Was your baguette too high up in the oven perhaps? Sometimes different ovens run a little hotter. Perhaps try putting the bread in the middle of the oven versus the top next time and see if this helps achieve golden color all around as opposed to it browning too quick on top. Also, you can definitely try keeping the water in the oven the entire time (in fact I did so the last time I baked this bread). Hope these tips help!