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.




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.
Recipe
Ingredients
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. 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.
Hello
I've tried this recipe a few times now but always struggle with the wetness of the dough & therefore can never shape it into anything that resembles a baguette. It still tastes AMAZING but resembles the shape of a pizza......would love some help to know where I'm going wrong. I live in the UK so convert your recipe & use good strong bread flour.
Many thanks Beverley xxx
Hey Beverly, I would suggest reducing water by 1/3 of a cup or adding more flour. Hope this helps. Enjoy
Really appreciate you replying Natalya what would a 1/3 of a cup be in metric as im in the UK xxx
Hey Beverly, I would suggest to google for conversion. You can ask for a specific ingredient and it will give you conversion.
Directions:
Take the dough (if it sticks, apply more flour to your hands) and form a baguette shape.
1/ One, two (as pictured) or more baguettes
2/There is no reference to cutting the dough
3/ The video links to a Dutch oven bread
Everything else seems clear! Going to try today
Thanks
Hi and Happy New Year,
I made the bread with the same amount and time instructions, but substituted to bread flour and kneaded in KitchenAid mixer. My inside was dense and not white. Outside was crisp and great. First time making bread, so what did I do wrong?
Hey Richard, this is a no-knead bread recipe, just requires resting time. We use regular all-purpose flour. Hope this helps.
What kind of yeast do you use? Tried this several times, goes really well until I bake it, then it just doesn’t bake well. What could I be doing wrong?
Hey Teresa, I use instant dry yeast. What doesn't go well when you bake it? Can you be more specific? Thanks
When I bake it, nothing happens. Doesn’t rise, the flour just makes it dried up. Really disappointed, but not giving up 😊!!
Teresa, you should give the baguette some rising time. How fresh is your yeast. Enjoy
I'm about to form my loaves and looking at how much it rose, it's going to yield way more than 2. I'm curious what kind of flour was used to yield only 48 carbs per loaf. Per my calculation, 6 cups of great value flour yields 552 carbs for the entirety of the dough and once it's divided, the carb count will exceed 125 per loaf. With a type 1 diabetic child at home, I'm always looking for ways to make things lower carb while still enjoying things we love. What kind of flour was used in this?
Hey Jenni, this recipe has 12 servings, your calculation of carbs is correct. You can make them smaller and make several loaves but adjust baking time.
Hi! You recommend to leave the pre mixture overnight up to 20 hrs. What happens if I go over this or what is the minimum amount of time? I'm trying to plan with my work sschedule. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
I would suggest doing it for 12-24 hours. That window typically works great. If you want to keep it for longer, I would recommend refrigerating after 24 hrs.
Hi - I don't see when you are supposed to slash the loaves. Also can you please confirm the metric measures? Or give us correct flour weight in ounces rather than cups? I made this with 750 grams of flour and 710g water per your recipe and the dough was so wet I had to add cups of flour in the morning to even be able to shape it. (rising now, we'll see how it goes). Thanks.
Hi, I different brands of flour may require more or less of it. I would suggest adding more flour if the shape is not holding up.Thank you
Do I have to put the boiling water in a cookie sheet or any oven safe container?
Hi Lisa, it can be any oven-safe container.
Do you score the bread prior to second rise or just before baking?
Hi Kay, I did it right before baking but you have to be very gentle, using a sharp knife.
That is what I did. My loaves came out far larger so next time will make 4. I had 100% success, can't wait for dinner....Thank you so much.
I am so happy to hear this! Thank you for sharing!
Hi I am excited to try this recipe!...My question relates to the dough sitting out at counter temperature for 20 hours. We average about 68 degrees in the house so... is that too cool for the dough ingredients to interact enough to rise. Thank you!
Hi Amanda, it will work perfectly at that temperature. I hope you love them!
I used king arthur flour and fresh yeast, but my dough still flattened out too much. I'm going to us less water next time
You can also add 1/2 cup of additional flour.
Adding the flour worked great! Thank you. So tasty with a bit of cream cheese topped with a fresh cranberry and pomegranate relish!
Yum I love the idea of the cranberry and pomegranate relish, that sounds incredible!
Is the 3 cups water divided 1 cup for the bread and 2 cups for he steam bath
The 3 cups are all used for the dough. The steam bath would require additional water.
Thank you so much for this recipe. Do you know if we can make it with whole wheat flour?
I have a recipe for a whole wheat baguette, give this one a try.
Whole Wheat Bread: https://momsdish.com/recipe/2…
Made this tonight. So good and so tasty!
I'm glad the recipe went well! Thank you for your feedback.
Can this be made with whole wheat flour?
Hi, it can but it does come out more dense.
Hi is the yeast instant yeast for this recipe? Thanks!
Yes, instant yeast works great.
Easy peasy!!! I always thought i would need to learn making a baguette the next time i am in France..but no! I just had to read your recipe! Thank you so much!
Ruth, it is so good to hear that you found this recipe super easy to follow! Thank you for coming back and leaving a comment 🙂
Hi.. I dont understand the doble shelf in the over for tge water.. Do you prepared a video for this recipe?
Hey Karina, this video shows how I do it. It would make sense. https://www.youtube.com/watch…
The first attempt at making the baguettes was a sticky mess but tasted great. So I made a second time with bread flour. What
. A. Difference!! I even bought a 3 section lasagna pan to shape the loaves. This is going to be a favorite for a long time!!
Oh so interesting! Thank you for sharing your tips. Flour does make a difference.
Great recipe! I've been making bread like this for several years. I find that the weather as well as the type of flour can determine how much water you actually need. It is DRY here in Arizona, making it necessary to use a bit more water at times to reach the "stickiness" that I want. In a humid climate, you may require less water. I also add white vinegar in the water (3 Tbsps. : 6 cups flour). You don't taste it, although I think it enhances the flavor, much like salt does and it aids the keeping quality. Often times I will use this dough to make sheet bread or focaccia. Just toss it on the parchment and spread it out. As baguettes, I find that they don't have to be perfect. In this case, rustic is actually better!
Judith, so many great tips. I love the idea of Focaccia bread. So awesome, thanks for sharing!
Easy is the right word for baguette. Taste was good and crispy as it should be.
I used King Arthur flour.
I would show photo but it says image upload disabled.
Hey Catherine, I would love to see the photo. We have a community group, you can join: https://www.facebook.com/grou…
This recipe is absolite garbage. I did everything right and it only turned into a big wet doughy booger that wouldnt form. Maybe instead of writing BS recipes and wasting people’s time you get a life
I suck at baking and everything always turns out wrong, but this turned out fairly normal for me. So, whatever happened with yours is clearly a user error.
Gemma, thank you for sharing your feedback. It does take practice and with in time you can make it even better. 🙂
Hey Beth, thank you for sharing!
She's a bonehead, you rock, enough said.
Thanks for sharing Natalya.
You're welcome, I hope you loved the recipe.
Hi there ,could you please help me ,I don’t know what I’m doing wrong the baguettes I make look really beautiful on the outside but inside they’re not as fluffy as yours, mine are more dense ,is it because mine have been Overproofed??
It is so frustrating
I just tried a second time with bread flour. What a great difference!
Donna, great tip! thanks for sharing
#1 problem is the brand of flour. What brand did you use? Is the yeast fresh?
Thank you for getting back to me , I used ordinary plain flour and I keep my yeast in the fridge .
I would suggest getting Bob's Red Mill, it makes the best bread.
I’m from Australia , should I be using bread flour ??
Hey Carmes, I think the bread flour would work great.
Way too much water. Dough can't be shaped unless way more flour is added.
Donna, depending on the brand of flour you use, you may need to add more or less of it. See the Tips section, I think you will find useful information. Enjoy
Hi , my bread 🥖 came out very hard, I’m wandering why ?
Mabnaz, it could be the brand of flour or maybe you baked it for too long? Try wrapping it in plastic wrap or foil, it should soften it.
Hi, thank you for the recipe, can i use instant yeast ?
Hey Yuvi, yes, you can use instant yeast. Enjoy
Greetings! I bought Bob's Red Mill Artisan bread flour. So happy to find you and try this new recipe!
Linda, I am excited for you to try it. Its the easiest way to make homemade baguette! Enjoy
Hi thank you for the recipe
Can it be made to small buns or small baguette
Thank you
Hey Rosa, so good to hear that you like the recipe! Thank you!
Unfortunately on the printed out recipe it doesn't say to put in a well oiled bowl. Just noticed now after starting this last night. Getting ready to make the baguette now. Will see how hard it is to get out of bowl. Fingers crossed
Hey Sue, it will be fine, you can scrape offsides and it will come out.