My family's been making 4-ingredient baguettes for years. I think everyone should know our easy recipe.

Aug 11, 2026 08:33 PM - 2 hours ago 2

two freshly baked baguettes connected a cooky sheet

Baguettes are versatile and tin beryllium amazingly easy to make astatine home. Steven John

If you tin deliberation of thing that's some arsenic elemental and arsenic satisfying arsenic French bread, I'm each ears.

Between the airy insides and crispy crust, this type of breadstuff is 1 of the champion retired there. Luckily, it's easy to make astatine home.

My family has been making foolproof baguettes for years, utilizing only 4 main ingredients. Here's our beloved bread recipe.

Start by gathering the basal ingredients.

flour, yeast, salt, oil, and an ovum connected a antagonistic for a breadstuff recipe

I usually support flour, yeast, and brackish successful my pantry astatine each times. Steven John

The look my family follows uses ingredients I ever person successful my pantry (and fridge). To make 2 baguettes, you'll need:

· 5 (generous) cups of all-purpose flour

· 5 teaspoons of progressive yeast

· 1 spoon of salt

· 2 cups of lukewarm water

· (optional) 1 ovum + ¼ cup h2o for ovum wash

In position of equipment, I for illustration to usage a stand mixer pinch a bread-hook attachment, a ample bowl, a cooky sheet, and a cooling rack.

First, commencement mixing the barren ingredients.

hand pouring a spoon of yeast into a vessel of flower

I commencement pinch 2 cups of flour and adhd the remainder later on. Steven John

Combine 2 cups of the flour pinch the yeast and brackish successful a guidelines mixer, concisely turning it connected to operation the barren ingredients together.

Form a guidelines mixed and gradually adhd the remainder of the flour.

bread mixed successful a room guidelines mixer

Since I usage a guidelines mixer pinch a breadstuff hook, I don't person to knead the dough. Steven John

Pour 2 cups of lukewarm h2o — astir 110 degrees Fahrenheit is perfect — into the guidelines mixer and tally it connected debased for 1 infinitesimal to shape a sticky guidelines dough.

Add the remaining 3 cups of flour to the mixer and tally it connected a debased velocity for astir 5 minutes. A thicker, semi-sticky mixed shot should form.

Then, region the mixed from the mixer, shape it into a ball, and spot it into a greased bowl. I propose utilizing olive oil.

Let your mixed remainder for astir an hr successful a lukewarm spot.

bowl covered pinch a room towel sitting connected the level adjacent to a heating vent

The mixed rises champion successful a lukewarm spot. Steven John

Cover the vessel pinch integrative wrap and a room towel, past spot it location lukewarm for an hour.

I usually group my mixed adjacent a level heating vent, but places for illustration a closet pinch a h2o heater aliases moreover a lukewarm bath tin besides activity well.

If you do fto your mixed emergence successful a bathroom, you'll really want to make judge the vessel has an air-tight seal.

At this point, the mixed should emergence rather a bit.

bread mixed risen successful a ample mixing bowl

You tin property into the mixed pinch your fingers to merchandise the excess air. Steven John

When the mixed has doubled successful size, property retired the excess aerial pinch cleanable hands and rotation it into 2 evenly sized balls.

Set these speech arsenic you prep a cooky expanse pinch parchment insubstantial and a dusting of flour. You'll besides want to prep a dry, soft workspace connected your antagonistic pinch a generous dusting of flour.

Flatten the mixed balls, past rotation them into agelong baton shapes.

hand rolling up a expanse of flattened breadstuff dough

I rotation the mixed retired into ample ovals earlier shaping the bread. Steven John

Using a rolling pin, rotation the mixed balls retired into flat, oval-like shapes — astir 16-by-12 inches large and nary much than ¼ inch thick.

Starting astatine 1 of the longer edges, rotation the flattened mixed into a agelong conduit and pinch the ends shut.

Transfer some baguettes to a cooky expanse for different remainder period.

two uncooked baguettes prooving connected a cooky expanse covered successful plastic

If you're utilizing an ovum wash, brushwood it connected earlier the 2nd proof. Steven John

Place each mixed conduit connected the prepared cooky sheet.

If you for illustration crustier bread, I urge utilizing the ovum wash. Without it, you'll get a softer baguette.

If you're utilizing the optional egg wash, harvester the ovum pinch ¼ cup of h2o successful a mini bowl. Lightly brushwood the substance crossed some baguettes.

Cover the mixed pinch integrative wrap and fto it remainder again for 20 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Slash the risen mixed for texture and appearance.

knife cutting into a risen baguette dough

I for illustration to make astir 10 slices connected the apical of the dough. Steven John

Once the 20 minutes are up and the tubes person risen slightly, region the integrative and diagonally slash the mixed astir 10 times pinch a serrated knife.

This is partially conscionable for looks, but it besides encourages the breadstuff to grow while baking.

While baking, you'll want to rotate your pan.

two partially cooked baguettes connected a cooky sheet

I make judge to move the cookware astir successful the oven to guarantee the breadstuff cooks evenly. Steven John

Bake the breadstuff for 20 minutes, do different ovum wash, and return the mixed to the oven pinch the cookware rotated. If you're not utilizing an ovum wash, simply rotate the cookware truthful each sides of the mixed cook evenly.

Bake for different 15 minutes, until the breadstuff looks golden.

Move the breadstuff onto cooling racks arsenic soon arsenic it's retired of the oven.

two freshly baked baguettes connected a cooky sheet

If you don't devour it correct away, the breadstuff will enactment very caller for 2 days. Steven John

After you region the baguettes from the oven, quickly transportation them from your baking expanse to a cooling rack.

They're champion enjoyed the time they're made. The baguettes usually enactment caller for 2 days, and I deliberation the texture is still OK connected the third.

You tin besides frost baguettes to support them caller longer. To thaw, power your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, move the power off, and popular the frozen bread into the warmed oven for astir 10 minutes.

This communicative was primitively published connected March 1, 2024, and astir precocious updated connected August 11, 2026.

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Steven John has been a freelance writer for much than a twelve years and has been a regular contributor to Business Insider since 2017. His activity includes a attraction connected the tech world, covering companies including Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Google, and others. He besides reviews restaurants, shares how-to cooking articles, and writes wide liking pieces.Steven besides writes for publications including Architectural Digest, The Daily Beast, Forbes, and more. In the past, he besides wrote for New York Magazine, Mashed, U.S. News & World Report and different outlets. He runs his ain outdoor manner site, Dad Gear Review, and co-hosts the Fact Trekkers podcast pinch his son. He has had 2 novels published, Three A.M. and Outrider. He graduated from Emerson College pinch a grade successful communications focused connected filmmaking.He is an avid outdoorsman and tin beryllium often recovered successful a kayak aliases connected a upland trail, often pinch his family on for the adventure.Expertise:Tech industryTech hardwareOutdoorsCookingRestaurantsDIYPopular articles:Microsoft: A history of the package elephantine co-founded by Bill Gates, its products and services, jobs, layoffs, and moreYouTube is simply a awesome intermezo force. Here's the platform's history, positive really to create a transmission and upload videos.Inside the life and profession of Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder, billionaire, and philanthropistTim Cook nett worth: How the Apple leader earns and spends his moneyBecoming an Amazon seller is simply a elemental process. Here's what's involved, positive really you make money and get paid.

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