Baguettes
The Joy (and Learning Curve) of Homemade Baguettes
There’s something so magical about making bread from scratch, and baguettes are no exception. From the simple ingredients to the irresistible aroma filling your kitchen, the whole process is pure joy—even if your first few attempts aren’t exactly bakery-perfect.
Trust me, I’ve been there. My early loaves could’ve doubled as door wedges—smelling amazing, tasting decent, but far denser (and rock-like) than I’d hoped. Still, even those less-than-perfect loaves had their charm. Sliced, toasted, and slathered with butter, they were completely salvageable and, honestly, pretty satisfying.
Bread-making is one of those activities that teaches patience and perseverance. You quickly learn that it’s okay to fail a few times before you get it right. Each attempt—whether you end up with a picture-perfect baguette or something more "rustic"—is part of the journey. And, let’s face it, even an imperfect homemade baguette is pretty delightful.
What makes the process even more rewarding is the hands-on nature of it: shaping the dough, waiting for it to rise, and finally pulling those golden loaves out of the oven. It’s an experience that feels grounding and creative all at once.
So, if you’re thinking about making your own baguettes, go for it! Embrace the learning curve, laugh at the occasional “door wedge” moments, and celebrate the little victories along the way. Bread-making isn’t just about the end result—it’s about the joy of creating something with your hands, for yourself and your family.
And when you finally achieve that perfect, crusty baguette? Oh, the satisfaction! It’ll taste even better knowing how far you’ve come. ❤️🥖✨
Baguette Recipe
Special Note: Along the way, I’ve learned a lot of lessons about making bread, which is more science than art. A couple of those lessons is to make certain you are using ‘unexpired’ yeast. Yes - yeast expires and when it is expired, it won’t activate and rise the bread. The next is the temperature of the water. I first tried to do what I had seen my mom do, check the temperature of the water on her wrist. Well, my wrist is super unreliable. So, I bought a kitchen thermometer to make certain I had the ideal temperature of the liquids…too hot kills the yeast and too col won’t activate the yeast.
Ingredients:
5 - 5 1/2c flour
2 tsp salt
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) quick-rise yeast
2c lukewarm water (110 degrees F)
For glaze, 1 egg white plus pinch of salt
Instructions:
In bowl of mixer, add 4c flour, salt, yeast and water.
Stir until blended.
Knead with dough hook until the dough is elastic and pulls cleanly away from the bowl sides, about 10 minutes, adding additional flour as needed. The dough will be very soft.
Form into a ball and place in a clean bowl.\Dust lightly with flour and then cover with plastic wrap.
Let rise in a warm place until doubled, 45 - 60 minutes.
Scrape the dough onto a well floured surface. Knead for a few seconds and return to bowl.
Flour top again and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place until doubled again, 20 - 30 minutes.
Line a double baguette pan with a kitchen towel and sprinkle with flour, lightly rubbing into fabric.
Turn dough out onto floured surface, press flat and cut in half. Let rest 5 minutes then shape into cylinder with rounded tapered ends. Place in towel lined baguette pan.
Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise until doubled, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Pull pans out from under towel. Grease pan. One at a time, flip the loaves into the pans, underside up.
Brush with glaze.
using a sharp knife, cut 3 diagonal slices about 1/4” deep into top of loaves and then brush with glaze.
Bake until crusty about 20 - 25 minutes.
Remove from oven and place on wire rack for cooling.
Any leftovers…do I hear crostini??…lol!!! :).
