Traditional Baguette Recipe


I know that I've got a good bread recipe if, after first tasting a loaf, my boyfriend immediately plans on making a sandwich out of it.  If the bread is just okay, I get an unconvincingly encouraging "That's good!"  If it's great, I get, "We could cook some bacon and make a BLT with melted cheese!"  Then, even if it's 11:00 at night after a heavy meal, he will make that sandwich.


I got all kinds of compliments on my baguettes for Christmas dinner, from people who ate gluten and from those who were gluten-free.  It was an amazing and filling meal, and yet my boyfriend made little turkey sandwiches afterward with baguette slices and turkey bits.  That says it all.

I made a quick version of this recipe which works great for a tight schedule.  This recipe is more traditional, with two rises of the dough.  That slow process improves the flavor and the browning of the crust for a more traditional artisan look and taste to your bread.


Traditional Baguette Recipe

Makes 2 baguettes
Prep time: 2 hours
Cook time: 20 minutes

For this recipe you will need:

- 225g GF Bread Flour
- psyllium husk
- sugar
- salt
- yeast
- warm water
- a baguette pan (not 100% necessary, but it helps to shape the loaf)
- extra flour - white rice flour or any starch is great for dusting

In the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together:

245g warm water (100-115 degrees F)


Add:
15g whole psyllium husk (or 10g ground psyllium husk)

Whisk the psyllium husk into the wet ingredients just until all the psyllium is wet.  Set aside about 25 grams or 2 Tbsp of the bread flour.  Add to the wet ingredients:

200g Gluten-free Flour Blend
1/2 tsp salt
1 TBSP sugar
1 tsp yeast

Mix the dough with the dough hook until the dough is uniform.  Let the dough rise in a warm spot, covered, for 1 hour.

After the first rise, punch the dough down, then add the 25 grams of flour set aside and knead it into the dough with your hands or with the dough hook of your stand mixer.

Form the baguettes by dividing the dough into two equal portions.  Flour your work surface and scoop the dough onto the work surface.  Wet your hands and press the dough into a rectangle.  Take one long side of the dough and fold it over onto the middle of the rectangle.  Pinch the edge down.  



Repeat this step to close the dough into a tube. Re-flour the surface if necessary.  Roll out the dough with your hands by gently but firmly rolling it against the counter as though making a play-dough snake.  Get the snake as even as you can, but don't roll it out longer than your baguette pan.  Taper the ends by rolling them out more firmly.  You don't need to get too fussy.  

Place them diagonally on a large piece of parchment paper on the baguette pan seam-side down.  (If you don't want them as floury as pictured, brush the flour off with a clean, dry pastry brush.) Cover the baguettes and let the dough rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.  Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Score the top of the loaves deeply, holding the knife at a 45 degree angle and overlapping the cuts somewhat.  See a good scoring demo video here.

Wrap the loaves by stapling the parchment paper together in a tent shape as pictured.  This traps the steam so that the crust browns nicely.




Cook the bread for 25 minutes, or until it is done.  When the bread is cooked through it will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.


Enjoy your baguettes after they have cooled for at least 10 minutes.

Comments

Michele said…
These baguettes look amazing! The pictures are making my mouth water...
Gina said…
Thanks, Michele! Baguettes are really fun to make. This recipe makes really tasty ones, if I do say so myself.
Gluten Prude said…
I've been yearning for some sandwiches made on baguettes. I will have to try this bread recipe!
Eric Cerda said…
I made this recipe today. I followed the directions like a hawk, digitally measured everything, temperature, the works! And I have to say the recipe came out exactly like your pictures! The bread is so delicious, and crusty, and chewy, and lofty. I cannot believe how easy it ended up being. Thank you for this wonderful recipe. This is the first GF bread I feel proud of making, and feel like I can finally make some headway. I took pictures if you would like to see them.

Thank you!!
Gina said…
Wow, thank you Eric! I'm so glad your baguettes came out so well. I'd love to see photos! gina (at) glutenfreegourmand.com. Thanks for the great comment!
Judy said…
I notice that in the QUICK baguette recipe, you add 2 tsp cider vinegar. It is NOT in this recipe (traditional baguette) however.ALL the other ingredients are the same. So I am wondering is that on purpose that it is not included - or just a omission by mistake?? Maybe it does not make a difference?
Gina said…
Judy - for a while I was omitting the vinegar and only used it on "quick" recipes. I have since found that it adds a little to the rise on any recipe. For this recipe it wasn't an omission, but just that I wasn't using vinegar as much at the time. The recipe definitely works without it, but you can add it if you desire. Thanks for the question and for checking out all my recipes!
Unknown said…
Wow having been a baker all my life.. I'm excited for this recipe.. I am celiac one yr now.. Thank you
Joana Silva said…
Hey, apart from the psyllium jusk we should add to the GF flour blend, do we still need to add this 15g os psyllium on this recipe, right?
Thank you! Looks so yummy :)
Gina said…
Hi Joana, no, you don’t use both quantities of psyllium. Use the quantity and type listed in the recipe and the flours listed in the bread flour page. My new recipes have the flour blend listed in the recipe so it’s less confusing but I haven’t re-done my baguette recipes recently.
Hello Gina,
thank you for sharing your amazing recipes. I did the Mild country sourdough bread and it is a game changer. I would like to make your baguette recipe but would like to make it with sourdough starter instead of yeast. Do you have a tip on how to change the recipe to do that? I would assume to minimize the water and flour by the amount which is in the starter and experiment with how much starter to use.

Thank you

Robert
Gina said…
Hi Robert, I’m so glad you liked the Mild Country White Sourdough recipe. I appreciate you letting me know. I’ve tried sourdough baguettes several times and I have not successfully adapted this recipe yet. I started by doing exactly what you suggest, just subbing out some water and flour for starter. However, I think that the hydration needs to be lowered overall for sourdough baguettes, and possibly some other technique introduced. Eggs aren’t good in this recipe because they cook too quickly. Possibly a lower starch content or higher protein might help. If you crack the code let me know!

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