Description
This No Knead Bread-Baguette recipe creates crusty, golden baguettes with minimal effort. The dough requires an overnight rise to develop flavor and texture without kneading. Using simple ingredients like flour, yeast, salt, and water, this method produces a traditional French-style baguette with a crisp exterior and chewy interior, perfect for sandwiches or enjoying fresh with butter.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 6 cups all-purpose flour (adjust depending on brand)
- 2 tsp yeast
- 2 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups lukewarm water
Instructions
- Mix Dough: The night before baking, combine the dry ingredients (flour, yeast, and salt) in a large bowl. Gradually add lukewarm water while mixing until the dough just comes together. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit on the countertop for 12-20 hours to allow fermentation and flavor development.
- Flour Preparation: After the long rise, the dough will be wet, sticky, and bubbly. Generously flour your hands and a baking sheet to prevent sticking before handling the dough.
- Form Baguette: Using floured hands, gently take the dough and shape it into baguette forms; this recipe yields about 4 baguettes. Place the baguettes on a floured baking sheet, sprinkle flour on top, and cover them with a towel. Allow them to rise in a warm place for approximately one hour. Before baking, score the top of each baguette with a sharp knife to help release steam and create classic baguette crust patterns.
- Preheat & Bake: Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C), placing two racks inside. Fill a deep baking pan with 2 cups of hot boiled water and place it on the lower oven rack to produce steam, which helps develop a crispy crust. Place the baguettes on the middle rack and bake. Remove the water pan after 10 minutes to avoid excess moisture, then continue baking the bread for an additional 20 minutes or until the baguettes are a golden, crispy brown.
Notes
- Adjust flour quantity as needed based on the brand and humidity; dough should be wet and sticky.
- Do not skip the long fermentation period as it develops flavor and texture.
- Use hot boiled water in the oven to create steam for a superior crust.
- Scoring the baguettes before baking helps with oven spring and crust formation.
- Allow the baked bread to cool completely before slicing to ensure proper crumb structure.
