Airy Baguette

This recipe for Airy Baguette yields a crusty Italian-style ciabatta bread with open crumb. With a few stretches and folds and an overnight rise in the fridge you can enjoy artisan bread at home.

Why you'll love this recipe

This recipe is based on an Italian-style ciabatta bread, in which the crumb contains large, airy holes.

Because this recipe high hydration (80%), there's no active kneading involved.

With a few stretches and folds and an overnight rise in the fridge, you can make bakery-style baguettes at home. 

Cold fermentation, which is used in Sourdough Bread yields a more developed flavour and structure to the bread.

Equipment you'll need

• baguette pan: a perforated pan with wells for shaping and baking the baguettes, also used in my Homemade Banh Mi Baguette
• spray bottle: for spraying the baguettes with water to create steam
• dough scraper: for handling the dough
• sharp serrated knife or bread lame: for slashing the dough prior to baking
• very large bowl or container: for the dough, with room for expansion

I originally wrote this recipe before I purchased a baguette pan. Now that I have one, it definitely helps to have one on hand.

However, if you don't have one, you can still make the baguettes. See my tips below. 

Ingredients you'll need

• bread flour: has a higher level of protein and gluten, and is preferred for making bread; you can still make it with all-purpose flour but do not use cake flour or self-raising flour
• water: filtered, at room temperature
• salt: use sea salt or kosher salt
• active dry yeast: or instant yeast
• olive oil: the distinguishing factor between French bread and ciabatta; use a high-quality olive oil for the best flavour

How to make the baguettes

You'll need to plan ahead to make these baguettes since it requires a bit of time to do the stretches and folds, as well as the overnight rise in the fridge.

Making the dough

On day 1:

In a very large bowl or container, combine the bread flour, water, yeast, and salt and give it a mix with a spatula until a dough comes together. 

Cover the dough and let it rest for 5 minutes.

Add in the olive oil and mix it in to incorporate. Cover and rest for another 10 minutes.

Using a sturdy spatula, stretch and fold the dough (take the top of the dough and fold it over to the bottom [North to South], and the rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat, until it's been folded over 4 times). Cover and let it rest for another 10 minutes.

Repeat this stretch and fold process every 10 minutes for another 3 times.

In total, the dough should be stretched and folded 4 times.

Lightly grease the dough (and bowl), cover and place into the fridge for 1-3 days.

On the day you're ready to bake the bread:

Remove the dough from the fridge 2-3 hour prior to baking to let the dough come up to room temperature.

The dough should have lots of air bubbles in it now.

Lightly grease your work surface.

Tip the dough onto the work surface, being careful not to pop any air bubbles. 

Use a dough scraper to divide the dough into 3 or 4 pieces, depending on how large you want the baguettes.

Shaping

If you don't have a baguette pan:

Carefully stretch and twist each piece of dough and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet.

Cover the baking sheet with a tea towel and let it rest for 1 hour in a warm location.

With baguette pan:

Gather each piece of dough and form into a round ball. Create surface tension by gently rolling it until it's smooth, letting it rest seam-side up.

Cover and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Flatten the dough into a oblong shape and fold the top half down to the bottom edge and seal.

Fold the bottom half up to the top edge and seal.

Now fold the dough again, taking the top half down to the centre and seal.

Repeat with the bottom half, folding it up to the centre, and gently roll to smooth out the baguette.

Place the shaped baguette onto a well of the baguette pan. 

Cover with a tea towel and let it rest for about 1 hour, in a warm location.

Watch this video for shaping.

Baking

Preheat oven to 500F.

Place the baguettes into the oven and quickly spray them with water.

Close the door and bake for 10 minutes at 500F.

Reduce the oven to 450F and bake for another 12-15 minutes, until golden in colour. 

Remove from oven and enjoy.

How to enjoy & store

If you're slicing the baguettes, it is important to let them cool completely.

You can enjoy the baguettes fresh and hot from the oven -- rip the baguettes and slather with some butter.

To reheat, pop the baguettes into a 350F oven with a few sprays of water, for about 5-7 minute, until warmed through.

Slice them into little rounds for appetizers or canapes: 3 Quick and Easy Holiday Appetizers.

Or use them for sandwiches.

Store unsliced baked baguettes in a paper bag at room temperature for up to 1 day.

As these baguettes do not contain any preservatives or dough enhancers, they are best enjoyed freshly made on the same day. 

Tips & troubleshooting

As this baguette recipe is a high-hydration dough, it can be a little tricky to work with.

Using the stretch and fold method is an easier way to "knead" the dough.

For better flavour, let the dough rest in the fridge 2-3 days. 

Creating lots of steam will ensure a crusty bread.

You can add a large roasting pan to the bottom of the oven with steaming hot water to create additional steam. Just be sure to remove the pan in the last 10 minutes of baking. 

If your oven runs hot, add a piece of aluminum foil over the baguettes to prevent them from browning excessively.

 

Other recipes you may like

Be sure to check out these recipes:

Homemade Banh Mi Baguette

Sourdough Bread

Bakery-Style Hot Dog Buns

Sourdough Bagels

Homemade Hamburger Buns

Let me know if you try out this recipe -- tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer or leave me a comment/rating below!