The baguette is the most iconic representation of French baking: crisp crust, airy crumb, and distinct flavor. You can make some really bakery-quality baguettes right at home with very simple ingredients and a careful process. This guide will take you through the process, starting from mixing and kneading to proofing and baking, complete with tips to ensure that you get that classic French baguette texture and taste.

Ingredients for Traditional French Baguette
The beauty of the baguette lies in the simplest ingredients:

Ingredients
Flour: 500 grams; bread flour is the best option for maximal gluten development
Water: 350 grams; cold water slows the fermentation process
Salt: 10 grams
Yeast: 5 grams; active dry yeast
This simple mixture of ingredients, combined with careful techniques, gives the perfect baguette with a crispy crust and a chewy interior.

Step 1: Mixing the Dough
Mix all of the dry ingredients in the big bowl: Flour, salt, and yeast. Mix yeast and salt separately first since the activation of yeast is delayed by salt; they must not be together before mixing with flour.

Add the water: Add the cold water to the dry ingredients and mix until you have a sticky, rough dough. Because baguette dough is hydrated to a high level, it is a stickier dough than you would make for regular bread-and that’s what gives you that open airy texture of the crust.

Rest (Autolyse): Cover bowl with moist towel and allow to rest for 20-30 minutes. Now we will do the autolyse: allowing time for water to penetrate into flour for easier handling, and better developing of gluten.
Step 2: Work the Dough
After the autolyse, work in the rest of the dough by using a stretch-fold technique. An excellent method used for the high-hydration doughs is a “stretch-and-fold”:

Pull one side of dough up and fold on top of itself.
Turn bowl slightly and repeat this process and continue working your way around dough.
Continue the stretch and fold every 30 minutes for next two hours, covering between each set of folds. This develops gluten without over working the dough, creating a strength while maintaining the open structure for a classic baguette crumb.

Step 3: Bulk Fermentation
Let it rest and rise for about 1.5 to 2 hours in a covered bowl in room temperature, after having completed the stretch and fold cycles. The process termed as bulk fermentation allows yeast the chance to feed off sugars that are available in the flour. Through the feeding process, the carbon dioxide bubbles that it produces bring this dough volume and flavour.

It should have a good smooth, slightly domed surface and about doubled in size.

4. Shaping the Baguettes
It is one of those skills that can take practice to perfect because of the gentle way with which it must be handled so that it does not push the air bubbles in the dough back out.

Roll out the dough: Sprinkle your work surface lightly with flour and pour out the dough. Cut it into 3 or 4 pieces approximately the size you want your baguettes to be.

Shape each piece: Take each piece and fold it gently into a rough log shape. Let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes to relax, making final shaping easier

Shaping the baguettes:

Take each pre-shaped log and gently flatten it with your fingertips.
Beginning from the top edge of the dough, fold it over towards the center and press down to seal.
Roll out the dough lightly into an oblong shape with minimal pressure so that its sides do not collapse in.
Continue rolling until you have achieved your ideal classic baguette shape which should be about 12 to 15 inches long.
Step 5: Final Proofing
Arrange the shaped baguettes on a lightly floured couche or parchment-lined baking sheet. If using a couche, place folds between each baguette to support them in their shape.

Cover the baguettes with a damp cloth and let them proof at room temperature for about 45 minutes to an hour. The dough should feel puffy and relaxed but not overly soft.

Step 6: Scoring the Baguettes
Preheat your oven to 475°F (245°C). Place a baking stone or upside-down baking sheet inside to preheat. Place a metal baking pan on the lower rack.

Scores are made on each baguette with a sharp razor or bread lame before baking. For each baguette, make 3 to 4 diagonal slashes. Scoring helps control the direction of expansion during baking and is a characteristic feature of baguettes.

Step 7: Bake the Baguettes
Open oven, pour in one cup of hot water into the prepared hot metal pan. You will thereby create steam inside the oven. Steam is an element necessary for crispy crusts and shiny appearance on the baguettes.

Transfer the baguettes to a preheated baking stone or baking sheet. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes, or until very dark brown. For a crunchier crust, start opening the oven door about 5 minutes before the end of the baking time to release some of the steam.

Cool the baguettes on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing. Cooling is necessary because it allows the interior to finish cooking and prevent the baguette from becoming gummy.

Tips for a Perfect Baguette
Use good-quality flour: Bread flour has more protein content, which helps in developing a greater amount of gluten and structure within the dough. It is this structure that gives the baguette its characteristic chewiness.
Keep the hydration high: It may seem like one needs to add so much flour when it is too sticky, but try not to do that. High hydration gives an open crumb structure .
Score practice: Scoring is a skill that requires practice in order to give baguettes the look of everything they could be, and scoring is an absolute must for the right look of the loaf. Score swiftly and with confidence using a very sharp blade so that the slashes will be even.
Experiment with fermentation: For a more flavorful baguette, try a longer bulk fermentation in the fridge overnight. The cold temperature slows down fermentation allowing for deeper flavors to develop.
Enjoy Your Homemade Baguettes
Enjoy baguettes on the freshest day possible, perhaps straight from the oven since they are freshest when their crispy crust is still warm. Enjoy with a pat of good quality butter or a sprinkling of sea salt. Serve with cheese, soups, or salads. Even leftovers can be used because of this bread base for a delicious bruschetta or crostini or even French toast.

Honest to goodness, homemade baguettes can be a labor of love. Every batch will represent a perfectly honed technique and improvement in results, ultimately attaining that classic French flavor and texture right from one’s very own kitchen. Enjoy those very satisfying crunches and airy crumb from your very homemade baguettes!