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This no-knead baguette is the crown jewel of my recipe collection, and allows me to make a baguette every morning for 19 cents a loaf! It’s basically foolproof, and I eat it for breakfast each morning with veggie cream cheese or a hard-boiled egg on top, and then heat up more with dinner each night. It goes great with pastas like American chop suey or lasagna. I’ve even used the leftovers to make bread pudding.
The only thing you must know about this recipe ahead of time is that it only takes about five minutes to make the dough, but the dough then needs about eight hours to rise. As noted below, I usually make the dough after dinner in the evening and then bake the bread the next morning.
No Knead Baguette Recipe
This may be the easiest bread you’ve ever made — and the most delicious!
One note on the recipe: You absolutely must use bread flour or this recipe won’t work. Standard all-purpose flour doesn’t have enough protein for the bread to rise properly. With bread flour, it rises perfectly.
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups bread flour
- ¼ teaspoon quick rise yeast
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup warm water
Optional toppings: You can leave it bare, top it with a dusting of flour, or top it with seeds (I use Gerbs Super 7 Seed Mix, but you can use sesame seeds or whatever you’d like). If you’re topping with seeds, you’ll also need an egg for the egg wash.
Instructions
Mix the flour, salt, yeast and water in a bowl. If all the flour doesn’t get absorbed, add another spoon or two of water and keep stirring until the dough isn’t dry.
Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for about eight hours. (I usually make the dough after dinner and let it sit on the counter overnight, then make the baguette when I wake up the next day).
Eight hours later, the dough will have about doubled in size. Heat the oven to 460 degrees with a pan in it. I use a pizza stone but you can use a cookie sheet. It’s important to heat the oven with the pan in it so the pan is nice and hot, and ready for the dough.
Place a piece of parchment paper on your counter. “Pour” the baguette dough onto the parchment paper (wet hands help to get it all out of the bowl). Use wet fingers to gently form into baguette shape.
You can either sprinkle some flour on the top of the baguette, or top it with seeds. If you choose to use seeds, first make an egg wash by cracking an egg into a small bowl and adding a tablespoon of water. Mix it well with a fork. Then brush the egg wash onto the baguette and sprinkle with seeds.
Make three small cuts into the top of the baguette with a knife. It may not look like you did anything, but it will be enough to keep the dough from cracking in a weird way when it cooks.
Transfer the parchment with the baguette on it into the oven, setting it on the pre-heated baking sheet.
Bake at 460 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until golden on top. Let cool, then slice. Makes one baguette.