As I sit here and write this post, I have baguette crumbs all over the apartment, the table, the dog, and my person. I wanted to vacuum the place today but decided that all of the crusty bread should be eaten first and cleaned later. Because you will get crumbs everywhere unless you eat over the sink. But the crumbs are the sign of a good crusty baguette. This easy overnight baguette recipe will have you eating a whole baguette for lunch with just plain butter and a sprinkle of flakey salt. I almost can’t wait for those nice summer tomatoes to bake more bread and eat with fresh tomatoes.
Overnight baguettes made with all purpose flour
The best easy baguette recipe
While I admire everyone who got really into sourdough last year and has now become bread-making gurus. I decided then and still strongly stand my ground that I am not going to make my own starter. I may borrow one and just bake some bread with it but I will not feed and raise my own starter. I am not the most organized person and I would forget to feed it on day 2, so I am not going to take the space up in my head and even try.
How are baguettes made?
Just as before with all the starters and the fancy gear and fancy bread flour. I believe that the quality of the flour is important, but gluten count is even more important so many people swear by bread flour. But listen, here, in the store, there won’t be a package labeled as “bread flour”. So you just go and buy any wheat flour and hope that they have listed the percentage of gluten and whatnot on there. But don’t worry, I don’t do that.
- These easy overnight baguettes are made with ALL-PURPOSE flour;
- Yeast, warm water, a drizzle of olive oil, and salt are added to this flour;
- It is mixed with a wooden spoon until it looks somewhat uniform;
- Then it is placed in the fridge for 10-24 hours;
- In the middle of the rise time, I do a coil fold;
- Then it finished resting, is brought up to room temperature, shaped, and baked with a water bath underneath the pan for that crispy crust.
Can you make baguettes without a baguette pan?
As you can see, yes you can. Of course, the parchment paper will trap some of the steam and you are absolutely free to bake them on a flat surface, they will still look like baguettes and you might get a crispier bottom. This no-knead baguette may get too brown at the top and then a bit pale at the bottom but don’t worry, it will taste amazing. If you want the bottom to be brown too, just don’t tell anyone and flip the whole thing over at the very end of baking. A few minutes and the whole loaf will have a golden-brown crust. But you can skip this step.
I was trying to decide whether to make 3 baguettes or 2 larger, longer ones place diagonally on the pan, but I thought that the length wouldn’t differ too much and went for 3. They are easier to keep too, and you can have the whole damn’t thing for dinner. I meant to say breakfast. No lunch. Just eat it.
Everyone has those random antipasti in their fridge, some chorizo, 2 spoons of pesto, a case of sun-dried tomatoes, an odd end of brie, and 4 olives. Just throw that all on a board and have a damn baguette. Proofing baguettes overnight will guarantee a nice and steady rise. While I have also left the bread to rise at room temperature for many hours, as it gets warmer and closer to summer, I opt for the fridge for long times.
Easy overnight baguettes
Ingredients
- 450 g flour all-purpose
- 380 g warm water
- 2 tsp yeast
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Mix the dough with a wooden spoon for a few minuts until it looks somewhat uniform
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 12-18 hours
- Halfway trough do the coil fold and place back in the fridge
- Remove from the fridge and let it come to room temperature before starting to shape
- Divide the dough into 3 equal parts, can’t stress this enough, but do use a kitchen scale for this
- Shape them like shown in the video or just fold over, pinch closed, fold over again, pinch closed and roll to elongate
- Place the baguettes on the pan you have prepared and let rise for about 40 minutes
- You can score them if you have a super sharp knife or razor or just leave them as is
- Preheat your oven to 220°C
- Boil a kettle of water
- Place the baguette pan in the middle and an oven dish or pan filled with hot water at the bottom
- Cook for 15 minutes
- Remove the water pan and cook for 15 more minutes
- Let cool completely before serving
Once you make it, it is a super easy recipe, the only problem is that you will have to wait for one day before you can have this bread. But for summer grillings you could also just make them every week or batch bake and then freeze. If I had any more room in my freezer, I would bake many baguettes and leave them just a few minutes before perfectly golden brown, and then freeze. Thaw and throw on the grill or in the oven to finish the job and get a warm crusty and golden loaf.
What is the best flour for baguettes?
People swear by bread flour and flour with high gluten percentage. But for this easy recipe, we use all-purpose flour that everyone usually has in their homes.
How do I make my baguette crust crispy?
Place a water bath of boiling water under the pan at the first 10-15 minutes of baking. The steam will guarantee a crispy crust. To get the ultimate crisp you can continue to spray the baguettes with water while baking every few minutes.
Now, if you want to make something else besides these hassle-free easy overnight baguettes, check out my no-knead artisan bread too.