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Crusty Baguettes Made Fresh in 30 Minutes
I’m terrible at keeping secrets. Which is why one of the greatest secrets I’ve ever kept–how to make fantastically crusty European baguettes–is a secret I’m about to spill. I don’t know why I can’t just keep it inside. There’s something quite enjoyable about being the only person in my neighborhood that makes insane baguettes. Soft and flaky on the inside, crisp and crusty on the outside. Perfect for tearing into handfuls and chewing alongside your favorite pasta, your favorite cheese, your favorite slab of butter. These baguettes are just perfect. And they can be made in about 30 minutes using only 5 everyday ingredients. Which makes them even better than perfect. Total bliss.
Quick & Crusty French Baguettes
- 2 cups very warm water
- 1 packet yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3-4 cups flour
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Set the bowl on top of your preheating oven for ten minutes. Stir in the salt and add the flour a half-cup at a time, until the dough becomes soft but not sticky. Knead the dough until elastic.
Cut the dough into four even pieces. Roll each of them into four long, thin ropes. Twist together two of the ropes to form one loaf. Twist the other two ropes together to form a second loaf. Transfer both onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
You can now bake the loaf right away (if you’re in a hurry) or allow it to rise for an additional 15-30 minutes on top of your warm oven.
Now for the SECRET: Fill a large bowl with 3-4 cups of ice. Open your hot oven and place the baking sheet with the baguettes inside, then toss the ice cubes on the bottom of the oven and quickly shut the door. Do NOT open your oven for 15 minutes. Bake until golden brown, about 15-18 minutes.
Serve fresh and hot with your favorite olive oil for dipping.
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31 Comments
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Tweets that mention Crusty Baguettes Made Fresh in 30 Minutes | The Family Kitchen -- Topsy.com commented on Feb 21 11 at 12:24 pm[...] super easy and a lot of fun! You can find the recipe here or continue [...]
30 Minute French Bread » Mrs. Amber Apple - Everyday is a Holiday, wear the brightest red lipstick you can find! commented on Jun 29 11 at 3:14 pm[...] Quick & Crusty French Baguettes from The family kitchen [...]
30 minute bread » Claire K Creations commented on Jul 07 11 at 11:54 pm[...] Dinner at extended family’s house Crockpot Barbecue Chicken, Crusty Baguettes, green salad, fruit Lemon Garlic Grilled Chicken, fruit, Bread Machine Bread Sticks Hamburgers, [...]
This Week’s Menu Plan :: Money Saving Mom® commented on Jul 18 11 at 10:50 pm[...] Dinner at extended family’s house Crockpot Barbecue Chicken, Crusty Baguettes, green salad, fruit Lemon Garlic Grilled Chicken, fruit, Bread Machine Bread Sticks Hamburgers, [...]
This Week’s Menu Plan « Coupons « Printable Coupons commented on Jul 20 11 at 4:30 am[...] found the recipe at The Family Kitchen, but I’ll repost it here for [...]
Ice Cube Bread | sewlucky commented on Aug 31 11 at 9:28 pmJulieVR commented on Feb 21 11 at 1:03 pmWhat a great recipe, thank you! I do the ice cube trick when baking cheesecakes – the humidity keeps them from cracking, but of course it’s a great way to get out of buying a steam-injected oven to create crisp bread crusts too! thanks for passing it on!
Melissa commented on Feb 21 11 at 3:45 pmI’m hoping my inexperience as a baker is causing my anxiety here, but I’ve got 2 pathetic looking loaves in the oven at the moment and I’m afraid of 2 possible issues. 1) not enough flour for the 2 cups warm water, 2) a dud yeast packet. My loaves are flat and the dough was seemingly too loose & sticky. This is a long 15 mins awaiting proof of my bread failure.
mrsblocko commented on Feb 21 11 at 5:43 pmhow much yeast is in one package of yeast?
Tracy commented on Feb 21 11 at 6:35 pmThere are approximately 2 1/4 tsp of yeast in a 1/4 ounce packet.
Also, when the dry yeast is put into the warm water (activated) and sugar (food) added it should bloom (grow) during that 10 minute rest. If it doesn’t then it’s dead either because the water is too hot or the yeast has deteriorated from age or heat or time.
Cassie commented on Feb 21 11 at 9:13 pmOk, sooo, I tried making this and ended up with a sticky gloopy mess. I had brand new yeast packets and followed the recipe exactly. Trying to clean off my counters was a nightmare. It didn’t seem like there was enough flour. I’m not too sure what went wrong
Brooke McLay commented on Feb 22 11 at 12:01 amCassie- When I made the recipe in my home, I needed exactly 3 cups of flour. However, you should always add enough flour to get the TEXTURE called for in the recipe, which in this case is soft and pliable, but not sticky.
To clarify, I’ve added an additional cup of flour to the recipe. You may need more or less, depending on the exact amount of water put in your recipe, the coolness of the air in your kitchen, etc. The main thing you need to do it gently add enough flour (1/4 cup by 1/4 cup) to make the dough just past the point of sticky. Hope that helps! Happy Bakign!
Bhanu commented on Mar 23 11 at 4:02 pmBrooke, did you use fast rising yeast? I thought you need both the rises to form strong gluten bonds..
but otherwise love the recipe!
emmarose commented on May 08 11 at 5:43 pmIf its too sticky just add more flour. Dont listen to the recipe too much in that regard. Just add as much as you need to to make it soft and dough-like. The sticky mess is the WORST to clean!
I dont have a kitchen atm but as soon as i do im setting up my kitchenaid and stocking my freezer with bread from this recipe! I had another easy recipe but it needed 2 1-hour rises for the dough and thats just a pain sometimes.
Curious to do the icecube trick too, never tried that one!
bethany commented on Jun 27 11 at 8:32 pmPerfect! I’ve made a lot of bread recipes, and this one is the best! So easy and quick… thanks for sharing it!
Vicki commented on Jul 10 11 at 12:04 pmAre you literally putting the ice cubes on the oven bottom, or a oan/bowl WITH the ice cubes? Any chance of the ice cubes hitting the heating element or burning it out? The heating element of an electric oven is very fragile (I’ve had 2 explode and the tech has told me a little nick or bump can compromise the integrity and that it’s not uncommon then for them to sort of explode).
Vicki commented on Jul 10 11 at 12:08 pmThat should be PAN or bowl. :)
Maria commented on Jul 19 11 at 1:14 pmYes, I would definitely put the ice on a hot cookie sheet below the bread and NOT on the bottom of the oven. That said, I made this recipe this a.m. and it is WONDERFUL! I used a lot more flour than the 3-4 cups it called for, but I used common sense and the instructions to make sure the dough was not sticky. YUM.
Carmiña commented on Aug 03 11 at 2:45 pmHello,
It look delicious. I have to try.
Thanks for sharing the secret of ice
Jane commented on Aug 09 11 at 12:24 amJust made these, bread is yummy. I used more than 4 cups of flour (probably closer to 4.5). I did the ice trick and while the bread is crusty, it’s not as crusty as I expected it to be? Maybe it was too far from the bread (I put it on the bottom and the oven tray was at it’s highest setting). Anyway will definitely be making these again. Thanks for the recipe.
Cara commented on Sep 04 11 at 7:54 pmI made this tonight with 1/4 whole wheat flour and it was great!! I’d definitely recommend NOT skipping the resting/raising step. It made for a much less dense loaf. I made this earlier in the week and had skipped the step – won’t do that again.
Becca commented on Sep 17 11 at 8:19 pmI’m trying this tomorrow… I’m going to do it in the bread machine for the dough then bake it! :) **Yes, I’m that lazy hehe
tara commented on Sep 25 11 at 7:33 pmJust made this – and it is SO EASY and SO GOOD. I will definitely be making again and I’ll let it rise the 30 mins next time, as someone else mentioned it may make it a little less dense. (Thought it was b/c I kneaded it too long – I was having too much fun to stop!) :) Oh – and I did use a LOT more flour than the recipe called for, just kept adding by the 1/4 cup till it wasn’t sticking to my hands. Made the 2 loaves for dinner & 1 is already half gone b/c my husband keeps going back for “one more taste” … and he doesn’t even really like bread!
Thanks so much for sharing!!
Jenny commented on Oct 07 11 at 5:47 pmI have made this recipe a few times and LOVE it! My whole family loves it as well. On humid days I definitely have to add at least and extra cup of flour so it doesn’t stick to the bowl anymore. On dry days it takes less flour. I think it depends on the seasons and your climate.
I also tried this with whole wheat flour and add in 1T of vital wheat gluten and 1T dough enhancer and it was FABULOUS! No white flour needed.
A note on the ice: If you continuously use this method, your oven will warp. I prefer to place the ice in a cake pan on the bottom rack. That way my warranty isn’t void on my nice new oven.
JulieVR commented on Nov 01 11 at 8:44 amMaking these now! the water-flour ratio does seem a bit off – perhaps starting with 1 1/2 cups of warm water would be perfect?
jodie g commented on Nov 15 11 at 6:25 pmMine came out soooo dense, what did i do wrong? I kneaded it for 8 minuets and used 4.5 cups flour
Katy Jo Kimbley commented on Nov 26 11 at 2:52 pmMy first attempt at bread and I got it! I had to use a lot more flour than recommended, but I am so pleased with myself and this recipe. The bottoms are a little crispy, but I’m working with an apartment sized oven and that ALWAYS seems to make recipes off a bit. Thank you!
jessica commented on Dec 05 11 at 2:09 pmThis is a perfect recipe. I Loved everything about it. I didn’t know about the ice trick. That is slick. I always add the flour slowly and when it is barely sticky I turn it onto the counter and knead in the extra flour by hand. That usually makes it perfect! They just came out of the oven and one is already almost gone. Thank you!
Gwyn commented on Jan 13 12 at 8:14 pmLove the ice trick, it makes the crust fabulous. I do find I need a much longer raising time (two hours, but it is winter and my house isn’t that warm), more than 4 cups of flour, and baking time of 20minutes.
Rae commented on Feb 09 12 at 12:43 pmWhat did I do wrong?!? I followed the recipe exactly, the yeast was not expired, and I let it rise 30 minutes. My bread didn’t do much fluffing and loaves felt like they weighed 10 lbs each! I want to try again, maybe with new yeast?
Katie commented on Feb 19 12 at 5:07 pmI was super excited to try this recipe but I think I used the wrong type of yeast. The packet read fast-rising yeast so I grabbed that. My dough looked flat even after letting it sit for 15 minutes, but I put the loaves in the oven anyway. I read the back of the yeast packet while they were baking off and learned that I didn’t need to add water to it, just simply combine it with other dry ingredients and follow my bread recipe. I’ll go grab regular yeast packets the next time I decide to make the bread. The loaves came out very dense, so I’ll be using them for bread crumbs or croutons.
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