Sourdough baguettes are long loaves with a crispy crust and a soft crumb. You can make this classic French bread at home using a sourdough starter.

Sourdough Baguette: Easy Step-by-Step Recipe

A sourdough baguette is a long, thin loaf of bread made with white wheat flour and a sourdough starter. “Sourdough bread” is a blanket term for bread made with a living culture of natural, wild yeast rather than commercial yeast. 

A national symbol of France, the baguette has a crispy, golden-brown crust and a chewy interior marked by large holes and an open crumb structure (caused by the steam added at the beginning of baking). According to French law, baguettes include just four ingredients: wheat, water, yeast (starter), and salt.
Making a sourdough baguette is a two-day process involving the following steps:

1. __Starter__: Levain, or levain starter, is a leavening agent made from a mixture of flour and water used to bake bread. The flour and water mixture takes on the wild yeasts in the air and ferments. Bakers use levain to feed sourdough starter before the bread baking process.
2. __Autolyse__: Mix flour and water, and let them rest. Enzymes break down the starch in flour into the simple sugars that yeast eats. This process, known as autolyse, helps flour better absorb water and kick-starts the alignment of gluten and starch. Next, add the levain and salt to the flour mixture.
3. __Bulk fermentation__: Stretch and fold the dough to activate the gluten and strengthen the dough. Then, let the dough rest. Bulk fermentation, also known as first fermentation or first rise, is the dough’s first resting period after you add the yeast and before shaping. 
4. __Preshaping__: Cut the dough into pieces and shape it into balls. 
5. __Final shaping__: Shape the dough balls into baguettes, then let them rest overnight.
6. __Baking__: The next day, bake the bread in an oven preheated to 500 degrees Fahrenheit with a pan of ice cubes below the baguettes to create steam.
When baking baguettes, consider the following tips:

1. __Bake in a baguette pan__. Using a specialized baguette pan can help you get the best crust. A baking stone or baking steel works best. You can also use an unrimmed baking sheet or turn a rimmed baking sheet upside-down. 
2. __Create steam__. Professional bakers use special ovens with steaming functions to get their baguettes to expand quickly at the beginning of the bake, creating the large holes and open crumb distinctive of a good baguette. To replicate this at home, set an oven-proof baking dish or cast-iron pan on the very bottom rack of the oven before heating. When ready to bake, pour boiling water or ice cubes into your pre-heated pan to create steam in the oven. You can also spritz the loaves with water as they bake.
3. __Preheat the oven__. You want your oven to be very hot by the time the baguettes go in, so heat it at least an hour before you plan to bake.
4. __Use a baker’s lame__. Use a baker’s lame or paring knife to [score the bread](https://www.masterclass.com/articles/bread-scoring-basics), which allows the bread to expand rapidly while baking. Unless you have a very sharp knife, cutting can tear the bread and break gas bubbles.
Sourdough baguettes are long loaves with a crispy crust and a soft crumb. You can make this classic French bread at home using a sourdough starter.

A sourdough baguette is a long, thin loaf of bread made with white wheat flour and a sourdough starter. “Sourdough bread” is a blanket term for bread made with a living culture of natural, wild yeast rather than commercial yeast. A national symbol of France, the baguette has a crispy, golden-brown crust and a chewy interior marked by large holes and an open crumb structure (caused by the steam added at the beginning of baking). According to French law, baguettes include just four ingredients: wheat, water, yeast (starter), and salt.

What Is a Sourdough Baguette?

Making a sourdough baguette is a two-day process involving the following steps:<ol class="mc-m-4"><li class="mc-my-4"> 1. Starter: Levain, or levain starter, is a leavening agent made from a mixture of flour and water used to bake bread. The flour and water mixture takes on the wild yeasts in the air and ferments. Bakers use levain to feed sourdough starter before the bread baking process. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 2. Autolyse: Mix flour and water, and let them rest. Enzymes break down the starch in flour into the simple sugars that yeast eats. This process, known as autolyse, helps flour better absorb water and kick-starts the alignment of gluten and starch. Next, add the levain and salt to the flour mixture. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 3. Bulk fermentation: Stretch and fold the dough to activate the gluten and strengthen the dough. Then, let the dough rest. Bulk fermentation, also known as first fermentation or first rise, is the dough’s first resting period after you add the yeast and before shaping. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 4. Preshaping: Cut the dough into pieces and shape it into balls. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 5. Final shaping: Shape the dough balls into baguettes, then let them rest overnight. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 6. Baking: The next day, bake the bread in an oven preheated to 500 degrees Fahrenheit with a pan of ice cubes below the baguettes to create steam. </li></ol>

How to Make a Sourdough Baguette 

When baking baguettes, consider the following tips:<ol class="mc-m-4"><li class="mc-my-4"> 1. Bake in a baguette pan. Using a specialized baguette pan can help you get the best crust. A baking stone or baking steel works best. You can also use an unrimmed baking sheet or turn a rimmed baking sheet upside-down. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 2. Create steam. Professional bakers use special ovens with steaming functions to get their baguettes to expand quickly at the beginning of the bake, creating the large holes and open crumb distinctive of a good baguette. To replicate this at home, set an oven-proof baking dish or cast-iron pan on the very bottom rack of the oven before heating. When ready to bake, pour boiling water or ice cubes into your pre-heated pan to create steam in the oven. You can also spritz the loaves with water as they bake. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 3. Preheat the oven. You want your oven to be very hot by the time the baguettes go in, so heat it at least an hour before you plan to bake. </li><li class="mc-my-4"> 4. Use a baker’s lame. Use a baker’s lame or paring knife to <a href='https://www.masterclass.com/articles/bread-scoring-basics' target='_self' class='mc-text--link' data-mc-segment-trigger='true' data-mc-segment-event-type='Article Page Click' data-event-obj='{"textTag":"p","href":"https://www.masterclass.com/articles/bread-scoring-basics","linkCopy":"score the bread","category":null}'>score the bread</a>, which allows the bread to expand rapidly while baking. Unless you have a very sharp knife, cutting can tear the bread and break gas bubbles. </li></ol>

4 Tips for Baking Baguettes

Classic Sourdough Baguette Recipe

Sourdough baguettes are long loaves with a crispy crust and a soft crumb. You can make this classic French bread at home using a sourdough starter.

Sourdough baguettes are long loaves with a crispy crust and a soft crumb. You can make this classic French bread at home using a sourdough starter.
