Looking for a new bread recipe to try? Baguettes are the perfect baking project to embark on if you’ve got a lot of time on your hands and really want to test your skills in the kitchen.
If your social media feeds are anything like ours, you’ll have seen lots of people making baguettes recently. Baguettes are the perfect baking project to embark on if you’ve got a lot of time on your hands and really want to test your skills in the kitchen. All you need is flour, water, salt, yeast, a baking tray...and a fair amount of patience.
While it can be a challenge to make ‘authentic’ baguettes at home, don’t be put off. There are few more delicious things than a warm, freshly baked baguette (especially when it’s smothered in salted butter!) And while you could just make a standard crusty baguette, why stop there?
From savoury to sweet, we’ve found five baguette recipes which are sure to challenge any baker. Just remember that it’s all about the technique - the more you master it, the better you’ll be. Which provides you with the perfect excuse to get into the kitchen and get baking!
If your social media feeds are anything like ours, you’ll have seen lots of people making baguettes recently. Baguettes are the perfect baking project to embark on if you’ve got a lot of time on your hands and really want to test your skills in the kitchen. All you need is flour, water, salt, yeast, a baking tray...and a fair amount of patience.
Savour the Savoury
One baguette dough. Four different ways to bake it. This fantastic blog post from King Arthur Flour showcases just how adaptable this bread can be. Our favourite has to be the stuffed baguettes which would make a perfect packed lunch. After all, everything's better when it’s stuffed full of cheese. Few things accompany a pasta dinner better than a garlic baguette, particularly when it’s a garlic baguette that you’ve made from scratch, butter and all. With a chewy center, crisp brown crust, and melting puddles of parsley-flecked butter, Food 52’s recipe for this classic bread looks so good, we’re drooling just thinking about it. Doves Farms’s recipe for Rye and Black Olive Baguettes would be great to try if you’re experimenting baking with different types of flour. While they won’t be as crisp as your standard baguette, the combination of rye flour and black olives gives these a delicious flavour. These would make a perfect accompaniment for a hearty Winter soup, or stuffed with a smoked ham, such as speck. These also freeze nicely, so make sure you have your largest baking sheet on hand so you can bake plenty to save some for later.
The sweeter side
While the idea of combining a baguette with chocolate chunks may get some bakers reaching for the smelling salts, we love these Chocolate Baguettes from Taste of Artisan. Dark chocolate and cocoa powder is mixed into the dough, leading to a baguette which they describe them as ‘not too sweet, not savoury.’ We’d certainly enjoy dipping a chunk of this into our bedtime cocoa.If the idea of a chocolate baguette has blown your mind, be prepared for something truly outstanding. Pastry chef, Christophe Adam, has created a recipe for a Salted Caramel Baguette which sounds like three words which shouldn’t really go together. The recipe starts with you making a dark caramel in a stainless steel saucepan. This is then turned into caramel water which is used to create the bread dough. The bread is left with a slight toffee flavour which is pleasant, but not overwhelming. While this is certainly a recipe for the more adventurous bakers, it certainly looks like one which could be very rewarding (and tasty!)
