The following sourdough baguette recipe is easy to follow, and the baguettes are airy on the inside and crispy and crunchy on the outside. This recipe yields four half-sized (demi) sourdough baguettes that you can bake in your home oven.
Why This Recipe Works
This sourdough baguette recipe uses a mixture of bread flour and all-purpose flour for a baguette that is crispy on the outside and just a little bit chewy on the inside. Using sourdough starter instead of yeast to make the dough rise produces a flavorful, well-fermented, easily-digestible baguette.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Bread Flour: I used King Arthur bread flour for this recipe. You can use any plain white bread flour that contains around 11-13% protein.
- All-Purpose Flour: I also used King Arthur’s all-purpose flour for this recipe. You can use any all-purpose flour that is around 9-11% protein.
- Water: Plain, un-chlorinated tap water is best. Use filtered water or bottled spring water if your city’s tap water contains harsh ingredients or has a bad taste.
- Sourdough Starter: You’ll need a 100% hydration sourdough starter for this recipe (fed with equal parts water and bread flour).
- Salt: I used Kosher salt for this recipe, but sea salt or plain table salt will also work well.
Note: See recipe card below for full ingredient amounts and quantities.
Substitutions and Additions
- If you want to add some whole grain to this recipe, remove 25 grams of bread flour and 25 grams of all-purpose flour and replace it with 50 grams of whole wheat flour or whole grain rye flour.
Ingredient Amounts
Starter Feeding
- Sourdough Starter, leftover – 25 grams
- Water – 50 grams
- Bread Flour – 50 grams
Main Dough
- Bread Flour – 225 grams
- All-Purpose Flour – 225 gramss
- Water – 275 grams
- Sourdough Starter, active – 100 grams
- Salt – 10 grams
Suggested Timeline
| Time | Step |
|---|---|
| 10:00 PM (Day 1) | Feeding the Sourdough Starter |
| 6:00 AM (Day 2) | Mixing the Dough |
| 6:07 AM | Kneading |
| 6:15 AM | The First Rise (Bulk Fermentation) |
| 9:15 AM | Dividing and Preshaping the Sourdough Baguettes |
| The Final Shape | |
| 9:45 AM | The Second Rise (Final Proof) |
| 10:45 AM | Scoring |
| 10:50 AM | Baking |
| 11:40 AM | Serving |
How to Make Sourdough Baguettes
Step-by-Step Instructions
Feeding the Sourdough Starter
Take 25 grams of leftover sourdough starter and feed it 50 grams of bread flour and 50 grams of water. Let it rise overnight, or about 6-8 hours, until it doubles in size.
Mixing the Dough
Mix the water, sourdough starter, and salt together in a mixing bowl. Stir to dissolve the starter and salt into the water. Then, add the all-purpose flour and the bread flour. Stir all of the ingredients together until the flour absorbs the water and you’re left with a shaggy, dry dough.
Kneading
Turn the dough out onto an un-floured kitchen counter and knead the dough by hand for 8-10 minutes until it forms a smooth ball. (If the dough is too sticky, you can let the dough rest for 5 minutes and then resume kneading. The short rest period will allow the gluten to develop in the dough).
The First Rise (Bulk Fermentation)
Transfer the smooth ball of dough into an oiled glass container with a lid. Close the lid and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 3-4 hours, or until it rises to roughly 1.5x its original size (the dough should not completely double in size).
Dividing and Shaping the Sourdough Baguettes
Transfer the dough out of the glass bowl and onto your kitchen counter. Lightly press out the dough into a flat rectangle and then cut the dough into four equally sized pieces with a bench scraper or chef’s knife. You can divide the dough into four pieces by eye, or use a digital scale to weigh out the dough into four 208-gram pieces.
Stretch and fold each piece of dough into a ball, and then gently roll the ball into an oblong shape. (It will be easier to shape an oblong piece of dough into a long baguette later.) Let the four oblong pieces of dough rest, uncovered, at room temperature for 15 minutes. This will allow the dough to relax before the final shaping.
The Final Shape
Dust one part of your counter with bread flour and keep another part of your counter free from any flour. Take a piece of dough and flip it over so the seam side is facing up. Dip the smooth side of the dough (the top) into the bread flour.
Fold the top third of the dough over the middle third and then press the seam down. Turn the dough 180° and fold the other third over the middle third as well. Press the seam down until the dough sticks to itself. Then, pull and edge from the top of the dough down and press it against the seam and to seal it tightly. Repeat this process along the entire seam. This will create surface tension on top of the baguette.
Then, place the dough seam-side-down on the counter and roll the dough out into a 10″ long baguette shape. (Watch the video tutorial for a visual demonstration of this shaping process.)
The Second Rise (Final Proof)
Place each of the four shaped baguettes onto a flour-dusted kitchen towel with a small piece of cloth from the kitchen towel separating each baguette. This will allow the baguettes to rise up into each other and keep their shape, but the cloth will keep the doughs from touching and sticking together.
Let the baguettes rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes, or until they grow to 1.5x their original size (they don’t need to completely double in size).
Baking
30 minutes before your sourdough baguettes are done rising, preheat your oven to 450°F (232°C). Place a 12″ square pizza stone or baking steel on the middle rack of the oven, and add a metal cake pan to the bottom rack of the oven to preheat. You will add water to this metal pan later to create steam.
Once the doughs have finished proofing, transfer the baguettes onto a baguette transfer peel and score them with three slashes using a razor blade or a bread lame.
You can get the same UFO bread lame that I use here. You’ll get an automatic 10% discount by using my affiliate link.
Slide the scored baguettes onto your hot pizza peel or baking stone using the transfer peel. Then, add about one cup of hot water to the metal cake pan to release steam into the oven. Bake the baguettes for 15 minutes at 450°F (232°C) with steam and then remove the steam pan. Continue baking for 10 more minutes without steam until the baguettes have a dark, golden brown crust.
Serving
Allow the baguettes to cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes after baking. Slice them lengthwise to make sandwiches or into small pieces to eat alongside soup or pasta.
Sourdough Baguette Recipe
The following sourdough baguette recipe is easy to follow, and the baguettes are airy on the inside and crispy and crunchy on the outside. This recipe yields four half-sized (demi) sourdough baguettes that you can bake in your home oven.
Ingredients
Sourdough Starter Feeding
- Sourdough Starter, Leftover - 25 grams
- Water - 50 grams
- Bread Flour - 50 grams
Main Dough
- Bread Flour - 225 grams
- All-Purpose Flour - 225 grams
- Water - 275 grams
- Sourdough Starter, Active - 100 grams
- Salt - 10 grams
Instructions
Feeding the Sourdough Starter
Take 25 grams of leftover sourdough starter and feed it 50 grams of bread flour and 50 grams of water. Let it rise overnight, or about 6-8 hours, until it doubles in size.
Making the Dough
Mix the water, sourdough starter, and salt together in a mixing bowl. Stir to dissolve the starter and salt into the water. Then, add the all-purpose flour and the bread flour. Stir all of the ingredients together until the flour absorbs the water and you’re left with a shaggy, dry dough.
Kneading
Turn the dough out onto an un-floured kitchen counter and knead the dough by hand for 8-10 minutes until it forms a smooth ball. (If the dough is too sticky, you can let the dough rest for 5 minutes and then resume kneading. The short rest period will allow the gluten to develop in the dough).
The First Rise (Bulk Fermentation)
Transfer the smooth ball of dough into an oiled glass container with a lid. Close the lid and allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 3-4 hours, or until it rises to roughly 1.5x its original size (the dough should not completely double in size).
Dividing and Shaping the Sourdough Baguettes
Transfer the dough out of the glass bowl and onto your kitchen counter. Lightly press out the dough into a flat rectangle and then cut the dough into four equally sized pieces with a bench scraper or chef’s knife. You can divide the dough into four pieces by eye, or use a digital scale to weigh out the dough into four 208-gram pieces.
Stretch and fold each piece of dough into a ball, and then gently roll the ball into an oblong shape. (It will be easier to shape an oblong piece of dough into a long baguette later.) Let the four oblong pieces of dough rest, uncovered, at room temperature for 15 minutes. This will allow the dough to relax before the final shaping.
The Final Shape
Dust one part of your counter with bread flour and keep another part of your counter free from any flour. Take a piece of dough and flip it over so the seam side is facing up. Dip the smooth side of the dough (the top) into the bread flour.
Fold the top third of the dough over the middle third and then press the seam down. Turn the dough 180° and fold the other third over the middle third as well. Press the seam down until the dough sticks to itself. Then, pull and edge from the top of the dough down and press it against the seam and to seal it tightly. Repeat this process along the entire seam. This will create surface tension on top of the baguette.
Then, place the dough seam-side-down on the counter and roll the dough out into a 10″ long baguette shape. (Watch the video tutorial for a visual demonstration of this shaping process.)
The Second Rise (The Final Proof)
Place each of the four shaped baguettes onto a flour-dusted kitchen towel with a small piece of cloth from the kitchen towel separating each baguette. This will allow the baguettes to rise up into each other and keep their shape, but the cloth will keep the doughs from touching and sticking together.
Let the baguettes rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes, or until they grow to 1.5x their original size (they don’t need to completely double in size).
Baking
30 minutes before your sourdough baguettes are done rising, preheat your oven to 450°F (232°C). Place a 12″ square pizza stone or baking steel on the middle rack of the oven, and add a metal cake pan to the bottom rack of the oven to preheat. You will add water to this metal pan later to create steam.
Once the doughs have finished proofing, transfer the baguettes onto a baguette transfer peel and score them with three slashes using a razor blade or a bread lame.
Slide the scored baguettes onto your hot pizza peel or baking stone using the transfer peel. Then, add about one cup of hot water to the metal cake pan to release steam into the oven. Bake the baguettes for 15 minutes at 450°F (232°C) with steam and then remove the steam pan. Continue baking for 10 more minutes without steam until the baguettes have a dark, golden brown crust.
Serving
Allow the baguettes to cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes after baking. Slice them lengthwise to make sandwiches or into small pieces to eat alongside soup or pasta.