Baking Baguettes You Can Brag About

Martin Philip, our resident bread whisperer, is back in the King Arthur kitchen to show you the basics for making delicious authentic baguettes! From the poolish preferment, to bulk fermentation and dividing, and of course that classic tubular shaping, Martin has the helpful hints and encouragement to get you going on your own batch. And just wait til the end for that satisfying crunch of the baguettes being sliced and bitten!

Correction: The first rise should be for 45 minutes, not 15 minutes.

Credits
Host: Martin Philip
Producer: Tucker Adams

Chapters
0:00-0:57: Martin's Introduction to Baguettes
0:58-1:22: Day 1 - Making the preferment and resting overnight
1:23-2:10: Day 2 - Using the poolish to make the dough
2:11-2:34: Doing bowl folds and 15-minute covered rest
2:35-3:53: Bulk fermentation, dividing dough, and pre-shaping
3:54-5:06: Final shaping using letter fold and rolling by hand
5:07-5:55: Proofing and scoring the baguette dough
5:56-6:14: Loading into the oven and steaming during the bake
6:15: Cutting into the baguette to reveal the open crumb

[grkuntzmd]

When I was 6 years old, my father was drafted into the US Army and sent to Southwest Germany (during the Vietnam War). As soon as we arrived there, my parents bought a VW camper van and on every one of my Dad's 30-day annual vacations, we would travel somewhere in Europe. One of my fondest childhood memories was stopping the van in a tiny French town and buying a fresh-from-the-oven baguette at the local bakery. My Dad would slice it open from end to end, smear one side with soft butter, and then spread a whole can of sardine fillets or ham and cheese down the length of it. He would then cut the whole baguette into individual sandwiches and that would be our lunch. It is hard to describe how delicious the still-warm baguette topped with salty butter and meat, or fish, is.

[kingkongsdingdong]

I've made a few thousand baguettes in my life, so far, and have to say...none of mine have looked as good as yours! But that's why I keep watching videos like yours and telling myself "keep trying to learn little tweaks to improve"😊 thanks

[carson]

Martin is absolutely right, baguettes just taste good. Having the perfect crust and interior feels great to nail and enhances taste, but even my worst efforts and biggest failures in making baguettes make excellent bread. I find myself struggling with reaching these artisinal and professional standards you see online, so I always take time to remember that the pursuit itself is worth it and will usually yield great results. Plus, if I really mess up a loaf big time, I like to make quick and easy biscuits immediatley afterwards so I at least have some homemade bread.

[fyyuytc]

I would like to applaud the dedication to respond to almost every single comment!

[ldaley]

YES—- I did it—-made the sourdough version and although my shaping needs a lot of work—-my crumb was AWESOME! I am so happy! Thanks Martin for always helping us improve our baking!!

[KingArthurBakingCompany]

This recipe calls for 45 minutes, a fold, and then another 45 minutes before shaping. But of course, this will vary depending on your kitchen conditions. -👩‍🍳Kat

[RataStuey]

This guy is the Bob Ross of baking... Bread Ross if you will. Great video.

[mulldb]

"It's worth struggling for..." AMEN, Brother! What more needs to be said?!?!

[matthewmorgan]

Absolutely love your King Arthur baking tutorials, particularly Martin’s outstanding bread videos 👌🏻🤩 Baguettes 🥖 are tricky to get right but it’s fun trying. Martin’s happiness over his baguette crumb is infectious and I love how bread does that to us bakers 🙏🏻😁

[agooglyminotaur]

King Arthur's recipes and tutorials are always amazing - just as good as your flour! Thank you for another great resource.

[MothraVsTheWorld]

I love how to lay out your recipes. You do a really good job of making them user-friendly. With high replay value.

[joekoscielniak]

That is an amazing crumb!!
I love the large open bubbles that are ready to catch and fill with any yumminess you wish!
Bravo!

[Derek-]

As someone who doesn't bake frequently, I need a recipe that gives me some actual quantities and times or I guarantee none of them will come out even resembling a baguette

[DeathSensei]

Glad I clicked on the ad. Baking tends to help me with my anxiety and you seem like such a good and chill teacher I can get behind. Grabbing some bread flour and hopefully making this tomorrow.

[amylocke]

First ones not so perfect. A bit debse. Making them again this week. I think I know where I can improve my method. So fingers crossed. I want them just like these!! Tasted good tho!

[hatric]

Great video, I love all the information KA provides!

[dad-fblx]

This is awesome. I've been baking baguettes with the KA recipe and referencing the other video Martin made with his son for a year now and every time I bake I try to get better at it. This is just some darn right useful additional. Gotta tell you though KA Flour and Martin, my wife said I've ruined her to bread because even local bakery bread pales in comparison to home made. =D

[nocturnus]

That crumb… so many things to capture in those crevices: runny egg, cheese sauce (plastic cheese as DFBlog’s AJ Wolfe would say), butter & those guac & hummus spreads at Costco!

[dalvaserranomondesi]

I love Martin videos. At my second try, I am almost there. Now, the video and the recipe are a little different.

[ShadyNetworker]

I think the flour is the most important part here. I cant find anything about 10%proteine in supermarkets. The recipe itself looks amazing.