Artificial Flavors Free Classic French Baguettes

There is something deeply satisfying about pulling a batch of golden, crackling baguettes out of your own oven, and this recipe delivers that bakery-worthy result with nothing but flour, water, yeast, and salt. That short ingredient list is exactly the point — no additives, no preservatives, no synthetic flavor boosters of any kind. The real flavor here comes from time: an overnight poolish starter develops a complex, slightly tangy depth that no artificial shortcut could replicate. A series of stretch-and-folds builds the gluten structure that gives each loaf its signature open crumb and chewy bite, while a screaming-hot oven and a blast of steam create that impossibly thin, shattering crust. Scoring the dough at a confident angle lets the baguettes bloom dramatically in the oven, producing those beautiful ears that make the finished loaves look like they came straight from a Parisian boulangerie. Once you taste bread made this cleanly — just four ingredients doing exactly what they're supposed to do — it's hard to go back to anything else.

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