Citrus Free Crusty French Baguette
Few things in the kitchen feel as satisfying as pulling a genuinely crackling baguette from your own oven, and this recipe delivers exactly that. The ingredient list is beautifully stripped back — bread flour, sea salt, instant yeast, and cool water — which means there is absolutely nothing hiding in here that could cause a reaction for anyone avoiding citrus in any form. That simplicity is actually the secret weapon: a long, cold overnight ferment does the heavy lifting, building deep wheaty flavor without any additives or flavor enhancers. The technique leans on stretch-and-fold sets and a slow refrigerator rise, so the dough develops real structure and that signature open crumb without much hands-on effort. Scoring the loaves at a shallow angle right before they hit the blazing hot stone is what gives you those dramatic, ear-like ridges and a crust that shatters when you break it apart. A burst of steam in the first ten minutes keeps the exterior pliable just long enough for maximum oven spring before it crisps into something truly golden and hollow-sounding. Let them cool on a rack before slicing — the crumb is still setting inside, and the wait is absolutely worth it.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
- 3 cups (360g) bread flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp instant yeast
- 1 ¼ cups (295ml) cool water (about 65°f/18°c)
Instructions
- 1
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the bread flour, salt, and instant yeast. Pour in the cool water and stir with a wooden spoon or your hand until no dry flour remains and a shaggy dough forms. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- 2
With damp hands, perform a series of stretch-and-folds: grab one side of the dough, stretch it upward until it resists, then fold it over the center. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat three more times for a total of 4 folds. Cover and repeat this process two more times at 30-minute intervals (3 sets total). After the final fold, the dough should feel noticeably smoother and hold its shape briefly when released.
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