Legume Free Crusty French Baguette
There is something deeply satisfying about pulling a golden, crackling baguette out of your own oven, and this recipe delivers that bakery-worthy result with just four ingredients. Bread flour, sea salt, instant yeast, and cool water are all you need ā nothing hidden, nothing processed, and absolutely nothing derived from legumes. That simplicity is actually the secret weapon here, because a long, slow cold ferment does the heavy lifting, building complex flavor and an open, chewy crumb without any shortcuts. The stretch-and-fold technique gradually develops gluten strength, so by the time these loaves hit a screaming-hot oven, they're primed to spring up beautifully. A blast of steam in the first ten minutes of baking sets that signature shatteringly crisp crust, while the interior stays soft and airy. If you've ever worried about store-bought bread containing unexpected additives or legume-derived emulsifiers, baking your own this way puts you completely in control. Let them cool on a wire rack just long enough to resist ā then tear in.
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Learn more āIngredients
8 servings
- 3 cups (360g) bread flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 Ā¼ tsp fine sea salt
- Ā½ tsp instant yeast
- 1 Ā¼ cups (295ml) cool water (about 65Ā°f/18Ā°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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