You can make this quick French bread in just 30 minutes! Perfect for sandwiches, garlic bread, or sopping up pasta sauce.
![Homemade Baguette stacked on another.](https://www.restlesschipotle.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/30-Minute-Baguette-1.jpg)
Table of Contents
❤️ Why you'll love it
- Crispy crust while chewy and soft inside
- Homemade baguettes are tastier than store-bought
- You don't have buy bread flour because all-purpose works great
Homemade bread doesn't have to take hours upon hours.
This great recipe gives you delicious, chewy bread in just over 30 minutes! Plus, you don't need any fancy equipment—no bread machine, no baguette pan, no problem!
A thick, warm slice of this, with butter melting into it, is one of my favorite sides to serve with this hearty ravioli soup.
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
![Homemade Baguette ingredients list.](https://www.restlesschipotle.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/30-Minute-Baguette-ingredients-list.jpg)
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
![30 minute baguette step by step instructions.](https://www.restlesschipotle.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/30-minute-Baguette-step-by-step.jpg)
- Mix the warm water, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Add salt and all-purpose flour, combining with the dough hook.
- Knead the bread dough for about five minutes.
- Place dough onto parchment paper and shape it into long loaves. Slice with a sharp knife or razor blade and bake your homemade baguettes.
Keep some on hand for this easy garlic bread casserole recipe!
🎥 Video
Click on the image to watch me make this recipe from start to finish with extra tips! (Video opens in a new tab).
![Clickable cover for the YouTube video.](https://www.restlesschipotle.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/30-minute-baguettes.jpg)
🥫 Storage
Homemade baguettes taste best right out of the steaming hot oven. You know, when the soft, warm bread transforms a pat of butter into a delicious gloss right before your very eyes! However, they'll last for two to three days at room temperature.
Simply store the leftover bread in an airtight bag or storage container. You can also wrap the loaves in a little bit of plastic wrap if you prefer.
Worried about a stale baguette? Without the yucky preservatives of store-bought bread, homemade loaves can dry out more quickly. So if, over the next day or two, your homemade French bread goes a little stale, wrap it in a damp towel and revive it in the oven for 10 minutes at 375 degrees F.
Crusty French baguettes also freeze beautifully, and it's great to have fresh homemade bread ready to go in an instant! My favorite way to prep the bread for freezing is to slice each baguette and put a square of parchment paper between each piece.
Then, wrap the whole loaf tightly. However, you can skip the slicing if you know you'll want to thaw the entire baguette at one time. Freeze homemade baguettes for up to 3 months.
Let full baguettes thaw in the fridge or at room temperature. For frozen sliced bread, you can speed up the process by popping a slice or two straight into the toaster.
![Homemade baguette with slices next to it.](https://www.restlesschipotle.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/30-Minute-Baguette-3.jpg)
📖 Variations
- Adjust the size to fit your meal. If you want a loaf of bread for sandwiches, divide the dough into two rounder loaves. However, if you want a thinner, crunchier homemade baguette (perfect for dipping) then divide the dough into three or four long sections, instead.
- Nurturing a sourdough starter? You can swap the active dry yeast with a cup of the starter to make sourdough baguettes. However, you'll have to increase the rise time by a few hours, and reduce the amount of flour and water in this recipe by the approximate amount that is in your sourdough starter.
- Add some flavor! Crusty French bread is delicious plain, but it also makes fabulous cheesy or garlic bread. Brush some butter or olive oil on the tops of the loaves and sprinkle with herbs, cheese, and other fun seasonings.
- A note for high-altitude bakers: flour loses some moisture in drier climates, so you'll likely need to add a bit more liquid than the recipe calls for. Also, if letting the fresh baguette dough rise, don't let it sit too long, or you can actually over-proof the dough.
- About whole wheat flour (and other options.) I don't recommend blindly swapping the all-purpose flour for another kind without first reading my flour guide. Once you're up to date on all things flour, however, you can experiment and see what different textures and flavors your family prefers.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: Cold ice cubes and hot glass are not friends. Be careful to avoid dropping the ice on the oven door window or it could shatter!
- When using simple ingredients, it's important that they are as fresh and high-quality as you can afford. You can tell a major difference between a crusty baguette made with fresh, good ingredients versus one with old, cheap flour and expired yeast.
- After the first step, set the yeast mixture in a warm place so that the yeast can bloom. It should look bubbly and fizzy within 5-10 minutes.
- If the yeast doesn't create air bubbles or get foamy, I recommend dumping it out and starting again. Your yeast might be dead or expired, and, in this case, would result in flat, dense bread.
- I use Kosher salt in this recipe. However, if you use regular table salt, reduce the measurement to one teaspoon.
- The best way to knead dough is with the heel of your hand. Fold the dough over itself and press down very firmly. Rotate and repeat.
- If your dough is too sticky to knead at first, coat your hands with a little flour. Don't add too much extra flour or your baguettes will be dry.
- If you're particular about the size of your loaves, you can weigh the dough on a kitchen scale for perfectly equal portions.
- Use the heaviest sheet pan you have for equal, even baking. If you have a pizza stone or baking stone, that's even better!
- Adding cold water to the hot oven makes steam. This is traditionally what creates the crisp crust that artisan bread recipes are known for.
- You don't have to use the steam tip if you prefer a softer crust.
- Some new ovens come with a handy, built-in steamer—it's that shallow little dish attached to the lower rack. If yours has one, add the water or ice cubes to it, rather than the bottom of the oven.
- The water/ice won't damage your oven floor, but if you're nervous about it, put a large baking sheet on the floor of your oven while it preheats. Then, just before baking, put the water on that, instead.
- Make homemade baguettes in advance by adding an extra ½ teaspoon of yeast. Then, let the dough rise in the fridge overnight.
I love this bread for meatballs sandwiches. I use this easy crockpot meatball recipe and let them simmer all day then just pile in the warm baguette. YUM!
👩🍳 FAQs
Traditionally, baguettes are a type of French bread with a chewy interior crumb and crispy crust. They are usually about two inches in diameter and a few feet long. A freshly baked French baguette is the perfect simple recipe to accompany almost any meal!
If you've made sure your yeast is fresh and followed the storage/ blooming instructions carefully, but it still doesn't work, try using bottled spring water instead of tap. Sometimes, your water can contain a chemical or mineral that's not harmful to your health, but one that the yeast doesn't like.
Place your hands in the middle of the loaf. Roll them back and forth as you gradually widen your hands, spreading them apart from each other. Rather than pulling on the ends of the bread dough, you get a much better result by rolling it out—kind of like a log of Play-Doh!
You can, but this easy French baguette recipe comes together so quickly and freezes so well after baking that it's usually not necessary. However, if you plan to freeze the dough, do so immediately after shaping the baguettes. Wrap them tightly and let them thaw in the fridge once you plan to bake them.
![Homemade baguette next to another.](https://www.restlesschipotle.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/30-Minute-Baguette-2.jpg)
📚 Related recipes
I have mastered plenty of tasty and easy homemade bread recipes (here's the full list) but these are a few of my absolute favorites:
- Honey Buttermilk Bread is a sweet, country-style loaf that makes the best sandwiches—it's your secret to earning the title of "lunch queen!"
- There is nothing better than the warm aroma of crusty, thick bread made in a dutch oven—add this Rustic Cloche Bread to your list ASAP!
- If you've been tempted to venture into the tangy, tender world of sourdough bread, this No-Knead Sourdough recipe will change your life—yes, it's that perfect.
🍽️ Serve with...
📞 The last word
Y'all, this is so easy and it if you smear it with garlic butter it makes the BEST garlic bread!
Let me tell you, this is amazing with lasagna soup.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need. Don't forget that you can click on "add to collection" to save it to your own, private recipe box!
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
![Slices of French bread on a linen cloth.](https://www.restlesschipotle.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/homemade-baguette-2-new-3-compressor-1-150x150.jpg)
Quick and Easy Homemade Baguette
Print Pin Recipe Save RecipeIngredients
- 2 cups water, 110F, comfortably warm
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 4 - 5 cups all-purpose flour, may need more but dough should be sticky
- coarse cornmeal for dusting the pan
Instructions
- Start preheating the oven to 425F before you even take the ingredients out of the pantry.
- Put the 110F water, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of your mixer.
- Mix briefly, just until blended.
- Set in a warm place for 10 minutes.
- After ten minutes stir in the salt and 1 cup of the flour.
- Using the dough hook mix on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
- Add the rest of the flour, ½ cup at a time until you have a soft dough.
- Knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is no longer sticky and dough is elastic.
- Form the dough into 2 or 3 long loaves on a heavy cookie sheet dusted with coarse cornmeal.
- Use a sharp knife to score (slice shallow gashes) in the top of the bread.
- Allow the loaves to rise for ten minutes in a warm place if there is time. If not - just go straight to the next step.
- Fill a 1 cup measure with ice and cold water
- Put the loaves into the preheated oven and toss the ice on the oven floor.
- Close the door quickly and don't open it until you are ready to take the bread out of the oven, 15 to 20 minutes later.
- Cool slightly before cutting.
Notes
- Use fresh ingredients - the best you can afford. When the ingredient list is simple like this one you need good ingredients.
- If you consistently have trouble getting the yeast to work right try using bottled spring water - there may be something in your water that's not harmful to you but the yeast doesn't like.
- Throwing the water on the floor of a hot oven creates a ton of steam - this gives the bread its classic texture. Be careful though, you don't want steam burns! A cup of ice also works for this.
- Kosher salt is used in this recipe.
- When you score the top use a very sharp knife and cut it on a 45 degree angle. This helps it to rise properly.
- You can add ½ teaspoon extra yeast and let the dough rise in the fridge overnight if you need to.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
First published September 1, 2013. Last updated for better images and editorial content on November 23, 2022
Judy
I make this bread quite often and the family loves it. I use instant yeast - 2 rounded teaspoons. I add the flour (with the salt) in half cup measures shortly after starting the water, sugar and yeast in my mixer with dough hook. I usually need 5 plus cups flour and make 3-4 baguettes.
Today I'm going to go with 2 loaves and let the loaves rest 20 minutes to see if I can get a softer baguette.
Kat
I just made your recipe and it came out awesome. I'm a really good cook but don't have the patience for baking. My husband decided to throw a couple of steaks on the grill so I made a huge salad and potatoes. The only thing missing was our fresh bread from the local bakery. Living in a Michigan county hit hard by covid-19, going out anywhere right now is not an option. In a last minute desperation move, I came across your recipe and thought I'd give it a try. This decision was made right around the time my husband was going out to get his grill ready. Even though I rushed through it like a mad woman, I can't believe how easily and quickly it came together. My dough was perfect and the final baked bread was fantastic. I even goofed up in a few places. I added the full measurement of salt when using table salt instead of kosher, and I tossed the salt in before the flour. Still, the dough was perfect and it made two big loaves. Even my son, a bread snob, loved it. I did have to bake it a little longer, but it was well worth the wait and really completed our meal. Our ice maker just broke the other day so I used a pie dish with water on the bottom rack which worked out great. Thanks for the easy and quick recipe...it was most enjoyable.
Marye
So glad you liked it, Kat!
Kelly Rawson
Great recipe! No cornmeal, so we used parchment paper. Otherwise, same recipe. LOVE IT.
Marye
Perfect. I honestly have to do without cornmeal sometimes too.
Angela milligan
I followed the recipe and it was perfect! Thank you very much for providing me with the opportunity to bake this. I questioned the ice and water...who knew? Thank you for sharing.
Marye
I am so glad you liked it, Angela!
ScottE
Hi Marye,
Make tons of french breads. Decided to try this fast recipe today. They're in the oven now. A couple of questions/issues I ran into. By the way, this is the first time I have used dry yeast, isually I have a block fresh yeast around. I bake a lot at home.
1st: followed your instructions exactly until I ran into an issue. The dough never firmed in my Kitchaid. Looked like soup. I dumped out of bowl and onto my butcher block to hand knead, had to add a LOT of flour to get firm. Did you mean knead 5 minites in mixer? That didn't work. So, as I said I put on block and kneaded by hand. Think that defeated my time and having expensivr high end mixer.
Next, my 10 minute, 2nd rise, didn't double. Maybe I kneaded too much (?).
I have a pretty much commercial style kitchen, it's about 75f in here.
Any ideas? I did proof the yeast. I have been striving to get my french bread, more airy with a nice crust.
Thanks,
Scott in North Carolina
Marye
Scott - I'm going to have to make this recipe again soon and see why people are all of a sudden having trouble. I'll try to get that done in the next week or so.
Sarah
I made the bread today and I definitely think the ratio of flour to water is incorrect. I used between 5 and 6 cups of flour and let it rise a bit longer because I had the time. Turned out very nicely.
I like using a dough hook in my mixer because I know the dough HAS to start cleaning the sides of the bowl to indicate correct ratio of flour to liquid in any bread recipe.
Marye
I'll be remaking this this week to check.
Marye
Hey Scott -
Just wanted you to know I remade the bread today and did have problems with the proportion - which is weird to me since it worked for years with the other proportions. Maybe using a different flour? OR maybe I didn't use to measure as carefully...In any case the recipe has been updated. Thanks.
Russ
I've been baking bread for a long time now. The ratio for bread is generally 1 cup water to roughly 3 cups of flour, depending on humidity. This recipe either requires 1 cup of water for 3 cups flour or 5-6 cups of flour with 2 cups of water . It's a great, simple recipe if you change your ratio. Cheers!
Marye
Hi Russ -
I've been baking bread since 1974 - and this particular version since 1978 - I'm not sure why some people are having issues but I will add your ratio to the recipe for the ones that are...thanks !!!
Michelle
Quick, Easy, and Tasty, Thankyou!!!
Marye
I am so glad you like it!! Have you been making bread long?
Deborah
I haven't made bread for a few months due to my diabetes but with summer and a garden of fresh tomato bushes nothing is better together than fresh sauce and warm bread. I accidentally added the salt to the water/sugar/yeast. Ooops. I Sent with it anyway. Nice there was a problem I let the dough rise for almost an hour. Gotta tell you the bread came out beautifully. My hubby liked it too. Thank you.
Marye
Im so glad you liked it!
Liz
How many ounces are in a packet of dry yeast? I have a big container
Marye
Liz - I just use a tablespoon when I'm not using a packet.
Cate
2 cups of water?? I ended up needing lots more flour than 3 cups...closer to 6 cups!
And is it one packet of yeast? 2 1/4 teaspoons...You didn't indicate the amount.
Tried to salvage what was a gooey mess 🙁
Marye
1 packet - yes... sorry. The dough should be quite soft...and the flour always varies - even for me it can vary as much as 2-3 cups.
john mcquillan
I also need WAY more flour before it even resembled dough, as opposed to batter. In the oven now, fingers crossed!!
Diane Fallon
I was so excited about your fast French baguette recipe until I got to the part about throwing ice or cold water onto the oven bottom. I have a gas oven and there are flames visible on both sides. You did not specify an electric oven???
Marye Audet
Oh my gosh - I wasn't thinking, Diane. Just put a oven-safe dish of hot water in the oven as well - you just need to create a lot of steam!
Diane Fallon
I was so excited about your fast French baguette recipe until I got to the part about throwing ice or cold water onto the oven bottom. I have a gas oven and there are flames visible on both sides. You did not specify an electric oven??? Is there another option for the ice or cold water?
Marye Audet
You can put a pan with water in it while the oven is preheating or add ice to a cookie sheet on the second rack. 🙂 Just get steam in there.
Danielle
So glad you have this recipe here. I have been making it for years and went today to babble.com and couldn’t find the recipe. Quick internet’s search brought me here. I always have to add more flour than the recipe calls for and I skip the ice. But it is so quick and easy and yummy!!
Lydia Douglas
This was a great baguette. Actually reminded me of sourdough. Light and airy.
No need to buy anymore.. Often we buy and forget either to use it that night etc etc.
Now hen I know we want one just make it. Not an inconvience. Thanks.
Marye Audet
You're welcome, Lydia! So glad you liked it.
Shannon
Just made this with spelt flour(mum has a wheat allergy), had to add about 1.5-2 cups more flour, it came out beautifully. Mum's very happy because she can have hot bread 🙂
Marye Audet
that's great, Shannon!
Ashley
Toss the water on the oven floor? Like dump the water in the bottom of the oven? Just double checking?
Marye Audet
Yep. Right on the oven floor then shut the door quickly
susan | the wimpy vegetarian
I've been on a bread baking kick lately, and love the idea of fresh baguettes this quickly. I'm going to try this!
Marye Audet
let me know what you think.
Christina | Christina's Cucina
I make bread every other day, there's nothing quite like the smell and getting that first cut slice! Why would anyone buy bread when you can make these baguettes in under an hour!? I can see some chopped tomatoes, garlic, basil salt and olive oil on that toasted slice!! Yum!
Marye Audet
I know! Love homemade bread!
Lucy
These look incredible! Crusty on the outside and pillowy soft in the middle. I love baking bread, but I've been too intimidated to try baguettes. I can't wait to make your recipe!
Marye Audet
Let me know what you think, Lucy!
Cynthia | What A Girl Eats
You definitely have a way with dough Marye! Every loaf you post is always so beautiful and delicious looking!
Marye Audet
LOL! Lots of practice! Thanks!