A Quick Glimpse Of The Recipe:

1.5 cups of warm water
1 tbsp dry active yeast
1 tbsp sugar (you can omit this, but see below)
1 cup sourdough discard
5 cups flour
1 tbsp salt

I know I said this flatbread was our most often made bread in our house- and it is- but this one is a very close second.

This bread is a gift. It’s a memory. Every time I make it, I’m transported back to the streets of Paris in the springtime because that’s exactly where I learned to make it.

The flour, he told us, was the most important part of the bread. Did we ever have digestion problems or inflammation problems when we ate bread in the US? It probably had more to do with the flour we were using than the bread making process being used.

Sourdough is all the rage- and with good reason. It’s delicious! But that isn’t what makes true French baguettes make us not feel so weighed down and bleh. (That’s the proper term, by the way.) It turns out, it is the flour.

That being said, I’m still using all purpose flour here sometimes, but knowing this information has freed me from my fear of commercial yeast. In fact, it was surprising to me to find out that my French baker buddy used yeast readily in his own bakery (and even told us that most bakeries there, do)! Sourdough gives the flavor, but yeast gives the consistent results, and in a commercial kitchen, that’s incredibly important.

Then he taught us proper techniques for rolling and shaping our baguettes and how to get a crunchy crust and fluffy interior of our baguettes at home, so now I’m going to share that with you!

How I Make Them:

I start with my warm water in my mixing bowl, then add in my yeast. Here is where you can decide how important the sugar is for you. This will rise fine and taste the same with or without it, but the sugar will cause the outside of your baguette to brown. No sugar, no brown crust. I add it in because that’s important to me, but if you don’t mind, feel free to ditch it.

Next, add in your sourdough starter. This can be an active and fed starter or discard. Honestly, I’ve made these with both and I cannot tell a bit of difference. We are getting the rise from the yeast here. We are using the sourdough starter specifically for the flavor, so because of that, we can use whatever we happen to already have on hand. That can make this recipe so useful.

Add in your flour and salt, and knead it with your dough hook attachment. This is going to seem like a fairly stiff, dry bread dough at first. Keep kneading, and if it doesn’t loosen up, add in some extra water, just a small bit at a time. Knead for about 6 minutes, until it’s nice and elastic. Cover and set it aside in a warm place to rise for an hour.

After the first rise, it’s time to shape the dough into baguettes. This recipe will make 3 nice sized baguettes. Once the dough has been portioned, flatten it into a small rectangle. Roll it over onto itself to create a long cylinder, pinching the seam closed.

Then, using the bottom of your palms, roll the cylinder out into a snake.

Place these these snakes onto your pan. I use a baguette pan I purchased off of Amazon. These have small holes in the bottom to ensure proper browning all the way around and give that classic rounded baguette shape.

Set these aside again to rise for a second time. This rise will happen much quicker- around half an hour. This is the perfect time to preheat your oven to 425.

Once risen again, carefully slice some lines into your dough. If you’re feeling sassy, you can really go nuts here. I rarely feel sassy enough to make anything more than basic lines, but they still work great.

Before we put our bread dough in the heated oven, you’ll want to create some steam inside. This is going to give that texture we want. Chewy, crunchy crust. Fluffy, soft inside. The steam is the secret sauce here. I like to get a bowl full of ice, and right before I put my bread in, I dump the ice on the inside bottom of my oven. You’ll immediately hear hissing of steam, so get that dough in asap and shut the oven door. Leave the oven door closed for 15-17 minutes, then open it to find lovely golden browned loaves of bread, perfect for slicing in half for a sandwich or ripped apart and eaten with butter.

How I Use This Bread:

We use this bread for so many different things. It’s the buns for our french dips. I slice it up and use it for crostini. I’ve used leftover slices for french toast. It’s perfect with butter and jam for breakfast or to make a panini for lunch or an accompaniment for a delicious Greek Carbonara.

I hope this useful recipe finds its way into your kitchens and tummies soon!

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Watch Us Make These!

Sourdough Discard Baguettes

Ingredients: 1.5 cups of warm water 1 tbsp dry active yeast 1 tbsp sugar (you can omit this, but see below) 1 cup sourdough discard 5 cups flour 1 tbsp salt Instructions: 1. To a mixing bowl, add water, sugar, and yeast. 2. Add in sourdough discard. 3. On top of the wet ingredients, add in flour and salt. 4. With dough hook attachment, mix until well combined. Add water if the dough feels too stiff or dry. 5. Knead for 6-8 minutes. 6. Move dough to a warm place to rise for 1 to 1 and a half hours. 7. Separate dough into three equal sections. 8. Form baguettes, and set aside to rise again for half an hour. 9. Preheat oven to 425. 10. Once the oven is preheated, score baguettes. 11. Add ice to the bottom of the oven or a preheated sheet pan to create steam, quickly put the baguettes into the oven and close the door. 12. Bake 15-17 minutes, or until golden browned.