Sourdough Baguettes Recipe (2-Day Method)

Baguettes intimidated me for a long time, and not because of the flavor. It was the shape. Getting a dough loose enough for a proper open crumb, but still strong enough to hold a long, thin loaf without spreading flat on the couche, took a few rounds of trial and error to trust.

This sourdough baguettes recipe is the two-day version I keep coming back to. Day one is mixing and a single coil fold, then the fridge does the rest overnight. Day two is shape, proof, and bake. No stand mixer required, and the schedule fits around a normal day instead of eating up your whole weekend.

What You'll Need

This dough uses type 1 flour, a lightly milled Italian flour that sits between white bread flour and whole wheat. It gives the crumb a little more character than an all-white baguette without going fully whole grain. Regular strong bread flour works too if that's what you have on hand.

Day One: Mix and Cold Ferment

The bulk on this dough is short and deliberate. Baguette dough wants to stay looser and more extensible than a loaf dough, so it only gets one coil fold instead of the three or four sets I'd use on my plain sourdough loaf. Less handling here means more of that open, irregular crumb baguettes are supposed to have.

1. Mix the flour with 285g of the water, reserving 15g for later. Autolyse for 1 hour.
2. Add the levain, mix until incorporated, and rest for 30 minutes.
3. Add the salt along with the reserved 15g of water. Mix until fully combined and rest for 45 minutes.
4. Give the dough one coil fold, then rest for 1 hour at room temperature.
5. Cover and move the dough to the fridge for an overnight cold ferment.

Day Two: Shape and Proof

The dough comes out of the fridge firmer and easier to handle than it was the night before, which makes this the more forgiving day of the two. Give it a little time to wake up before you start dividing.

1. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes to take the chill off.
2. Divide into pieces, pre-shape gently into short logs, and rest for 40 minutes.
3. Shape into baguettes and place on a floured couche, seam side down. Proof for 30 more minutes.
4. Score, and get the oven preheating to 250°C (480°F) at least an hour ahead so your baking surface is fully heat-soaked.

Baking With Steam

Steam matters more for baguettes than almost anything else in this recipe. It's what keeps the crust soft long enough for the dough to spring up before it sets. I use the same two-part trick I rely on for my other loaves: a few ice cubes near the bread plus a pot of boiling water on the lower rack.

Bake with steam for 10 minutes, then remove whatever's producing the steam and bake uncovered for another 12 to 15 minutes, until the crust is deep gold and the loaves sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Let them cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing. I know that's hard when the kitchen smells like this, but the crumb is still setting.