Best Mini French Baguette Bread

Authentic and best French baguette loaves with stack of crusty slices and butter.

5 from 20 votes

Best Mini French Baguette Bread

This post is all about baking the best and authentic French baguette recipe that has a crispy crust on the outside with a soft and chewy texture on the inside. This classic French bread can be served for any meal.

Love French bread? Check out our Brioche bread and buns, Easy no-knead baguettes, and Best homemade butter croissants.

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

Resting Time1 30

Total Time2 15

Course: Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: French

Diet: Low Salt, Vegetarian

Servings: loaves

Calories: 412kcal

Author: Kushi

Equipment

Bowl
Baking pan

Ingredients

1 ½ cups Lukewarm water
2 ¼ teaspoon Active dry yeast ( 1 packet)
2 teaspoon Sugar
1 ½ teaspoon Salt
3 ½ cups All purpose flour, ¼ cup for dusting
Olive oil for coating

Instructions

Activate the yeast

In a large mixing bowl, add lukewarm water and sugar. Sprinkle yeast. Cover it and leave it undisturbed for 10 minutes. This should become foamy, which means the yeast is activated.
1 ½ cups Lukewarm water, 2 ¼ teaspoon Active dry yeast ( 1 packet), 2 teaspoon Sugar

Making the baguette dough

Add salt and about 3 ½ cups of flour in increments; using your hands, mix the flour mixture till it comes together as a soft ball of dough.
1 ½ teaspoon Salt, 3 ½ cups All purpose flour, ¼ cup for dusting
Then knead the dough for about 15 mins by hand or using a low-speed stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. The dough should be elastic and smooth, and soft to the touch. Transfer this to a greased bowl.
Olive oil for coating
Cover and let it rest in a warm space (microwave oven) until it is doubled in size. This should take about 1 hour.

Shaping baguette loaves

Transfer the risen dough from the bowl to a well-dusted working surface and lightly punch the dough to remove any air pockets.
Divide the dough into 3 to 4 equal portions, and then roll it to form the shape of baguettes.
Transfer the rolled baguettes to silicone-lined baking sheets or baking pan dusted with flour. Cover with a kitchen towel and let the rolls rest for about 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Baking baguette bread

At this stage, place a cast iron skillet at the bottom rack of an oven and preheat it to 475 degrees F.
After the rolls have doubled, use a sharp razor or knife to score desired patterns.
Transfer these rolls to the middle rack in the oven. Fill the cast iron skillet or oven-safe bowl on the bottom shelf with about ½ cup of ice cubes or water. The steam generated allows the bread to develop a light and crispy crust.
Bake the baguettes for about 25 to 30 mins or until it becomes golden brown on top.
Transfer baguettes to a cooling rack and let them cool before slicing.
Serve it along with a side of olive oil vinaigrette or soft butter. Enjoy!

Notes

For the bakery-style traditional baguette and to create the signature crispy crust creating steam in the oven is very important. To do this in an oven-safe bowl, add water or ice cubes and keep it in the bottom rack of the oven.
You can also spritz the bread with a fine mist of water using a spray bottle during baking every 5-minute intervals.
Please use lukewarm water to make the dough.
Make baguettes that can fit into your baking pan.

Nutrition