Dish · french
Baguette
A long, thin loaf of bread with a crackling crust and an open, irregular crumb inside, made from just flour, water, yeast, and salt. It's meant to be eaten within a day of baking.
Where it comes from
French law regulates the baguette's basic ingredients, and the shape known today became standard in Paris bakeries in the early 20th century, though longer thin loaves existed before that under other names. Regulation aimed partly at keeping bread affordable and consistent.
What cooks argue about
Hydration level is the main fight, since a wetter dough gives the large, irregular holes bakers prize but is harder to shape, while a stiffer dough works easier but bakes denser.
Versions
Nobody has published a baguette here yet. When somebody cooks one from a video and publishes it, their version appears in this list, with a link back to the original.
What goes in it
Each one opens everything else made with it.
bread flour
active dry yeast