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.
Nobody has published a baguette recipe yet. The page stays out of search until one exists, which is the rule for every thin page here.