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The recipe you’ve begged and pleaded for is finally here…I’m calling it Same Day Baguette, because I wanted you to be able to mix, bake, and eat it all in the same day. No overnight rise, no days of planning. Just delicious bread, same day, made by YOU.
I have been testing this for months (as in almost 20 months to be exact) and I finally believe we have hit perfection! I am beyond excited to share this recipe with you, because I am quite certain, it is going to knock your socks off!!!
It is crispy & crusty on the outside, soft chewy interior with gorgeous airy pockets. I love to slather a piece with a good butter right when it comes out of the oven & top with a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. This right here is my love language!
The possibilities with this baguette are endless. I love to serve alongside soups or salads, or on an appetizer board with grilled veggies and whipped feta. My family loves tuna melts & I recently made them for dinner using the baguette and they were out of this world!
😍Why You’ll Love My Same Day Baguette
Making bread can be very intimidating and I wanted to make it completely approachable for the everyday home cook. No fancy equipment. No complicated steps. Just easy & delicious.
You can mix, bake, and enjoy it all in the same day. No overnight rise. No stress. Just warm, crusty delicious bread on your table, that will be devoured in minutes.This recipe is easy enough for beginners, but the results are brag-worthy.
🗒️ Ingredients
Instant Yeast– This is the magic that makes the dough rise fast. Instant yeast doesn’t need to be activated in water first, it goes straight into the flour and starts working quickly!
Sugar
A touch of sugar helps feed the yeast and encourages a strong rise. It also contributes just a hint of sweetness to balance the flavor of the crusty bread.
All-Purpose Flour
The base of your baguette! All-purpose flour gives the dough a great balance between softness and structure. For chewier texture, you can sub in some bread flour.
Kosher Salt
Essential for bringing out the flavor of the bread and controlling the yeast. Don’t skip it, it’s what keeps your bread from tasting flat or bland.
Warm Water
Water activates the yeast and hydrates the dough. Make sure it’s warm to the touch (around 105°F–115°F), not hot, so it doesn’t kill the yeast.
👩🍳 How to Make My Same Day Baguette
🥣 Mix dry ingredients then add in the water and mix with a wooden spoon. It should look like a loose & sticky bread dough, don’t worry this is what you want.
🥄 Add sugar, Kosher salt, and then AP flour and mix with a wooden spoon.
⏲️ Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.
⏲️ Stretch and fold it on itself in the bowl, cover and rest again for 60 minutes.
🫧 When it has risen and is bubbling, very gently turn out onto a generously floured surface.
✂️ Cut in three with a bench scraper.
🌀Twist a bit and place in baguette trays, shaping lightly.
⏲️ Bake for 25-30 minutes at 450.
🎩 Tips & Tricks
For a Dough-Rising Trick, Use Your Oven Light! During both resting periods, I like to create a cozy little spa for my dough by placing the covered bowl inside the oven with just the oven light turned on. Don’t turn the actual oven on, just the light. That small amount of heat from the bulb provides the perfect gently-warm, draft-free environment that helps the dough rise beautifully. Just cover your bowl with a kitchen towel, tuck it into the oven, and let the light do the rest.
📓 Best served with
- Good Butter and Flakey Sea Salt
- A delicious creamy soup such as my Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup or Butternut Squash and Garlic Soup
- On a Cheese and Charcuterie board next to a whipped feta with hot honey
Commonly Asked Questions
Great question! It’s a technique to build structure in wet doughs. Reach under the dough, gently stretch it upward, then fold it over onto itself. Rotate the bowl and repeat 3–4 times. It helps create that airy, open crumb without kneading. The dough should look like loose and sticky bread dough, don’t worry this is what you want!
No problem—you can use a sharp knife or even kitchen scissors (oiled or floured) to cut the dough into three sections. A bench scraper is just handy for keeping the shape and not deflating the dough too much.
I would highly recommend using one. A baguette tray gives structure and keeps the dough from spreading too much. I have had a lot of luck with this baguette tray & swear by it. If you don’t have one, shape the dough and bake on a parchment-lined sheet pan. You can place rolled-up foil or a clean kitchen towel between the loaves to help them hold shape during the rise.
450°F gives you that signature crispy crust. If your oven runs hot, you could try 425°F and extend the bake time by 5–10 minutes. Just make sure the loaves are golden and sound hollow when tapped.
For this recipe, because it is so exact, there really aren’t any substitutions.
Same Day Baguette
Equipment
- 1 Baguette Tray (with three baguette loaf holders)
Ingredients
- 2 tsp Instant Yeast
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 4 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp Kosher Salt
- Warm Water
- Flaky salt (optional)
Instructions
- Mix sugar, flour, salt, and yeast with a wooden spoon. Add in 2 1/4 cups of warm water and mix to combine. It should look like a loose and sticky bread dough, don’t worry. It should be. If the dough doesn't look very wet, add in another 1/4 cup of warm water. I usually use 2 1/2 cups of warm water, personally.
- Cover and let sit for 30 minutes.
- Stretch and fold it on itself in the bowl, cover and rest again for 60 minutes.
- When it has risen a lot and bubbling, very gently turn out onto a generously floured surface. The dough will be very wet, so be generous with flouring the surface, your hands, and the bench scraper.
- Cut in three with a bench scraper.
- Twist the dough, stretching gently lengthwise as you do, so it almost fills the baguette tray. Place each loaf in the baguette trays. I often sprinkle with flaky salt now, this optional, but it's a nice salty crunch on the top of the loaves.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes at 450 degrees.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Easy, and delicious! Can’t wait to make it again.
Yay Janet! Thank you for sharing! xo, Kat
I made these last weekend and when I tell you my husband and I mowed down 1 baguette within 15 minutes of them coming out of the oven, I am not even joking. So good. Gave a baguette to my mom, she said it was better than Panera (high praise lol). I make bread often, esp sourdough, and this was so easy, so delicious!
Haha, Love it Michele! xo, Kat
I tried to make this twice and followed the exact recipe, but the dough was soooo wet both times. For the stretch and fold, the dough couldn’t stretch, because it was too wet. Not sure what I’m doing wrong!
Did you still bake it or did you not bother because you thought it was too wet? Remember my advice, trust the process! It will seem overly wet, but twist and fold and put into the baguette pan. It will come work, I promise!
O heavens! This is the best bread! I’m no stranger to making bread, and this is by far the easiest recipe I’ve ever made. You can’t mess it up! It was quite wet but you don’t really handle it much, so it came together easily. Rose beautifully in the oven and had the nice crispy outer crust with a hot tender center! I had my son and his finance over for dinner and saw him in the kitchen cutting some up, and I told him that I had already cut up a loaf on the table and he sheepishly said, I ate most of that one already!! 🤣 you’ve got to try this bread!!
I made the recipe 3 times in one week. I shared the baguettes with neighbours and family. It is unanimous, it’s delicious. So easy, so quicky, very little manipulation and fresh bread within 3 hours. That is now a favorite for ours.
Elodie! You are making my day! I love, love to hear it! xo, kat
Do you need to grease the baguette tray?
Nope!
Kat!! This recipe is the best of crunchy and chewy worlds!! I took a chance and made it with Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 gluten free flour! Presentation wasn’t pretty, but flavor and texture were spot on!! Will you be reworking it to be gluten free? Also, we enjoy your 3 year gluten free bread recipe in Big Bites! Soooo good!
Ashlie! Thank you so so much for sharing!! Yes, I will eventually be creating a GF version & taking your notes into account 😉
Can you share your GF recipe you mentioned here from Big Bites. Thank you so much
Boom! Another easy to follow recipe that makes me a kitchen rockstar! Easy peasy… and delicious! Ran low on white flour so subbed some whole wheat and they still turned out perfect!
Thanks Kat!
Woohoo! Love to hear it, thank you for sharing! xo, Kat
Just tried this recipe for the first time. I cut the recipe in half this time. It was easy and turned out great. Will be making this often.
Hi Randy! Thank you for sharing! love to hear it 🙂
I bought the pan you recommended and it arrived this afternoon. I had started the dough earlier and immediately washed the pan, preheated the oven and baked 3 gorgeous loaves for dinner. My family (and I) was so impressed! Will be making this at least once a week!
Yayyy! Love to hear it, thank you for sharing Julie!