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I pulled my first batch of mini baguettes from the oven last Tuesday and immediately understood why French bakers wake up at 3 AM. That crackle when you press the crust, the steam escaping from the cuts, the smell filling the kitchen. No store-bought bread comes close.

These mini baguettes use just four ingredients: flour, water, yeast, and salt. No sugar. Most American bread recipes add sugar to feed the yeast and speed things up, but traditional French bread skips it entirely. The yeast just takes a bit longer to do its thing, and you end up with better flavor because of it.

The mini size makes these practical for home ovens. A full-length baguette needs a professional deck oven to bake properly. These smaller versions fit on a regular baking sheet and still give you that signature crust-to-crumb ratio that makes baguettes so good.

What These Are Good For

Mini baguettes work for pretty much everything. Slice them for sandwiches, serve them alongside soup, or just tear off chunks with butter. They’re the right size for individual servings at dinner, and they freeze well if you make extra. I usually bake six at a time and freeze half.

The crust stays crusty for about 4-5 hours after baking. After that, it softens but the bread is still good for toast or sandwiches the next day.

How to Store Them

Keep baguettes at room temperature in a paper bag or wrapped loosely in a kitchen towel. Plastic bags trap moisture and make the crust go soft and chewy. If you need them to last longer, slice and freeze them in a zip-lock bag. Toast straight from frozen.

Don’t refrigerate bread. It actually goes stale faster in the fridge than on the counter.

Ingredients

• 300g bread flour (all-purpose works but bread flour gives better structure)
• 200g water, room temperature
• 5g instant yeast
• 6g salt

Instructions

1. Mix the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Add the water and stir until you have a shaggy dough with no dry flour visible.
2. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes. This is called autolyse and it hydrates the flour.
3. Stretch and fold the dough in the bowl. Grab one side, stretch it up, and fold it over to the center. Rotate the bowl 90 degrees and repeat. Do this 4 times total (once on each side). Cover and wait 30 minutes.
4. Repeat the stretch and fold two more times, with 30 minutes between each round. The dough should feel smoother and stronger after each fold.
5. After the final fold, cover and let the dough rise until doubled, about 1-2 hours depending on your kitchen temperature.
6. Gently turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 3 equal pieces (about 170g each).
7. Shape each piece into a rough rectangle. Fold the top third down and press to seal. Fold the bottom third up and seal again. Now roll gently into a log about 8-9 inches long. Don’t stress if they’re not perfect.
8. Place the shaped baguettes on a baking sheet lined with parchment, leaving space between them. Cover loosely and let proof for 45 minutes.
9. While the dough proofs, put a baking sheet or cast iron pan on the bottom rack of your oven and preheat to 475°F (245°C).
10. Score each baguette with 3-4 diagonal slashes using a sharp knife or razor blade. Move quickly and confidently.
11. Slide the baguettes into the oven and immediately pour about 1 cup of hot water into the pan on the bottom rack. Close the door fast to trap the steam.
12. Bake for 20-22 minutes until deep golden brown. The internal temperature should read around 205°F (96°C).
13. Cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before cutting. The inside is still cooking while it cools.

Notes

The steam in the first few minutes is what creates the crispy crust. If your oven leaks a lot of steam, you can spray the loaves with water before baking and again after 5 minutes. A Dutch oven also works for trapping steam if you want to bake one baguette at a time.

Bread flour has more protein than all-purpose, which helps with structure. But I’ve made these with all-purpose plenty of times and they still turn out good. Just handle the dough a bit more gently during shaping.