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Crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, these baguettes with freshly milled flour are simply delicious! Made with only 5 ingredients and mixed in less than 15 minutes, these baguettes rise overnight in the fridge for a perfect spring and texture.
No matter how busy the week ahead is, having my kitchen stocked with fresh, homemade bread makes me feel prepared to cook delicious meals for my family.
Bread is the perfect side dish or a base for one of our favorites: sandwiches! And bread made with freshly milled flour is even better.
We never get sick of whole grain bread, especially with all of the different types! From freshly milled sweet bread or brioche bread with freshly milled flour to freshly milled sandwich bread and freshly milled seeded bread, there are so many delicious ways to bake up some freshly milled flour!
These baguettes are my newest recipe, and my whole family loves them. They have an irresistible texture and plenty of flavor from the whole grains.
Best of all, baguettes are endlessly useful for meals! Serve them plain with butter or make them into sandwiches, garlic bread, and more. I share more ideas in the post below — let’s get baking!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Beginner-friendly recipe: As far as bread recipes go, this one is really easy. You use the stand mixer to knead it, and after less than 15 minutes of active time, you can relax and let the bread rise overnight. It’s easy to shape, and you don’t need a Dutch oven to bake! You can read up on how to bake with whole grains before getting started to really make the process a breeze.
- Versatile bread: As I said, you won’t run out of uses for these baguette loaves! There are so many delicious ways to incorporate them into meals. Plus, they freeze extremely well!
- Whole grains: Bread made with freshly milled flour will get you a nice serving of whole grains and a super tasty loaf! If you’ve been looking for a recipe to use your fresh flour in baguettes, this one is so good.
Ingredients
- Freshly milled flour: I used hard red wheat for this recipe, but you can substitute hard white wheat if you prefer. See my note about wheat varieties below in the tips section. If you’re new to freshly milled flour, be sure to check out my tutorial on how to mill your own grains!
- Water: Filtered is best, if you have it.
- Honey: This will feed the yeast and leave a balanced flavor in your baguettes.
- Salt: Don’t skip or forget the salt in homemade bread, trust me.
- Yeast: Active dry yeast gives this bread a great rise and is less fussy than sourdough.
How to Make Baguettes with Freshly Milled Flour
Step 1. Mix and hydrate
Add the flour, salt, and honey to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Pour in the warm water and mix until no dry flour remains. The dough is going to be sticky. Cover and let rest for 40 minutes.
Step 2. Add yeast
Sprinkle the yeast evenly over the dough. Using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix on low speed for 1 minute to incorporate, then increase to medium-low and mix for 2-3 minutes. The dough should become smoother and elastic, pulling away from the sides of the bowl but still feeling soft and slightly tacky.
Step 3. Refrigerate and pre-shape
Cover the bowl tightly and place it in the refrigerator for 12–16 hours.
Remove the dough from the refrigerator and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 3 equal portions. (see tips below)
Gently shape each piece into a loose rectangle. Cover and let rest for 45 minutes.
Step 4. Shape
Gently stretch each rectangle into a longer shape. Fold the top third down, press to seal, then fold the bottom third up and seal again. Roll gently from the center outward until each loaf is about 14–15 inches long.
Place on a towel, with the seam side up, and cover for about another 30-45 minutes.
Step 5. Bake
Place a bread pan with hot water into the bottom rack of your oven. Preheat to 475°F.
While the oven is preheating, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly dust with flour. Transfer the baguettes to the parchment paper-lined baking sheet and place them seam-side down. Score the top of each baguette with 3 quick diagonal slashes.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Carefully remove the steam pan with hot pads, rotate the loaves, and continue baking for another 15 minutes, or until the crust is deeply golden and crisp.
Step 6. Cool and enjoy
Transfer the baguettes to a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing.
Helpful Tips
- This recipe can be made without a stand mixer. Mix the dough by hand, then perform three sets of stretch and folds, 20 minutes apart, before putting the dough in the fridge and continuing with the recipe as written.
- You can use a baking stone for these, just preheat the stone in the oven first. And be careful when transferring the baguettes to the hot stone!
- I use hard red wheat for this recipe, and I highly recommend measuring the flour by weight to get accurate measurements.
- To check if they are done, you can carefully tap the top of them. If they feel hard and sound hollow, they are ready! Just don’t burn yourself.
- Flour is measured after it has been milled — don’t measure the whole berries (especially when measuring by volume rather than weight).
- You can divide this recipe into as many portions as you want. If you make the recipe as I have it, without doubling, it will make 3 baguettes around 14-15″ long.
- You will notice I used hard red wheat for this recipe. If you have hard red wheat, this is a great way to use it. Most people find it’s really grainy in most recipes, which is why people tend not to bake with it, but for these cold-proofed baguettes, it turns out perfectly. No grainy taste, just pure delicious baguettes.
Uses for Baguettes with Freshly Milled Flour
The wonderful thing about homemade baguettes is how many different ways there are to incorporate them into a meal. You’ll never run out of uses for this delicious bread!
Of course, you can always keep it simple and serve warm baguette slices with some butter, or make garlic bread.
Here are a few more ideas for how to use your baguettes with freshly milled flour:
- Slice them for an easy appetizer of balsamic bruschetta
- Cut them lengthwise to make homemade sub sandwiches
- Use them to make French toast! Or try my sourdough French toast casserole recipe with freshly milled baguettes instead of sourdough.
- Make a big pot of French onion soup with homemade beef bone broth and top with a slice of baguette
- Use them to make the best grilled cheese sandwich you’ve ever had!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you definitely can! No adjustments necessary; substitute it at a 1:1 ratio.
Baguettes are classified by their long, thin shape and notably crusty exterior. French bread is usually a similar shape, but shorter and wider than baguettes. It is also much softer and fluffier than a baguette. ‘French bread’ is a broad term that can be used for different airy bread loaves, while baguettes have a very distinct shape and texture.
Yes, baguettes freeze very well! You want to store them in a good airtight container, like a freezer bag, which can be tricky with their length. I recommend slicing them first or cutting the loaves in half so they fit in a container. Freeze them for up to 6 months, then thaw them at room temperature (or toss pre-sliced bread straight into the toaster).
If you plan to make a lot of homemade bread (in which case I’d recommend my artisan bread with freshly milled flour next!), I would recommend investing in a bread lame. They are sharp blades made for easily scoring bread loaves. You can also use a sharp or serrated knife!
If you love freshly milled flour and delicious bread, you are seriously going to love this recipe.
Let me know how you’ll be enjoying your fresh-baked baguettes! And don’t miss my post of 21+ Fresh Milled Flour Recipes for more baking fun, or take a peek at a few of my favorites below:
More Freshly Milled Flour Recipes
- Homemade Rolls with Freshly Milled Flour
- Cinnamon Sugar Muffins With Fresh Milled Flour
- Hot Dog Buns With Fresh Milled Flour
- Long John Donuts With Fresh Milled Flour
- Whole Grain Biscuits with Freshly Milled Flour
If you tried these Baguettes with Freshly Milled Flour or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Baguettes with Freshly Milled Flour
Equipment
- Grain mill for freshly milled flour
- Stand mixer optional – see notes
Ingredients
- 4½ cups fresh milled hard red wheat flour (630g)
- 2¼ cups warm water (530g)
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon honey or sugar
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Instructions
- Mix and hydrate: Add the flour, salt, and honey to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Pour in the warm water and mix until no dry flour remains. The dough is going to be sticky. Cover and let rest for 40 minutes.
- Add yeast: Sprinkle the yeast evenly over the dough. Using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix on low speed for 1 minute to incorporate, then increase to medium-low and mix for 2-3 minutes. The dough should become smoother and elastic, pulling away from the sides of the bowl but still feeling soft and slightly tacky.Note: Just mix until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl. (see picture for reference)
- Refrigerate overnight: Cover the bowl tightly and place it in the refrigerator for 12–16 hours.
- Divide and pre-shape: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 3 equal portions. (see notes below)Gently shape each piece into a loose rectangle. Cover and let rest for 45 minutes.
- Shape baguettes: Gently stretch each rectangle into a longer shape. Fold the top third down, press to seal, then fold the bottom third up and seal again. Roll gently from the center outward until each loaf is about 14–15 inches long.Place on a towel, with the seam side up, and cover for about another 30-45 minutes.
- Bake: Place a bread pan with hot water into the bottom rack of your oven. Preheat to 475°F.While the oven is preheating, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly dust with flour. Transfer the baguettes to the parchment paper-lined baking sheet and place them seam-side down. Score the top of each baguette with 3 quick diagonal slashes.Bake for 15 minutes.Carefully remove the steam pan with hot pads, rotate the loaves, and continue baking for another 15 minutes, or until the crust is deeply golden and crisp.
- Cool: Transfer the baguettes to a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing.
Video
Notes
- This recipe can be made without a stand mixer. Mix the dough by hand, then perform three sets of stretch and folds, 20 minutes apart, before putting the dough in the fridge and continuing with the recipe as written.
- You can use a baking stone for these, just preheat the stone in the oven first. And be careful when transferring the baguettes to the hot stone!
- I use hard red wheat for this recipe, and I highly recommend measuring the flour by weight to get accurate measurements.
- To check if they are done, you can carefully tap the top of them. If they feel hard and sound hollow, they are ready! Just don’t burn yourself.
- Flour is measured after it has been milled — don’t measure the whole berries. (especially when measuring by volume rather than weight)
- You can divide this recipe into as many portions as you want. If you make the recipe as I have it, without doubling, it will make 3 baguettes around 14-15″ long.
- You will notice I used hard red wheat for this recipe. If you have hard red wheat, this is a great way to use it. Most people find it’s really grainy in most recipes, which is why people tend not to bake with it, but for these cold-proofed baguettes, it turns out perfectly. No grainy taste, just pure delicious baguettes.
This recipe is delicious! I love the taste of these dipped in soup or with butter on top!
These remind me of baguettes I made as a kid!