This seeded Baguette Bread is easy to make and bakes into a perfectly golden loaf with a crunchy, chewy crust and a soft, warm center.
Bread lover, anyone?
I admit that I do love bread – but I should also add, that I’m very picky about my bread. I like a bread that can stand on it’s own, and isn’t there just to keep sandwich ingredients together.
For me, it should have a nice crusty, chewy exterior, and when bitten into, give away to a tender, soft center.
And, the more seeds on the outside, the better. Are you with me on this?
Fun fact: did you know that bread has one of the highest cost mark-ups at your grocery store?
That little crumb of information shouldn’t surprise me like it does, since I pay nearly $4.00 for the same baguette loaf that you see in the pictures here.
The good news is, this recipe will make you three large loaves and cost you significantly less than the price of one at your grocery store. 🙂
The most difficult thing about making this bread is…the waiting.
Waiting for the yeast to proof, waiting for it to rise. Punching it down, rolling it out, rolling it up, then waiting for it to rise yet again.
Yet, after that, it’s a mere 20-25 minutes in the oven and you have gorgeous loaves just waiting for dipping oil, a fancy submarine sandwich, or waiting to be spread with your favorite dip.
And now… after making this bread…I finally realize why I’m the one that will sans the bun on a perfectly good burger and instead, order my burger wrapped in crispy, crunchy lettuce.
After all this time, I finally figured out, it has to do with the lack of a perfect bun to wrap the burger in.
So, it’s safe to say, expect to see a fabulous bun recipe coming to a blog near you. 🙂
Oh! One other thing…
You know what else you will love about this recipe? You don’t need a bread machine to make it. 🙂
All you’ll need is, a few bowls and a baking sheet, and you’ll have a few, full-flavored loaves with the most beautiful, golden brown, seeded, crunchy crust.
When I used to buy the baguette loaf at my local grocery store, I used to cut it in half, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap, then tin foil and store them in a zip lock bag and toss them in the freezer.
I love having the loaves on hand and ready to pop into the oven to go with spaghetti, soups, sandwiches, or just as a casual appetizer served with a flavorful dipping sauce.
Tell me readers, how do you like to enjoy your bread?
Enjoy!
Baguette Bread
Author: Kristi
Recipe type: Breads
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 and ½ teaspoons yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 and ½ cups bread flour
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon caraway seed
- 1 tablespoon dill seed
- 1 tablespoon poppy seed
- 1 tablespoon sesame seed
- Combine water, yeast and sugar together in a medium-size bowl. Wait for yeast to proof and get foamy. Add salt, then flour and mix gently until a ball starts to form. Then, knead until dough makes a firm ball.
- Place in a greased bowl, cover with a towel and place in a warm area to let bread rise for 30 minutes. Bread should double in size.
- Punch down dough, and roll out flat on a floured surface until 12″ x 16″ in size. Cut in half, thirds or fourths (see note). Once cut, roll bread into a long cylinder, smoothing out any bubbles as you go, and slightly taper the ends.
- Place each loaf on a greased baking sheet approximately 2″ to 3″ apart. Make deep slices diagonally into the bread. Then, loosely cover loaves with plastic wrap and let loaves rise 30 more minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Mix egg yolk with one tablespoon of water. Brush tops of loaves with egg/water mixture, then sprinkle seeds evenly on top of all the loaves.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and serve, or when cool, cover and store.
*If you cut the dough in half, you will have two large french bread loaves. I cut the loaves into thirds and had 3 long baguettes. If you want the loaves for foot-long type sandwiches, cut them into fourths.
**The seed mixture in this recipe will make MORE than you need for the recipe, so store the seeds until the next time you make bread!