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Crusty sourdough baguettes with a scored ear, cooling on a wire rack

Sourdough Baguettes

Crusty, rustic sourdough baguettes from our everyday whole grain dough — crisp crust, open crumb, and that classic scored ear, all from a home oven.
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Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Resting Time 20 hours
Total Time 20 hours 50 minutes
Servings: 3 Baguettes
Course: Bread
Cuisine: Scandinavian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 140 g active sourdough starter about ⅔ cup — bubbly, doubled and at its peak
  • 400 g water about 1⅔ cups, lukewarm
  • 350 g bread flour about 3 cups — or sifted landhvete if you're in Scandinavia
  • 150 g whole wheat flour about 1¼ cups — or fine wholemeal landhvete
  • 100 g coarse / stoneground whole wheat flour a scant 1 cup — or coarse wholemeal landhvete
  • 15 g fine sea salt about 2½ tsp

Equipment

  • Digital kitchen scale We bake everything by weight; it's the difference between a good bake and a lucky one.
  • Bench scraper Divides the cold dough cleanly and helps you roll each baguette into shape.
  • Banneton or a lidded tub For the overnight cold rise; a basket gives the nicest release, but a lidded tub works perfectly if you don't have one.
  • Bread lame For clean, low-angle diagonal scores and a proper ear.
  • Perforated baking tray Lets heat reach the underside so the base crisps as well as the top. Preheat it with the oven.
  • Metal roasting tray Your steam source on the rack below. Metal only, never glass.
  • Instant-read thermometer A quick check that thinner baguettes are baked through: about 205°F (96°C) in the center.
  • Wire cooling rack Keeps the base crisp while the baguettes cool.

Method
 

Day 1
  1. Feed your starter the morning you bake (or the night before) so it's lively when you mix — it should have roughly doubled and look domed and bubbly. A spoonful floating in water is a good extra sign, but a whole grain starter can sink even when it's ready, so trust the rise first.
  2. Mix the dough. Whisk the starter into the lukewarm water to loosen it. Add all three flours and mix by hand until no dry flour remains. Hold the salt back for now. Cover and rest 1 hour. (With the extra flour this dough is firmer and less sticky — that's what lets you roll it into logs by hand.)
  3. Add the salt. Sprinkle it over and work it in thoroughly until fully incorporated.
  4. Stretch and fold — every 30 minutes, at least 4 times. Wet hand, grab one side, stretch it up and fold over the center; turn the bowl a quarter turn and repeat around (four pulls = one set). Cover, rest 30 minutes, repeat. Our Stretch & Fold Timer keeps track of the sets for you.
  5. Bulk ferment until risen. Cover and let it rise at room temperature until grown by about 30–50%, domed and jiggly with bubbles on top and sides — roughly 4–6 hours total from mixing. Watch the dough, not the clock; our guide to bulk fermentation shows what to look for.
  6. Cold retard overnight — as a mass. Don't shape yet. Transfer the dough straight into the fridge for 12–16 hours, left as one piece in a floured proofing basket or a lidded tub if you don't have a basket. You'll shape the baguettes right before baking.
Day 2
  1. Preheat, hot. About 45–60 minutes before baking, heat the oven as hot as it goes — around 480°F (250°C) — with two trays inside: your perforated baking tray (or a regular baking sheet) on the middle rack, and an empty metal roasting tray on the rack below. The baking tray needs to be properly hot before the baguettes land on it; the roasting tray is what makes your steam. Both metal, never glass — glass can shatter when the water hits it.
  2. Divide. Tip the cold dough onto a floured counter. With a bench scraper, divide it into 2 fatter or 3 slimmer pieces.
  3. Shape into logs. Gently fold and roll each piece into a log without pressing out all the air, tapering the ends. Rustic is the goal — don't fuss over uniformity. Make them the length of your baking tray; home ovens rarely fit a full-length baguette, so shorter "demi" baguettes are perfect. Set them seam-side down on parchment. The tension principles are the same as for a round loaf — see how to shape sourdough.
  4. Score. Make 3–4 long diagonal slashes down each baguette with a bread lame, holding the blade almost flat — that low angle is what opens into the classic ear.
  5. Bake with steam. Slide the baguettes, still on their parchment, onto the hot baking tray on the middle rack — parchment and all, in one quick movement. Immediately pour about 1 cup of just-boiled water into the hot tray below (stand back), and shut the door fast. Bake at 480°F (250°C) for 12 minutes.
  6. Finish in dry heat. Take the roasting tray out, drop the oven to 400°F (200°C), and bake another 8 minutes or so until deep golden and crisp. About 205°F (96°C) internally — thinner baguettes may be ready a touch sooner.
  7. Cool on a wire rack for at least 20–30 minutes. Baguettes are at their best the day they're baked — see the post below for keeping them crisp.

Notes

Chef's tip: shape them cold, and work fast. Straight from the fridge the dough is firm enough to roll into logs without sticking, and it holds a clean score — the whole method depends on that. Get the baguettes into the oven within 15 minutes. As the dough warms, it slackens, and the ears get flatter.
  • Firmer dough shapes better. At ~67% hydration this dough rolls into logs far more easily than a wet boule dough.
  • Fit your oven. Shape to the length of your tray — two shorter baguettes beat one that won't fit.
  • The ear. Hold the lame at a low angle and score each slash in one confident stroke; hesitation tears the crust instead of opening it. More on angle and depth in how to score sourdough.
  • No final proof. Shaping cold and baking right away keeps them rustic; the spring comes from the overnight ferment.