You can do this. Really. You can make your own bread. Bonus? You only need 3 ingredients that you probably already have lying around, plus a little bit of water, and only 4 hours. I say only, because a lot of breads of this caliber require a long rise, a lot of hands-on time, and some serious schedule planning. Yes, you do need to be present for these 4 hours, but most of the time required is hands-off.

Start this recipe just after lunch, and it’ll be ready to go by dinnertime. Perfect way to amp up your Vegan Banh Mi.

Surprisingly, bread baking isn’t my forté. That said, I do have a handful of tried and tested recipes that (almost) never fail. This recipe is one of them. This is the bread recipe for those who think that they simply can’t bake bread. I know that homemade bread is that sort of intimidating thing that, when done wrong, can make you feel like a total failure. (I used to think that I was banished forever to store-bought loaves.) However, when done right, baking bread can truly make you feel like you just conquered your own kitchen.

One last awesome thing about this baguette: no eggs, no butter. That’s right, it is naturally vegan! So, go ahead and prepare your clean countertop, line a sheet pan with parchment paper, and let’s get started! Oh, if you’re looking for something to slather on it that’s mind-blowingly delicious, I highly recommend my vegan mushroom pâté. Omnivores won’t believe their tastebuds.

4-Hour Vegan Baguette

Perfect for beginners and experts alike, this bread is easy, delicious, and requires very little hands on time.

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Resting Time 3 30

Cuisine French

Servings 3 Baguettes

Ingredients

1.5 cups (354g) water, heated to 115°F
1 tsp (8g or 1 packet) active dry yeast
3.25 cups (390g) AP flour
1.5 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp any neutral oil for greasing bowl

Instructions

Combine water and yeast in a large bowl; let sit about 10 minutes.
In separate bowl, combine flour and salt.
Add a little at a time to yeast mixture, and stir with a spatula until dough forms and all flour is absorbed. If it looks like there is still flour that won't attach, add 1 tsp of water at a time until dough comes together.
Cover and let sit 20 minutes to allow flour to hydrate.
Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. If dough is too sticky to work with, start by flouring your hands. Then, add 1 tsp of flour at a time as you knead. Do not add too much. Dough will become more elastic and less sticky as you knead.
Meanwhile, turn oven on and preheat to lowest possible heat setting, then turn it off and open the door. The idea here is to create a warm environment for the bread to rise in, but not too hot that it cooks. (Optimal yeast growth occurs at 37C (98.6F), but slightly lower temps will also work.)
Transfer dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover bowl tightly (with an elasticised shower cap, or some aluminum foil, or a wet toweand place bowl in turned off oven.
Close the door and do not disturb for 45 minutes. Dough should then be doubled in size.
Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface, and shape into a rectangle. Fold longer sides toward the middle, then fold the shorter sides on top of them (like folding a shirt). Return dough, seam side down, to the bowl.
Cover again, and return to off oven. Let sit until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Cut dough into 3 equal pieces and shape into logs, approx. 14-inches each. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and very lightly dust with flour. Place the logs on the sheet, pulling the paper up between the logs, creating a bit of a tent fold (this is so that the baguettes don't touch each other during the next step / final rise.)
Cover loosely with another sheet of parchment, as well as aluminum foil on top. Allow the baguettes to rise one last time, for 1 hour.
Uncover and flatten paper to space out loaves. Using a sharp razor, knife, bread lame, or scissors, slash the top of each baguette at a 30–degree angle in four spots; each slash should be about 4 inches long.
Preheat oven to 475°F.
OPTIONAL: If you have a spray bottle available, mist oven with water, or, alternately, place a cast iron pan full of iced cubes on the bottom rack of the oven. (This will create some steam that allows for a perfect crust to form!)
Place baguettes in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Cover loosely with foil and continue to bake for another 10 mins. Baguettes should be a deep brown (but not black!)
Allow to cool fully before serving.

Notes

Note: It is best to weigh ingredients out, but I have included volume measurements for those who do not have a kitchen scale.

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Easy 3-ingredient Baguette

4-Hour Vegan Baguette

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Cook. Eat. Repeat.

Easy 3-ingredient Baguette

4-Hour Vegan Baguette

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Leave a Reply

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