# Sourdough Baguettes

By Willy Bear · 2026-10-13 · https://ricottabear.com/sourdough-baguettes


Crisp, light sourdough baguettes in an afternoon: the starter brings flavor, and a little added yeast does the rising.

## The story

These are sourdough baguettes on a weeknight schedule. The starter is there mostly for flavor, and a teaspoon or two of instant yeast does the heavy lifting, so they rise in about an hour and a half instead of all day. Unfed starter works too: it just adds flavor while the yeast takes care of the rise. Bake them with steam for a crackly crust, then let them cool in the turned-off oven.

For the slow, all-starter way, with no added yeast, see the Tartine Country Bread.

King Arthur Baking’s Sourdough Baguettes, written out here in my own words.

## Recipe: Sourdough Baguettes

Crisp, light sourdough baguettes with a crackly brown crust. Starter for flavor plus a little instant yeast for an afternoon rise. Makes 6 baguettes.

> Status: UNTESTED. The author has not made this yet; quantities and timings may change.

- Makes: 6 baguettes
- Prep: 15 min
- Bake: 30 min
- Total: 4 hr 45 min

### Ingredients

- 283 g (1¼ cups) water, lukewarm
- 481 g (2 cups) sourdough starter, ripe (fed) or discard
- 540 g (4½ cups) all-purpose flour, unbleached, up to 5 cups (600 g)
- 15 g (2½ tsp) table salt
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp instant yeast, or up to 2 teaspoons, depending on how lively your fed starter is
- 1⅓ tbsp (4 tsp) vital wheat gluten

### Method

1. **Start the dough.** In a large bowl, mix the water, starter and 3 cups (360 g) of the flour until smooth.
2. **Finish the dough.** Stir in the salt, sugar, yeast and gluten, then another 1½ to 2 cups (180 to 240 g) of flour, only as much as it needs to pull away from the sides of the bowl. A slack, sticky dough makes a light loaf.
3. **Knead.** Knead about 7 minutes in a stand mixer, or 8 to 10 minutes by hand on a lightly greased surface.
4. **Rise.** Put the dough in an oiled bowl, cover and leave until doubled, about 1½ hours.
5. **Shape.** Gently deflate the dough and divide it into 6 pieces for thin baguettes, or 3 for thicker Italian loaves. Shape each into a 16 inch loaf (15 inches for baguette pans) and set them at least 4 inches apart on parchment-lined sheets, or in greased baguette pans.
6. **Second rise.** Cover with greased plastic wrap and leave 1½ to 2 hours, until nicely puffy. Heat the oven toward the end. For an extra-crusty crust, put an empty cast-iron pan on the rack below to heat too. Oven: 450°F / 230°C (210°C fan).
7. **Slash.** For the classic look, cut three diagonal slashes about ¼ inch deep in each loaf. Skip the slashes for taller, rounder loaves.
8. **Bake.** Put the loaves in, and if you are using steam, pour about 1 cup of boiling water into the hot cast-iron pan and shut the door quickly. Bake about 25 minutes, until rich golden brown.
9. **Cool in the oven.** Turn the oven off (take loaves out of baguette pans first and put them back without the pan), crack the door open a few inches and let them cool in there, which keeps the crust crunchy. Then cool completely on a rack.

Notes: Feeding the starter first gives a better rise, but unfed starter is fine: it adds flavor and the yeast does the rising. For just 3 baguettes, halve everything except the yeast, which stays at 1 teaspoon.