Whole Wheat Baguette
If you read my blog then you know I am intimidated by yeast. There, I’ve said it, baking bread scares me. It has been a while since I last made bread and I had a craving for a baguette and a pot of soup for dinner. I pulled out my trusty bread machine and grabbed the ingredients to make a whole wheat baguette. I let the bread machine do the work and crossed my fingers that it would turn out. After the bread machine was done with its part I rolled up the dough and let it rise… so far so good. It was looking like I would succeed and I was so excited! I then carefully brushed it with an egg wash and all was well until I tried to cut slits into the top… the problem was the knife I chose was not sharp enough so my poor little baguette deflated a bit. Note to self: SHARPEN KNIVES! I was so bummed! I decided to proceed and bake it to see how it would turn out. Thankfully, it rose a little while baking and it turned out just fine. The kids slathered slices of the baguette with butter for their after-school snack and LOVED it. They didn’t care that it wasn’t as full as it was supposed to be. Instead of making a pot of soup I decided I was done cooking for the day and we headed out to dinner – I didn’t want to push my luck.
How to Make a Whole Wheat Baguette
Place the water, salt, white sugar, the flours, and yeast into a bread machine pan in that order. Turn the bread machine to the dough setting and push start.
Once the dough cycle has been completed (mine lasts 1 1/2 hours). Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle then fold in half and seal the seam firmly with the side of your hand. Roll up dough jelly-roll style very tightly and pinch the seam closed really well. Place the loaf onto a silpat mat that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover with a cloth and let rise, until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the egg with the water and beat until thoroughly mixed. Brush the egg mixture on the top of the loaf. Carefully slice three diagonal slits across the loaf with a very sharp knife. Place the silpat mat onto a baking sheet.
Place into the oven and bake for 17-22 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let it cool on a rack before slicing and serving.
Equipment
- Bread Making Machine
Ingredients
- ½ cup of warm water
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsp white sugar
- ¾ cup of whole wheat flour
- ½ cup of all-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp bread machine yeast
- Cornmeal
- 1 egg + 2 tsp water mixed
Instructions
- Place the water, salt, white sugar, both flours, and yeast into a bread machine pan in that order. Turn the bread machine to the dough setting and push start.
- Once the dough cycle has been completed (mine lasts 1 1/2 hours). Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle then fold in half and seal the seam firmly with the side of your hand. Roll up dough jelly-roll style very tightly and pinch the seam closed really well. Place the loaf onto a silpat mat that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover with a cloth and let rise, until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the egg with the water and beat until thoroughly mixed. Brush the egg mixture on the top of the loaf. Carefully slice three diagonal slits across the loaf with a very sharp knife. Place the silpat mat onto a baking sheet.
- Place into the oven and bake for 17-22 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let it cool on a rack before slicing and serving.
I love baguettes!! This looks so delicious and crusty! I especially love home-baked bread! and I bet this makes great sandwiches!! 😀
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It looks great even without the slits! And I totally feel you on the intimidation of yeast!
Love home baked breads….anytime..
Home made bread is the best! And yours look delicious!
I often make my own bread, but when it comes to baguettes I cannot take on the French master bakers so I just pop into the shop 🙂 Take care Diane
I love home made breads. Yours looks wonderful.
Yeah for trying to over come your fear of yeast! I think the baquette turned out great, and it’s the flavor that counts, right? You do need a sharp knife when cutting into the risen dough, but that lesson has been learned. I’m sure the next time you make a baguette it will be just a gorgeous as it tastes!
I am intimidated by yeast too… even after baking a few different loaves over the years!! This loaf looks lovely, Pam! And I can imagine how wonderful your house smelled.. nothing like the smell of baking bread!
Thanks for sharing the recipe, definitely I will try to make 🙂
Bread machines are a life-saver for me. It’s incredible to have fresh-baked bread such as this in such a snap! Thanks for the recipe, Pam!
I’m totally intimidated by yeast breads also. I’ve made them with my cousin and a friend who are pro’s and everything seems so easy and straightforward. I try it at home… no luck. It’s like making fluffy, soft chocolate chip cookies for me. I’ve used everyone’s “grandmother’s recipe” and it never seems to work.
My Mom just bought a bread machine and she loves it. She is not really a whiz in the kitchen and her bread always turns out when made in the machine. Christmas is coming, right ?
I was going to bake one of these but it seemed too hard so I decided to “bag it” and call it a day.
What are you looking at me like that for? 😉
We bake more bread during fall, can’t wait to get home and smell it in the house.
Many people share your fear of yeast. While it doesn’t frighten me, it is the end results that do. Lol:) I’m not the best bakers so I’m always on the look out for tips and easy recipes. Your baguette looks perfect! Thanks for sharing the post 🙂
This made me laugh! I am scared of yeast too, anything with yeast in it goes to the bottom of the stack of things I try…I have printed this one off and it is on my kitchen counter 🙂 Hopefully I will get past my paranoia and try it! It sure does look good.
i’m not the biggest baker either, it looks like you nailed this though. it looks so good.
Hurray for you! Half of getting good at bread baking is simply being courageous and persistant enough to keep at it. Every time you make a loaf, you get a better feel for the consistency of the dough, the feel of a properly kneaded loaf, the best way to deflate a loaf between rises, the readiness that the dough displays for shaping … all those little things that bakers cadge up after years of experience! Little steps Pam! I’m proud of you! Keep at it!
Hint- To make easy slits, get a box of razor blades that have the one side mounted with a small handle … they work perfectly!
What a lovely homemade baguette! Freshly baked bread is always such a wonderful treat!
That baguette looks good, Id add penut butter on it though
There is nothing that taste as good as homemade bread. Your baguette looks like it turned out perfect.
I don’t know what the deal is with baguettes, but I am absolutely cursed with them as well! Yours looks far better than mine have ever turned out in the past. I much prefer to bake breads in pans. I’m with you on going out for dinner though. Some days, it is truly the best option. Have a great night!
A healthy bread with beautiful crust!
Glad you got over your yeast fears. I haven’t yet, but I should because there is nothing like homemade bread, yours looks delicious!
I am so with you and this one.
Yeasted breads scare me….still, after all these years!
I can never manage to get slits in my bread no matter how sharp my knives are. Always so frustrating, although your loaf looks great!
I’m so proud of your bread making skills! I remember when you started making yeast bread, and you’ve progressed wonderfully. And rewarding yourself with dinner out – well, that’s just the icing on the cake. (For the slits on your bread, try one of those itty bitty thin bladed paring knives. They work miracles on everything.)
I love home baked bread and this baguette is totally to my taste.
Fresh home baked bread and butter… DIVINE!!
Cheers,
Lia.
I LOVE this Bread! I double the recipe to have 2 loaves, or just one big one (I eat it every morning and the little slices get stuck in the toaster). I have added Red River cereal – about 1/2 cup – to the bread dough (subtracting from dry ingredients). My flour is all but 1/2 cup (double recipe) whole wheat. At the egg wash stage I also rub the RR cereal on the outside of the loaf.