Overnight Sourdough Baguette Recipe (Iconic French Bread)

Our Crusty Overnight Sourdough Baguettes have a soft and airy interior and that classic crispy crust! This is an overnight French bread recipe, but the actual hands-on time isn't long! Delicious served warm, smothered in butter with a hearty stew or a soup. What is more, slice into rounds for bruschetta, or simply fill with your favourite sandwich fillings for an ultimate baguette sandwich!

Jump to:

• What Are French Baguettes?
• Versatility: How To Serve Sourodugh Baguettes?
• Equipment Needed
• Ingredients and Substitutes
• Baker's Schedule
• Step-by-Step Sourdough Baguette Recipe
• Tips & Secrets To A Perfect Baguette
• Troubleshooting & Recipe FAQs
• Storage & Refreshing Baguettes
• Other Sourdough Recipes To Try
• Christmas Sourdough ebook
• Crusty Overnight Sourdough Baguette Recipe

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If your favourite part of a classic sourdough loaf is its crust, I'm glad you're reading this recipe! Homemade Sourdough Baguettes have LOTS of crusty goodness! And paired with their airy and slightly chewy interior, they are absolutely delicious! 

What Are French Baguettes?

Baguette is a long thin French bread, distinguishable by its shape and crusty exterior. Popular in France since the 18th century, baguettes are enjoyed all over the world these days. Rightly so, these loaves have it all: they are soft and light on the inside and have a deliciously crunchy crust when freshly out of the oven. And let's be honest, they are fun!

The word baguette simply means, a wand or a stick in French and works perfectly to summarise the slim looks of the loaf! 

Fancy another French bread? Try Sourdough Pain De Campagne or Sourdough Fougasse next!

Versatility: How To Serve Sourodugh Baguettes?

The iconic French bread - baguettes - have so many uses. Not only can you simply dip it in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, but the crisp crust of the baguettes perfectly complements various soups and stews. What is more, you can serve sourodugh baguettes with prawn appetizers, like Gambas Pil Pil or Prawn Saganaki, or dip them in Baked Camembert.

Try the baguettes with:

What is more, they make a great sandwich or base for bruschetta or crostini, like in our Fig Crostini recipe with Goat Cheese.

Equipment Needed

Sourdough Baguettes aren't hard to make. And if you've been baking sourdough bread for a while, you will find baguettes are quite uncomplicated both in ingredients and method. The only thing that's different is baking them in a baguette pan. It's a wonderful piece of equipment for making bread rolls: the dough doesn't stick, it has a perforated surface that lets the hot air circulate more evenly and the rolls hold their shape well. 

You will also ideally need a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, as the baguette dough will be rather wet. To score the baguettes, you can use an extra sharp thin-bladed knife, a dough scorer or a razor blade. 

Ingredients and Substitutes

• active sourdough starter: 100% hydration. Since you won't use any commercial yeast, your strong starter will act as the sole leavening agent in making these baguettes rise, so make sure your sourodugh starter is low in acidity and is used at its peak.   
• water: we use luke warm water to give the bread dough a head start, especially when the kitchen is on the cooler side. 
• strong bread flour: we used strong white flour, but you may substitute up to 20% with spelt or whole grain flour if you wish. 

If you don't yet have a sourdough starter, here's an article on how to make sourdough starter from scratch. Have a look at our Sourdough Maintenance Tips as well.

Baker's Schedule

Before I start with the step-by-step recipe, here's my timeline for making Overnight Sourdough Baguettes for the next day's lunch:

Day 1: 

• 7:00 am: I feed my starter in the ratio 1part starter :1 part flour :1 part water and leave it at room temperature to at least double. 
• 12:00 pm: My starter is almost doubled, so I start the autolyse.
• 1:00 pm: Mix in the rest of the flour, salt, sourdough starter and knead in the stand mixer for 10 minutes. Tip the dough in a greased bowl and cover. 
• 1:30 pm: First set of coil folds 
• 2:00 pm: Second set of coil folds. 
• 2:30 pm: Third set of coil folds. 
• 3:00 pm: Fourth set of coil folds. 
• 3:30 pm: Fifth set of coil folds
• 4:00 pm: Sixth set of coil folds. Then cover and leave for 1 hour undisturbed. 
• 5:00 pm: Pop the dough in the fridge, well covered and leave it there overnight. 

Day 2: 

• 7:00 am: Shape the baguettes. Leave them in the baguette pan to proof for 2-3 hours or until doubled in size. 
• 10:00 am: Score and bake the baguettes. 

Read more about my sourdough baking schedule HERE.

Step-by-Step Sourdough Baguette Recipe

Day 1: Dough, Bulk Fermentation & Coil Folds

When your starter has almost doubled in size, in a stand mixer bowl, mix water and half of the flour into a shaggy dough, cover and leave to autolyse for 30-60min (autolyse simply means letting the flour and water dough rest before adding extra ingredients. Learn more about the benefits of sourdough autolyse here). 

Add the active sourdough starter, salt, the rest of the flour and, with a dough hook attachment, knead on medium speed for about 10 minutes in a stand mixer. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but it will be a much wetter dough compared to most usual sourdough breads.

Tip the dough into a lightly greased bowl. Cover with a tea towel and leave it in a warm place to proof. For the next 4 hours, every 30 minutes, uncover the bowl and perform a set of coil folds with wet hands. After the last fold, cover the bowl and leave it to proof for an hour. Coild Folds are paramount for the airy crumb of the baguettes (you can watch a video of coil folds in the recipe card).

Place the dough in the fridge and leave overnight for cold bulk fermentation. 

Day 2:

Dust your baguette pan with flour (we used semolina flour). Take the dough out of the fridge and tip onto a floured surface. Divide the dough into two and shape two tight balls.

Place the ball of the dough seam side up. Gently stretch it out into a horizontal rectangle. Take the top third of the dough and fold it down to meet the middle. Use your paml to push it down. Take the bottom third and fold it up. Push down again. With the heel of your hand, start rolling the dough to lengthen it to approx 35cm (14in) long. Here's a good video on how to shape baguettes. 

Swiftly lift the shaped baguettes onto the pan, sprinkle with flour (we use semolina flour, as it seems to prevent the dough from sticking better) and lightly cover with a tea towel or clingfilm. Leave them in a warm spot for their final proof for approximately 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 240°C Fan (the highest setting on most ovens). Just before cooking the baguettes, place an oven-proof dish with boiling water in the bottom of the oven to create lots of steam (this is paramount to crisp sourdough baguettes). 

Sprinkle some more flour on your baguettes. Using a very sharp knife or a bread scorer, make three diagonal lines fairly deep into the dough on each baguette.

Place the baguettes in the oven for 15-20 minutes. The crust will open up where you scored the surface and your baguettes will be beautifully golden brown!

Place the baked sourodugh baguettes on a wire rack to cool down. 

Tips & Secrets To A Perfect Baguette

First time making baguettes? Read through some of these important tips:

• Always use a kitchen scale for best results: baking requires a certain precision that cups and spoons cannot provide. 
• If you have a Dutch oven that would comfortably fit your baguettes, you may bake them in it. You won't need to create steam in the oven in that case. Bake the baguettes in the Dutch oven with a lid on for 15 minutes, then take the lid off and continue baking for 10 more minutes until they're golden brown. 
• If you have a steam oven, you can skip the water in the oven too!
• Do not skip the autolyse - it will strengthen the gluten network and your dough will be so much easier to work with later!
• Retain surface tension in the final shaping of the baguettes, otherwise, they will spread out in your tray and will look more like flat ciabatta. 

Troubleshooting & Recipe FAQs

Why Are My Baguettes Not Crunchy?

This typically happens when there is not enough steam in the oven. If you don't have a steam oven the best way is to place plenty of hot water at the bottom of the oven to create an extra humid steamy environment for your sourdough baguettes to bake in. 

Why Are My Sourdough Baguettes Dense?

The holy trinity of the open crumb are: strong active starter that is low in acidity, not under-proofing the dough, and creating enough steam in the oven. 

Can I Use Plain (All-Purpose) Flour To Make Baguettes? 

Yes, you absolutely can! We tested this recipe with both strong flour and the usual plain flour and both worked fine. However, if you're using flour with lower gluten content (plain flour), give the dough a couple more minutes of kneading to really develop the gluten that's there. It will make the dough more elastic and easier to work with!

Storage & Refreshing Baguettes

Just like with most other bread, Sourdough French Baguettes are at their best on the day that they are baked.  However, if you want to keep them for an extra day, it is best to wrap them in a brown paper bag or plastic wrap. Alternatively, you can tightly wrap the baguettes in a clean dry kitchen towel. 

For longer storage, we recommend freezing your sourdough baguettes. Wrap the baguettes tightly in either foil or cling film and then place them in an airtight box or freezer bag for extra protection from drying out. 

To refresh the baguettes, thaw them first (if frozen). Lightly spritz the surface with water and place them in a preheated oven for 4-5 minutes. The crust will regain most of its crunchiness. 

Other Sourdough Recipes To Try

We love making sourdough. For other recipes, have a look at: 

• Sourdough Yorkshire Puddings
• Soft Sourdough Pretzels
• Overnight Sourdough Focaccia with Herbs and Olives