Whole Wheat French Bread
Submitted by xxdmilxx
Whole wheat French bread baguettes with a golden egg-wash crust. Hand-kneaded, naturally risen, and freezer-friendly. Four long loaves from one simple dough.
YIELD
4 loafsPREP
30 minCOOK
30 minREADY
3 hrsThese homemade whole wheat baguettes have a chewy, golden crust from an egg white wash and a nutty, hearty crumb from the blend of white and whole wheat flours. They’re real bread made the old-fashioned way: yeast, flour, water, and your hands.
The dough starts sticky on purpose. Working in flour gradually during kneading lets you feel when you’ve hit the right texture instead of dumping it all in and hoping for the best. Ten minutes of kneading builds the gluten that gives these baguettes their stretch and chew.
Slashing the tops before the final rise isn’t just decorative. Those diagonal cuts control where the bread expands in the oven, preventing blowouts along the sides and giving you that classic French bread look.
The freezer trick in this recipe is brilliant: underbake the loaves by 10 minutes, freeze them, then finish baking from frozen in foil. You get fresh, crispy-crusted bread any night of the week without starting from scratch.
Kitchen Tips
- Use warm water (about 110°F/43°C), not hot. Water that’s too hot kills the yeast. It should feel like a warm bath on your wrist.
- Knead on a lightly floured surface and add flour sparingly. Too much flour makes the bread dense and dry. The dough should feel slightly tacky, not sticky.
- Slash the loaves with a sharp serrated knife or razor blade in one confident stroke. Hesitating tears the dough instead of cutting cleanly.
- If the tops brown too fast, tent with foil halfway through baking. Whole wheat flour browns faster than white.
Variations
- Replace one cup of whole wheat flour with rye flour for a heartier, earthier loaf.
- Sprinkle sesame seeds or poppy seeds on top after the egg wash for added crunch and visual appeal.
- Add fresh rosemary and coarse sea salt to the dough for a flavored baguette.
Ingredients
Directions
Combine yeast, sugar, lite salt and water in a large bowl.
Gradually add the flours and mix well(hands work best).
At first the dough will be very sticky; add enough flour to transfer it to a lightly floured board.
Knead until the dough is no longer sticky(about 10 minutes), adding more flour as necessary.
Place in a lightly oiled bowl.
Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume(1½-2 hours).
Punch dough down.
Transfer to a floured board and cut into four equal parts.
Roll and shape each part into a long loaf.
Place loaves into a lightly oiled, special long-loaf pans (baguette pans).
Slash the top of each loaf diagonally in three or four places and brush with egg white and water mixture.
Let dough rise another hour or until doubled in volume.
Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃).
Bake the loaves until browned and hollow-sounding when thumped, about 25 minutes.
Halfway through baking, it may be necessary to cover the loaves with foil to prevent scorching the tops.
Let cool on rack. Makes 4 loaves, about 18 inches long.
- If planning to freeze bread, underbake, i. e., bake in oven only 15 minutes. Wrap in foil when cool. Freeze. When ready to serve remove from freezer.
Leave wrapped in foil. Place in 350℉ (180℃) oven for 10 minutes.
Remove foil and continue to bake for 5 minutes, until crisp.
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