30-Minute French Baguettes

If you're looking for the quickest way to get fresh from the oven french bread onto your dinner table look no further. This is the perfect recipe for not-planning ahead or no extra time homemade bread. I have a great regular method french bread recipe I shall share sometime, but for now if you just want it in a hurry give this a try.

Because it isn't allowed much rising time, it's a much more dense bread. I happen to love that characteristic in a bread and it holds up extremely well to being dipped in thick delicious soup. Which is precisely what we did and you're gonna love that recipe when it's shared in the next post. My mouth waters!

30-Minute French Baguettes

{Recipe from Barefoot and Baking}

2 cups very warm but not boiling hot water

2 1/4 t yeast

2 T honey

1 1/2 t salt

4 cups+ flour

Preheat oven to 425. In bowl of mixer combine very warm water, yeast, and honey. Give it a quick stir and then let sit for 10 minutes until yeast it bubbly. Turn mixer on, add salt, and 2 cups of flour. Mix for 2 minutes. Add 1 more cup flour and mix. Switch to dough hook and add approximately one more cup of flour. Dough should be soft and tacky, but not sticky. Knead in mixture about 5 minutes until smooth and elastic. Remove dough ball from bowl, knead by hand a few times, adding a light bit more flour if you think it needs it.

Divide dough into 4 equal parts. Roll each piece into a rope, about 10-12 inches long. Twist 2 pieces together, pinching ends to secure. Place 2 twists side by side on cookie sheet and you can either pop straight into the oven or if you have some more time allow to raise briefly until ready to bake (15-30 minutes is good). Bake at 425 for 15-18 until light golden. Brush with butter straight out of oven and serve.

TIP: Place a cookie sheet on the very bottom rack of oven and after placing bread dough cookie sheet on middle rack, toss about 4 cups of ice cubes onto the bottom rack cookie sheet and immediately close door. This is supposed to help create the crust that french bread is famous for!