The Best Gluten Free Baguettes

These are THE BEST gluten free baguettes you’ll ever try – and they’re
incredibly easy to make! They look and taste like proper artisan baguettes
with a soft, chewy open crumb with plenty of holes and a deliciously crisp
crust. There’s honestly nothing quite like a freshly baked baguette
slathered in butter – and now, you no longer have to miss out on that just
because you can’t eat gluten!!

Course Bread
Cuisine Dairy Free, Egg Free, Gluten Free, Vegan

Prep Time 1 hour

Cook Time 25 minutes
Proof Time 45 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes

Servings 3 baguettes
Author Kat | The Loopy Whisk

Ingredients
25 g (5 tbsp) whole/rough psyllium husk

Instructions
Making the dough:
The Best Gluten Free Baguettes - The Loopy Whisk https://theloopywhisk.com/2023/05/04/gluten-free-baguettes/

Tip: If using active dry yeast instead, you need to activate it first. Mix it together with 120g (½
cup) of the water and half of the sugar listed in the recipe. Set aside for 5-10 minutes, or until
the mixture starts frothing. Then, add it to the dry ingredients along with the psyllium gel, olive
oil and vinegar.
4. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the psyllium gel, olive oil and
vinegar.
5. Knead the dough until it's smooth and all the ingredients are evenly incorporated. Use a
rubber spatula to occasionally scrape along the sides and bottom of the bowl to prevent any
dry patches of unmixed flour.

The final dough should come away from the sides of the bowl. It will be fairly soft but it
shouldn’t be too sticky to the touch (note that this refers to when you gently touch it with
clean hands – it will stick to your hands as you’re kneading it). Resist the temptation to add
more flour to the dough, as that can make your baguettes dense and dry.
6. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into three equal portions,
each should weigh about 330g.
7. Give each portion of dough a gentle knead to ensure that they're perfectly smooth.

Tip: While you're working with one piece of dough, keep the other two covered with a damp
kitchen towel or plastic wrap/cling film to prevent them from drying out.

Shaping the baguettes:

1. When you shape the baguettes, work on a lightly floured surface (you really want just a
sprinkling of flour on your work surface). See the blog post for detailed step-by-step photos of
the shaping process.
2. Take a piece of dough and pat it down into a rough rectangle, about ½-¾ inch (1.5-2cm)
thick. I usually pat it down to a size of about 6x4½ inches (15x12cm) but don’t worry about
the exact dimensions, they’re not really important.
3. Working along the wider end, fold the dough over itself and press down gently to seal.
Continue folding the dough over itself (and pressing down to seal) so that you’re essentially
rolling it up into a log.
4. Pinch the seam together to seal it. Don’t worry if your dough isn’t perfectly smooth at this
point, it will smooth out even further when roll it into the typical baguette shape in the next
step.
5. Use the palms of your hands to roll the dough back and forth until you reach the desired
length – aim for a length of about 13-15 inches (33-38cm). While you’re rolling it, make sure
that you also create the tapered shape: you want the baguette to be thicker in the middle and
gradually taper to the ends. You can shape your baguettes with rounded or sharp, pointy
ends, whichever option you like best.
6. Repeat with the other two portions of dough.

Proofing the baguettes:

1. Lightly flour the baguettes on all sides to ensure that they don't stick to the proofing couche
or kitchen towel that you'll use to proof them.

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2. Place the baguettes, seam-side up, into the folds of a floured baguette proofing couche or
large kitchen towel. Cover them lightly with plastic wrap/cling film to prevent them from
drying out.

Tip: Proofing the baguettes between the folds of a proofing couche or kitchen towel helps to
maintain their shape and prevents them from spreading out as they’re proofing.
3. Proof the baguettes in a warm spot for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until they’ve doubled in
size.

Oven setup & pre-heating the oven:

1. Place a baking steel or a large baking sheet, turned upside-down, on the middle oven rack
and a baking tray (not glass!) on the lower oven rack.

Tip 1: If you don't have a baking steel, make sure to use a sturdy, heavy duty baking sheet that's
good at holding onto heat.

Tip 2: Because you'll add ice cubes to the hot baking tray on the bottom of your oven to
generate steam, it will experience quite a huge temperature change. So, don't use a glass baking
tray/pan as it could shatter. I recommend cast iron, but a metal baking tray also works great.
2. Preheat your oven for at least 45 minutes at 480ºF (250ºC). You want your oven, baking
steel (or baking sheet) and baking tray thoroughly preheated before you put in the baguettes
– this ensures maximum oven spring and therefore the prettiest (and most delicious)
baguettes.

In practice, I usually turn on the oven as soon as I’ve arranged the baguettes in the couche/
kitchen towel and let them to proof.

Scoring the baguettes:

1. Place a large sheet of parchment/baking paper on top of either a large pizza peel or a large
baking sheet with no rimmed edges (you'll use this to slide the baguettes along with the
parchment/baking paper onto the hot baking steel/baking sheet).
2. Once your baguettes have doubled in size, transfer them to the parchment/baking paper.
Place them seam-side down and space them out as much as possible, so that they’ll have
plenty of space around them during baking.

To transfer the baguettes from the couche or kitchen towel, you can use a baguette transfer
board (transfer peel) or simply pick them up VERY GENTLY with your hands – be careful not to
deflate them.
3. Use a bread lame or a sharp knife (held at about a 45º angle) to score each baguette with 3-4
lengthways slashes.

Baking the baguettes:

1. Slide the baguettes, along with the parchment/baking paper, onto the hot baking steel or
baking sheet. Place 4-5 ice cubes into the bottom baking tray and immediately close the oven
door.
2. Bake the baguettes at 480ºF (250ºC) with steam for 10 minutes. Don’t open the oven
door during that time.

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3. After the 10 minutes, open the oven door to let out the steam and remove the bottom baking
tray. Close the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 425ºF (220ºC) and bake for 15-20
minutes longer or until the baguettes are deep golden-brown.
4. Remove them from the oven and cool on a wire rack until they’re *at least* lukewarm before
you cut into them.

Tip: I know that it’s super tempting to eat them while they’re still hot, but the crumb needs time
to cool down and fully set. If you cut them while they’re still hot or too warm, you’ll find the
crumb quite sticky.

Storage:
1. These gluten free baguettes are at their very best on the day of baking. However, they keep
really well for up to 3 days in a bread box, paper bag or wrapped in a clean kitchen towel. I
recommend toasting them on day 3.

Tip: As they stand, their crust will lose its crispness and it will become softer. They will still be
delicious, but their texture will inevitably change.

Recipe by The Loopy Whisk (www.theloopywhisk.com).

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