I always loved baking and that amplified during the pandemic. One of the first recipe I made for this blog was baguettes, specifically Vietnamese baguettes. Before I attempted to make the baguettes, I needed to do a bit of research. While most bread requires flour, water, salt, yeast and sugar there are specific methods of working the dough and baking that makes each bread different. Through my research I learned that Vietnamese Baguettes is slightly different as the crust is thinner and the bread is definitely more soft than French Baguettes. I can say that I definitely preferred the Vietnamese baguettes over the French baguettes because it was a lot softer. There are many ways you can make the baguettes. I decided to try using flour, yeast, water, salt and sugar only. I didn’t want to over complicate the process and use ingredients that can be found in my kitchen.
First try making Baguettes
The first batch I made was a just a test for me to see how the bread would turn out using sugar, water, salt, yeast and flour. I didn’t use a lot so I made smaller baguettes. The overall tastes was pretty good, the texture was soft and had a bit of chew to it. However, I want to see if I can improve on this recipe.
Additional ingredients
I stumbled upon other recipes that said to include an egg and lemon juice. There is a recipe I found that was very comprehensive. While I didn’t have all the ingredients it mentioned, I wanted to add an egg into recipe to see how the bread turned out.
I doubled the recipe amount this time!
The first time I made the baguettes, I over baked the bread so I had to decrease the oven temperature. I also decided to double the amount I used the first time while adding in 1 egg. The result? I got these nice light golden brown baguettes that had crispy skin with a soft inside. This recipe is pretty easy, just a lot of waiting.
This baguette is also a perfect pair with some marinated chicken thighs that Z made along with some of the Vietnamese pickles I made earlier. I will share my pate recipe soon which this baguettes also works well with.
Before we move into the recipe, I will share some tips to help you with this recipe. Also note that my recipe is in grams as I like to bake using grams for more accuracy.
Tip #1: Have patience. It might not look like there is enough water as you are mixing but keep mixing it will form into a solid dough. Also allow it to rest for a few minutes before mixing again. This way you will get a smoother dough.
Tip #2: If the dough isn’t coming together into an uniform dough, let it rest for a few minutes before mixing again.
Tip #3: Baking time and temperature is oven dependent. Some oven may need to have a higher temperature or you need to bake it for longer. Keep an eye on the baguette while it’s baking.
Tip #4: Lastly, invest in standing mixer. It will save you time and muscle bread making with a standing mixer.
Tip #5: With baking, always set a time less than the recipe instruction. It’s a way for you to test out your oven and see if it needs to cook more or less. You can always cook more if needed but you can’t cook it less once it’s overcooked!
Vietnamese Baguette
Equipment
- Standing mixer
- baguette pan
- spray bottle
Ingredients
- 600 g Flour
- 8 g Active dry yeast
- 400 ml Room temp water
- 16 g Sugar
- 8 g Salt
- 1 Large egg
Instructions
- Combine flour and salt into the standing mixer
- Mix water and sugar and dry yeast, wait for 5 min
- Pour in water mixture and beaten egg into the mixer
- Use the kneading attachment and turn on mixer on low (around 2 on mixer)
- Once the flour is all mixed in, turn to medium. Stop when you get a rough dough mixture.
- Let it rest for 5 min and then knead on medium on mixer for another 5 min
- Once the dough comes together and doesn’t bread into pieces, transfer into an oiled bowl. I used canola oil.
- Transfer into a warm place and cover with a towel. You can use proof function on your oven with a warm water dish on the lower rack
- Let dough proof for 45 min.
- Hand knead the dough to let out some air.
- Put it back in the oven or warm place to proof for another 30 min
- Knead out some air and divide the dough into 6 pieces (roughly 165g per piece)
- Shape the pieces into a round ball
- Cover the dough to prevent drying it out.
- Press down on the dough and roll into an oval shape while letting out the air
- Start on one end and roll it up the dough, pinch the ends to make a baguette shape
- Place the dough onto the baguette tray
- Proof with towel for another 30 min, score the dough with a sharp knife before baking
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (if you are proofing in the oven, take it out and cover with towel to prevent drying)
- Place some boiling water in a casserole dish into the bottom shelf of the oven
- Spray the baguette with water and spray the oven with water. Place the baguette in the oven and set for 10 min
- After 10 min, open the oven door and turn the baguette tray 180° and spray more water into the oven, bake another 10 min
- Once the bread is out of the oven, place onto a drying rack and let it cool completely. Enjoy!
