Spoiler alert: gluten-free French baguettes are not hard to make! In fact, they have only three ingredients and don't require much hands-on time at all (this recipe is no-knead). Here I've been searching the internet for a good gluten-free baguette, and it was in my kitchen the entire time.
If you haven't made these yet, I am so happy you stumbled across this page. They are soft on the inside and crusty on the outside. Plus, I share a trick for getting that golden crust you've grown to love. And I linked the best super-affordable baguette mold to make up for the fact that gluten-free flour rises horizontally (rather than vertically).
Don't trust the non-gluten-free recipes that claim gluten-free flours “will work too”. This is what you really need to get the perfect gluten-free baguette!
Why you'll love these Gluten-Free French Baguettes
- super crispy crust
- soft on the inside
- rise and round just like a traditional baguette
- only 3 ingredients
- no-knead and minimal hands-on time!
Undoubtedly, this is a recipe you'll want to make over and over again!
Ingredients
Gluten Free Flour
What gluten free flour is best for bread?
The best pre-made gluten-free flours for bread are Pamela's All-Purpose Gluten-free Flour and Bob's Red Mill gluten-free flour. These two blends are tried and true for many baking recipes, and especially bread.
I used Pamela's All Purpose Gluten-free flour blend and found that the taste and texture of the gluten-free French baguette was just like the traditional!
Yeast
You cannot get a true baguette flavor without yeast! I promise that with this no-knead recipe, it will also be no fuss. However, if you prefer bread with baking soda, check out our Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread recipe.
I used Red Star Active Dry Yeast.
Is dry yeast gluten-free?
Dry yeast is naturally gluten-free. However, some brands add starch to the final product to prevent clumping. Always check the ingredients list for additives or stick to a known gluten-free yeast brand, like Red Star.
Salt
Without salt, bread is simply flour and yeast. Perhaps salt’s most important role is making bread flavorful and delicious! Of course, we include it in this recipe.
Lukewarm water
You will not find any milk in this recipe. While many gluten-free bread recipes include dairy milk, traditional baguettes are made with four simple ingredients: flour, yeast, water, and salt.
The French are known to delight in simple pleasures, and I am far from making complicated changes to traditional perfection.
Equipment
Here are the tools and ingredients you need to make these incredible gluten-free french baguettes:
How do you make French baguettes from scratch?
- Mix the dry ingredients. Then add the water incrementally.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rise for at least 8 hours.
- Use your hands to form loaves.
- Allow for a second rise -- up to two hours.
- Score the loaves with a sharp knife.
- Bake above a hot water bath for 10 minutes.
- Remove the water bath and bake for another 30 minutes, or until your loaves have a nice crust.
What do the French put on baguettes?
The French love to layer butter or jam on their baguettes, and rarely eat the bread plain by itself. Other delightful accompaniments include butter with a thin slice of ham, cheese, chocolate spread like Nutella, and honey. French bread is also commonly used to wipe the plate clean at the end of a meal.
What I eat with a french baguette
I almost always make French baguettes with soup or stew. I also love adding coconut butter and a pinch of sea salt (the dairy-free version of ‘salted butter’) or honey. If I make enough, it's also my favorite sandwich bread!
French bread never lasts long in my house, and with this recipe, it won't last long in yours either!
What makes a French baguette crispy?
Baking at a high temperature for at least 40 minutes is the most important step for making a french baguette crispy. Adding a water bath of 2 cups of boiling water in a bowl or pan on a rack below the bread for the first 10 minutes of baking will also encourage a crispy crust.
Troubleshooting -- Why is my baguette not crispy?
Here are some reasons why your baguette may not be crispy:
- You did not bake it long enough. Golden-brown is not enough for a crispy baguette crust. You want the bread to have some areas that are darker brown, indicating that it is crisp and baked through.
- You didn't wait for the oven to preheat. For any baked good that needs to rise, the first 5 to 10 minutes of baking are crucial. If you put your bread in while preheating, you get a soft crust and dense texture.
- You didn't include a water bath while baking. According to Lifehacker, the water bath “helps dissolve sugars on the surface of the dough that caramelize during baking and give you a glossy, crisp crust.” Place two cups of boiling water in an oven-safe bowl or deep pan. Then set it on the rack below your bread for the first 10 minutes of baking.
Tips for the perfect gluten-free French baguette
Use a baguette pan.
To get a proper baguette shape using gluten-free flour, you will need to use a mold. This is because gluten is responsible for holding bread together so the bread can rise upwards.
In gluten-free bread, you replace gluten with xanthan or guar gums. These gums serve a similar purpose but are not as strong as gluten. You need a baguette mold to encourage vertical rise from the outside.
After a lot of research, I finally settled on this affordable silicon baguette pan. I highly recommend it, and this recipe will make the exact amount of dough needed to fill it.
Pick a good gluten-free flour.
Make sure that your gluten-free flour includes xanthan or guar gum. I recommend Pamela's All Purpose Gluten Free Flour.
Let it rise.
This recipe requires two rises. The first is for 8-20 hours (usually overnight) just after mixing the dough.
The second is after the bread is formed (and before scoring) for 1-2 hours. If you cut rise time short, your baguette will be denser.
Bake with a water bath.
This is a super fun trick I'll be using for all my future crusty bread recipes! Pour two cups of boiling water in an oven-safe bowl or a deep pan.
Make sure there are two racks in the oven. The water bath goes on the lower rack, with the bread loaves on the upper rack. Then you bake for 10 minutes before removing the water bath.
Don't open the oven.
Other than removing the water bath, keep the oven closed for the duration of baking. Releasing heat too soon can prevent the bread from rising or forming a tough crust. You can use the oven light to check on progress.
Let parts of the crust get nice and brown.
I recommend baking past golden brown, when you notice a nice browning crust. This yields the best inner and outer texture.
Perfect Pairings -- recipes you'll love with these baguettes:
- House Favorite Vegan Minestrone Soup
- Northwest Beef Stew in the Instant Pot
- Flashy Vegan Vodka Pasta from your pantry
- Easy Instant Pot Tomato Soup
- Best Easy Tuscan Chicken Salad
Gluten-Free French Baguette Recipe
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Perfect Gluten-Free French Baguette with 3 ingredients
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 9 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This easy 3-ingredient gluten-free french baguette recipe gives three beautifully crusty loaves that taste just like the real thing! Perfect for a dinner side, sandwiches, or snacking. Vegan.
Ingredients
- 4 cups (500 grams) gluten-free flour (I used Pamela’s All-Purpose Gluten-Free Flour)
- 1 ½ teaspoons yeast
- 2 ¼ cup lukewarm water
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly mix gluten-free flour, yeast, and salt with a whisk.
- Mix in the water: Add lukewarm water in ¼-½ cup increments, stirring with a wooden spoon between increments.
- First Rise: Cover with plastic wrap or equivalent and let rise undisturbed for 8-20 hours in a warm location (I usually do overnight by the window in summer, or on the kitchen counter).
- Form Baguettes and second rise: Generously flour your hands and the silicon baking mold. Keep extra flour nearby to re-coat your hands whenever the dough gets sticky. Using your hands, shape the dough into three baguettes of equal size in the silicon mold.* Set the mold on a baking sheet to stabilize. Cover with a towel and allow to rise for 1 ½ to 2 hours.
- Score: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Using a sharp paring knife or kitchen scissors, score the baguettes.
- Bake: Place an oven-safe bowl or deep pan filled with two boiling cups of water on a lower rack in the oven. Place the tray of baguettes on the upper shelf and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the water bath and bake for 30-40 minutes more or until the crust is thick and browning.
Notes
*Using a baguette pan: Without using a baguette pan or mold, the dough will spread horizontally instead of rising vertically. This is because gluten encourages vertical rise. To remedy this with gluten-free baguettes, use a mold or baguette pan. You can also get creative with silpat, a baking dish, and ramekins like I did here: (photo of weird baguette).
Storage: Store on the counter for up to 3 days, wrapped in a cotton dishtowel. You can also freeze the baguettes for up to 3 months. Allow to cool and wrap in plastic or slice into a ziploc bag before freezing. Reheat frozen baguettes in the oven at 400 degrees F until heated through (about 5-10 minutes).
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 40
- Category: Baking, Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Keywords: vegan gluten free baguette, gluten free french bread, gluten free baguette
Congratulations!! By making these baguettes, you just leveled up in "Gluten-Free-Living" 😉
xo, Jamie
Monique
It's like you said - I had it all in my kitchen already! Made these in a loaf pan but will buy the baguette pan for the future so I get the right shape. Thank you!
★★★★★
Sara
Just bought the loaf pan and am *so excited* to make this. The recipe looks so easy.
★★★★★
Cynthia McCulley
Which Bob's Red Mill GF flour do you use? There is the All Purpose Baking Flour and the 1-to-1 Baking Flour. I have been reading up on baguettes since I have the pans and used to make a french bread from an old Bette Hagman GF cookbook, but that recipes uses too many ingredients to truly be a baguette. Will try yours! Thanks!
Jamie
Hi Cynthia! I used Pamela's GF All Purpose Flour which is very similar to Bob's Red Mill GF 1-to-1 baking flour. I would definitely choose the 1-to-1 over BRM All Purpose GF flour for best texture and taste. I'd be excited to hear how it goes for you! Happy baking!
Madison
I am so excited to try this recipe and am going to order the baguette pan. :0) I've made traditional bread / pizza dough before I was diagnosed with celiac, and I remember kneading the dough. It looks like you just mix this, let it rise a couple of times, and pat it into place. Is that correct - no kneading required?
★★★★★
Jamie
You got it Madison! No kneading whatsoever. It seems too good to be true but alas, here it is 🙂
Lucy
Amazing!! The smell of home-baked bread filled my home for the first time since being diagnosed with celiac several years ago. Will need to invest in the baking pan, but I made it in a loaf pan in the meantime since I couldn't wait. Thank you!!
★★★★★
Joy
I bought the baguette pan and made this three times! Every time the dough was a little different but the baguettes were perfect. You weren't kidding about "foolproof". Love this recipe and I plan on making it *literally* forever.
★★★★★
Cora Saxton
I made this with mediocre gluten-free flour and they still tasted great! I was pleasantly surprised. Thank you for bringing baguettes back into my life!
★★★★★
Marilyn
Can I freeze the dough if I make only one loaf?
Jamie
Hi Marilyn! Yes you can freeze the dough. You'll want to freeze it after you form baguettes, but before the second rise. Here's what I do:
1) Cover the baguette mold/pan loosely with plastic wrap and put the baguettes I'm freezing in the freezer.
2) The next day after the dough is frozen, I remove the mold/pan and wrap the frozen baguettes fully in plastic wrap. Then put them back in the freezer.
3) When you're ready to bake them, remove the plastic wrap and put it back in the mold. Then let it rise in a warm location for about 4 hours (double the usual rise time). The dough should just about double in size.
4) Bake as usual after rising.
My loaves were just a little denser when I froze them, but still very good. And I may not have let them rise as much as I should.