Bánh Mì Style Baguettes (Light, Airy, Shattering Crust)
Rice flour + overnight ferment · four 12" loaves · perforated pan
✦ Jump to recipeA great bánh mì lives and dies by its bread. These baguettes are lighter and airier than the French original — a little fat keeps the crumb soft, and a touch of rice flour gives that signature thin, shattering crust that crackles when you squeeze it. They're built to hold a loaded sandwich without going soggy or fighting back when you bite.
This version cold-ferments overnight for flavor, then bakes directly in a greased perforated baguette pan. The pan does double duty: the channels hold the loaves' shape (no couche required) and the perforations crisp the crust all the way around. Makes four 12-inch loaves.
Why this recipe works
- Rice flour (~5%): the key to a thin, glassy, crackly crust.
- A little oil and sugar: a tender, light crumb that stays soft inside.
- Overnight cold ferment: deeper flavor and an easy, split-day schedule.
- Perforated pan + steam: crisp all around, no baking stone or couche needed.
Bánh Mì Baguettes
Mix and knead, overnight cold ferment (12–18 hours), warm up 1 hour, shape, proof 45–60 minutes, bake with steam. Total roughly 16–22 hours.
Ingredients
- 500 g bread flour
- 25 g rice flour (~5%)
- 4 g instant yeast
- 10 g fine sea salt
- 12 g sugar
- 14 g olive oil
- 5 g white vinegar
- 330 g warm water
Instructions
- 1
Mix
Whisk together the bread flour, rice flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the water, oil, and vinegar, and mix until a shaggy dough forms with no dry flour.
- 2
Knead
Knead 10–12 minutes by hand (or about 8 minutes in a stand mixer with a dough hook) until smooth, elastic, and passing the windowpane test. The dough should be slightly tacky but not sticky.
- 3
Overnight cold ferment
Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl with room to roughly double. Cover tightly and refrigerate 12–18 hours.
- 4
Warm up
Pull the dough from the fridge and rest at room temperature about 1 hour, until puffy and roughly doubled.
- 5
Divide and shape
Divide into 4 pieces. Shape each into a tight 12-inch baguette, sealing the seam well, and taper the ends to points.
- 6
Proof in the pan
Lightly grease the channels of a perforated baguette pan. Place the shaped loaves directly in the channels, cover loosely, and proof until puffy and nearly doubled, about 45–60 minutes.
- 7
Preheat
Preheat the oven to 475°F (245°C) with a steam pan on the bottom rack. Don't preheat the baguette pan — the dough proofs in it and goes into the oven at room temperature.
- 8
Score
Slash each baguette down the center with a single deep, shallow-angled cut using a sharp blade or lame.
- 9
Bake with steam
Set the loaded pan on the middle rack, pour boiling water into the steam pan, and bake 18–22 minutes, until deep golden and the crust crackles when squeezed.
- 10
Cool
Cool on a rack at least 20 minutes before slicing. The crust should shatter thinly when pressed.
Tips
- The steam pan is what creates the thin, crackly crust — don't skip it.
- No perforated pan? Proof on a floured couche and bake on a preheated stone instead, still with steam.
- For the classic bánh mì interior, slightly underbake rather than overbake — you want a soft, open crumb under a crisp shell.
FAQ
- Why rice flour?
- Rice flour lowers gluten development just slightly and helps produce the thin, brittle crust that defines a bánh mì loaf. Don't substitute more wheat flour for it.
- Can I skip the overnight ferment?
- You can do a same-day version with a warm 1–1.5 hour rise, but the overnight cold ferment gives better flavor and a more convenient schedule.