Easy Whole Wheat Baguette Recipe With Fresh Milled Flour
This whole wheat baguette recipe delivers every time, creating bakery-style bread that’s both rustic and wholesome. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, and packed with fresh-milled flavor—it’s everything a baguette should be (but with extra health benefits too!).
These whole wheat baguettes are made with freshly milled hard white wheat, making them more nutritious and flavorful than any store-bought version.
There’s something special about a homemade, delicious baguette. Not only does good French bread fill your kitchen with the most irresistible aroma, but is also elevates any meal. And this whole wheat baguette recipe level up everything from soup to a hearty stew. These whole wheat baguettes are also delicious when you’re just slathering them in grass-fed butter.
This recipe marries the beauty of a baguette with the heartiness of whole wheat bread. Crafted with 100% whole-wheat flour, this French bread recipe maintains the light texture we all love with a crisp crust and whole grains from fresh milled flour.
The dough comes together quickly, and thanks to a few key steps, you’ll get that signature chewy bite and open crumb structure without needing a sourdough starter or complicated folding process. The combination of warm water, honey, and instant yeast gives a reliable rise, while a quick steam from a simple water spray helps create that golden, crackly crust.
If you’re new to baking with whole wheat or fresh-milled flour, this is a perfect starter recipe—it’s forgiving, approachable, and incredibly satisfying. For more delicious bread recipes, check out sourdough with fresh milled flour, rosemary sourdough, cinnamon raisin sourdough, and easy delicious oat bread. Look through the whole wheat baking guide for more tips!
Why You’ll Love This Whole Wheat Baguette Recipe
Bakery-style results at home: With just a few ingredients and simple techniques, you can create professional-looking baguettes in your own kitchen. Once you try it, you’ll never go back to white flour baguettes from the grocery store again. Good bread can elevate any meal!
100% whole wheat, but still soft: These loaves use freshly milled hard white wheat, offering all the whole grain nutrition with a surprisingly tender, chewy interior. You can also use hard red wheat, but this will result in a slightly denser texture and nuttier flavor.
Quick and adaptable: This is a great recipe when you’re short on time—no overnight bulk fermentation needed. This simple recipe fits into a single afternoon. It is also highly customizable. Add herbs, mix in seeds, or try it with a blend of ancient grains like Kamut for a nutty twist.
What Is This Whole Wheat Baguette Recipe?
A whole wheat baguette is a long, narrow loaf made using whole grain flour. In this case we are using fresh-milled hard white wheat. This whole wheat version a wholesome twist on the traditional French baguette, which is typically made with refined white flour. The result is a loaf that maintains the classic baguette’s crisp crust and chewy crumb while offering more fiber, nutrients, and a rich, nutty flavor.
Unlike sourdough baguettes, this recipe uses instant yeast for quicker rise times. This makes it perfect for a weekday bake or spontaneous weekend bread craving. The process is approachable, even for beginner bakers, and doesn’t require special equipment beyond a baking sheet and your oven. Look through the whole wheat baking guide for more tips!
Whole Wheat Baguette Recipe Ingredients
- Warm water: Warm water helps activate the yeast and bring the dough together. For this recipe, warm—not hot—water is key to properly activating instant yeast without killing it.
- Honey: It adds a hint of natural sweetness and provides a quick energy source for the yeast to feed on, encouraging a strong rise.
- Freshly milled hard white wheat: This flour is milled at home for maximum freshness, flavor, and nutrition. Hard wheat is most similar to bread flour and the best way to get the right texture. You can also blend it with Kamut for a richer, slightly nutty taste. You can use hard red wheat, but you will get different results in texture. For best results, use hard white wheat or a blend of hard white and Kamut (Khorasan).
- Vital wheat gluten: This adds a bit more protein and improves dough elasticity and structure, especially when using 100% whole wheat flour, which can otherwise be more fragile. You can leave it out, but the loaves may be slightly denser. Vital wheat gluten is very helpful when baking with 100% whole wheat.
- Instant yeast: Instant yeast requires no proofing and can be added directly to the dough for a fast, reliable rise. Active dry yeast is not ideal here, as it needs to be dissolved and activated separately, which adds time and complexity.
- Neutral oil: Oil helps keep the crumb moist, tender, and soft for days after baking. Use olive oil or avocado oil.
- Salt: Salt is essential for balancing and enhancing the flavor of the bread. Skipping it can result in bland loaves.
A full list of ingredients and quantities can be found in the recipe card below.
How To Make Whole Wheat Baguettes
Prepare the dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl), whisk together the warm water, honey, vital wheat gluten, and 2 1/2 cups of freshly milled flour. Add the instant yeast and mix for 2-3 minutes or until a thick batter forms.
- Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
- With your mixer on low and using the dough hook attachment, add the remaining 2 1/2 cups of flour, the oil, and salt. Mix well and get all the flour off the sides of the bowl. Then knead the dough for about 10-15 minutes, until it is a smooth and elastic dough ball.
Rise, Shape, & Bake
- Cover the bowl with a clean towel or plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into two equal pieces. Use your hands to gently roll the dough out into long loaves where each long baguette is about 12 inches in length.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then carefully transfer baguettes over to the baking sheet. Use a very sharp knife to cut multiple shallow diagonal slashes along the top of the dough every couple inches.
- Lightly spray the top of the dough with warm water. Allow the dough to rest at room temperature for another 30-45 minutes. The loaves will double in size during this time.
- Preheat your oven to 425.
- If desired, lightly spray the top of the loaf a second time, then place the baking sheet into the oven. Bake for 10 minutes to create a nice crust, then lower the temperature to 375F. Then bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 190F.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before cutting.
Recipe Tips
- You can use a mix of hard white wheat and Kamut in this whole wheat baguette recipe. Use up to equal parts of each grain. Try the original recipe the first round. Then mix with Kamut the next time for a slightly different flavor and texture.
- Be gentle when shaping to avoid deflating the dough.
- Spraying with water helps create a crisp, crackly crust—don’t skip it.
- When baking with yeast and whole-wheat flour (fresh milled), I don’t measure by weight or use a kitchen scale. I find this to not really be necessary the way it is with sourdough.
- Store leftover bread in an airtight container such as a beeswax bread bag. Avoid plastic bags as this can add too much moisture. To freeze, flash freeze a couple of loaves on a baking sheet. Then wrap in plastic and transfer to a freezer-safe container.
Whole Wheat Baguette Variations
- Herbed French bread: Add 1–2 tablespoons of chopped fresh rosemary, thyme, or basil to the dough during step 2.
- Seeded baguettes: Sprinkle sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or flaxseeds on top of the loaves just before baking.
- Garlic & cheese baguette: Fold in roasted garlic cloves and shredded Parmesan during shaping.
- Ancient grain blend: Replace up to 50% of the wheat flour with fresh-milled Kamut or spelt for a nutty flavor.
Recipe FAQs
I hope you love this recipe!
These whole wheat baguettes are perfect for any meal—from soups to sandwiches to simple butter-and-jam breakfasts. Let me know in the comments how you personalized yours!
Whole Wheat Baguette
This whole wheat baguette recipe delivers every time, creating bakery-style bread that’s both rustic and wholesome.
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 5 cups freshly milled hard white wheat
- 1 teaspoon vital wheat gluten
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil (avocado or olive oil)
- 2 teaspoons salt (we like sea salt or fleur de sel)
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large mixing bowl), whisk together the warm water, honey, vital wheat gluten, and 2 1/2 cups of freshly milled flour.
- Add the instant yeast and mix for 2-3 minutes or until a thick batter forms.
- Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
- With your mixer on low and using the dough hook attachment, add the remaining 2 1/2 cups of flour, the oil, and salt. Mix well and get all the flour off the sides of the bowl, then knead the dough for about 10-15 minutes, until it is a smooth and elastic dough ball.
- Cover the bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm place for 45 minutes.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into two equal pieces. Use your hands to gently roll the dough out into long loaves where each long baguette is about 12 inches in length.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, then carefully transfer baguettes over to the baking sheet. You can also use a baking stone.
- Use a very sharp knife or razor blade to cut multiple shallow diagonal slashes along the top of the dough every couple inches.
- Lightly spray the top of the dough with warm water and let the dough rest at room temperature for another 30-45 minutes. The loaves will double in size during this time.
- Preheat your oven to 425.
- If desired, lightly spray the top of the loaf a second time, then place the baking sheet into the oven.
- Bake for 10 minutes to create a nice crust, then lower the temperature to 375F and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the loaves are golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 190F.
- Remove the finished baguettes from the oven and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.
Notes
- You can use a mix of hard white wheat and Kamut, up to equal parts of each grain.
- Instead of spraying the loaves with water before baking, you can place a shallow pan of water in the oven on the bottom rack beneath the baking sheet to help add moisture. Remove it after the first ten minutes.
- The length of each baguette should be about 12 inches. Try to keep a consistent baguette shape, but if your dough is warm, they can be up to 14 inches.
Recommended Products
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Other Whole Wheat Recipes You May Enjoy…
- Fresh Milled Brownies
- Fresh Milled Biscuits
- Fresh Milled Belgian Waffles
- Fresh Milled Zucchini Bread
- Fresh Milled Bread – our favorite sandwich bread!
- Fresh Milled Focaccia
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