French Bread Lab · Decision tree
Find your French bread
Two questions sort all 138 recipes into 4 groups. Each question is about one of the ingredients recipes disagree on most, and splits the recipes in front of it at their own median, so each answer keeps about half of them. Every group ends with its median recipe in grams and the real recipes nearest it.
The questions
Question 1
More yeast than most, or less?
Less yeast and a longer or overnight rise builds flavor; weeknight loaves use more.
All 138 recipes: median 0.8% of the flour weight, 4 g per 500 g of flour; middle half 0.3% to 1.4%; 5% use none.
Question 2
More water than most, or less?
Around 65 to 75% for a baguette; wetter doughs give a more open crumb and a thinner, crisper crust.
All 138 recipes: median 67% of the flour weight, 335 g per 500 g of flour; middle half 60% to 71%.
Asked within each answer to question 1, split at the median of the recipes that gave it.
The key
Read left to right: pick an answer to question 1, then one of the answers beside it for question 2, and so on to a group. Each cell gives the answer, its bound in grams per 100 g of flour, and how many recipes give it.
The 4 groups
Each median recipe is the median of every ingredient over the group's recipes, scaled to 500 g of flour, beside the typical loaf of all 138. Bold rows are the ingredients the questions asked about.
Group A · 33 recipes · 23% of all
More yeast and more water
Yeast over 0.8% and water over 66% of the flour weight.
| At 500 g flour | Group A | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Water | 360 gabout 1 1/2 cups | 335 g |
| Salt | 9 g | 10 g |
| Yeast | 7 g | 4 g |
| Sugar | none | none |
| Fat | none | none |
Bake450°F (230°C) for about 24 minutes, the medians of the 26 recipes here that state a temperature and the 32 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group A
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Bien Cuit Baguettes · foodnetwork.comyeast 1.4% · water 70%
- Crusty French Baguette Recipe · bakingamoment.comyeast 1% · water 73%
- How to Make a Baguette · tasteofhome.comyeast 2% · water 70%
- Semolina Baguettes · kingarthurbaking.comyeast 1.2% · water 74%
- Baguettes · tastesbetterfromscratch.comyeast 1.1% · water 70%
Group B · 35 recipes · 25% of all
More yeast and less water
Yeast over 0.8% and water 66% or less of the flour weight.
| At 500 g flour | Group B | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Water | 300 gabout 1 1/4 cups | 335 g |
| Salt | 10 g | 10 g |
| Yeast | 7 g | 4 g |
| Sugar | none | none |
| Fat | none | none |
Bake425°F (220°C) for about 23 minutes, the medians of the 29 recipes here that state a temperature and the 29 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group B
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Baguette · soniaperonaci.ityeast 1.4% · water 60%
- Baguettes au blé complet · chefnini.comyeast 1.1% · water 60%
- Barras de pan casero · annarecetasfaciles.comyeast 1.5% · water 64%
- baguette maison · cuisineaz.comyeast 2% · water 60%
- Baguettes maison sans machine à pain ni robot : la recette facile · cuisine.journaldesfemmes.fryeast 2% · water 60%
Group C · 35 recipes · 25% of all
Less yeast and more water
Yeast 0.8% or less and water over 67% of the flour weight. 4 of the 35 use no yeast.
| At 500 g flour | Group C | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Water | 350 gabout 1 1/2 cups | 335 g |
| Salt | 10 g | 10 g |
| Yeast | 1.5 g | 4 g |
| Sugar | none | none |
| Fat | none | none |
Bake475°F (245°C) for about 25 minutes, the medians of the 32 recipes here that state a temperature and the 34 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group C
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- Homemade Baguettes · savingdessert.comyeast 0.4% · water 70%
- How to Make Crusty French Bread Without Kneading - ChainBaker · chainbaker.comyeast 0.3% · water 69%
- Baguettes pas à pas · bettybossi.chyeast 0.2% · water 70%
- Baguettes Schritt für Schritt · bettybossi.chyeast 0.2% · water 70%
- Baguette mit Hefevorteig · ketex.deyeast 0.3% · water 68%
Group D · 35 recipes · 25% of all
Less yeast and less water
Yeast 0.8% or less and water 67% or less of the flour weight. 4 of the 35 use no yeast.
| At 500 g flour | Group D | All |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 500 g | 500 g |
| Water | 315 gabout 1 1/3 cups | 335 g |
| Salt | 10 g | 10 g |
| Yeast | 1.5 g | 4 g |
| Sugar | none | none |
| Fat | none | none |
Bake450°F (230°C) for about 20 minutes, the medians of the 27 recipes here that state a temperature and the 29 that state a time.
Nearest the middle of group D
Closest to the group's median on every ingredient at once.
- How to Make Beautiful, Crispy & Flavourful No-Knead Baguettes - ChainBaker · chainbaker.comyeast 0.3% · water 64%
- Baguette traditionell – nach meiner Art · ketex.deyeast 0.3% · water 64%
- Baguette mit Sauerteig · ketex.deyeast 0.3% · water 65%
- Baguette con Lievito Madre disidratato · ricettedalmondo.ityeast 0.2% · water 60%
- Baguette mit Sauerteig und Hefevorteig · ketex.deyeast 0.3% · water 66%
How the questions are chosen
Each ingredient is ranked by how much recipes disagree on it: the width of the middle half of recipes (25th to 75th percentile) divided by the median, less 4% for each place it sits down this lab's list of ingredients, so the ones that define the dish win near ties. For French bread the order is yeast (1.37) and water (0.16), and the first 2 are asked. Salt is never asked about: recipes differ on it mostly by brand and taste. Sugar and fat are left out because most recipes use none.
Every split is at the median of the recipes in front of it, rounded to the percentage shown. Recipes exactly at the median go to whichever side leaves the two halves more even. No answer may keep fewer than 5 recipes; a group that could not be split further says so.
The recipes listed under each group are the 5 nearest its median on every ingredient at once, each scaled by how much recipes vary on it. Every recipe page links to the original for the method.