Baguette – FoodWatcher

Bruschetta

Bruschetta is an easy and scrumptious Italian appetizer of toasted bread slices topped with garlicky tomatoes and fragrant basil. It’s as easy to make as it is economical. Serve it at your next gathering and watch it disappear in minutes!

The post Bruschetta appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Bruschetta is a scrumptious appetizer that’s as easy to make as it is economical. This OG Italian Budget Byte is a simple combination of toasted bread topped with garlicky chopped tomatoes and drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Serve it at your next gathering and watch it disappear in minutes! Bonus: if you serve it on baguette slices, like we did, it’s vegan-friendly! (Other traditional choices, like ciabatta or boule, can be made with milk and eggs, and are not vegan.)

Overhead shot of white platter with bruschetta on it.

How Do You Pronounce Bruschetta?

When pronouncing bruschetta, the CH is a hard K sound: brews-KEH-ta. So if you pronounce it brew-CHEH-ta (as I occasionally do, even though I know better), you’re doing it wrong. But who cares? Mispronounciations are a part of life. And you’re making a truly delightful appetizer from scratch! #winning

What is Bruschetta Topping Made Of?

The choices are endless, truly. But traditionally, bruschetta is a slice of crusty or day-old bread that’s brushed with olive oil, toasted, rubbed with raw garlic, topped with chopped tomato and torn basil, and finally, drizzled with balsamic vinegar. Simple? Yes. Bigger than the sum of its parts? 100%!

Can I Prep Bruschetta Ahead Of Time?

You can definitely prep the tomatoes in advance. Chop, salt, and then dress them. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to three days. Slice and toast the baguette slices until barely golden. Store them in an airtight container lined with a paper towel for up to a day. Toast them for a few minutes to warm them before assembling them.

Overhead shot of a hand holding a slice of bruschetta in the foreground and a platter of bruschetta in the background.

What Kind Of Tomatoes Are Best For Bruschetta?

Since tomatoes are, after all, the star of the show, the best kind for bruschetta are the tastiest. They should be ripe and heavy for their size. When you press a finger against their skin it should leave a dent. Hold them about six inches away from your nose and breathe in deeply. Only buy them if they are floral and perfumed. Try plum (Roma), cherry, grape, heirloom, vine-ripened, or a combination of any of the above.

Can I Use Canned TOmatoes For Bruschetta?

This might be a controversial statement for the Food Police, but canned tomatoes are a much better choice than out-of-season or unripe tomatoes. You will need to doctor them some, of course. Press whole canned tomatoes in a colander to release their juices and seeds. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and spread the pressed tomatoes in a thin layer on the pan. Bake them at 350° until most of the liquid evaporates, and their texture transforms to a thick jam-like consistency. Taste them and add a splash of vinegar and a pinch of sugar if necessary, to recreate a perfect tomato’s natural sweetness and acidity.

What Can I Substitute Balsamic Vinegar With?

I get it. Balsamic vinegar can be pricy. You can always substitute it with red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Just make sure to add a pinch of sugar to the mix, to make up for the natural sweetness of the balsamic.

Side shot of white platter with bruschetta on it.

What Kind Of Bread Is Best For Bruschetta?

When you’re making bruschetta, day-old bread is best. Traditionally, a crusty ciabatta is used. But use what you have, or better yet, whatever you find on sale in your grocer’s day-old bread section. I love a baguette, but any thick, hearty bread that can withstand a heavy topping will do just fine.

Why Is My Bruschetta Soggy?

You will always get soggy results if your topping is too liquidy or if it’s been sitting on the toasted bread too long. You can definitely toast the bread ahead of time and prepare the filling ahead of time, but for a texturally perfect bruschetta, top when you’re ready to serve.

The easiest move is to chop the tomatoes and add them to a colander.
Place the colander in a bowl to catch juices, and gently agitate and press down.
Add salt, which will force the tomatoes to release their liquid.
Mix everything a few times and then wait twenty or so minutes.
Finally, use your hands to press the tomatoes against the sides of the colander to remove even more liquid.

Don’t throw out those juices, PS. Drink them up. They’re SO tasty. (You don’t have to drink them straight out of the bowl, as I do. Kitchen folk aren’t the classiest, but we’re salt of the earth. Promise!)

Bruschetta

Bruschetta is an easy and scrumptious Italian appetizer of toasted bread slices topped with garlicky tomatoes and fragrant basil. It's as easy to make as it is economical. Serve it at your next gathering and watch it disappear in minutes!

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Italian

Total Cost ($8.40 recipe / $0.84 serving)

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 2-slice servings

Calories 124kcal

Author Monti – Budget Bytes

Equipment

Enamelware Sheet Pan

Ingredients

6 plum tomatoes $3.24
1 tsp salt $0.02
1 baguette $2.99
4 Tbsp olive oil, divided $0.52
3 cloves garlic $0.26
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves $1.25
1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper* $0.06
2 tsp balsamic vinegar $0.06

Instructions

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 450°F. Dice the tomatoes into pencil eraser-sized pieces.
Deseed the tomatoes. Place them in a colander and agitate them, gently pressing down, so the seeds slip through the holes.
Salt the tomatoes. Sprinkle liberally and mix to incorporate the salt throughout. Wait 20 minutes for the salt to force the juices out of the tomatoes.
While the salt is working its magic on the tomatoes, cut your baguette on the diagonal into inch-thick pieces.
Brush the olive oil onto both sides of the slices. Place them on the lined sheet pan and toast them for about five minutes or until lightly golden.
Agitate the tomatoes once more to release juices. Mince the garlic and chop the basil. Add the garlic, basil, and pepper to the tomatoes.
Add 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the tomatoes. Mix to incorporate. Taste the mixture and add more salt, pepper, and balsamic if necessary.
Top each toasted baguette slice with a heaping tablespoon of the tomato mixture.
Transfer the bruschetta to a serving platter. Serve immediately.

See how we calculate recipe costs here.

Notes

*if you are using finely ground black pepper, only use 1/4 teaspoon.

Nutrition

Overhead shot of bruschetta on a sheet pan.

How to Make Bruschetta – Step by Step Photos

Overhead shot of sliced and diced tomatoes on a white chopping board. — Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place a rack in the middle of your oven and preheat it to 450°F. Dice 6 plum tomatoes into pencil eraser-sized pieces.

Overhead shot of a hand deseeding tomatoes in a silver colander. — Deseed the tomatoes. Place them in a colander and agitate them, gently pressing down, so the seeds slip through the holes.

Overhead shot of a hand salting tomatoes in a silver colander. — Add a teaspoon of salt to the tomatoes. Sprinkle liberally and mix to incorporate the salt throughout. Wait 20 minutes for the salt to force the juices out of the tomatoes.

Overhead shot of a baguette being sliced by a knife on a white cutting board. — While the salt is working its magic on the tomatoes, cut a foot-and-a-half long baguette on the diagonal into inch-thick pieces. You will have about 20 slices.

Overhead shot of slices of baguette being oiled with a brush on a white cutting board. — Brush 3 tablespoons of olive oil onto both sides of the slices. Place them on the lined sheet pan and toast them in the 450°F oven for about five minutes or until lightly golden.

Overhead shot fo a white bowl with chopped tomatoes, basil, and minced garlic.

Mince 3 cloves of garlic (about 1 tablespoon) and chop 1/4 cup of fresh basil leaves. Add the garlic, basil, and a 1/2 teaspoon of coarse ground black pepper to the tomatoes.

Overhead shot of a white bowl with tomato mixture.

Add 1 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar to the tomatoes and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Mix to incorporate. Taste the tomatoes and add an additional teaspoon of balsamic if necessary. Add more salt and pepper if necessary. (You are adding these to taste, so add the amount you prefer.)

Overhead shot of a sheet pan with 13 baguette slices, some topped with chopped tomato mixture and others bare. — Top each toasted baguette slice with a heaping tablespoon of the tomato mixture.

What Can You Serve With Bruschetta?

Try adding these fabulous dishes to the mix when serving bruschetta.

Overhead shot of a sheet pan with bruschetta on it.

The post Bruschetta appeared first on Budget Bytes.

Let’s Eat France!

Of all the books I own on French cuisine, Let’s Eat France is one of my favorites. First up, the book is huge. I don’t mean in terms of scope, which it is. But physically the book is enormous. Think the size of the tablet listing five of the ten commandments, and just as heavy. The book is 13+ inches (33cm) tall and clocks in at 5 1/2 pounds (2,5kg). Let’s Eat France certainly merits the heft; each page is crammed with interesting information, well laid out for reading, with plenty of places on the 431 pages for sidebars, anecdotes, photos, charts, asides, maps, and recipes.

You don’t often come across books on French foods that are this much fun. The French certainly have a jovial attitude about food, but usually in the written world, there’s more reverence than irreverence. There’s a lot of like about French food it’s fun to see someone like François-Régis Gaudry, and his friends who contributed material, have fun with the topic.

Continue Reading Let’s Eat France!...

Baguette Recipe

This crusty French baguette recipe is easier to make than you think! Here’s a video tutorial showing how to make this classic crusty bread. What’s better than a crunchy fresh French artisan baguette? (Almost nothing.) Well, here’s an easy baguette recipe you can make at home! It’s simple to make: there’s no special equipment required! And the only ingredient you need are all-purpose flour, yeast and salt. You will be absolutely amazed at the crunchy texture, tangy flavor, and beautiful long loaf. We have a long list of bread recipes (including our “famous” sourdough bread), but Alex and I agreed this one is our new favorite. The flavor is out of this world. Here’s what to do! How to make this baguette recipe: an overview! Here’s the basic outline of what you’re getting yourself into with this baguette recipe. The process spans 3 days! Day One takes 1 hour (just a few minutes of hands on time) and you’ll need about 3 hours on Day Three to shape and bake it. In between, you’ll rest the dough in the refrigerator for 2 days. This is the secret to the very best baguette flavor! Here’s an outline of what you’ll have to do: […]

A Couple Cooks – Healthy, Whole Food, & Vegetarian Recipes

This crusty French baguette recipe is easier to make than you think! Here’s a video tutorial showing how to make this classic crusty bread.

What’s better than a crunchy fresh French artisan baguette? (Almost nothing.) Well, here’s an easy baguette recipe you can make at home! It’s simple to make: there’s no special equipment required! And the only ingredient you need are all-purpose flour, yeast and salt. You will be absolutely amazed at the crunchy texture, tangy flavor, and beautiful long loaf. We have a long list of bread recipes (including our “famous” sourdough bread), but Alex and I agreed this one is our new favorite. The flavor is out of this world. Here’s what to do!

How to make this baguette recipe: an overview!

Here’s the basic outline of what you’re getting yourself into with this baguette recipe. The process spans 3 days! Day One takes 1 hour (just a few minutes of hands on time) and you’ll need about 3 hours on Day Three to shape and bake it. In between, you’ll rest the dough in the refrigerator for 2 days. This is the secret to the very best baguette flavor! Here’s an outline of what you’ll have to do:

Day 1	Mix the dough, proof 1 hour, refrigerate (15 minutes active)
Day 2	Refrigerate dough
Day 3	Proof and shape dough (30 minutes active, 2 hours inactive) Bake (40 minutes) Cool (20 minutes)

How to make a baguette — French baguettes and no knead bread

Equipment list for making a baguette (nothing special needed!)

This baguette recipe requires no special equipment! Compared to other artisan bread recipes like our sourdough, artisan, or even no knead, it’s got the smallest list of required tools. There’s no Dutch oven and no proofing basket needed. Here’s what you need!

Required tools for this artisan bread recipe

Parchment paper
Baking sheet
Sharp knife or lame for scoring the bread
Kitchen scale for measuring (optional)

All you need is all-purpose flour

Another feature of this baguette recipe is that all you need is all-purpose flour! Our other bread recipes use flour blends like whole wheat and bread flour. Baguettes are surprisingly simple: requiring only all-puprose flour, salt and yeast.

This recipe makes 2 loaves: halve it if desired!

This baguette recipe makes 2 loaves of bread. If you don’t think you’ll eat two in a few days, here are some options:

Make half the recipe. It works just as well with half the quantities: you can follow the recipe to a T.
Freeze the second baguette. You can freeze the second baguette for several months, then reheat it from frozen. It comes out a little crustier but the flavor is just as good! See the “Storage” section below.

Think ahead! A 2 day rest is required.

We said it once, but we’ll say it again. This bread requires thinking ahead a few days. You’ll need to rest the bread dough for 2 days in the refrigerator. Why?

The 2 day rest makes a complex, tangy flavor. Resting the dough in the refrigerator is also called “fermenting”. As the dough ferments, it develops a naturally tangy and complex flavor. (We also suggest this with our best pizza dough.) You can truly taste the difference!
It doesn’t have to be exactly 48 hours. There is some wiggle room, so don’t worry if you do about 1.5 days instead of a full 2 days on the rest time.

How to shape a baguette (video!)

The part of making this baguette recipe that requires the most technique is folding and shaping the dough. It’s easiest to learn how to shape the dough by watching. So, we made you a video! Here’s Alex demonstrating how to shape a baguette. We highly recommend watching this video before you start!

How to score a baguette

See those beautiful lines on the top of the baguette? Those are called score lines. Scoring is slashing the top of the dough with a sharp knife to allow it to expand when baking. Here are some things to know about scoring the baguette (also watch the video above):

Use your sharpest knife, or a lame. You’ll want the knife to be ultra sharp. We purchased a lame for this, since we make lots of bread recipes. But a knife works just as well!
Make shallow, diagonal overlapping cuts. You want to cut just the surface — if it’s too deep it collapses, if it’s too shallow it bursts. Make the pattern look like the one in the video above, where the cuts overlap diagonally.

Storage & reheating info for this baguette recipe

This baguette recipe has no preservatives, so the storage is different from a bread you might buy from the store. Since this recipe makes two loaves, you can freeze the second one and eat it later! It comes out a little crustier than the day of baking, but it’s still fantastic and the flavor is perfectly preserved. Here’s what to do:

Room temperature storage (2 days): Once you’ve baked your French baguette, it is best eaten within 48 hours. Store it wrapped in a towel at room temperature.
Frozen (3 months): Let the baguette cool to room temperature, then wrap it in aluminum foil and place it in a plastic bag. Freeze for several months.
Reheating: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Unwrap the baguette and add directly to the oven grate (from frozen!) and bake about 15 to 20 minutes until warmed through.

Ways to serve this baguette

There are so many ways to serve a baguette! Likely you already have ideas. Here are some of our favorites, including some ways to use stale bread:

On a cheese board. See above! Add a variety of cheeses, olives, nuts, and jam and you’ve got one incredible cheese board for entertaining.
With salted French butter. One of the very best taste treats: this baguette with salted French butter. Look for French or European-style butter at your local grocery.
With dips. Try it with our Spinach Artichoke Dip: it’s delightful.
Crostini. When it’s starting to go stale, turn it into Easy Crostini and top with toppings, or make Goat Cheese Crostini.
Garlic toast. Another idea for Day 2, make it into this insanely garlicky Garlic Toast.
Breadcrumbs or croutons. If you get to the point where it’s pretty stale, make it into breadcrumbs or croutons! You can also use it for panzanella or bread soup.

This French baguette recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, and dairy free.

Baguette Recipe (Easy with Video!)

(5 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

5 from 5 reviews

Author: Sonja Overhiser
Prep Time: 3 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes
Yield: 2 large baguettes (about 40 slices)
Diet: Vegan

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