How to Make French Batard Bread (Sourdough Recipe)

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Few things in life are quite as rewarding as baking your own bread. If you haven’t made homemade bread yet, don’t be intimidated!

I’ll give you step-by-step instructions for how to make a beautiful loaf that you’ll be proud of with this French batard bread recipe. 

A French batard has a golden brown, crusty exterior and a dense, chewy, slightly sour crumb (thanks to the sourdough starter). It’s the ideal type of bread for spreading with salted butter, dipping in extra virgin olive oil, making gourmet sandwiches or even making French toast! 

Be sure to read this post carefully for all the tips and tricks that you’ll need to make the most delicious bread you’ve ever had!

If you’re just starting out with bread baking, I recommend you print this entire post and use it as a guide. 

What is a batard? 

The French word batard literally translates to “bastard”. Eek, right?

A batard refers to the shape of the bread rather than the type of bread. The shape of a batard is between a rounded boule and an elongated baguette. Its oblong shape is sometimes compared to that of a football. This mixed breed of two beloved French loaves became known as the “bastard” shape.

A batard could be a traditional yeasted loaf or it could be a sourdough loaf. In this case, we’re making a sourdough batard. 

First things First: Helpful Tools for making this French Batard Bread Recipe

To be successful with bread baking, start with the right tools:

Dutch oven. Bread bakers agree, a Dutch oven is a must. Sourdough bread must be baked in a covered container so that steam can build for part of the baking process. If you don’t have a Dutch oven or choose not to invest in one, you can hack one by using two loaf pans of equal size. You’ll have to use one as the “lid”. 

Food scale. If you’ve ever thought one cup of something was the same as 8 ounces and then weighed it on a food scale, you know the frustration. They should be the same thing! But a lot of times, they’re not. And with baking especially, you’ve got to be precise. Please weigh your ingredients on a food scale. If you don’t have a food scale, I have provided approximate measurements in the recipe card. 

Bread lame. This is an inexpensive tool used to score sourdough bread. It’s essentially a sharp razor blade with a handle. No bread lame? Use a very sharp knife instead. 

Ingredients in this French Batard Bread Recipe

There are only four simple ingredients in this homemade French bread recipe:

• Bread flour. Although the starter that we’re using is made with regular all purpose flour (and sometimes whole wheat flour), you need actual bread flour for baking the batard. 
• Sourdough starter. Made simply with flour and water, sourdough starter is a live, fermented culture used in bread making. Sourdough starter takes the place of active dry yeast or instant yeast. If you don’t have a sourdough starter, do what many people do and borrow from a friend! Or, make your own! 
• Salt. Any kind of fine salt will do. I use plain old iodized salt. 
• Warm water. Please use filtered water. 

How to Make Sourdough Starter

Skip this section if you already have an active sourdough starter.

Making sourdough starter can be intimidating, infuriating and complicated. But it doesn’t have to be! I’ve made all the mistakes so that you don’t have to.

I’m happy to say that both of my sourdough starters – Mick Jagger (the white starter) and Keith Richards (the whole wheat starter) – are several years old and doing amazingly well. 

So, here’s the quick and dirty on how to get a thriving sourdough starter that will reward you for years to come:  

Ingredients

• 125 grams all purpose flour or whole wheat flour
• 125 grams warm, filtered water 

Instructions

1. Combine the ingredients in a jar or other airtight container with a lid. Cover with the lid, set it in a warm place in your kitchen and wait 48 hours. 

2. After the initial 48 hour period has passed, feed your starter the following ingredients every 12 hours until it becomes bubbly and active: 

• 50 grams starter
• 100 grams filtered water
• 100 grams flour

3. Using a clean spoon or flexible spatula, measure out 50 grams of starter and place it in a clean bowl. Discard the remaining starter in the trash can (not garbage disposal). Add 100g of flour and 100g of warm water and stir to combine. Pour the mixture back into its jar or container. Close the lid. 

Maintaining your Sourdough Starter

When your starter peaks for the first time, go ahead and celebrate, because you created life!

Then, once the dance party is over, continue to feed your starter every 24 hours for another day or so, just for good measure. 

After this initial period, the best way to store your starter is in the refrigerator. Set a reminder to feed it once per week.

If you plan to bake with it more often than once per week, it’s fine to feed it more often. Be sure to feed your starter at least 12-16 hours before you want to use it. 

How to Make this French Batard Bread Recipe

Prepare the Bread Dough

I’ll remind you in the recipe card below, but be sure to feed your sourdough starter 12-16 hours before you create the bread dough. The starter should have already peaked and be on its way back down. 

Grab two bowls. In the smaller bowl, stir the warm, filtered water and sourdough starter together. The starter will dissolve and the water will become cloudy. 

In the larger bowl, combine the bread flour and salt. Then, pour the water mixture into the flour and mix very well. The sticky dough will be hard to fully combine, so use a wooden spoon and a little muscle. 

Once the dough is combined, cover the bowl with a damp dish towel or plastic wrap. Now, let it rest for 15 minutes. 

Stretch and Folds

After your dough rests for 15 minutes, it’s time to do the first set of stretch and folds.

Wet your fingers and pull up the dough on one side of the bowl. Stretch it up and over the bowl, tucking it down into the other side. 

Turn the bowl a quarter turn and do it again: wet your fingers, pull the dough at the far end of the bowl up and over, and tuck it down on the other side. 

Keep turning the bowl, stretching and folding until the dough resists and becomes more difficult to stretch. This should only take a few times. 

Then, let the dough rest again for 15 minutes. 

After that, do another set of stretch and folds, just like the first set. When the dough resists, cover it with a damp dish towel or plastic wrap and set it in a warm place in your kitchen. 

First Rise

Depending on the time of year and temperature in your home, your dough should rise in 12-16 hours.

It won’t ever double in size the way yeasted dough does, so don’t be concerned. 

Do the Poke Test

When you think your dough is ready, do the poke test to be sure: Poke your finger straight down in the center of the dough.

If it springs back for the most part, it’s ready. If the dough feels loose or watery, it needs more time to rise. 

More Stretch and Folds

Once the dough is ready, we’ll do 3 more stretch and folds (not 3 sets – just three total!)

This time, they’re a little bit different. This time, use both hands to pull up the center of the dough as high as you can without breaking the dough. Then, fold it over one half of the dough. 

Turn the bowl a quarter turn and do it again. The third time, turn the bowl and lift the dough from the center completely out of the bowl, onto a piece of parchment paper. 

Shape the Batard

Use your hands to shape the batard dough into an oblong shape.

Then, fold one long end of the dough into the center.

Take the other long end and fold it all the way over to the other end. 

Now, transfer the dough to an oblong bowl or a 9×13 baking dish to rest.

Be sure to dust the loaf generously with bread flour. Make sure to get a little flour underneath the loaf so that it won’t stick to the parchment paper. 

Chill the Dough

Place your unbaked batard into the refrigerator.

Although you only need to refrigerate it for an hour, you can keep it in the fridge up to overnight.

I like to refrigerate my dough for a few hours. I find it’s easier to score when it’s thoroughly chilled. 

Preheat the Oven

If your oven has a convection setting, use it. If not, no biggie, you’ll just bake your batard a few minutes longer.

Put your Dutch oven inside the oven and then preheat it to 500 degrees. I like to let my Dutch oven preheat in a hot oven for a good 45-60 minutes so that it’s screaming hot when I put the dough in. 

Score the Batard

Just before you’re ready to bake your batard, take it out of the fridge and score it using a bread lame or very sharp knife.

The traditional way to score a batard is to make diagonal lines across the top of the dough.

Bake the Batard

Now, here’s where you’ll want to work quickly.

Open the oven door, take out the Dutch oven and remove the lid. Holding the parchment paper, carefully place the batard into the Dutch oven and quickly replace the lid. 

Get it back into the oven as quickly as possible. 

It will bake at 500 degrees for 20 minutes on convection, or 25 minutes without convection.

Then, you’ve got to work fast again: open the oven door, remove the lid from the Dutch oven, and quickly close it again. Then, reduce the oven temperature to 450 degrees. 

Bake your bread for another 15 minutes, at which time it should be golden brown and absolutely perfect! 

Cool your Bread

When you pull the bread from the oven, move it onto a wire rack right away.

Be patient and let it cool! If you slice your batard too soon, the texture might be gummy. Give it time to cool. 

Timing Your Breadmaking 

So, by now you’ve realized that baking a French batard is a multi-day process that requires a bit of planning. I know, I hate planning too!

But trust me, the end result is so worth it, and you’ll get used to the planning the more practice you get.

Here are some ways to plan out your bread baking so your batard comes out exactly when you want it:

The Overnight Rise

Day One: Feed your starter in the morning. Do not refrigerate it. Before bed, mix your dough, do the stretch and folds, and cover it with a damp dish towel. Let it rise overnight. 

Day Two: In the morning, do the second set of stretch and folds, form the loaf and place it in the refrigerator. Bake it at least one hour later or any time that day that’s convenient.

The Daytime Rise

Day One: Feed your starter. Do not refrigerate it. 

Day Two: In the morning, make the dough, do your stretch and folds and cover the dough for the first rise. At night, do the second set of stretch and folds, shape the loaf and place it into the refrigerator. Refrigerate for one hour while you preheat the Dutch oven, and then bake the loaf. This means an early morning and a late evening, but it’s definitely possible to pull it off. 

The Extended Chill

Day One: Feed your starter in the morning. Do not refrigerate it. At bedtime, make the dough, do the stretch and folds and let it rise overnight. 

Day Two: In the morning, do the second set of stretch and folds, shape the loaf and refrigerate. 

Afternoon of Day Two and Beyond: Let the dough stay in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake it. Be sure to bake the refrigerated loaf within 24 hours. 

How to Store French Batard Bread

To store your beautiful artisan bread for the first 24 hours, wrap it loosely with a clean dish towel. This will help maintain the crunchy crust. 

For longer storage, place the batard into a large freezer bag and squeeze as much air out as possible. It will keep at room temperature for several days. 

For even longer storage, place it into the freezer. This bread freezes beautifully! 

How to Reheat your French Batard

From frozen, let your bread thaw at room temperature. Then, simply enjoy it at room temperature.

You could also slice it and toast it, or reheat in a warm oven to revive the crusty exterior.  

When you make this French batard bread recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Drop a rating or leave a comment below. Enjoy! 

For delicious ways to use your sourdough bread, try these recipes: 

• Cracker Barrel French Toast Recipe (With Sourdough)
• Classic Caesar Salad with Sourdough Croutons
• Starbucks Grilled Cheese at Home