Garlic Batard Bread Recipe (Easy French Loaf)

Our Garlic Batard Bread recipe makes an artisanal bread that looks like it came from a bakery but is just as easy to make at home. This French-style loaf of bread has a crunchy crust and a tender center with a smooth garlic flavor.

Our Easy French Batard Bread is a light crispy artisan bread that can take on the heartiest bowl or soup or elevate your charcuterie board. The mild garlic flavor makes it a delicious match for a plate of pasta. Let us show you how easy it is to create your own batard loaf.

Note: You need to start this bread the day before you want to eat it so it’s helpful to read through all of the instructions before you start. If you would rather bake French bread today, take a look at our French Bread Baguette recipe. It’s easy enough for the beginner.

What is Batard Bread?

Originally, French bakers shaped their bread into a baguette or boule (round) shape. In the 19th century, a baker came up with a loaf shape. It was referred to as a Bâtard, pronounced Ba taar and means “Bastard”.

Is a Batard a Baguette? 

While both are French Breads, A batard is like a baguette but has a rounder middle and tapered ends like a torpedo.

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Batard Bread Ingredients

Bread Flour. I used European-Style Artisan Bread Flour Bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour which creates an airy chewy texture to batard bread. You can substitute 1:1 with all-purpose flour. The texture may change but it will still be good.

Instant yeast. Check the expiration date and that the yeast is labeled as instant or rapid-rise yeast. Expired yeast may not rise properly and unlike active dry yeast, it doesn’t need to be activated in warm liquids. 

Water. Filtered water is what we recommend for areas that are highly treated or chlorinated. It’s been said that such treatment can have an effect on the yeast but I haven’t experienced this personally.

Garlic. One fresh bulb.

How to make Batard Bread

Step 1: Make a Poolish

The night before you bake the bread, you will make a poolish by combining flour, water, and a pinch of yeast. 

What is a Poolish? A poolish is a “preferment” somewhat like a sourdough starter except that it’s made with commercial yeast, not wild yeast. It’s often used in French bread to improve flavor and texture. Like sourdough, the poolish needs time to ferment at room temperature. We recommend 16 hours. As you can see, our poolish was very active before we proceeded.

Step 2: Roast the Garlic Bulb

Cut the top off of the garlic and set it in a piece of aluminum foil. Drizzle it with olive oil and wrap it completely in the foil. Set it on a pie plate or baking sheet and bake. Let it cool enough to handle it.

Step 3: Make the bread dough

This isn’t hard but it may look complicated because of the steps. Just take them on one at a time and your Garlic Batard Bread will be a success.

On the day of baking, add the water flour and chopped roasted garlic to the poolish and stir until combined. Rest for 20 minutes.

Add the salt and yeast. Knead the dough for 5 to 7 minutes or until smooth.

Place the dough into a lightly oiled large bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a tea towel.

Place the dough in a warm place for 90 minutes. Every 30 minutes fold the four sides of the dough into the middle and turn the dough over each time. This will help strengthen the dough for shaping.

Remove the dough from the bowl and separate it into two roughly shaped oval pieces using a bench scraper or sharp knife. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rest for 15 to 20 minutes.

Step 4: How do you Shape a Batard?

The final shape of the Batard looks somewhat like a baguette with tapered ends or like a torpedo. As you can see in our video, first we shape it in an oblong shape. 

1. For the final shaping, we turned our dough out onto a lightly floured surface and shaped it into a rough rectangle. 
2. Taking hold of the upper corners, bring them to the center leaving the top at a point (like you would when making a paper airplane).
3. Fold the point to the center and then roll it into a log creating surface tension and tapering the ends to a point to imitate a torpedo loaf.

Place the shaped dough on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Cover the dough for the final proof, approximately 2 hours or not quite double. It’s important to note that the dough not be over-proofed because it will lose its oval shape.

Step 5: Prepare and Bake

• This bread must be baked in a hot oven so I suggest giving it plenty of time to preheat. We also baked our batard on a baking stone instead of the baking sheet and placed it in the oven while the oven was preheating. 
• Score the top of the dough 2 to 4 times diagonally with a sharp knife or razor blade. 
• We found it easier to just slide the batard loaves onto the hot baking stone using the parchment paper. Alternatively, you can bake the bread on a baking sheet.
• Spritz the loaves of bread with a mist of warm water which will give you that crispy artisanal crust.

Step 6: Cool

Once your delicious bread is golden brown and reaches a temperature of 190F, turn the oven off, crack the oven door open (I use a wooden spoon), and let the bread cool. 

One thing that I’ve never quite gotten is bread with that crunchy crusty exterior. That is until this Garlic Batard. Misting the bread before it’s baked and cooling it the way we did in step 6 gave us exactly the crust we desired.

What is the best way to eat batard bread?

Any way that you eat a traditional baguette is perfect for bread batard. A slather of butter or cream cheese with your favorite bowl of soup or plate of pasta would be our choice. The French generally eat this delicious bread unadorned.

French Batard Bread F.A.Qs

What is the best way to store Garlic Batard Bread?

This bread is best eaten the day you make it. However, Leftovers can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Can you freeze this homemade bread?

Yes, you can freeze Batard French Bread. This Batard Bread Recipe makes two small loaves. We eat the first one the day we make it and freeze the second loaf. Wrap it in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil for up to 3 months.

How do you reheat homemade Batard bread?

Batard bread can be reheated for 5 to 10 minutes in a preheated 350° F oven.

Hostess Tips

• Roast the garlic and mince it before adding it. That way the flavor is consistent throughout the loaf.
• Bake by temperature. We use an instant-read thermometer and bake our bread to an internal temperature of 190 to 195. Tapping the bread or gauging its doneness by color isn’t consistent.
• We all start somewhere, right? The first time I made French Batard Bread loaves I didn’t create enough surface tension when I shaped the batard dough so my ends lost their points, and I slashed my bread incorrectly, but it’s always easier to get right the second time around right? Regardless, it tastes delicious! So, don’t be afraid to try.

I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe as much as we do. Drop me a comment below, and don’t forget to give it a star rating. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Your comments and ratings help others decide if this recipe is for them too.

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This garlic batard recipe was previously shared on 4/12/16. We’ve updated it with process shots to help our readers but no changes were made to the recipe.

We participated in a bread-baking challenge group. The theme was “garlic” and hosted by Karen with Karen’s Kitchen Stories. I’d seen the European-Style Hearth Bread recipe on the King Arthur website and knew I could adapt it by infusing it with roasted garlic and shaping it into a batard would be amazing. I wasn’t wrong and hope you’ll give it a try.

Did you enjoy this recipe? Don’t forget to pin it for later and follow me on Pinterest for more delicious recipes like this one!

Take a look at these Bread Baker recipes!

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#BreadBakers is a group of bread-loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page.

We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to [email protected].

You know how much I love baking bread right? I loved making this one and here are a couple of other recipes I really enjoyed making with the Bread Bakers group.

Previous Bread Challenge Recipes

• Caramelized Onion Gouda Casatiello
• Sweet Russian Chocolate Braid
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