Bread can be part of a healthy diet; however, these products can also cause you to take in more calories and carbs than what is considered healthy for most diets.
There are some bread products that are made from refined flour, and these will fill you with a bunch of carbs and little nutrition.
These types of bread will often leave you feeling unsatisfied and looking for more to eat. It doesn’t mean you should stay away from bread; you just have to watch the type of bread you choose.
Baguettes are excellent bread used for a variety of meals. Dining in French restaurants will find this bread almost a staple for every meal.
They are used as appetizers or as part of the main course and are commonly made from basic lean dough. For those watching their calorie intake when thinking of a new bread to bake, you might wonder if there is sugar in the French Baguette?
How to Make a French Baguette, and does it Contain Sugar?
In America, this bread is known as French bread; in France, it is called a baguette. Traditionally the ingredients in this loaf of bread consist of water, salt, flour, and yeast.
While most recipes do not call for sugar, the label on some packages will list 0.2 grams of sugar in the ingredients and others 0 grams.
If you are looking for a loaf without sugar, you will have to check your ingredient label as even though traditional recipes don’t call for it, some bread makers do add a small amount.
If you are making your own loaf of French Baguette, you will need:
- 2 tablespoons of honey (this is a sweetening agent used by some bakers)
- 2 envelopes of active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 3 ½ to 4 cups of all-purpose flour
- Grease a bowl with Canola oil
- Dust the baking pan with cornmeal
- 3 to 4 ice cubes
Mix the honey and yeast with ½ cup of warm water, and stir to combine. Allow this mixture to stand until you see the yeast is active and begins to foam. This step usually takes about five minutes.
Mix the salt and flour in a large bowl with a dough hook and slowly add the mixture of yeast and honey. When the yeast is mixed in, add one cup of warm water and continue mixing until the dough becomes a ball that is not too wet. If the dough sticks, add a bit more flour.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and begin to knead it until your dough is smooth and has an elastic texture. This process of kneading takes about two to six minutes. Pressing your thumb into the dough and having it bounce back tells you it is ready.
Form a ball out of the dough and place it in a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with a dishcloth. Allow the dough to rest in a warm area for about thirty minutes or until its size has doubled.
Punch the dough down and divide it in half. Shape each of the halves into a baguette-shaped loaf by making each rectangular and flat, and fold each top and bottom towards the middle.
Seal in the middle where the dough came together. Continue to repeat this process of folding and sealing until your loaf has stretched to about twelve inches long and two inches wide.
When you’ve got it to the right size and shape, place it seam-side down and place it on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Score the top of each loaf with a ½ inch deep slit and cover with a dishcloth in a warm area. Once the loaves have doubled, they are ready to bake.
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and place an oven-safe bowl or pan on the bottom rack of your oven.
When the bread is doubled, simultaneously, and quickly slide the bread onto the middle rack while throwing the ice cubes into the heated pan on the bottom shelf.
The ice will burst into steam, giving your bread a nice crispy crust. Shut the door quickly to keep steam inside and bake baguettes for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
Most of your baguette recipes will not add honey or any other sweetener, such as sugar. This ingredient is a personal choice and depends on whether or not you prefer sweet bread. Omit this ingredient if you do not want your bread sweetened.Â
Basics of the Baguette
The French Baguette is a long, thin crusty bread with a soft interior and is named after the French word for ‘wand.’ The crispy crust of the baguette is often produced by baking it in steam such as with the ice cubes in the above recipe.
Some home cooks prefer to get the same effect by lightly spraying water on the dough while it bakes.
A medium slice of a French Baguette offers approximately 185 calories, one gram of fat, and 1 ½ grams of fiber.
You can also receive about 7 ½ grams of protein, making up 16% of a woman’s recommended daily intake and about 13% of man’s daily recommended intake.
The calories in a two-ounce serving of French Baguette are about the same as you would take in from two slices of wheat or white bread.
Most of the calories from a French Baguette come from its carbohydrate content. Two-ounce serving of this bread contains from 30 to 32 grams of carbs, about the same as you would get from two slices of wheat or white bread.
The French Baguette is virtually fat-free and will give you a small amount of protein. Both of these are essential nutrients your body needs to function.
When eating a piece of French Baguette, you will not notice a salty taste, but this bread does make a high-sodium bread choice. A two-ounce serving contains up to 380 mg of sodium. Knowing the sodium content in your foods helps to track and limit your intake.