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Crusty on the outside, soft and flavourful in the middle. Homemade olive baguettes that are far easier than they look.

There is genuinely nothing quite like pulling a tray of homemade olive & herb baguettes out of the oven. These ones are packed with delicious ingredients, have a deeply golden crust and a beautifully open crumb – and the overnight method does most of the work for you while you sleep.

Makes 4 baguettes | Prep time: 20 mins + overnight | Cook time: 20 mins

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How to make Easy Homemade Olive Baguettes

Ingredients:

350g strong white bread flour
240ml warm water
2 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp dried or fresh herbs of your choice
Generous handful of chopped black olives

Spring onion works brilliantly in here too if you want to experiment.

Method:

Start the dough. Mix the water, yeast, honey and flour together until combined. Cover with a tea towel and leave for 10 minutes. Add the oil and salt, mix together and cover for another 10 minutes. Fold in the olives, herbs and anything else you’re adding, then cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight.

The next day. Take the dough out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature for about an hour before you handle it – don’t rush this part. Turn it out onto a well-floured surface, being gentle to keep those air bubbles intact. Fold the dough in on itself four times, then divide into four equal pieces and shape into baguettes. Dust with flour, cover with a tea towel and leave to rest for 30 minutes.

To bake. Score the tops and add a few drops of olive oil into the cuts. Bake in a very hot oven with a bowl of water in the bottom for steam – 10 minutes at full heat, then turn down to 200°C for another 10. Keep an eye on them. They’re done when the crust is deeply golden and sounds hollow when you tap the bottom.

A few notes:

The bowl of water in the oven isn’t optional – it’s what gives you that proper bakery-style crust. Don’t skip it.

The overnight rest is where the flavour develops, so this is very much a plan-ahead recipe rather than a same-day one. The good news is the hands-on time is minimal, the dough does its own thing in the fridge while you get on with your day.

Feel free to play with the add-ins. Rosemary and sun-dried tomato, spring onion and cheddar, or just plain with good quality sea salt on top – all brilliant. But however you make your homemade olive baguettes, just know that they’ll turn out beautifully.

If you were looking for a scrummy filling for the baguettes, you could consider creating a loaded one, with my delicious and sticky orange pulled pork recipe.