Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

"Good" is a matter of opinion. There are plenty of fantastic books written about bread. But first, use decent ingredients. Try different brands of flour and different types. using the same recipe. It does make a difference.

King Arthur Flour sells a "French-Style" flour as well as Italian. Might be worth giving those a try.

Technique is the thing you need, not a recipe. The only ingredients in good French baguettes are flour, water, salt and yeast. It's the skill of the baker that transforms them into good bread. Fermentation, time and heat are the most important part of the recipe, not the ingredients. This one requires homework.

I found Peter Reinhart's book "The Breadmaker's Apprentice" on Amazon for about $24.00. I just took a class in baguette making yesterday. I'll type up the instructions and recipe a little later and post them here when I can sit still for more than 5 minutes! The technique is different from what I expected.

You won't get very far without an oven that injects steam during the first half hour or so of baking. The difference between meh and good, let alone great, baguette is a matter of professional technique and equipment. Especially if you are setting the bar as high as what your remember having in France. Sorry.

about the steamy oven, i find placing a few ice cubes on a hot pan does a nice job of keeping the oven moist.

The Daring Bakers did Julia Child's baguette recipe I think last summer - so a Google of "daring baker baguette" just may turn up a real winner. I recall most posters having success (but the recipe is reeeaaaallllyyy long)

For decades, I've been using the recipe for French bread from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (1981). I guess this book isn't very new anymore (and I don't know whether this recipe is included in the 12th edition of this cookbook), but I've never felt compelled to search for a different recipe (or to acquire the 12th edition). It makes 2 baguettes. Here it is: In a larger mixer bowl, combine 2 cups of warm water, 2 tsp salt, 2 packages of active dry yeast, and 2 cups of all-purpose flour (out of a total of 5 1/2 to 6 cups). Beat with electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, then on high for 3 minutes, scraping sides. Using a large spatula, stir in as much as you can of the remaining flour, which probably will be about 3 cups. Then turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead, adding more of the remaining flour as necessary, until you have a smooth elastic ball. This takes about 10 minutes. Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a large greased bowl, turn it once, and then cover it and allow to rise in a warm place until double, about an hour. Next, punch it down, divide it in half, and let it rest 10 minutes. Meanwhile, grease a baking sheet and sprinkle it with corn meal. Then roll half of the dough into a 15-by-12-inch rectangle. Roll it up tightly from the long side, taper the ends, and tuck them under. Make sure the loaf is sealed well. Place it on the baking sheet, seam side down, and prepare the remaining half of the dough in the same fashion. To produce a nice crisp crust, mix 1 tablespoon of water into 1 slightly beaten egg white and brush the loaves with the egg wash; save the rest of the wash. Let the loaves rise until nearly double, about 45 minutes. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes and brush the loaves again with the egg wash. Then continue baking the loaves for an additional 20-25 minutes, making for a total baking time of 40-45 minutes. Allow to cool about 20 minutes before serving.

The 1981 edition of this cookbook also contains an excellent recipe for beef bourguignonne, which pretty much demands a couple of these baguettes.

Just want to second whats cookin's recommendation of Steingarten's essay on baguettes--hilarious, deeply knowledgeable, slightly demented. The perfect thing to read while gnawing a hunk of non-Parisian home-made bread. The quest's the thing, after all.