How to cook Part Baked Baguettes in air fryer

With a little imagination you can make a baguette fit in most size air fryers, either by cutting a knob off the end, or cut it in half, and thus the baguette can be air fried.

Cook part baked Baguettes by following the oven cooking instructions exactly, reducing the time by half. I have found this to be the case with most store-bought bake at home rolls. For my typical 11-12 inch baguette, I set the temp to 390°F / 200°C; with the time set to 5 minutes, which included a preheat.

Cooking what is essentially a ready baked bread in an air fryer will require you to air fry until it produces a golden light crispy crust.

To air fry a baguette which can be as much as a foot long, could bring compatibility issues, of which you can resolve in a matter of minutes.

Simply cut off one end of the baguette with a knife so the baguette can fit either corner to corner, or one side to the other in a longer basket design.

While that applies to square baskets, of course a rounded basket design will almost always allow for one baguette at a time.

If your basket is long enough to fit one baguette without any cutting required, then it could be possible to air fry two baguettes at one time. In a likely scenario, you will only be able to air fry one part baked baguette at a time.

Part baked baguettes usually come in packs of 2 like mine did. What I found is that the first baguette I air fried fit snuggly corner to corner. On my attempt to air fry the second baguette, would you believe it, is was a little too long for my basket this time around.

Air frying one baguette at a time should be fine, although both will need time to cool before they're ready to be made into a sandwich or dipped in soup.

I have air fried a garlic baguette before now which was both longer and wider than a typical part baked baguette. I was able to cut it up until it fitted, and it air fried very well. And that is how you would probably fit a part baked baguette in a small rounded or square-shape basket - cut it up until all pieces can be air fried together.

Cooking part baked rolls in an air fryer instead of part baked baguettes will avoid these issues, as it will be more practical for small air fryers - so consider picking up small rolls if you haven't already.

Rounded baskets will probably fit just the one baguette at its widest point, although a square basket will cause restrictions.

My personal taste calls for a pale, no colour in the crust as I find the texture to be gentler on my gums and the roof of my mouth. Whereas a crispy, very golden baguette I feel can be hard to chew - and so I like to avoid a crunchy crust.

Oven instructions of my Part Baked Baguette is labelled as 220°C / 200°C fan; 8-10 Minutes. But as you will find out, it took only half the time to cook in an air fryer.

NOTE: Part baked baguette featured in this demonstration was achieved with a sold exclusively at Tesco, H.W. Neville's Part Baked Baguettes, 2 Pack.

How long to cook Part Baked Baguettes in air fryer

Cook in an air fryer as instructed with the following temperature and time; reducing the time by half for a light crispy crust. All while an added minute or two will ensure a golden crispy crunch, if that is what you prefer textural wise.

NOTE: Colour and texture will depend on individual baguettes with no guaranteed way to air fry baguettes to identical doneness quality.

Here I've provided you a list of all widely available part baked baguettes you will mostly find in supermarkets across the UK.

I've provided the oven cooking instructions for your convenience, while the air frying cooking instructions are there for you to reference against the part baked baguette you currently have at home - and of course need to know the temp and time to air fry at.

Note the Prep column illustrates if you need to slightly dampen the baguette before cooking it, of which it largely relates to Tesco products only.

Prepare a single Baguette

Store sold partially cooked baguettes will have some preparation you must follow on the packaging. And this would normally involve rubbing a little water over the surface of the baguette, which will help it cook to a golden crispy texture with no drying out.

• STEP 1: Determine if Baguette fits in basket - Unfortunately there is a possibility your baguette will be too long for your basket; simply cut a little off the end, thus shortening the baguette until it fits
• STEP 2: Preheat: 390°F / 200°C; time: 5 Mins. - Let's preheat the air fryer so we can all air fry a part baked baguette using the temperature and time exactly

• STEP 3: Dampen surface of Baguette - Quickly run the baguette under a cold tap, making sure to pat dry access water with a paper towel if instructed to
• STEP 4: Pat dry access water - Never dampen your Baguette too much as it wouldn't crisp up so well, so its important to pat it dry with paper towel

NOTE: To take care of the top side of the baguette, let's begin by air frying it upside down so we can introduce some heat in the centre while avoid over doing the top side.

How to air fry Baguette

Assuming your baguette fits, which it will if you cut a little bread off the end with a knife, you will want to air fry as instructed to for oven cooking, setting the time to 5 minutes. I've found air frying at a drastically reduced temperature will make it harder for the Baguette to produce a golden crispy crust.

• STEP 1: Position Baguette Upside Down in basket - Return your baguette to the position you initially placed it in, to determine whether it fits in your basket
• STEP 2: Set temp: 390°F / 200°C; time: 5 Mins. - Packaging will recommend a high temperature, which you must stick to; air frying will take half the time

• STEP 3: Cook Baguette for 2 Mins. - Press START to air fry for 2 minutes straight while keeping an eye on the timer, as the time will quickly pass by
• STEP 4: Flip Baguette; check on crust until done - With the basket open, quickly flip the Baguette with 3 minutes to go; checking every minute for desired crust

NOTE: Remove baguette with your hand wrapped in a tea towel while checking for crispiness - of which if it isn't crispy enough - continue to air fry checking every minute until you reach your preferred texture.

Cook part baked Baguette if made to fit

You can cook part baked baguettes in air fryer if it fits, and if it doesn't there's certainly a chance you can cut your baguette so it fits diagonally - corner to corner - or across the basket if its long enough to fit a 11-12 inch French style baguette.

With part baked baguettes coming in packs of 2, I was able to experiment with the first baguette the day before I cooked this one as demonstrated in the pictures.

What I found is, the first baguette fitted nicely in my square-shape basket but only when it was positioned corner to corner.

Next day I prepared the part baked baguette once again while checking to see if it fitted, before I committed to preheating the air fryer. To my surprise, the second baguette didn't fit, thus it wasn't possible to go ahead with the air frying until it was cut down to size.

Not a problem if this happens to you as there's an easy solution to getting around an incompatible part baked baguette.

You only need to cut a little bit off the end of the baguette on one end only, while continuing to cut back the end a little more until it fits.

In addition, it is possible to cut the whole part baked baguette in half, as a way to make them fit in the smallest baskets. I have actually reheated a baguette this way, which helped me fit an ultra long French stick in my still large basket.

Did you know its possible to bake a French style baguette in an air fryer, where you have the advantage of forming the dough so it fits in your particular basket.

Air fry until desired doneness

Often we all cook baked goods and similar food items until we achieved a golden crispy texture, which isn't quite the case with an air fried part baked baguette.

It happens when we cook in a regular oven of course including when we brown toast in the toaster. I must say this isn't want you will want to reach for with most store-bought part baked baguettes.

Air fry until the surface of the baguette is crisped to your desired texture; DON'T take out of air fryer until the crust has turned a light golden colour only.

By the time this happens, more often than not the crispiness would of reached its peak, thus producing a light crispy texture with a pale crust. While its possible the baguette was ready several minutes prior - check the part baked baguette by pressing on the surface, feeling for a light crispy texture.

High heat and air frying to a time as suggested on the packaging could heavily golden the baguette all over, but you must keep an eye on the baguette frequently.

Summary

How part baked baguettes are cooked in an air fryer would mostly rely on you keeping an eye on the colour of the crust.

You will be aiming for a light golden crust which is likely to yield a crispy crust of many multitudes. Air fry until its reached a light golden colour only, which I assure you it will be at its best. Air fry any longer and the crust will get a little to hard and crunchy.

I have found with all available part baked baguettes you will find in your local corner shop or supermarket - all can be cooked half the time of the oven instructions.

Some products call for only a few minutes of air frying time as you'll be practically reheating the baguette, as oppose to cooking the rest of the way. Which is why its labelled as part-baked, because you have to cook it for the second time.

Unfortunately, a baguette being what it is, a 11-12 inch baton, will be too long to fit in most air fryer baskets.

Rest assured though all baguettes can be made to fit by simply cutting a little bit off the end of the soft bread; while there's an option to cut the baguette in half which is probably what you will have to do for very small air fryer baskets.

Cook a part baked baguette to your desired doneness until the crust turns a light gold, then press your finger into a section of the crust to feel and hear a nice crispy sound. No need to cut open a baguette to check for doneness, just press and listen.

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