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Delicious Homemade French Bread

Homemade French Bread tastes fantastic and cuts like a dream. These loaves are traditionally used in a variety of appetizers, sandwiches, and make wonderful dipping breads for recipes like whipped honey, brie cheese dips, and herb infused olive oils and butters.

This simple yeasted recipe is easy to follow and comes together beautifully for a loaf of french bread that is soft and fluffy on the inside, with a crusty exterior that gives wonderful chew and flavor. We add a bit extra to our loaves by brushing them with an egg wash and a sprinkle of cornmeal. This is of course optional, but we love the added texture and visual flair that it brings to the bread loaves.

French Bread

The versatility of French bread is why it makes such a useful and delicious homemade bread for your family to enjoy. It can be eaten on its own, used in other recipes, or made into a butter garlic bread for family dinners like lasagna, pasta dinners, and hearty soups.

The simple recipe also makes it a great beginner bread for anyone starting out, but not quite ready to take on the commitment and learning curve of the more challenging artisan sourdough breads. Using commercial yeast gives you a straight forward process to execute, and does a lot of the work for you.

French Bread
Delicious soft loaf with a crusty top. Wonderful for table, sandwiches, Crostini

Honestly, bread is so versatile. You can make a zillion different tastes, textures and uses for bread in it’s various forms and flours. Need some bread making tips?  

Our Homemade Whole Wheat Bread recipe as an extensive tutorial full of tips on the bread making process if you are looking to educate yourself on the bread making process and a more in-depth look at the reasons behind the processes used.

French Bread recipe notes

Don’t let the long recipe scare you. Bread making is a long, but not difficult process. Making bread takes time, but not a lot of effort.

Source good ingredients like high quality flour and yeast. Then, get ready to spend the day in your kitchen amongst heavenly smells. We love the homey warm feeling and amazing flavor freshly baked bread adds to our meals.

French Bread
Crusty on top and soft in the middle. Delicious!

You can form the french bread loaves into any shape you like. Rounds, baguettes, traditional bread style loaves…whatever you like and whichever shape will best suite your intended use.

Below we have a picture of the bread dough ready to be shaped. It has risen twice, and as you can see it is soft but not sticky, strong and resilient rather than soft and spreading out of the shape. It has a good amount of life to it which is what gives it the crusty crust and wonderful chew that french breads are loved for.

French Bread Dough
Resilient, easy to handle, soft but not sticky!

Instructions to make the French Bread

In a large bowl or stand mixer, sprinkle yeast and sugar over the warm water. Stir until combined and let sit 10 minutes.

Add 2 Cups of the bread flour and salt.

Beat hard for 3 minutes until smooth.

Add remaining 1 cup of bread flour and most of the all purpose flour 1/2 Cup at a time, mixing between additions.

The dough will form a shaggy mass and clear the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until the dough becomes soft, silky and resilient; about 5 minutes. Add flour to prevent sticking as this is not a sticky dough. This process takes about 5 to 10 minutes on low in your stand mixer using a strong dough hook.

Place the dough in a greased deep bowl and turn once to coat the top.

Cover and let rise in a cool place until tripled in bulk, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Punch it down and let it rise again for about an hour. The dough may also rise overnight in the fridge.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide into three equal portions.

Knead in more flour if the dough seems sticky.

For Boules form into tight rounds

Bake in a round dutch oven or pan for the traditional rounded loaf.

For baguettes bake on a baking sheet

Flatten each portion into a rectangle. Roll the rectangle up tightly with your thumbs to form a long sausage shape; roll back and forth with your palms to adjust the length of the loaves.

To make the egg glaze

Whisk all the ingredients together until foamy.

Brush onto uncooked dough for a shine and to help seeds stick to the dough

Place the loaves 4 inches apart on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet, sprinkled with cornmeal.

The quick baking method

  • Directly after forming the loaves, slash the tops diagonally with a serrated knife, no deeper than 1/4 inch and brush the entire surface with an egg glaze.
  • Place in a cold oven on the middle or lower rack.
  • Turn the oven to 400 degrees F and bake 35 to 40 minutes or until crusty.

The standard baking method

  • Loosely cover the loaves with plastic wrap and let rise until puffy and doubled, about 30 to 40 minutes.
  • Preheat a baking stone at 450 degrees F., for at least 20 minutes. if desired.
  • Slash the bread tops with a serrated knife, no deeper than 1/4 inch.
  • Brush the entire surface with the egg glaze.
  • Move the loaves to the baking stone if using.
  • Turn on the oven to 400 degrees F. and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until crusty and hollow sounding when tapped.

Howto make french bread

French Bread
Yield: 30 slices

French Bread Recipe

Prep Time: 3 hours 25 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours

This evenly textured, crusty Homemade french bread tastes fantastic and cuts like a dream! Delight your family with this loaf buttered. OR brush it with olive oil and bake as a crostini. French bread makes lovely sandwiches, paninis and toast. The possibilities are endless!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 Tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • 2 Cups warm water, 105 to 115 degrees F
  • 3 Cups unbleached bread flour
  • 1 Tablespoon salt
  • 3 Cups all purpose flour, approximately
  • 1 Tablespoon Cornmeal for sprinkling, approximately

Egg Glaze

  • 1 egg white
  • 1 Tablespoon water
  • 1/8 tsp. salt

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl or stand mixer, sprinkle yeast and sugar over the warm water. Stir until combined and let sit 10 minutes.
  2. Add 2 Cups of the bread flour and salt.
  3. Beat hard for 3 minutes until smooth.
  4. Add remaining 1 cup of bread flour and most of the all purpose flour 1/2 Cup at a time, mixing between additions. (to avoid flour dust everywhere!)
  5. The dough will form a shaggy mass and clear the sides of the bowl.
  6. I used my stand mixer for this recipe, you can make this by hand if preferred.
  7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until the dough becomes soft, silky and resilient; about 5 minutes. Add flour to prevent sticking. This is not a sticky dough! This process takes about 5 to 10 minutes on low in your stand mixer.(make sure you have mixer tough enough to make bread dough!)
  8. Place the dough in a greased deep bowl and turn once to coat the top.
  9. Cover and let rise in a cool place, (I set mine on my counter), until TRIPLE in bulk, about 11/2 to 2 hours.
  10. Punch it down and let it rise again for about an hour. The dough may also rise overnight in the fridge.
  11. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide into three equal portions.
  12. Knead in more flour if the dough seems sticky.
  13. For Boules, Form into tight rounds.
  14. For baguettes, flatten each portion into a rectangle. Roll the rectangle up tightly with your thumbs to form a long sausage shape; roll back and forth with your palms to adjust the length of the loaves.
  15. Place the loaves 4 inches apart on a greased or parchment lined baking sheet, sprinkled with cornmeal.

QUICK BAKING METHOD:

  1. Directly after forming the loaves, slash the tops diagonally with a serrated knife, no deeper than 1/4 inch and brush the entire surface with an egg glaze. Place in a COLD oven on the middle or lower rack. Turn the oven to 400 degrees F and bake 35 to 40 minutes or until crusty.

STANDARD BAKING METHOD:

  1. Loosely cover the loaves with plastic wrap and let rise until puffy and doubled, about 30 to 40 minutes.
  2. Preheat a baking stone at 450 degrees F., for at least 20 minutes. if desired.
  3. Slash the bread tops with a serrated knife, no deeper than 1/4 inch.
  4. Brush the entire surface with the egg glaze.
  5. Move the loaves to the baking stone if using.
  6. Turn on the oven to 400 degreesF. and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until crusty and hollow sounding when tapped.
  7. (For the egg glaze)
  8. Whisk all the ingredients together until foamy.
  9. Brush onto uncooked dough for a shine and to help seeds stick to the dough

Nutrition Information

Yield

30

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 100Total Fat 0gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 224mgCarbohydrates 20gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 3g

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Soft Homemade French Bread Recipe-Pin Image

This recipe is originally from ‘Baking Bread, Old and New Traditions’ by Beth Hensperger, available on Amazon.

Sharon

Tuesday 22nd of February 2022

Can I use all unbleached flour for this recipe?

Diane

Tuesday 22nd of February 2022

Hi Sharon, You can as long as it is fairly fresh and you have good yeast. I have found if I use flour that has been sitting around forever in my cupboard for bread recipes it can sometimes make a ropy textured unusable dough. Happy Baking!

Mayuri Patel

Thursday 2nd of June 2016

I love your quick baking method as I don't have a pizza stone. I'll try the method for a crunchy crust . Baguettes look just like the ones I've seen at French bakeries.

Diane

Thursday 2nd of June 2016

Thank you Mayuri! How lovely that you have been to France and seen French Bread in the original. I am so glad you are making this recipe. Please stop back by and let me know how it turns out for you!

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