You can’t beat a classic, and this French Bread recipe is so easy that you won’t want to pick it up from the supermarket anymore. It only takes 4 ingredients – and one of those is water!
As a bread loving house, this French Bread recipe is on repeat. Some other great choices are this Artisan Bread, Focaccia Bread, Potato Bread, or this White Bread Recipe.
I used to be intimidated by baking homemade bread, but I have found that bread baking is actually quite easy. It takes very little hands on time – most of your time is spent waiting for the dough to rise. And since nothing goes with dinner better than fresh bread, you need a great French Bread recipe. And this is the only recipe you’ll need.
This is the perfect loaf to serve alongside dinner – crispy on the outside and nice and soft on the inside. So few ingredients, but the flavor will blow you away!
Ingredients
- Water: For this recipe, you start with lukewarm water. The bread has a nice, long rise, so just lukewarm tap water is great.
- Yeast: I’m using dry, active yeast.
- Salt: Kosher is best here. If you are using table salt, I would suggest cutting back the amount to about 2 teaspoons.
- Flour: I like to make this with bread flour, but have used all-purpose flour many times, as well, and they both work great!
How to Make French Bread
1: Combine the yeast and the water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and let it sit for 15 minutes, until the yeast starts to foam. Stir in the salt.
2: Start adding the flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.
3: Continue to add the flour until the dough comes together and starts pulling away from the sides of the bowl. You may need more or less than the 5 cups of flour. You don’t want the dough to be dry – it should still be a little tacky.
4: Pour the dough out onto a floured counter and knead the dough for a few minutes.
5: Bring the dough together into a ball.
6: Place the dough in a greased bowl and turn to coat. Cover and let rise until doubled. This will take anywhere between 2 and 4 hours, depending on external circumstances.
7: Once the dough has risen, pour it onto a counter and divide it into two equal portions.
8: Shape the dough into two loaves and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silpat liner.
9: Take a very sharp knife and score the tops of the loaves.
10: Brush the exterior of the loaves with water.
11: Place the pan in a cold oven. Now you’re going to take boiling water and add it to the oven underneath the bread. You can add a pot of boiling water, or use a kettle and fill a baking dish with the boiling water. (I prefer this second way so that I don’t have to walk with a pot or pan sloshing with boiling water.) Turn the oven on to 400ºF and bake the bread until it is golden brown and cooked through.
12: Optional last step – if you want a soft, buttery crust, brush the hot loaves of bread with butter.
Tips and Tricks
- This recipe can be made by hand, but it is much easier in a stand mixer.
- Make sure your yeast is still good. If the yeast hasn’t started to foam and bloom, you probably need to replace your yeast.
- Don’t go overboard with the flour. Add it in slowly and stop when your dough is still just a little bit sticky.
- For the perfect rise, place your bowl with your covered dough in your oven with just the light on. The light will create just the right amount of heat to make the bread rise perfectly.
- Brush your loaves with water (as stated in this recipe) for a crustier loaf of French bread. For a softer loaf, brush the loaves with a lightly beaten egg.
What to serve French Bread with
You can never go wrong with serving French Bread with soup! Some of my favorites that would go perfectly with a loaf of easy French Bread are my Classic Homemade Beef Stew, Lasagna Soup, or Broccoli Cheese Soup.
French Bread also always goes with pasta! Some of my favorites are pasta with this Easy Alfredo Sauce, One Pan Pasta with Bacon and Peas, or Penne Pasta Bake.
More Bread Recipes
Hawaiian Bread
Brioche Bread
Dinner Rolls
Polenta Bread
Peasant Bread
Looking for more free recipes?
Subscribe to my free recipe newsletter to get new family friendly recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more family-friendly inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram.
French Bread
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Rising Time: 4 hours 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 loaves, 30 servings 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: French
Description
You can’t beat a classic, and this French Bread recipe is so easy that you won’t want to pick it up from the supermarket anymore. It only takes 4 ingredients – and one of those is water!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (16 oz) lukewarm water
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (0.25 oz) dry active yeast – 1 package
- 1 tablespoon (16g) kosher salt
- 5 cups (600g) bread flour
Instructions
- Combine the yeast and the water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and let it sit for 15 minutes, until the yeast starts to foam. Stir in the salt.
- Start adding the flour, 1 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Continue adding flour until you have a smooth dough. Switch to the dough hook once the dough starts to come together. (*You may need more or less than 5 cups of flour. The dough will start to pull away from the sides of the bowl, but should still be slightly tacky.)
- Lightly flour a work surface. Pour the dough onto the floured surface, and knead for a few minutes, until the dough is in a smooth ball.
- Lightly grease a large bowl and add the dough to the bowl. Turn the dough over to coat the dough in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Place the bowl in a warm place and let the dough rise until it has doubled in size, 2-4 hours.
- Lightly flour a work surface, and pour the dough out. Divide the dough into 2 separate pieces. Shape each piece into a long loaf, and transfer the loaves to a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. Allow the loaves to rise for 5 minutes.
- Use a sharp knife to score the tops of the loaves. Brush the loaves with water, then place the baking sheet into a cold oven.
- Fill an oven safe pan with water and bring to a boil. Place the pan on the bottom shelf of the oven, under the baking sheet with the loaves. Turn the oven on to 400ºF.
- Bake until the bread is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Cool the loaves completely on a rack.
- OPTIONAL: For a softer crust, brush the tops of the loaves with melted butter when they come out of the oven.
Recipe Notes:
Adapted from The Great Baking Book
Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should be used as a general guide.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 80
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 19 mg
- Fat: 1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 2 mg
Keywords: french bread, french bread recipe, homemade french bread, how to make french bread
I Like To Make Bread says
Couldn’t stop eating this after I made it. Have tried other French Bread recipes but they didn’t turn out well for me. I did have to bake about 5-10 minutes longer than stated as the loaves didn’t brown up as nicely as I would have like – did not affect the taste and I will make again.
★★★★★
Deborah says
I’m so glad it turned out well for you!