French bread doesn’t have to be difficult – Grandma’s Easy French Bread Recipe is soft and delicious and you’ll never want to buy it from the grocery store again!
Originally posted January 11, 2011 – The flu hit our family this past week. And hit hard. So between being sick myself, and having to still take care of my family and house, the blog didn’t get much attention. I had all intentions of posting a new recipe yesterday, and then again today, but that has obviously not happened. Luckily, I am on the mend, and hopefully things will get back to normal next week. In the meantime, I thought I’d bring this goodie up from the archives with new photos. If you are afraid of making your own French bread, this recipe is a great place to start. It’s super easy and tastes amazing!
The original post follows:
I’ve been trying to be really good at making a weekly menu. I’ll make the menu over the weekend, and then go grocery shopping on Monday. (Ideally early Monday morning before stores get busy!) That way, I have it all done for the week, and I don’t have to worry about it. Going to the grocery store 2 or 3 times a week before I had a child was no big deal, but now going anywhere is an ordeal. Any of you mothers out there know how much more time and effort it takes to take that little person along with you!!
So, this last week, I had my menu all planned out. But I planned a recipe for later in the week that I needed French bread for. It wasn’t the smartest planning, because I couldn’t very well buy a loaf of French bread on Monday, because by Friday, it wouldn’t be good anymore. So I figured I’d just stop by a grocery store sometime during the week while I was out and about. Well, that didn’t happen. And Friday came around, and I had no plans for leaving the house. Especially just to go get 1 loaf of French bread! So, I decided to just make my own.
You would think that it takes more effort to make your own bread than running to the store, but really, this recipe was super easy. You do need some time where you can be close by – you have to tend to this recipe every 10 minutes for about an hour, but only for a few seconds at a time. And I really think this recipe would be fool-proof! I was super low on flour, so I ended up using half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour. What I ended up with was some of the most delicious bread I’ve made! This is a super soft bread – it doesn’t have a crusty exterior like an authentic French bread would have, but I kinda like it that way. I think I found a go-to bread recipe!!
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French bread doesn’t have to be difficult - Grandma’s Easy French Bread Recipe is soft and delicious and you’ll never want to buy it from the grocery store again!
- 2 1/4 cups warm water
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 5 1/2 - 6 cups flour*
- cornmeal
- 1 egg
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Pour the water in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the sugar and yeast, and it sit for a few minutes until it is bubbling.
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Add the oil and the salt and 3 cups of the flour. Beat well. Change to the dough hook and continue to add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough comes together and is not too sticky. Knead for a few minutes.
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Leave the dough in the mixer to rest for 10 minutes. Turn your mixer on for 10 seconds, then allow it to sit for another 10 minutes. Repeat this cycle for a total of 5 times.
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Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts. Roll each piece into a 9x13-inch rectangle. Roll the dough up, starting from the long end, then pinching the edges to seal. Sprinkle a large baking sheet with cornmeal. Arrange the loaves, seem side down, on the baking sheet. With a sharp knife, cut 3 slashes at an angle on top of each loaf. Cover lightly with a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise for 30 minutes.
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Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
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Lightly beat the egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the surface of both loaves with the egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and cooked through, about 30 minutes.
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Deborah, what a beautiful loaf of bread! I often find myself in the same situation as you were and never mind baking a loaf for a recipe.
My favorite French bread at the local store is on the softer side, too, and I love it. I also love this bread – you did a beautiful job with it! I've been looking for a simple French bread recipe and have finally found one! I'll be giving this a try soon, for sure. Thanks, Deborah!
Ever since I started baking my own bread last year, I find it so gratifying that I just can't go back to storebought. This loaf sounds and looks amazing! And even better for you with the whole wheat added in.
Making bread is so much easier than people thing & homemade is always so good!
I like soft french bread, too, and I agree that this recipe is forgiving – I'm always messing around with the proportions of white and wheat flour and it always manages to taste delicious. I'm glad it helped you in a pinch – no reason to go to the store for a loaf of bread anymore!
A lovely loaf! So smooth.
Cheers,
Rosa
This loaf looks so wonderful. I want to make a loaf of homemade bread really soon.
I do everything I can to arrange for my shopping to be done without my little one. When that's not possible, it definitely requires a less busy time at the store and good organization on my part!
I want to try to work with yeast more often- other than pizza dough- and this bread looks like a wonderful way to do so!
I loved this post, but I totally get it. I will do or make just about anything to keep from taking two kids to the store with me. The most complicated of bread recipes are easier than taking children to the store 🙂 Your bread looks fantastic!!
This is such a pretty loaf of bread! Homemade bread is so much better than store-bought. (And I don't have kids to take to the grocery store any more, but it's a chore all the same.)
wonderful loaf of french bread. A big thanks to your grandma for sharing the best recipe… !
I've been looking for an easy to make not to chewy bread my kids would like. This one looks like it! I'll be sure to give this a try.
When I visited the US last summer, I had -soft- French bread for the first time, and I loved it! So I'm looking forward to try your recipe this weekend. Since I don't have a proper mixer, I guess I'll just have to knead the dough by hand every ten minutes. Oh well!
This bread was so yummy with minestrone soup! Thank you for this yummy bread:)
Awesome!!!! I made this 2 hours ago… and it's gone! My family swalowed it in a second! we love good bread and this one is just great. Extra soft and great delicate crunch from the outside.
Thanks!!!!!
Currently in the process of making your bread right now! Yours turned out amazing & I can only hope that mine will be the same! Also, your blog is one of the best I’ve ever seen (& believe me…I’ve seen many!) I’ve favorited it & hope to make some more of your recipes very soon! Thank you very much for the bread recipe!! (:
Penny – I hope it turns out great for you! Thanks for reading!
Made this last night. It was very simple and produced a delicious bread with nice texture and density. My husband and I really enjoyed it and had a loaf left over to share or freeze. Thank you for sharing!
This recipe sounds sooooooooo yummy. My question is could you use instant yeast and how much? Also , could you just mix it by hand?
You can use instant yeast, but the rise times may be different. And you could definitely mix it by hand – it just might take a little muscle, but totally doable!
Thank you Deborah!
I have to try this !
This bread looks amazing, can’t wait to try it! xo Loren