HOMEMADE FRENCH BREAD

Published by Jessica on April 23, 2020

This French Bread recipe is a simple and easy one that will give you two gorgeous loaves of homemade French Bread in under 2 hours! It’s the perfect way to make homemade bread for dinner!

While I might be biased toward this recipe, I think it’s simply the best French Bread recipe ever (and trust me, I’ve been looking!) When you figure out how to make French Bread from scratch, you’ll wonder why you hadn’t tried it sooner. With soft bread on the inside and a chewy outer crust, you have the perfect classic French Bread recipe for meeting all of your bread eating needs.

There are several steps in the recipe, but they’re quick and easy!

How to Make French Bread at Home

French breads are simple by nature, but until I found this recipe on a blog called Jamie Cooks It Up I had been looking for the perfect french bread recipe. Everything was off in one way or another and seemed to be more work than they were worth.

I recommend reading the instructions a few times before starting just because there are a lot of steps and it helps you to stay focused (especially the first time you make this recipe).

Is French Bread Vegan?

The recipe for this homemade french bread is vegan but the egg wash used to help get the crust a beautiful shade of brown is obviously not. You’ll need to use cooking spray or some other vegan alternative for the egg wash.

What to serve with French bread?

French bread is often used as a side dish besides a hearty soup, just cut a slice and lather on some spreadable butter and you have yourself a tasty treat. You can also use it for french bread pizza instead of pizza crusts, or turn the stale loaves into bread pudding. There are a lot of great options out there besides soup and sandwiches, but eating fresh and warm French bread straight out of the oven is a good enough reason for me!

Fabulous French Bread Ingredients

-1 TBSP shortening

-1 TBSP coarse salt {or 1/2 TBSP regular salt}

-2 TBSP sugar

-1 cup boiling water

-1 cup cold water

-1/3 cup warm water

-1 TBSP yeast

-5 – 6 cups white all purpose flour {I used bread flour}

-1 egg

How to Make Homemade French Bread

Here’s how to make this French Bread recipe:

Dissolve Yeast

Place 1 cup of hot water in the microwave for 3 minutes to get it boiling.

In another container, dissolve the yeast into the warm water (not the boiled water!) Stir it around until it is all mixed.

Combine the salt, shortening, and sugar in the bottom of your stand mixer with a fork. {I used my whisk attachment on high. It took about a minute and was perfect.}

Next, pour the boiling water over the shortening mixture. Mix slightly to combine.

After that, pour in the cold water and turn the mixer on low.

Then pour the warm water and yeast into the mixer bowl.

Add Flour & Knead Dough

Begin to add the flour, one cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the side of your mixer. Add the dough enhancer at this time, along with the flour. The dough should be balmy but not sticky.

Then let the dough mix on high for 8 minutes.

First Rise

Turn the mixer off and remove the dough hook. Let the dough rise in the mixer for about 20 minutes. {This step can actually be skipped if you are in a hurry, but I recommend it as it allows the dough the chance to rest and improves the flavor and texture.}

Shape Loaves

Separate the dough into two parts and place them on a large jelly roll pan sprayed with cooking spray. Let the dough sit for about 5 minutes. Letting it sit will make it MUCH easier to shape into loaves.

Spread the dough out with your hands. Stretch it slightly until you have an oval about 1″ in thickness. Roll the dough up into a log shape. Take the ends of the log and fold them into the middle, with the ends touching. Turn the loaf seam-side down onto a greased pan. I used my french bread pans, but you could also use a jelly roll pan. Repeat with remaining dough.

Using a sharp knife, quickly cut 3 diagonal slits into the top of each loaf.

In a small bowl, whisk the egg until frothy. Cover the loaves with egg wash, making sure to get it in each slit.

Second Rise

Place the loaves in a warm 170 degree oven and let them rise for about 15 minutes.

Bake French Bread

Turn the oven up to 400 degrees and then re-set your timer for 15 minutes. {Leave the loaves in while the oven increases in temperature.}

Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and turn the pan around in the oven. Bake for another 10-12 minutes, until the loaves are a nice golden brown. If you prefer crustier loaves, mist the outside with water a few times during the final 10 minutes of baking. Enjoy!

AVOID SUNKEN BREAD

The easiest and best way to avoid sunken bread is to use a cooking thermometer to check the inside of the loaf. Fully cooked bread will register 200°F on a thermometer. My all-time favorite thermometer is the Thermapen. It’s super fast and incredibly durable. Another great cooking thermometer is the ThermoPop which is a more basic version that works just as well!

FABULOUS FRENCH BREAD

French Bread made with simple ingredients at home! In under 2 hours you'll have 2 large loaves of delicious homemade French Bread.

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: bread

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Homemade French Bread

Prep Time: 1

Cook Time: 25

Total Time: 1 25

Servings:

Calories: 329kcal

Author: Jessica & Nellie

Ingredients

1 TBSP shortening
2 tsp salt
2 TBSP sugar
1 cup boiling water
1/3 cup warm water
1 cup cold water
1 TBSP yeast
5 - 6 cups white all purpose OR bread flour
1 egg

Instructions

Place the 1 cup hot water in the microwave for 3 minutes to get it boiling.
Dissolve the yeast into the warm water. Stir it around until it is all mixed.
Combine the salt, shortening, and sugar in the bottom of your mixer with a fork or use your mixer's whisk attachment. Pour the boiling water over the shortening mixture. Mix slightly to combine.
Pour the cold water in next. Then pour in the yeast mixture.
Begin to add the flour, one cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the side of your mixer. The dough should be tacky but not sticky.
Let the dough mix on high (using the dough hook) for 8 minutes.
Let the dough rise in the mixer for about 20 minutes. {This step can actually be skipped if you are in a hurry, but I recommend it as it allows the dough the chance to rest and improves the flavor and texture.}
Separate the dough into two parts and place on a large jelly roll pan sprayed with cooking spray. Let the dough sit for about 5 minutes. Letting it sit will make it MUCH easier to shape.
Spread the dough out with your hands. Stretch it slightly until you have an oval about 1" in thickness. Roll the dough up into a log shape. Take the ends of the log and fold them into the middle, with the ends touching. Turn the loaf seam-side down onto a greased pan. Repeat with remaining dough.
Using a sharp knife, quickly cut 3 diagonal slits into the top of each loaf.
Whisk egg until frothy. Cover loaves with egg wash, making sure to get in each slit.
Place the loaves in a warm 170 degree F oven and let rise for about 15 minutes.
Turn the oven up to 400 degrees F and re-set your timer for 15 minutes. {Leave the loaves in while the oven increases in temperature.}
Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and turn the pan around in the oven. Bake for another 10-12 minutes, until the loaves are a nice golden brown. If you prefer crustier loaves, mist the outside with water a few times during the final 10 minutes of baking.

Nutrition

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Can French Bread Be Frozen?

Yes, you can freeze your French Bread for up to 3 months if you keep them in an airtight container or keep them well wrapped. Just thaw them at room temperature for a few hours and pop them in the oven to warm up to help recreate the fresh from the oven feel you got when they were newly baked.

How Long Will French Bread Stay Fresh?

If left at room temperature and kept well covered and wrapped, your french bread can be expected to last up to 3 days. Just make sure to keep it on the counter/room temp or in the freezer because placing your bread in the fridge will cause it to lose moisture and dry out faster.

Why Is My French Bread Hard/Dense?

You may have under kneaded the bread dough or unbaked the loaf. These are two of the most common culprits for a dense loaf. Make sure that your bread dough is properly kneaded by pressing your finger into the dough. You want it to immediately begin springing back and trying to cover the indentation that you made.

Enjoy this bread recipe? Here are even more recipes for homemade bread to try:

With one simple bread recipe making 2 loaves of delicious Fabulous French Bread in under 2 hours you can have them ready in time for dinner and watch them be gone before dessert. Everyone will enjoy the soft, chewy, flavorful Homemade French Bread.