SOFT COUNTRY FRENCH BREAD

How to make Homemade French Bread

If you’ve never made bread before, here is the basic formula for making your own at home. It really is an easy process and you’ll be thrilled with the result. Plus, hello, your entire house will smell like freshly baked bread which is amazing.

Step 1: Assemble Bread Ingredients

You’ll need warm water, granulated sugar, instant OR active dry yeast, 1 egg, salt and flour. That’s it!

Step 2: Dissolve the yeast and activate it by Proofing

This is a simple process that takes about 5 minutes. You can watch the video above to see what yeast looks like when it’s proofed. It’s possible to kill yeast if you use too hot of water, so aim for slightly warmer than luke-warm, or about 105°F. Combine warm water and the sugar, then stir to dissolve. Add in the yeast, give it a quick stir and then let it sit for 5 minutes. You’ll begin to see the yeast puff up until it covers the entire surface of the water.

Step 3: Add remaining ingredients and mix

Add the egg, the oil, salt and flour, then mix using an electric stand mixer until it’s well combined, about 2 minutes. You can mix by hand but it will take longer.

Step 4: Knead the Bread

Trust me, taking an extra 5 minutes to let your mixer knead the bread is worth it! Going through the process of kneading bread dough is crucial for bread with great texture. Kneading dough allows gluten to form which enables dough to rise better, be lighter and fluffier. You can knead by hand or with a mixer. I use the dough hook on my mixer to knead bread dough. If you knead by hand, you’ll want to knead for 7-8 minutes, depending on how consistent you are.

Step 5: First Rise

Place your lovely smooth, elastic bread dough in an oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a clean towel. I think plastic wrap works better because it traps hot air inside and thus, my dough requires a shorter first rise. Be sure to spray the side of the plastic wrap that will touch the dough with oil!

If your house is cool, your bread will take longer to rise. In the wintertime when my house is cooler than normal, I like to turn the oven on for 2-3 minutes, then turn it off and let the bowl of dough rise in there. The oven traps the heat for a longtime and it’s the perfect atmosphere for rising dough.

Step 6: Punch Dough and Shape it

Punching the dough down quickly releases any air pockets that have developed and helps your bread have a more consistent rise and texture. Shape your dough by rolling it gently into a ball and rolling it 2 or 3 times on the counter top so that the ball is more oblong. Tuck the ends underneath so that the loaf looks smooth.

I like to brush an egg wash on the top of this bread to give it that smooth, shiny crust. It’s still soft and it ends up having incredible flavor. Just whisk together 1 whole egg and 1 TBSP water, then brush all over the outsde of the dough, making sure to cover it all.

Step 7: Second Rise

This French Bread only has a 10 minute second rise. I just place the pan on the stove near the oven while it preheats.

Step 8: Bake the Bread

You’re nearly there! This loaf of French Bread bakes for about 35 minutes.  I use a digital cooking thermometer near the end of the baking time to make sure the bread is fully cooked. Fully cooked bread will be 190-200 degrees F. Bread recipes that include milk will need to cook until 200 degrees, but since this one doesn’t, I take it out once it reaches 190 degrees. The top will be golden brown.

My all-time favorite cooking thermometer is the Thermapen. It’s super fast and incredibly durable. Another great thermometer is the ThermoPop which is a more basic version that works just as well!

Step 9: Cool the Bread

You can cool this loaf of bread right on the pan it baked on, or you can transfer it to a cooling rack. I prefer to cool it for about 20 minutes then serve it warm.

Instant or Active Dry Yeast for Making Country French Bread

If you use instant yeast, you can add it directly to your other dry ingredients when making bread. If you use active dry yeast, you’ll need to first dissolve it in warm water before using it in a recipe. I buy my yeast in bulk from Costco and it’s active dry yeast.

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!

Soft Country French Bread

Country French Bread recipe made with simple ingredients & detailed instructions showing how to make bread! Done in just over an hour and is a showstopper!

4.66 from 26 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: bread, Yeast Bread

Cuisine: French

Keyword: french bread

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Rise Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 216kcal

Author: Jessica & Nellie

Ingredients

• 2 TBSP yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 3-3 1/2 cups flour
• 1 egg whisked with 1 TBSP water for textured top

Instructions

• In a large bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Add yeast; let stand for 5 minutes.
• Add the canola oil, egg, salt and enough flour to form a soft dough. Knead for 5 minutes.
• Form dough into a smooth ball. Keeping the dough in the bowl, spray with non-stick spray and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for 15 minutes.
• Punch down dough. Knead for 1 minute, then form into a loaf by rolling it into an oblong shape then tucking and pinching the ends under the loaf. Place loaf on parchment lined cooking sheet. Brush thoroughly with egg mixture.
• Let loaf sit while oven is preheating to 425 degrees F, or about 10 minutes.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes, until outside is golden brown and internal temperature of loaf registers 195-200 degrees. Make sure the top isn't browning too much- sometimes I lay a piece of foil over the loaf to protect it. Let cool. Slice & enjoy with butter!

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 216kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 299mg | Potassium: 63mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 20IU | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 2mg

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Tips for making the BEST Homemade French Bread:

If you’ve never baked homemade bread before, here are a few tips:

Remember to fully knead

The recipe below kneads for 5 minutes and it’s worth it! Kneading dough helps to develop the flavor and texture of the bread, so don’t skimp on kneading time.

Weather can affect your ingredients

If you live in a moist climate, chances are you’ll need at least the recommended amount of flour, maybe even 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup more. Bread dough should be sticky, but still manageable, especially after the first rise. While you’re kneading, the dough should come together and pull away from the sides of the bowl, leaving the bowl mostly clean. I usually aim to have the very bottom of the dough still attached to the bowl. Try not to add too much flour because your bread will be more dense. When you pick the dough up, some will stick to your fingers. After the first rise, it will be easier to handle!

Temperature affects how long your bread takes to rise

If your house is cool, your bread will take longer to rise. In the wintertime when my house is cooler than normal, I like to turn the oven on for 2-3 minutes, then turn it off and let the bowl of dough rise in there. The oven traps the heat for a longtime and it’s the perfect atmosphere for rising dough.

If you live in a warm climate, feel free to set your dough outside to rise! I love doing this in the summertime- it rises so fast!