french bread recipe

Craving a crusty French loaf?  Look no further than this easy baguette recipe.  Only 4 ingredients and it's mostly down time!  You can do this!

Crusty French Baguette Recipe

water

active dry yeast*

bread flour

salt

flour, (for dusting)

Measure the warm water in a small bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top.  Set aside and allow the yeast to dissolve and become foamy.

Measure the bread flour into a large bowl and stir in the salt.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, and stir in the dissolved yeast.

Add the cool water, a little at a time, while stirring, just until a stiff, shaggy dough (watch the video below to see what this should look like)  has formed (you may not need to use all of the water).

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface, and gently press it into a rectangle and fold into thirds.&nbsp; Turn 90 degrees and repeat.&nbsp;

Place the dough in a large oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap.  Allow it to rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk (about 1 to 2 hours).

Divide the dough into 4 equal portions, and shape each one into a long loaf (about 15-inches long and 1 1/2-inches in diameter), with pointed ends.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Place the loaves on a floured towel, cover with oiled plastic wrap, and allow to rise until doubled in bulk (about 30 to 45 minutes).

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, and place a pan of water on the bottom rack.

Uncover the baguettes and transfer to lightly greased baking sheets.

Sprinkle with flour, and make 4 elongated slashes down each one with a lame, razor, or sharp knife.&nbsp;

Bake the breads until crusty and brown (in my oven this takes around 35 to 40 minutes).  The baguettes should give a hollow sound when tapped. 

https://embed.mediavine.com/videos/wzppzeujvo5rods4mrqp

Craving a crusty French loaf? Look no further than this easy baguette recipe. Only 4 ingredients and it’s mostly down time! You can do this!

Homemade bakery french bread in minutes. This super simple and easy french bread recipe will be a hit in your home. It only takes a little more than an hour to have hot, fresh bread straight out of the oven. Forget the bakery when you can make it at home!

Homemade Bakery French Bread

Tablespoons Yeast

Water

Tablespoons Sugar

Salt

Flour

Egg (for brushing on bread)

In a small bowl, dissolve your yeast in ½ cup warm water. Make sure that your water is warm (not too cold, not too hot). Let proof for 10 minutes.

In a separate mixing bowl, combine hot water, sugar, salt, oil and 3 cups of the flour and mix together. Add the yeast mixture to a bowl.

Add the remaining 3 1/2 cups of flour, one cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Watch for it to start pulling away from the bowl to know it's ready. Once all of the flour is added, let sit for 10 minutes.

Separate your dough into 3 pieces. On a floured surface roll each piece into a 9x12 rectangle. Roll it up like a jelly roll. Shape into a french bread loaf and smooth out edges.

Place the dough on a greased baking pan or a Silpat, seam side down. Using a knife, make 3-4 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch thick in bread. Brush with your beaten egg.

Let dough rise uncovered for 30-40 minutes in a warm place.

Bake at 375 for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.

Easy French bread recipe made with flour, water, yeast, and salt in a stand mixer or by hand. A soft, chewy inside and crispy crust make this the BEST bread recipe for sandwiches, toast, crostini, and croutons! This homemade bread for beginners can be proofed in the Instant Pot too!

French Bread Recipe

Tbsp Active Dry Yeast (or 1 packet Rapid Rise Instant Yeast)

Sea Salt

Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Cooking Spray or Olive Oil

If using ACTIVE DRY YEAST: Activate the YEAST by combining it with WARM WATER (100°-110°F) in a 4-quart mixing bowl (or stand mixer bowl). Give a quick stir and let this rest until yeast appears foamy on the surface (about 5 min).If using RAPID RISE INSTANT YEAST: No activation needed. Simply combine yeast with WARM WATER (120°F-130°F), give a quick stir, and move on to the next step.

Yeast and water temperature

Add ingredients: Add SALT and 3 cups FLOUR. You&#039;ll add remaining 1/3 cup FLOUR during mixing.

Add remaining ingredients

HAND KNEAD OPTION: Mix the ingredients together with a wooden spoon (or any stirring utensil) to form a shaggy dough. Transfer dough to a steady surface and hand-knead until a cohesive, elastic dough forms (3-5 minutes). Sprinkle the reserved flour in small amounts as needed to build structure and prevent the dough sticking to the table or your hands during this process.STAND MIXER OPTION: Secure dough hook with the mixing bowl. Use lowest speed to mix and knead ingredients into a cohesive, smooth, elastic dough forms (3-5 min). You may need to stop the mixer and scrape ingredients into the dough if they get separated. Sprinkle in reserved flour to prevent the dough sticking to the bowl sides, as needed during mixing.

Mix the dough (by hand or stand mixer)

Once mixed, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead it a few times to remove air bubbles. Shape into a ball, tucking the dough under itself to form a seam.

PROOF DOUGH WITH INSTANT POT1st proof: Oil the stainless insert. Place dough inside, flip to coat it, and rest it seam side down. Cover pot with any glass lid or plate, select “yogurt” button and toggle the &quot;adjust&quot; button to the &quot;less&quot; setting. Don&#039;t worry about the number setting, just allow the dough to double in size (takes 30-60 min).2nd proof: Once dough size doubles, remove it, punch it down and pull in the sides to tighten it back up, oil the insert again, and repeat proofing process (about 30 min).PROOF DOUGH WITHOUT INSTANT POT1st proofing: Place dough in a large, oiled, mixing bowl, flip to coat it, and rest seam side down. Loosely cover with draped plastic wrap or a flour-coated towel. Allow to rise in a warm environment (minimum 75°F) until doubled (60-90 min).2nd proofing: Punch dough down to deflate the air. Form again into firm ball, return to oiled mixing bowl, cover, and rise another 30 minutes.

Proof the dough

Preheat oven to 450°.

Shape the dough: Turn dough onto lightly floured surface. Tuck and shape dough into your preferred form, which will either be 1) a loaf pan or 2) free-form (round, loaf, or baguette).Note: The images in this recipe are a free-form loaf on a small baking sheet.

Place formed dough into 1) coated loaf pan or 2) coated baking sheet (for free-form).

Brush oil on the dough surface or spray mist some water and a light dusting of flour. (This is just a matter of preference for final presentation).

Final proofing: Score the dough 1/8” deep with a razor blade; cover loaf with a piece of plastic, wax paper, or a flour coated towel. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled (15-30 min).

Shape dough into final form and final proofing

Bake at 450° for 25 minutes (for a loaf) or 20 minutes (for a baguette).The loaf or baguette will be browned on the surface and should have a hollow sound on the inside when tapped with your fingers.FOR A CRISPER CRUST: Turn the oven off and leave the bread in for 5 minutes (for a crispier surface), or remove bread immediately.

Transfer bread onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool (as much as humanly possible) before slicing.

Bake the French bread

This bread machine french bread recipe is very easy to make. It only uses a few simple ingredients such as flour, water, salt and yeast. Moreover, this french bread tastes great and you can mold it into a beautiful baguette shape. Your family will be amazed by baking skills... while you smirk because you made it with the help of a bread machine! Visit BreadDad.com for more great bread machine recipes.

Bread Machine French Bread - Easy Baguette Recipe

Cups Bread Flour

Teaspoons Bread Machine Yeast

Tablespoons Olive Oil ((to coat dough))

Place the water and then the rest of the ingredients into the bread pan. You can make a little indent on top of the flour in order to avoid the yeast falling into the water (until the machine starts). Do not combine the salt with the yeast (as the salt can kill the yeast). Place the yeast &amp; salt in separate parts of the bread pan.

Put your machine on the &quot;Dough&quot; setting and press the start button. In our bread machine, the kneading &amp; rising on the dough setting takes about 1:30 hours.

When your bread machine has finished, unplug the machine &amp; pour the dough onto a cutting board. Wear oven mitts (as the bread pan/bread machine may be hot). Sprinkle some flour on the cutting board (before you pour the dough) in order to avoid the dough sticking to the cutting board.

Divide the dough into 4 equal parts if you want to make 4 skinny baguettes (roughly 12 inches long). Or divide the dough into 2 equal parts in order to make 2 thicker french bread &quot;rolls&quot;.

Roll the divided dough with your hands into your preferred shape (i.e. baguette or thicker bread roll). See our tips below on shaping the bread dough (especially about the making the dough roll about 1/2 the width of your desired end product... as the dough expands as the yeast rises).

Place the shaped dough onto a nonstick baking sheet.

Coat the dough with olive oil. Use a small pastry brush.

Cover the dough &amp; baking sheet with a light kitchen cloth or plastic wrap in order to protect from dust, etc.

Let the dough rise for 1 hour.

During this &quot;rising&quot; time, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.

After the hour, remove the covering from the dough and &quot;score&quot; (slice) the top of each dough roll with a sharp knife. Make diagonal slices about 1/2 inch deep and about 3 inches apart. This will help prevent the bread from cracking during baking. See the tips below about how to score bread.

Place the baking sheet in the oven. It should bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Wear oven mitts.

At the 8-10 minute mark, turn the baking sheet around in order to ensure an even &quot;browning&quot; of the bread. Wear oven mitts.

Remove the baking sheet when done and place the bread on a cooling rack. Wear oven mitts.

This recipe is for a simple, crusty French bread you can mix up in your bread machine and bake in the oven for the freshest bread ever.

A Crusty Bread Machine French Bread

water (227 gr)

sugar (8 gr)

salt (9 gr)

butter (8 gr (chopped))

bread flour (360 gr)

instant or bread machine yeast (3 gr)

egg white (35 gr)

water (5 gr)

Place all of the dough ingredients 1 c water (227 gr), 1½ t. sugar (8 gr),  1½ t. salt, 1½ t. butter (8 gr) 3 c unbleached bread flour (360 gr), 1 t instant yeast (3 gr) into a bread machine pan in the order listed. Select the DOUGH cycle and press START.

Check the dough at least twice during the mixing and kneading phase by lifting the lid to take a peek. The first time, look immediately after the machine starts mixing to ensure the paddles are engaged correctly. Look again 15 minutes into the DOUGH cycle to assess the consistency of the dough. For most recipes, the dough should stick to the side, then pull away cleanly.If your dough is too wet, add flour one tablespoon at a time.Conversely, if the dough is too dry, add one tablespoon of liquid at a time until the dough looks just right. Read more about this surprising secret to success with a bread machine here.

When the DOUGH cycle completes, if the dough has doubled in size, go to the next step. If the dough has not doubled in size, leave it in the machine until it doubles before proceeding.

Making the dough:

Remove the dough from the pan onto a lightly-floured surface. Push the dough down with your palms to remove the bubbles. Shape into a loose ball. Cover and allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes.

Roll the dough into an oval shape slightly longer than you want your final loaf to be (about 9 x 12 inches is what I do.)

Starting from a long side, roll into a cylinder shape. Pinch seam together.  Pinch ends together. Pull ends to reach seams and pinch together with the seam making a small rounded shape on each end. (This is difficult to describe. See the picture above or watch the video if you are confused.)

Flip the loaf over and carefully place it onto a greased baking sheet or one covered with a silicone baking sheet or parchment paper. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise in a warm place until almost double.

Preheat oven to 425˚F.

Whisk 1 egg white and 1 t water together for the glaze. Brush it over loaf.

Using a sharp knife, (I use a serrated knife) or a single-edge razor blade, cut diagonal slashes about 2 inches apart and 1/2 inch deep across the top of the loaf.

Bake loaf for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350˚F and bake another 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Bread should reach 190˚F in the middle when cooked through.

Remove to a cooling rack or slice and eat immediately.

Shaping the dough:

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/cnmwCkM3.mp4

Learn how to shape bread dough into a loaf of French bread

Shaping Homemade French Bread

This authentic French bread recipe is easy and perfect for home bakers. It uses simple ingredients: bread flour, water, salt, and yeast. The dough is kneaded, allowed to rise twice, and then baked to golden perfection. Enjoy the classic, crusty loaf that's great for any occasion.

Authentic French Bread Recipe | Easy and Perfect

water (warm)

tsp salt

active dry yeast

Mix Ingredients: In a bowl, combine warm water and yeast. Let it sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Mix in flour and salt until a dough forms.

Knead Dough: Knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.

First Rise: Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Shape and Proof: Punch down the dough, shape into a loaf, and let it rise again until doubled.

Bake: Preheat the oven to 450°F (230°C). Score the top of the loaf, bake for 20-30 minutes until golden brown.

The most delicious braided French bread is the best recipe! You&#39;ll want to make this bread recipe often!

Debra's Braided French Bread

tbsp yeast

sugar

butter oil

flour

non-stick cooking spray

In a large mixing bowl, stir 3 tbsp yeast into a warmed 3 1/2 cups water.

Stir until yeast is dissolved. Let stand for a few minutes.

When the yeast starts to froth on the top, dump it into a stand mixer. Then add 3/4 cup  sugar, 1/3  cup butter (softened), and 4 tsp salt. Mix on low speed for about a minute or so.

Start adding flour to the mixture 2 cups at a time. Allow it to mix in for about 20-30 seconds before adding the next 2 cups.

After adding all 8  cups flour, you should have a soft, elastic dough. If the dough is super sticky, add another 1/2 cup-1 cup of flour. Let mix for a few minutes until all the flour is worked in.

Spray a large bowl with a non-stick cooking spray and place the dough in the bowl.

Cover the bowl with a damp towel. I run hot water on a clean flour sack towel to get it wet. You can use any tea or dish towel, just make sure it&#39;s clean and not a heavy towel. You don&#39;t want the top of the dough to dry out.

Place the bowl of dough covered with the damp towel in a warm place. I use the proofing setting on my oven or the proofing mode on my bread warming drawer to speed it up. You can turn on your oven for a few minutes to get it warm, then turn it off and set it inside the oven. Be careful to not get it over 100 degrees or so. You want it warm, not hot.

Let the dough rise until double in size. If the towel sticks to the top of the dough, gently remove the towel. You can always remove the towel towards the end and use the squirt bottle with water to keep the top of the dough moist. You don&#39;t want it to dry out.

Sprinkle some flour onto a clean surface. I use a flour sifter to sprinkle the flour out more evenly.

Dump the dough onto the floured surface.

Try to get the dough into somewhat of a misshapen rectangular shape.

Then start pulling and stretching sections from the side, and pull it over on top of the dough towards the middle, and press lightly down.

This helps give the dough a more uniform look.

When you&#39;ve got it looking more uniform in shape, turn it over onto the flat, smooth side.

Pat the ends to make it more flat and a long rectangle. This doesn&#39;t have to be perfect, just get it as close to this shape as you can.

I do this process to make it easier to cut equal amounts of dough for each of the sections you are going to braid. I make little lines on the top of the dough with my dough scraper to section it into 9 or 12 sections. If you want 4 smaller loaves, do 12 sections. If you want 3 larger loaves, do 9 sections.

Use the squirt bottle with water to lightly mist the top of the dough every so often so that it doesn&#39;t dry out while you&#39;re sectioning and braiding. I also keep the dough covered with a damp tea towel to keep it from drying out.

Cut 3 sections at a time, then cover up the dough while you braid each loaf. Use your hands to stretch and roll each piece into about a 10&quot;-12&quot; piece.

Pinch the three pieces together with the middle piece on top.

Tuck the three pieces under themselves. You may need to hold them down with one hand while you start the braid with the other.

You can tuck the end under more once the whole loaf has been braided so don&#39;t worry if it&#39;s not perfect.

Take the right section over the middle section to start the braid.

Then take the left section and continue the braid.

The dough will keep stretching and getting longer as you braid.

Keep the braid going and don&#39;t worry if it&#39;s not perfect. The dough will rise and hide all your imperfections.

When you get to the end, pinch the 3 pieces of dough together and tuck under. Check the end you began with and make sure it&#39;s tucked under too. Get your baking sheets out (you&#39;ll need two) and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Now that the braid is done, use your dough scraper and your hand and gently lift the dough and set it on the baking sheet.

You can get two braids on a standard baking sheet pan. I alternate the braided loaves so that they are opposite to each other. Cover with the damp towel again and let rise another 20-30 minutes.

Bake for 15-20 minutes depending on your oven. When the top is dark golden brown, it&#39;s done.

Remove from the oven and brush the tops with butter.

Variations: Brush the dough with an egg wash or milk and sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds before baking. You can make it into individual French rolls, small braided rolls, or just round-shaped rolls.

This recipe was not too difficult but made the most amazing bread! 3 loaves is way too much so I took the advise of the author and gave the other 2 loaves to neighbors who also thought it was amazing and asked for the recipe or for me to just keep making it!!  

I am wondering if I could freeze this in some way to pull out for a weekday, work night, dinner.  Bake it all and freeze the loaves or freeze the dough?

I made the bread today and it is delicious! I only made a half recipe, to try it out. But will definitely make more to share in the future!

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Top 7 french bread recipe recipes from across the web

The most viewed french bread recipe recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

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The most viewed french bread recipe recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine