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Crusty on the outside and soft on the inside, this Easy French Bread Recipe is easy to make and tastes amazing. It is our family’s favorite bread recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
The only downside to fresh, homemade bread is that it can take a bit of time. Proofing, rising, rolling, rising etc. Today’s recipe is a quick and easy one. It may not be quite as quick as the 30 Minute Roll recipe I have on my blog, but it is pretty close. And the results are two delicious loaves of French bread that are crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.
Ingredients Needed
- Flour. All purpose flour and you can also use bread flour.
- Sugar
- Salt
- Active Dry Yeast. You can also use rapid rise yeast or instant yeast, just add it in with the flour. You do not need to proof it in the water.
- Water
How to Make Easy French Bread
The dough from this recipe is mixed in your stand mixer with a dough hook or you can mix by hand.
- Combine 1/4 C water, yeast and 1 tsp sugar into a bowl. Allow to stand for five minutes or until yeast is bubbly. (You can skip this step if using rapid rise yeast.
- Into the bowl of the stand mixer, add flour, 1 Tbsp sugar, salt and 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp of water.
- Add in yeast mixture. Mix well and knead for 5 minutes or until dough is smooth.
- Cover and allow to rise until double (about 15-20 minutes)
- Place dough onto a lightly floured surface and divided into two pieces.
- Use a rolling pin to roll dough out into a rectangle This is the rolling pin I like to use for bread dough. Be sure your surface is generously floured so dough doesn’t stick.
- Roll dough up jelly roll style and place the seam side down on a baking sheet. I also like to use a silicone baking mat or parchment paper on my cookie sheet. It helps the bread bake evenly and makes clean up a breeze.
- With a sharp knife, a razor blade or a baker’s lamb cut three slits into the bread. Be sure to only go about 1/4 inch deep. If you go too deep your bread may look a little funny after it rises the second time.
- Give the bread a nice little bath in an egg white wash. To make the egg white wash, just add 1 Tbsp water to 1 egg white and mix together. This is what gives it the beautiful golden color. You can also sprinkle with some coarse salt.
How to Get a Good Crusty French Bread
- Heat up a pan of water on the stove until it boils.
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- TURN OFF the oven.
- Place the pan of boiling water onto the lower rack of your oven and place your loaf of bread on the rack above.
- Allow the bread to rise this way until double. This will take about 20 minutes. The bread will also bake as it rises.
Why put a pan of water in the oven?
The steam that is given off from the water helps the loaf get that nice crust that a good loaf of easy French bread needs.
- Remove the pan of water from the oven and turn the oven on to 425 degrees F.
- Leave the bread in the oven as the oven preheats to 425 degrees F. Depending on your oven this will take about 10 minutes. The oven will usually have just reached its 425 degrees at the end of the 10 minutes. My bread is usually always done at the end of the 10 minutes.
- If your bread is not done, turn the head down to 350 degrees F and bake for another 5 minutes or until done.
Alternative Baking Method
After forming the loaves, let them rise, covered on the baking sheet for 15-20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush top of bread with egg wash or olive oil (you won’t get as golden a color with olive oil), sprinkle with coarse salt. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.
Enjoy a nice, warm loaf of home baked easy french bread with some butter with dinner!
Frequently Asked Questions
Does whole wheat flour work in this recipe?
With this recipe I recommend using half whole wheat and half white flour. I always use a white whole wheat flour.
Can I half the recipe?
This recipe is easy to half and in fact I have a small batch version of this recipe here.
Does this bread freeze well?
It freezes great, just be sure to cool it completely and wrap up air tight. It will keep in the freezer for 1-2 months.
Can I use rapid rise yeast?
Rapid rise yeast will work fine. I use the same amount as I do of active dry yeast. Just add the rapid rise yeast directly in with the flour, no need to add it to the warm water first.
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Easy French Bread
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup warm water 105-115 degrees
- 1 pkg dry active yeast
- 1 tsp sugar
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cups plus 2 Tbsp. warm water
- 1 egg white and 1 Tbsp water.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Combine 1/4 C water, yeast and 1 tsp sugar into a bowl. Allow to stand for five minutes or until yeast is bubbly.
- Into the bowl of the stand mixer, add flour, 1 Tbsp sugar, salt and 1 cup pluys 2 Tbsp water.
- Add in yeast mixture. Mix well and knead for 5 minutes or until dough is smooth.
- Cover and allow to rise until double (about 15-20 minutes)
- On a lightly floured surface roll out with a rolling pin. (May divide dough into two pieces for two smaller loaves if desired)
- Roll dough up jelly roll style and turn ends under and place seam down on a greased cookie sheet. Cut 3 diagonal slits into each loaf (only about 1/4 inch deep)
- Mix together egg white and 1 Tbsp water and gently brush on loaves. Or brush with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt.
- Boil a pan of water and then put it into a shallow dish, if your pan is not oven safe. Place pan of water on the lower shelf of oven.
- Place bread in oven on shelf above pan of water.
- TURN OFF OVEN
- Allow bread to rise and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove pan of water
- Leave bread in the oven and turn oven to 425 degrees and bake bread for 8-10 minutes. (this includes the preheating time)
- If the bread is not done at the end of the ten minutes, reduce oven to 350 and bake for an additional 5 minutes longer or until bread is golden brown.
Tips & Notes:
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Nutrition Facts:
Brenda says
Ok I just made this and my dough never rose? What did I do wrong? The yeast I used is Fleischmann rapid rise instant yeast it says u don’t have to hydrate this yeast…I did the first batch and it never rose…what did I do wrong?
Leigh Anne says
Brenda, I have only used this recipe with dry active yeast that you have to activate in water. I have never tried it with rapid rise so I’m not sure what the issue was. I am assuming the yeast wasn’t expired?
Brenda says
Ok it’s not expired just bought it . It’s good until Aug 29 2016…..I cooked it but it’s hard as a rock….leave it up to me to mess a recipe up….lol I needed the second batch longer and did not soak the yeast just put it in the flour and when done mixing put in a bowl and covered it . It only rose a size bigger then waited longer to see if it would rise more and never did…could it be the flour I used ? White lilly lite ? Baking flour?
Leigh Anne says
Brenda, My only thought is maybe this recipe just doesn’t work with the rapid rise yeast. Maybe try it with regular yeast, that is the only way I have made it.
Kimmi says
More than likely, your water was too warm. Yeast will die just over 120f degrees. I always use room temp water, room temp or refrigerator rise. It takes longer to rise, but the flavor is sooo much more delicious! Warming anything just speeds the process. I use my yeast directly from the freezer.
Brenda Phelps says
Wow! That was super easy and super fast! It is in the oven now and smells sooooo good!! Thanks for sharing this!
Leigh Anne says
Brenda, hope you enjoyed the bread. It is such a great recipe.
Brittany Rumohr says
I. LOVE. THIS. RECIPE! French bread has been one of those things that I didn’t think I would ever have the time to switch over from buying to making from scratch (As I do with most everything else in my kitchen) as the process I learned back in culinary school was just too much to apply at home! But this recipe makes such a beautiful soft and yummy loaf of bread that I am officially putting my foot down….NEVER buying french bread again and will be using this recipe over and over again. Thank you for sharing it!
Leigh Anne says
Brittany, I love hearing this! It is such a yummy recipe. Thanks for commenting.
Carrie Linn says
This looks amazing! You think I could do the mixing and first rising in a bread machine, then remove and do the remaining? My mixer has a hard time with thick dough and I just got a bread machine for Christmas.
Leigh Anne says
Have never made it in a bread machine but I would think it would work fine.
marie says
I can’t wait to make this! Can you refrigerate the dough overnight and bake it the next morning?
Leigh Anne says
Marie, I have never tried it but it should work fine.