Our families favorite Homemade French Bread recipe! It’s so easy, soft and fluffy! I’ve even shared this bread recipe with other’s! French bread freezes well and can be served as an appetizer, side, breakfast bread and so many other ways! 

Our family loves bread! This and our Whole Wheat Bread are my staple bread recipes! I mostly rotate among those two, but will occasionally make my feather-lite Hamburger Buns too!

homemade french bread baguette with butter on cutting board

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Homemade French Bread

French bread is a staple, especially when it’s this easy! From breakfast bread to homemade croutons, it’s no wonder it’s one of my favorite white bread recipes! However, my ultimate favorite way to eat this is with scrambled eggs. I toast thickly cut slices then slather it with mayo and top it with scrambled eggs. What’s so special, you may ask? Wait until this bread smells up your house when toasting, it’ll be far better then any bakery aroma!

My friend added this bread recipe to her collection of recipes, as well. She liked making breakfast sandwiches with Kielbasa and deli-style cheeses, which was so delicious! There is so many ways to bring this into use, not to mention how well this freezes! From french toast, to a side of pasta, or a classic butter and jam slice, this bread is sure to come into good use!

How To Make French Bread:

French Bread Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Rising Time:: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 4 loaves
Author: Alyona Demyanchuk
Our families favorite Homemade French Bread recipe! It's so easy, soft and fluffy! I've even shared this bread recipe with other's! French bread freezes well and can be served as an appetizer, side, breakfast bread and so many other ways! 

Ingredients

Ingredients for French Bread:

  • 2 cups warm water
  • 2 Tbsp dry yeast
  • 1 Tbsp salt
  • 3 Tbsp sugar
  • 6 Tbsp oil
  • 5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Instructions

How to make French Bread:

  • In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in water. Add the remaining ingredeints and knead 5 minutes.
  • Allow dough to rise until doubled.
  • Divide into 4 equal pieces and shape each piece into a small rectangle (11"x5"). Roll jelly-roll style and place onto a lined cookie sheet, 3-inches apart. (All four loaves will fit one 18x13 sheet pan if placed horizontally.) Let rise until doubled.
  • Bake in a pre-heated 400°F oven for 20-25 minutes on the bottom rack* of the oven.

Notes

Notes: This recipe makes four 13-inch loaves. To make longer loaves divide dough into 3 pieces and make 18" long loaves. 
  • Bottom Rack* bake bread on the lower half of the oven for even browning.
  • No egg wash is required. This bread browns nicely without any additional glazes. If you wish, brush milk over the tops. 
  • Freezer Instructions- cool loaves completely then slice or freeze whole inside freezer bags. 

Nutrition per serving

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 85kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 2gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gSodium: 175mgPotassium: 20mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gCalcium: 3mgIron: 1mg

Q&A

What is French Bread?

French bread is a long shaped loaf of bread, usually slashed and sometimes crusty. It’s very similar to Italian bread and is typically made from enriched white flour, known as bread flour.

What does French Bread go with?

It’s a versatile kind of loaf in the bread family! Eat French Bread with soup, a side to pasta, as a sandwich bread or a piece of toast to breakfast or pizza! There is so many ways to pair French Bread with!

How do you make French Bread Crusty?

It is said, commercial French bread is made in a water spraying oven, specifically designed to mist the loaves during the baking time. To stimulate this bakers oven, bake on a baking stone with hot water in the oven and spray the bread every 3-4 minutes, when baking.

How to properly store and freeze bread:

Storing room temperature: To keep bread at it’s freshness peak store in a bag for 1-2 days. Anything more should be frozen to retain the freshness. I like to cool my freshly baked bread, slice and freeze immediately. I’ve noticed when doing this the same day I bake it, the loaves taste just as fresh, once defrosted. If you wait for the bread to get stale on the counter top it won’t regain that fresh flavor again.

Freezing French Bread: French Bread freezes very well. Freeze after the loaves have cooled completely.

What recipes can I use French Bread in?

This homemade bread can be used so many different ways. Here is a list of recipes you can use French Bread in:

 

Whats the difference between French Bread and Italian Bread?

Both are very alike! In fact this bread recipe was adopted from my Italian Bread Loaves recipe. French Bread is made into much thinner baguettes than Italian Bread. Both consist of very similar ingredients! Walmart’s French and Italian baguettes are almost identical in taste just different in size. So, size would be the main difference.

 

Tips For French Bread:

  1. Spray with water when baking for an extra crusty baguette!
  2. Freezes well!
  3. Make Homemade Croutons!
  4. Serve as tea sandwiches with your favorite deli meat and cheese!

More Bread Recipes:

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6 comments

    • Alina

    Have made this twice already, and it’s delicious and simple to make for sure ! ( still have to perfect it), but as is, already very delicious! My kids can eat a loaf a day if I let them ! 😊thank you for the awesome recipe Alyona !

      • Alyona’s Cooking

      I’m all smiles:)) So happy to hear!

    • Jerriann

    I’ve been on a bread baking kick for a few months now. I will say this is absolutely my favorite recipe. I can’t believe how easy it was to make. This bread is the perfect texture. We ate 2 loaves for dinner! 🙂 Thank you so much! This will be my go to from now on!

      • Alyona’s Cooking

      I’m so glad to hear this French Bread Recipe is a favorite! You are very welcome!

    • Nina

    Thank you so much ! Such a great recipe bread turns out soo soft ! Easy recipe

      • Alyona’s Cooking

      I’m so happy to hear, Nina! Thanks for taking the time to leave such a wonderful feedback!

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