French Bread Recipe
This crispy French Bread Recipe has a light and soft crumb perfect for sandwich recipes, French toast, garlic bread, and French bread pizza! Once it goes stale it's perfect for croutons or bread stuffing! Our favorite way to eat it is as toast with scrambled eggs or with butter and jam for a dinner meal!
Equipment
- 1 Extra Large Mixing Bowl, (for kneading and rising dough)
- 1 large 18x13 sheet pan
- 1 rubber silicone mat, (or parchment paper to line baking sheet)
- 1 razor blade or sharp knife, (if scoring French bread)
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 4 cups warm water
- 4 Tbsp dry yeast
- 2 Tbsp salt
- 6 Tbsp sugar
- 12 Tbsp sunflower oil, (or olive oil)
- 11 cups bread flour , (see notes)
Instructions
How to make French Bread:
- In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in water.
- Add the remaining ingredients and knead for 5 minutes by hand until you make a soft dough. You may need to dust a little more flour until the dough comes together without sticking to your hands.
- Allow dough to rise until doubled (about 1 hour).
- Divide into 4 equal pieces and shape each piece into a small rectangle (11"x5"). Roll up jellyroll-style pinching down the seams.
- Place loaves seam down onto a lined cookie sheet, 2-inches apart. (All four loaves will fit one 18x13 sheet pan if placed horizontally.) Now is the time to score and make 3-4 diagonal slashes. Let rise until doubled.
- Bake in a pre-heated 350°F for softer crust or 425°F for a deep golden crust for 25-30 minutes on the middle rack. Bread is done when the internal temp reads 190°F.
Notes
Notes: This recipe makes four 12 to 13-inch loaves.
- Bread flour or all-purpose flour will work for this bread recipe.
- See notes on the blog for using freshly milled Whole Wheat flour.
- You can easily cut this recipe in halve to fit a stand mixer and not knead by hand. Use a bread machine (if halving recipe) to knead the dough, simply set the machine to dough settings.
- Depending on the humidity, temperature, and altitude you may need to add up to a cup of flour if the dough is too sticky. You want a soft and supple dough that isn't too sticky.
Nutrition Facts
French Bread Recipe
Serving Size
1 slice
Amount per Serving
Calories
85
% Daily Value*
Fat
2
g
3
%
Saturated Fat
1
g
6
%
Sodium
175
mg
8
%
Potassium
20
mg
1
%
Carbohydrates
14
g
5
%
Fiber
1
g
4
%
Sugar
1
g
1
%
Protein
2
g
4
%
Calcium
3
mg
0
%
Iron
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
