Homemade French Bread

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Wish you could make a classic loaf of crusty French bread at home? You can! And it's actually pretty easy. Follow my step by step instructions with pictures and enjoy a hot loaf of this soft bread with a crusty crust from your own kitchen!

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• Why Choose This Recipe
• Ingredient Notes
• Step by Step Instructions
• Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips
• Homemade French Bread Recipe

Why Choose This Recipe

• Tastes better than what you can buy at the store.
• Has a golden brown, chewy, crusty crust with a light, fluffy center.
• Can be made into Bread Bowls for soup.

Ingredient Notes

• Flour - all purpose, never self rising.

Step by Step Instructions

• Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water in your mixing bowl. I use a 6 quart stand mixer fitted with a dough hook to make this bread, but it can be made by hand as well.
•  Let it sit for about 5 minutes to let the yeast get foamy.  

• Add the olive oil, salt and flour.
• As you can see in picture 8 it looks like there is too much flour, but don't worry, it will all mix in.

• After all the flour is mixed in your dough should look like picture 9, a shaggy ball of dough that cleans the sides of the mixing bowl.
• Knead at a medium speed for 5 minutes, or by hand for 10 minutes.  The dough should end up like picture 10 and 11, very smooth, elastic-y and the sides of the bowl should be completely clean.
• Remove the dough hook and cover the bowl with a clean dish towel to rise. 
• Over the next hour, about every 10 minutes or so, knead the dough in the bowl about 3 times.  This is going to create that chewy french bread crust.  It doesn't have to be exactly every ten minutes, but you need to have kneaded the dough at least 4 times over that hour.
• After the hour just let the dough rise until doubled.  This should take about 30 minutes.

• Once the dough has risen double it's size, dump it out on a lightly floured surface.
• Divide it in half.
• Shape each half into a long loaf being sure to pinch the seams shut.

• Each loaf should be about 12 inches long.
• Place each loaf on a french bread pan if you have one or a baking sheet lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.
• Cover to let rise until doubled.
• While the loaves are rising, place an empty aluminum (never glass) baking sheet on the very bottom rack of your oven.
• Make sure the other rack is in the center of your oven.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Slash each loaf before baking.
• After placing the bread on the center oven rack to bake, before closing the oven door, throw a ½ cup of water onto the now super hot baking sheet you placed on the bottom oven rack and quickly close the oven door.
• This creates steam that sets that crusty, chewy crust you want.
• Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.
• Loaves should be golden brown and sound hollow when thumped.
• Cool at least ten minutes before eating.

Recipe FAQs and Expert Tips

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