Homemade French Bread

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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Any nutritional analysis on this Site is based on an estimate, calculated by Nurtifox plugin (or other third-party source) from the individual ingredients in each recipe. Variations may occur for various reasons, including product availability and food preparation. We make no representation or warranty of the accuracy of this information.