Homemade French Bread

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What goes better with a hot winter meal than a loaf of homemade french bread with a crispy crust and soft, chewy insides!

  I have been working on this french bread recipe for a while now.  I was specifically trying for a chewy, somewhat crunchy crust with a soft, chewy inside.  I've made this recipe 5 or 6 times now and it has been quickly devoured each time.  French bread isn't any harder than any other bread to make.  You just need to know a  few tricks which if you read on I will share with you!

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How to make french bread:

1. To start out, dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water in your mixing bowl.  Let it sit for about 5 minutes to let the yeast get foamy.  
2. Add the oil, salt and flour.  I use a stand mixer (affiliate link) with a dough hook to mix this up, but you can mix this up by hand too.  
3. After all the flour is mixed in, knead at a medium speed for 5 minutes, or by hand for 10 minutes.  This dough should still be a bit sticky, but not so sticky you can't form it into a ball.  
4. Transfer the dough to a large bowl that has some flour sprinkled in the bottom.  Cover the bowl with saran wrap on a dish towel.  Place is a warm place to rise.  
5. Now 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.  Now 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.  
6. After the hour just let the dough rise until doubled.  This should take about 30 minutes.
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8. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide in half. Set one half aside.  
9. Roll the first half of the dough out into a rectangle about 10 inches by 7 inches.  Roll up the dough lengthwise and pinch the seams shut.  Once rolled up and pinched shut my dough roll was about 12 inches long.  Repeat with the other half of dough.
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11. Place the dough rolls on a french bread pan (affiliate link) or a regular baking sheet that has been lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.   If you bake your french bread on a regular baking sheet it will be fine, just not as round.  
12. Cover the dough and let rise until doubled.  This will be about 30 minutes.  
13. Place an empty cookie sheet on a rack in the oven that's been moved to the lowest spot and preheat the oven to 375. This is not to bake the bread on. 
14.  Once your loaves have doubled, use a sharp serrated knife (affiliate link) to slash the tops in diagonals across the tops.  Put them in the oven and just before you close the oven door throw a ½ cup of water onto the empty cookie sheet quickly shut the oven door.  It will create a bunch of steam that will make that crusty french bread crust.
15. Bake your homemade french bread for 20 to 25 minutes at 375 degrees or until it is golden brown like above.  Cool 10 minutes at least before slicing and serving!

What can I serve with this bread?

We like pasta served with either a tomato sauce or an Alfredo Sauce or perhaps with some Lasagna.  Soups like Creamy Chicken Noodle or Broccoli Cheese go well with french bread.  For a little bit lighter meal try some salads like Chicken Pasta Caesar Salad or Salmon Piccata Salad.

How long will this bread stay fresh?

French Bread is best the first 24 hours after it's baked and still good the second day.  After that it starts to go a little dry.  French bread does freeze well or check out a couple of the recipes mentioned just below to make some creative dishes!

What can I do with leftover french bread before it goes stale?

You can make some Garlic Bread!  Or you can make some fantastic French Bread Pizza! You can even make this amazing S'more French Bread Casserole!

Have you tried this recipe?  Leave me a rating and a comment below!

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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. This post contains Amazon affiliate links.  For more info see my disclosure policy here.