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Perfectly soft homemade French bread is easy to make at home!
the best homemade French bread!
We love Homemade Bread and after my mom mastered this homemade French Bread recipe, we now love it too! We’ve officially added it to our go-to bread recipes because it’s amazing.
Why we love this recipe:
- It’s simple! With simple ingredients and easy steps, this recipe is no-fail!
- Made with pantry staples. All of the ingredients are ones you should have in the pantry or fridge, which means you can make it any time.
- Versatile. This French bread can be used to eat on its own, or use it to make Croutons, French Toast Casserole or serve it with your favorite soup recipe.
- Easy to store and freeze. Like most breads, this is easy to make ahead of time and freeze which is always a bonus!
Ingredients
PREP TIME: 55 minutes
COOK TIME: 20 minutes
- 2 tablespoons rapid rise yeast – Active dry yeast, instant yeast, and rapid-rise yeast all work for this bread recipe.
- ½ cup warm water – This is used to activate the yeast. And should be between 110-115 °F
- 2 cups hot water – adding hot water helps keep the dough warm which helps it rise better
- 5 tablespoons vegetable oil – canola oil or olive oil
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar – helps the yeast rise as well
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 6 cups all-purpose flour – bread flour can also be used for this recipe. Either way, be sure to Measure the Flour Correctly
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup cornmeal – is used to help keep the bread from sticking to the pan and it adds a delicious texture to the bottom. You can also use vegetable oil instead.
How to Make French Bread
- PREP. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle evenly with ¼ cup cornmeal. (Greased baking sheets work too, but we prefer the cornmeal method.)
- YEAST. In a small bowl, dissolve 2 tablespoons yeast in ½ cup warm water.
- DOUGH. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 2 cups hot water, 5 tablespoons oil, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon salt, and 3 cups of flour. Mix with the paddle attachment.
- Add yeast mixture and mix to combine.
- Add the remaining 3 cups of flour 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Once all of the flour is added, cover with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
- SHAPE. Place dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into three pieces. Roll each piece into a 9-x-12-inch rectangle. Roll each rectangle up from the long edge like a jelly roll.
- Place each dough roll on a prepared baking sheet, seam side down.
- Score the bread across the top 3 or 4 times. Beat 1 egg and brush each loaf with the egg wash for a crisp and shiny crust. Let dough rise, uncovered, for 30 minutes in a warm place.
- BAKE. Toward the end of the rise, preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Make it extra crusty
You’re going to need to simulate a baker’s oven to create a crispy crust:
- Place a baking stone on the center rack. Preheat oven to 450ºF. Put a metal broiler pan on the rack at the bottom of the oven (at least 4 inches below the baking stone).
- Once risen, transfer the bread to a baking peel sprinkled with flour. Slash slits on the tops of the loaves and lightly spray the loaves with water.
- Slide the loaves onto the preheated baking stone and add 1 cup of HOT water to the broiler tray. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and bake for 20 minutes.
- After 10 minutes use the water bottle to spray the bread every 3 minutes for the remainder of the bake time.
- Use the baking peel to remove the bread from the oven and cool. The result – crusty French bread which is to die for!!
Complete the Meal
- MAIN DISHES: Spaghetti, Chicken Alfredo, Cheesy Potato Soup
- DESSERTS: Chocolate Cheesecake, Fresh Peach Cobbler, Boston Cream Pie, Panna Cotta, Chocolate Lasagna
- Ways to eat French bread: Buffalo Chicken French Bread, Barbecue Chicken French Bread, Cheesy Spinach Artichoke Bread
More collections: Dinner Rolls and Biscuits, Yeast Bread Recipes, Quick Bread Recipes
French Bread
This is the BEST homemade French bread and is so easy to make! It's soft, tasty, and comes out perfect every time.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup cornmeal
- 2 tablespoons rapid rise yeast
- ½ cup warm water, 110–115°F
- 2 cups hot water
- 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 6 cups all-purpose flour, divided
- 1 egg, beaten
Instructions
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle evenly with ¼ cup cornmeal. (Greased baking sheets work too, but we prefer the cornmeal method.)
- In a small bowl, dissolve 2 tablespoons yeast in ½ cup warm water.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 2 cups hot water, 5 tablespoons oil, 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 tablespoon salt, and 3 cups of flour. Mix with the paddle attachment.
- Add yeast mixture and mix to combine.
- Add the remaining 3 cups of flour 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Once all of the flour is added, let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Place dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into three pieces. Roll each piece into a 9-x-12-inch rectangle. Roll each rectangle up from the long edge like a jelly roll.
- Place each dough roll on a prepared baking sheet, seam side down.
- Score the bread across the top 3 or 4 times. Beat 1 egg and brush each loaf for a crisp and shiny crust. Let dough rise, uncovered, for 30 minutes in a warm place.
- Toward the end of the rise, preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Bake on the middle rack for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Video
Notes
Make ahead of time. To freeze baked loaves, let the bread cool and wrap in parchment paper, then aluminum foil. It can last for up to 3 months in the freezer. When you are ready to eat, remove from the freezer and thaw at room temperature. To reheat, preheated the oven to 400°F and bake for 4–5 minutes, or until warm.
Use it up. This recipe is great to serve as a slice of bread but you can use it to make other recipes, including Bruschetta, French Toast Casserole, French Toast, and Cheesy Garlic Bread.
Nutrition
Serving: 1loaf, Calories: 1037kcal, Carbohydrates: 214g, Protein: 30g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 55mg, Sodium: 2363mg, Potassium: 357mg, Fiber: 9g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 79IU, Vitamin C: 0.01mg, Calcium: 55mg, Iron: 12mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Recipe FAQ
Why do I Score the Top of French Bread?
- Scoring bread simply means using a sharp knife or razor blade to make slashes on top of the dough that is ready for the oven. The slashes help control the way the bread will expand while it bakes, otherwise, it will expand anywhere that the dough is weak, creating an odd shape.
Do I Need to Knead the Dough?
- You won’t need to hand knead this bread, but be sure to mix each cup of flour sufficiently. Use the paddle or dough hook attachment on a stand mixer and mix at medium speed. Mixing well will help activate the gluten to make an elastic dough which will then create a better structure to the bread.
Do I Need a Special Pan?
- Some recipes call for baking in French bread pans, but I simply use a regular cookie sheet or jelly roll pan.
How to Store French Bread?
- Store baked bread inside a plastic bag, bread box, or aluminum foil. The bread should last 2-3 days.
- Freeze cooled chewy bread by wrapping it in parchment paper, and then foil. This easy French bread recipe can last for up to 3 months in the freezer. When you’re ready to eat, remove from the freezer and thaw.
- To reheat place in oven, preheated to 400°F, for 4-5 minutes or until warm.
Sounds like a great recipe but I have one question: When you roll the bread up do you tuck the ends under or just leave them? Can’t wait to try this.
I love French breads. They are so easy and delicious. I would try this out. Thanks for sharing.
Aren’t they the best!? I’m glad to share! Let me know what you think!
When you say “warm water”, what is the temp? Then when you say “hot water”, how hot?
I don’t have temps, warm just means that it’s not hot or cold..just right in the middle, right before the water starts getting hot and hot would mean the spout is all the way to the hot side & running for a few seconds to get that hot temp. I hope that makes sense. I just use tap water, so I’m not warming it on the stove or anything.
With the yeast i used water at 115. The other water was at 140. Temp went to 120 after sug salt and oil
Traditionally, the water for yeast is 115°F. Too warm will kill it, and too cool won’t wake it up. If you do happen to have a failure to yeast, you can always try again. You bread will just take a little more yeasty, which I don’t thin is a bad thing. =:)
Im gonna try your loafs of bread. Looks good.
This bread looks so easy! I may have to try it this week after work.
It is the best bread!! It’s perfect for everything!!! Hope you try it and love it, as much as we do!
I just made this bread tonight, and my husband and I found it had a yeasty taste to it. I’ve never made bread before (other than banana bread) so I’m wondering if this is normal? Or if there’s a less yeasty tasting bread I can make (my husband had a bad experience with pizza dough, and can’t stand the yeast taste anymore). I also found it wasn’t very crusty, which I was hoping for, although it was still fairly warm when we tried it.
thanks!
Thank you.. one reviewer said it was bland with less yeast…
Maybe I will do 1/2.. and wait for a longer raise time. Thanks again. I love real posts!
Hello there!
Its a pretty cold morning here in Colorado, a perfect day to make bread in your kitchen! While I have made bread before it is the first time I have ever made French bread, and made it so fast! Being new I was all thumbs, not sure of how this dance was suppose to go…..and I almost didn’t attempt it but I thought, what will I be out of if I botch it? Some flour and yeast? So I carried on and whipped up three loaves of bread that looked just like yours! Great instructions, and great bread! Are there any variations of things you can add to the bread before you bake it ? Herbs or such? This is such a great recipe that I just want to do all that I can with it! Thanks again for the great bread recipe! Homemade bread for dinner, wont my family be happy!
I love homemade bread! This looks so delicious! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome! 😀
Make this bread all the time, I shape it into long loaves,knot rolls,braided, sub rolls and sandwich loaves.
Light and crispy. I will not buy store bread again. The cost is half the price.
Smart idea! Will have to try that next time. Best of all, it tastes better than the store bought bread!! 😉
Can the bread dough be froze or is it best to make bread and freeze bread
I would freeze the bread, not dough 🙂
If you want to freeze these, do all the steps except letting it rise. After setting up the loaF/ves on a PARCHMENT lined baking sheet, set it over into your freezer for about an hour, then wrap each INDIVIDUAL loaf in plastic wrap and foil, put into a zip top bag, and place in the freezer. Make sure you label and date the bag. Should keep up to approximately three months in the freezer.
To bake, set out loaf, and allow to thaw/rise (usually about double in size), then follow the baking instructions.
Thanks for sharing that, Bev!
Yes! You can freeze dough. You would do it after the first rise and in the final shape for the second rise before baking. Thaw it in the freezer, and when you bring it out it will go through the second rise and ready for the oven!