Homemade French Bread
Simple, quick, and easy homemade French bread recipe.
Kids can even make this bread. For real. It’s that easy. Making any bread from scratch can be a daunting task and it’s easy to be intimidated by the whole process. I am going to break it down and hopefully ease any worries. You may even become a master bread maker!
This Homemade Bakery French Bread can be done in a little more than one hour which means you can have hot, fresh bread straight out of the oven when the kids get home from school even if you don’t start baking until afternoon. You won’t need to run to the bakery for your french bread anymore when you can make better bread at home….in no time flat.
I taught a culinary class for kids in both Texas and Arizona and I’ve watched 7-year-olds tackle this homemade French bread recipe. I loved seeing the pictures those kids sent me showing the french bread masterpieces they made for their families.
As a child, I remember riding my bike home from school and opening the back door to the smells of homemade bread baking in the oven. My Mom always said that she could live on bread alone so bread was always essential in our home. There’s nothing more comforting than a hot piece of bread straight from the oven covered in churned butter and homemade strawberry jam.
Let’s get down to the basics so you can start baking.
How to make quick and easy homemade bakery french bread:
- Making sure the yeast proofs is essential. Using fresh yeast is important and mixing with warm water (not too hot, not too cold) will ensure success. Yeast loves sugar so add a pinch of sugar to the mixture. Let it work for about 10 minutes.
- Adding flour one cup at a time is important so you can see when the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. That’s when you know it’s ready. Put flour down on the counter so the dough doesn’t stick. That isn’t fun. I love my Bosch mixer and can find a great deal on one below.
- Using rolling pin, roll out into a 9 x 12 rectangle. Roll up lengthwise and mold into french loaf. I love this marble rolling pin.
- The loaves don’t have to look perfect. I rolled these babies in 7 1/2 minutes flat before I sprinted to my little girl’s performance. Don’t forget to make 3-4 diagonal cuts with a sharp knife before placing on silpat or greased cookie sheet. These silicone baking sheets make it so easy to remove the bread from the baking sheet. Let rise for 30-40 minutes.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 18-22 minutes until lightly golden brown. Watch it carefully to turn a light golden brown color.
- 2 Tablespoons Yeast
- 1/2 cup Warm Water
- 2 cups Hot Water
- 3 Tablespoons Sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons Salt
- 1/3 cup Oil
- 6 1/2 cups Flour
- 1 Egg for brushing on bread
- In a small bowl, dissolve your yeast in ½ cup warm water. Make sure that your water is warm (not too cold, not too hot). Let proof for 10 minutes.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine hot water, sugar, salt, oil and 3 cups of the flour and mix together. Add the yeast mixture to a bowl.
- Add the remaining 3 1/2 cups of flour, one cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Watch for it to start pulling away from the bowl to know it's ready. Once all of the flour is added, let sit for 10 minutes.
- Separate your dough into 3 pieces. On a floured surface roll each piece into a 9x12 rectangle. Roll it up like a jelly roll. Shape into a french bread loaf and smooth out edges.
- Place the dough on a greased baking pan or a Silpat, seam side down. Using a knife, make 3-4 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch thick in bread. Brush with your beaten egg.
- Let dough rise uncovered for 30-40 minutes in a warm place.
- Bake at 375 for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.
Happy Baking, my friends! I can’t wait to hear what you think about this quick and easy homemade french bread.
Super easy to make (kids can make this) and really soft and delicious. Will be a staple in our kitchen for sure! Thank you for sharing 🙂
I just tried baking this and I’m pretty sure I followed all of the steps correctly, but the loaves didn’t brown and are very pale 🙁 does anyone know why this would happen? This was my first time making bread ever.
Did you put the egg wash on?
Or you can just keep the bread in the oven a few minutes longer until it’s the color you like
I tried this recipe & it was perfect. I will say that I let my loaves rise for more like one and 1/2 hour–the suggested 30 or 40 min. was not enough for my bread to rise—I did let it rise in a warmed oven & it still took longer. Not a big deal, just be sure to allow enough time in case it doesn’t rise in 30-40 min. When they were the size I wanted , I baked them & they turned out perfect. The leftovers make the best garlic bread & french toast. I think I finally found an easy homemade bread
My kids and I have made this bread several times and it always turns out perfect. This is the quickest and easiest bread recipe I’ve found. It’s a great base for other variations such as garlic and cheese bread too. Thank you for the recipe.
Your recipe calls for 2 Tablespoons of yeast. I always buy dry yeast in packages. Most recipes call for 1 package of yeast and I’m sure there aren’t 2 Tablespoons in a package. How many packages should I use to make your recipe?
Also, do you suggest all purpose flour or bread flour?
Very easy to make. My husband says they look and taste just like bakery bread.
Well, I can never eat plain bread. After I rolled it out I added a topping of caramelized onions and cheddar on top of that! Rolled it up and baked. Delicious! Have used mozzarella and pepperoni. Have added herbs before rollin and on top after egg wash
Can’t say enough.
I loved it, my kid loved it
😀 making it again tonight…l but will try to freeze 2 of them. Hopefully it tastes as delicious after freeze.
Love this recipe!! I have never made bread before this morning when I used this recipe! It turned out perfectly and is so so delicious! I sprinkled garlic salt, thyme & rosemary on one of the loaves before baking and it turned out wonderful! I think next time I will mix it into the dough too!
I want to try this, but I’ve never made bread before. One of the steps is confusing. You said to separate the dough into three pieces, and roll each piece out into a rectangle. Then you said to roll it up like a jelly roll. I don’t know what that means, Roll each piece separately? Roll them together somehow? How does it all get together? I’m missing something here having never made a jelly roll, but it must be simple since according to the other comments, even kids can do it. Please explain.
This recipe makes 3 loaves, which is why you divide the dough into 3. Rolling like a jelly roll means you roll it up from the long edge, not the short edge.
The recipe makes three loafs. To do the “jelly roll”,:start with the long edge facing you, and roll it up into a “log”. If you look at the end of the roll it will be a spiral, just like a cinnamon roll.
Hello Sherry, Be encouraged, If you have not made bread before, this recipe is for you. Very easy…
Yes divide dough into three equal parts (doesn’t have to be perfect)…Roll each part Separately into rectangle, one at a time. Continue to follow recipe….Don’t forget to score (cutting slits across the top), each loaf and brush with beaten egg…Such a great recipe…
Sherre
Love the bread recipe but did notice that the printed version forgot to mention to add a pinch of sugar to the yeast! Next time I make it I will add the sugar… curious to see if it makes a difference!
5 stars! Great recipe! I’ve made this several times now and it’s no fail. My favorite version now is to add chopped jalapeños as I’m mixing everything together. Then add a few slices on top. Then I “bake” it on my Traeger smoker. No need to adjust any of the ingredients or time. It’s turned out perfectly each time. Thank you!
Made this for four times. Superb. Thanx for the recipe
Thanks for such a simple yet yummy recipe. I followed it exactly as written. Actually, I didn’t even use a rolling pin to roll it out. I just used my hands and eye-balled it and it worked great!
Turned out delicious.
This is the easiest and my family loved it. It was my first homade bread ever. I was wondering if you can use this to make an everything bread and what seasoning do you suggest?
Which yeast is better, original or rapid rise?
Hello!
I would like to cut this recipe in half. Would I use 1/4 cup of water to proof the 1 tablespoon of yeast? Thanks in advance!
What temperature is warm water and what temperature is hot water?
your water should be between 105-120 fahrenheit, any hotter will kill the yeast
I just made this recipe and it was amazing! I wasn’t so sure about this recipe at first, especially the part that says the yeast should go in after the sugar but I continued following the recipe exactly and it turned out beautiful! I will definitely be making this again and again. Thank you!
Hello I just made this recipe for probably third time. It is an easy to follow recipe but This time I dont know what came wrong that the crust is fabulous but the Inside came a little clumpsy and looks kind of heavy the texture is not the same….can it be the yeast that I have being keeping in the fridge for 2 or 3 months? It is not due but could be old now. Thanks for your response.
I found your recipe on Pinterest today and made it this afternoon, and despite the fact that I didn’t realize I didn’t have enough regular flour until I was committed—and had to use about three-quarters King Arthur white whole wheat flour—it turned out AMAZING! Not only was it beautiful, it was tender and soft and glossy and in all ways the reason I go to the trouble of making homemade bread. I’ve never had a bread recipe that called for so much water, or for hot water, so I was nervous, but dang! Thank you so much for posting this.
Today was my first day to make the French bread. It came out perfect with little to know effort. I followed the recipe for the first 2 and the third one I put cheese and hard salami in it. I’m so hungry and excited to try. Thank you for sharing your recipe with my family.
My bread is hard to bake all the way through. Beautiful in the outside but doughy in the inside of the thickest parts. I’m not sure if it’s too much flour or what. Baked it 22 min then put it in for five more minutes with foil in the too. Any suggestions?
The same thing happened to me. My pastry chef friend said I didnt proof the dough long enough.
Fabulous bread. If I wanted to freeze, do I let it rise first? Thanks
So I rolled it the short way. It took longer to bake and they blew up like on steroids. Lol. They were still fluffy and delicious
Easiest and fluffiest French Bread I’ve ever made! Try it! You won’t be disappointed!
I tried the recipe, its amazing! But we are a small family so 3 loaves is obviously a bit too much for one meal. Lol.. how would you suggest storing the other loaves for later use? Usually when I make bread its one loaf so I have never come across this issue with homemade breads. Thanks in advance and thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!
I would allow them to cool to room temperature and then wrap them in plastic wrap. Bread freezes amazingly well! I do yes with loaves from the store all the time so I don’t have to keep going back multiple times a week. I have 5 kids so we go through a lot of bread. The day you want to use it just take it out of the freezer in the morning and I tall be right easy to get on by dinner time!
I really gotta check for spelling errors before submitting. Lol that should say this instead of yes and “the day you want to use it, just take it out of the freezer earlier in the day and it should be ready to go by dinner time”. Sorry about that!
This bread freezes great! After baking, let cool completely , Wrap in plastic wrap, then foil, No change in flavor.
The flavor of the bread was great. My loaves were a little dense. My pastry chef friend said they didnt proof long enough. Good recipe, but suggest that you go back through the recipe and make it more step by step. A couple steps weren’t clear (the part where you say to add the yeast “to a bowl” , and to add the pinch of sugar to the yeast. Thanks.