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.
What kind of yeast does this recipe call for? Active dry yeast or instant yeast?
I used active dry, it was perfect.
I used instant yeast and put it in the mixing bowl after I had added about 60% of the flour. I also checked the temperature of the dough before adding it. The temperature was about 118.
This may be a stupid question, but did you dissolve your instant yeast in the warm water before adding it to your mixing bowl or did you just add it dry?
No Stupid questions! The best thing about instant yeast is that you don’t need to dissolve it or proof it. Paul added it when the temp of the mixture was below 120 so it would not get killed by heat.
Not stupid at all!!
I always dissolve the active dry yeast following package directions before adding it to the flour mix. Remember to subtract the volume of water used to dissolve the yeast from the bread recipe. If you add a pinch of sugar when dissolving the mix, it will “poof” quicker.
How can i make this without a french bread pan?? thanx..
Sue
I just put mine on a cookie sheet. I’m able to put two loaves one one sheet, the third on a second sheet, and all go into the oven at the same time. They come out perfect!
Very easy but I was expecting more of a crusty bread. It seems more like a basic white bread. Came out soft but still very good. Did I miss something?
If you want crusty bread, put a pan on the bottom shelf of the oven and put a couple cups of ice cubes in the pan when you put the bread in the oven. This will make steam which gives you the crusty crust.
These came out magnificent! For one of the loaves I made a glaze using Earth Balance, brown sugar, honey, and nutmeg for a sort of breakfast sweet-bread. Can’t wait to cook another batch!
pulled it out when they were very golden but insides were not quite cooked. I’ll try spacing the loaves apart more. This was absolutely delicious and easy !! a keeper for sure
Made this again and they were perfect. A definite new favourite and go-to recipe.
?? How do I make it like yours? Mine all come out like a French stick not a big high loaf. Do I keep the rolled dough thicker ? L keep trying
Believe it or not, you need to take the temperature of your bread with a probe/ stick like thermometer in the middle of the loaf. It should read about 190 to 200 degrees when done.
Hope this helps. 😁
also, is it ok that I didn’t need the full 6 1/2 cups of flour? or did I do something wrong. It pulled away with 4 cups
In baking bread/doughs think it depends on the humidity level where you live and also in your home. Did your bread come out ok? I haven’t made this yet!
WIthout all the flour it was still amazing. Made it again and used all the flour
I love this recipe!! It’s my go-to for homemade bread. My husband and kiddos get so excited when they smell it baking. Delicious!
Loved it. This will be my go to bread recipe going forward. Delicious. Thank you.
I made this recipe & was thrilled with how the bread turned out. The bread was delicious & quite addictive!
Can this recipe be made with bread flour?
Thanks.
Easy to follow recipe!! Came out beautiful!
This was a great recipe for a first timer. Once all the ingredients were gathered, measured and poured it went quite quickly from start to finish. Family loved it and I was quite impressed with myself. Definitely not buying french bread if I dont need to anymore. My bread looked and tasted great but like a previous comment mine too could be “crustier”. It actually was but when I took them out we put a towel over them to keep them warm. I think that softened the crust a bit. I am going to try the ice bath next time. Thanks!!
I had to add 1 more cup of flour. But then I live in south Louisiana so it’s no surprise. We’ll see how they come out.
How should I change the cook time if I only wanted to make two larger loaves instead of three?
The only bread I’ve made since covid is a Crosby’s Molasses Oatmeal Brown Bread. You simply can’t get brown bread in Ontario!
Regardless, this looks quick and easier -quicker too! I’ve not seen bread rolled out before so is this just something because it’s a French bread? French bread needs get rolled out before rolled up I guess yes? Not sure if that’s an inane question…. The pictures and videos I’ve watched have only mentioned kneading by hand or machine if you have one so I’m still a noob here making my own bread! Anyone out there just make two loaves before? Thoughts on what size to shoot for to roll out before it gets rolled up?
For my needs, attempting two loaves makes more sense is my why. So cook time does this change??
Help, thoughts anyone?
Cook time is really governed by the color of the crust. Take it out when its golden. I made two loaves. Longer loaves not thicker. So time was pretty much the same. Use your eye and let get nice and deep golden.
Omg!!! I just made ur bread and it is sooooooo soooooo good!!! Thank u so so much
Super easy, soft crumb French bread. So happy I tried this recipe. Delicious and will be making again and again. Give it a go !
This is the best bread I’ve made! So perfectly soft! Thanks for sharing!
Forgot to mention… I cut the recipe in half and was still able to make 2 pretty foot longs =]
Can dough be frozen and baked at a future time after rolling and shaping but before final rising?
Easy and delicious! Yes, It’s a soft crust but we really like it. But there are only two of us and this bakes a lot of bread. I divided the dough into 4 sections rather than three and wish I had made more even smaller ones. I discovered that it’s very easy to wrap and freeze at that point! And when we want bread for dinner just pull one out about three hours or so before we want to eat. Unwrap it, let it defrost and start to rise, egg wash and rise some more then bake!
Did you freeze the dough in a ziplock?
I wrapped it in plastic wrap that I had sprayed lightly with cooking spray, then wrapped that in foil. Took foil off when I removed from freezer, and slipped it out if the plastic wrap when it started to get softer
I should add, I let the loaves freeze in the plastic wrap on a tray before I wrap them in foil.
great idea thanks!!!!!
This recipe made the best tasting bread. It was so good, I plan to make it again tomorrow. We’ve been eating the bread for almost every meal. The final piece of bread will be used for french toast in the morning!!
Thank you John Lee Bolton for replying, but if I wanted to just make two loaves thicker as longer doesn’t address what I’m hoping to do which is make a french bread that’s bigger and so more useable for me. Should I just follow the temp and timings as if I haven’t changed things on this side?
Anyone?
This recipe is amazing! Comes out perfect every time. The only things I did differently was to brush melted butter on loaves before putting in the oven, and right as they come out of the oven Didn’t like the egg on them. And I made 2 loaves instead of 3. Easy recipe and comes together in such a short time. We have this often and there is nothing like fresh homemade bread!
Great recipe! Made one traditional loaf and 4 mini loafs with pepperoni and shredded Mozzarella added during the “jelly roll” process. Came out fantastic! Thanks for the recipe. Will make it again.
Delicious! Used only 4 cups of bread flour. Soft and very flavorful
I have made this recipe several times and it is always beautiful and delicious! In less than two hours I have airy and light bread!
I can’t seem to get a hard crust on the outside…..I have put a bowl of water in the oven to try to get the crust like other bakers state but this recipe is very soft. Any suggestions?
This bread is super easy and delicious! I’m going to try it today with jalapeños and cheese!:)
I am going to be trying this bread with Sunday dinner, how would I make it into garlic bread, I don’t want the slices to be to hard once the bread is done baking.
Thank you
Two ways- the simplest is to bake the bread, let it cool, then slice diagonally, which results in larger pieces. Spread butter on each slice, sprinkle with garlic salt then broil on cookie sheet until golden brown. It’s good stuff!
The other way is to finely mince a few garlic cloves & sprinkle on top of the loaf before baking. I do this with my Focaccia bread& comes out great. Good luck!
Are you not supposed to knead the dough before shaping the loaves?
I wasn’t sure either. I used the bread hook on my kitchenaid and let it mix for a few minutes. It came out perfect!
Is it bread flour or all- purpose flour?
Fabulous and easy. Made with white flour the first time. Second time around combined white and brown. Gorgeous 😍
This Bread Recipe is Perfect! I think it’s very forgiving also. I only had some bread flour but had some self-rising flour so I used that. Made Rolls and that’s my story.
Is this good with spaghetti?
How much active yeast is needed? I am using the packets.