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Homemade French Bread

Homemade French Bread

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4.8 from 10 reviews

Homemade french bread is the best!  Each baguette is crunchy on the outside with a soft, chewy texture on the inside.

  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 4 baguettes 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 cups warm water
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 5 teaspoons yeast or 2 packages
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 3 1/2 rounded teaspoons kosher salt
  • 8 cups bread flour

Instructions

  1. Mix: Using your stand mixer with a dough hook, mix the water, sugar, yeast, and 2 cups of flour into the bowl.  Allow to sit until yeast activates and begins to bubble.  Add oil and salt.
  2. Add: Slowly mix in remaining flour.  You want the dough to just barely pull off the sides of your bowl once the flour is fully incorporated.  It should still be a soft dough. That might mean using less flour.
  3. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
  4. Rise: Remove the dough hook and form the dough into a ball inside the bowl. Cover and allow to rise until double, about one hour.
  5. Place the dough gently onto a lightly floured surface.
  6. Divide into four equal pieces. Flatten each piece into a generally triangular shape, about 1/2″ thick.
  7. Roll: Starting on the small point, roll and seal your way across the triangle until you have a small log.  Roll the log on the counter to stretch your baguette to the proper length, keeping the thickness uniform across the loaf. Place dough into a greased french bread pan, slit the top with a sharp knife and brush with an egg wash if desired.  Allow to rise about 15-20 minutes.
  8. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.  The bread is completely baked at this point and can be cooled on racks.  When it is time to serve,  I prefer to place the loaves on the oven racks and bake them for an additional 5-7 minutes.  This heats the bread and creates that great crust while keeping the interior soft and chewy.  In my opinion, this last step makes all the difference.

Notes

For an even better texture and flavor, let the dough complete its first rise in the fridge. It will take a few hours but the end result will be even better.

  • Author: Carole Jones
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: French

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1/4 baguette
  • Calories: 218
  • Sugar: 1 g
  • Sodium: 437 mg
  • Fat: 3 g
  • Saturated Fat: 0 g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
  • Trans Fat: 0 g
  • Carbohydrates: 41 g
  • Fiber: 1 g
  • Protein: 7 g
  • Cholesterol: 0 mg

Find it online: https://www.mykitchenescapades.com/easy-french-bread-recipe/