Easy Homemade French Bread
Homemade French bread has never been easier! This simple recipe produces a light and fluffy loaf of French bread that will rival any bakery!
This easy homemade French bread is so simple and perfect for a bread making beginner.
But as you can see from all the comments below, it’s just as valued by expert bread makers, too!
Making French Bread Dough
This straightforward bread dough can be made in a stand mixer or by hand.
- Warm water
- Yeast (instant or active dry yeast)
- Bit of sugar and oil
- Salt
- Flour (all-purpose or bread flour)
At the start, the dough will look shaggy and rough.
But as it kneads, it will become soft and smooth.
The most important part of this dough (and other yeast doughs) is to judge the amount of flour by the look and feel of the dough rather than the exact amount of flour called for in the recipe.
Factors such as humidity, elevation, room temperature, how we each measure flour, and more can affect the amount of flour added. So don’t stress about precise flour measurements and continuously feel the dough to achieve a soft dough that is slightly tacky but doesn’t leave a lot of residue on your fingers.
Too little flour and the dough will be a mess to handle. Additionally, the bread won’t hold its shape as it rises and bakes.
Too much flour and the dough won’t rise well and the bread will be tough and dense.
Two Methods for Dough Rising
In the recipe, there are two methods to letting the dough rise:
- Leave the dough in the mixer, cover with a lid or towel, and let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Stir it down by turning on the mixer for 10 seconds or so. Repeat the “rest and stir down” cycle five more times.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with a towel or greased plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until doubled, about an hour or so, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
I alternate between the two methods depending on my mood. The 10-minute increment rising method is unique to this original French bread recipe. The idea is that allowing the dough to rise this way produces a lighter crumb.
But the more traditional rising method also results in a delicious, fluffy loaf.
How to Shape French Bread Loaves
The question I get asked the most about this easy homemade French bread is how to shape the loaves.
The loaves can really be made any size or shape; I usually end up making 12-inch loaves, but if they end up being a bit thinner or chubbier, it’s no big deal!
Press each portion of dough into a flat rectangle and fold the bottom edge up and over the dough, pressing the seam flat with your hand.
Then, roll the dough up again to meet the top edge.
Fold the top edge over and press or pinch lightly.
Take the end of the bread dough and fold it up and over an inch or two to give an even thickness all the way down the loaf.
Pinch to seal the end. Repeat on the other end of the dough.
Then, deliberately and thoroughly pinch and seal the entire length of the loaf.
How to Score the French Bread Dough
Scoring the bread dough (in my house, also called: slashing or gashing) helps the dough rise better AND prevents it from cracking in unexpected places while baking.
Using a bread lame for this task is extremely helpful. A bread lame is a long stick or utensil with a razor blade on the end. The razor is used to make thin cuts in the dough.
If you don’t have a bread lame, using a clean, sharp razor blade or an extremely sharp kitchen knife can work. Be aware that if the knife isn’t sharp enough, it’ll likely deflate the dough.
The bread loaves can be scored before or after the final rise. I prefer to do the slashing and gashing before they rise as I’ve had one too many loaves of risen bread deflate at the first touch of the razor, and there is nothing so soul crushing as when that happens.
Let the bread loaves rise until noticeably puffy before baking.
Easy Hack for Crusty French Bread
For a delicious golden crust, immediately before putting the bread in the oven, toss 3-4 ice cubes onto the bottom of the oven. Add the bread and quickly (but gently!) close the oven door.
The steam as the ice cubes hit the toasty bottom of the oven will lightly crisp up the outer crust as the bread bakes.
Important Note! Please consult your oven’s manual for details or caution on putting ice/water on the bottom of the oven floor – I’ve never had a problem, but everyone should do their own research and use their own best judgment (also take care not to toss the ice cubes on the glass oven door as it could crack).
If you are struggling to get a deeper golden crust on the French bread, try:
- Increasing the oven temperature by 25 degrees and/or
- Moving the oven rack up one position (I find my bread browns the best in the middle or upper middle area of my oven)
Whole Wheat French Bread
As noted in the recipe, French bread works quite well using whole wheat flour. I’ve found the best results are when using white whole wheat flour (red whole wheat flour makes a denser, heavier loaf).
I recommend subbing in half whole wheat flour to start and then adding more whole wheat flour as you continue to make subsequent batches of bread.
If using whole wheat flour, add a 2-3 minutes to the kneading time to help develop the gluten (also, adding a couple tablespoons of vital wheat gluten/gluten flour can also help the whole wheat bread bake up light and fluffy).
Helpful Tip: If you’ve struggled with your bread flattening out while baking instead of holding the perfect shape, you might try these French bread pans {aff. link}. I have them and LOVE them. I don’t use them every time I make this bread, but I do pull them out quite often (I also use them for this rosemary bread).
Perfect Homemade French Bread
With over 2,500 5-star reviews, this homemade French bread has become a favorite for so many of you.
Hundreds of you have let me know that you have been intimidated by homemade bread until you found this recipe! It is easy, foolproof, and will make you feel like a bread making rock star.
Helena says: Finally, after 5 failed bread attempts using other places recipes, this is THE recipe to use! Happy dance! Thank you for sharing this awesome recipe! Delicious bread!
Valerie writes: Such a fantastic, easy recipe. The “hands on” time is minimal and it comes out perfect every time. Thanks for sharing a recipe that’s become my “to do” dinner bread!
Nichole says: Followed instructions exactly! First time making any sort of bread ever. The bread turned out perfect!!!!
Pia commented: Hands down my go-to bread recipe. Today’s edition is 1/3 dark rye flour, with Italian herbs and caraway seeds mixed in and sprinkled with everything bagel topping. Yum! Best bread recipe ever, and so easily customizable!
FAQs for Homemade French Bread
Yes! Halve all the ingredients straight across – just keep an eye on the amount of flour and judge the final amount by the look and feel of the dough.
Yes, it freezes great (after baking and cooling).
Moving an oven rack up or down can help. In my oven, the bread browns best in the upper half of the oven. Also, you can try increasing the oven temp by 25 degrees.
Absolutely! You can mix the ingredients in a bowl with a spatula or spoon and knead by hand.
I always use the same amount interchangeably. Recently, I’ve heard that active dry yeast doesn’t need to be proofed in liquid first, but I always still do when using active dry yeast (no need to proof with instant yeast).
Yes, just keep an eye on baking time – smaller loaves may need less baking time.
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Easy Homemade French Bread
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups warm water, 110-115 degrees F
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon instant or active dry yeast (see note)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons salt (see note)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, canola oil, vegetable oil or avocado oil
- 5 ½ – 6 cups (781 – 852 g) all-purpose flour or bread flour (see note)
Instructions
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the water sugar and yeast. If using active dry yeast, let the mixture bubble and foam before proceeding (this can take 3-5 minutes). If using instant yeast, proceed with the recipe (no need to let the yeast activate).
- Add the salt, oil and 3 cups of flour and mix. Add in 2 1/2 to 3 more cups of flour gradually. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl and form a soft ball that doesn't leave a lot of dough residue on your fingers.
- Knead for 2-3 minutes until the dough is smooth. If the dough starts to cling to the sides of the bowl (or the center column if using a Bosch or other mixer with a center), add 1/4 cup of flour at a time until a sturdy but soft ball of dough forms.
- Rising Method 1: Leave the dough in the mixer, cover with a lid or towel, and let the dough rest for 10 minutes. Stir it down by turning on the mixer for 10 seconds or so. Repeat the "rest and stir down" cycle five more times.
- Rising Method 2: Instead of letting the dough rest for 10 minute spurts and then stirring it down, transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover with a towel or greased plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until doubled, about an hour or so, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly greased surface and divide in half. Pat each section into a thick rectangle, 9X13-inches or thereabouts (doesn't have to be exact). Roll the dough up starting from the long edge, pressing out any air bubbles or seams with the heel of your hand, and pinch the edge to seal. Arrange seam side down on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper (I use separate baking sheets for each loaf).
- With a bread lame, razor blade or VERY sharp knife, cut several gashes at an angle on the top each loaf (you can wait to score the bread until after it rises, but it can easily deflate if the razor/knife isn't sharp enough).
- Cover the loaves with greased plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, and let rise until noticeably puffy and nearly doubled in size, about an hour.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and make sure an oven rack is in the center position. If you find your bread isn't browning as much as you like, preheat the oven to 400 or 425 degrees and/or move the oven rack up one position (watch carefully so the bread, especially the bottom, doesn't burn).
- Optional: for an extra golden, crisp crust, place the loaves in the preheated oven and immediately toss 3-4 ice cubes on the bottom of the oven. Close the oven door quickly but gently. (See note below!)
- Bake the loaves for 25-30 minutes until golden and baked through.
- If desired, brush melted butter over the hot loaves (this softens the crust a bit, so if you want a crispier crust, don't butter the top).
Notes
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from The Sister’s Cafe
I made it twice, by hand, with 2 cups whole wheat flour and 3 1/2 bread flour, 11gr dry yeast. It is amazing. Thanks a lot!
I had never made French bread before, only loaf bread. I made this today; it was easy, beautiful, and delicious! My family loved it! I will definitely make this again.
Can the dough be made in a bread machine? I can’t knees with my hands anymore.
I don’t have a bread machine, so I haven’t tried it, but I’m guessing if the quantity of dough fits in the bread machine, it should work just fine.
I had never made French bread before, only loaf bread. I made this today; it was easy, beautiful, and delicious! My family loved it! I will definitely make this again.
Can this dough be froze after the first rise, then thawed and rolled out and left to rise again before putting in the oven?
I haven’t tried that, but I believe others have with good results.
Excellent recipe, I made it today and it’s great, thanks! I used garlic infused olive oil, it’s a game changer. I cranked the temp up to 400 half way through and added more ice. I wish I could share the pic, it’s beautiful!
I want to make this bread for my bingo crew but i already have my hands full with this big dinner, was just wondering if i could make this bread a day ahead and bake the next day? If so any special thing i need to do?
Hi Melissa, you could make the dough a day ahead of time and pop it in the refrigerator. Let it come to room temp and puff a bit before shaping into loaves and baking.
Thank you so much for this recipe! My daughter has been on an elimination diet as she is nursing her baby who has some food sensitivities. She hasn’t had bread in months. She just added wheat back in to her diet (but not dairy or soy) and I made his for her last weekend. She literally cried as she ate this bread. It turned out perfect!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this recipe. Works perfectly every time!
I absolutely love this recipe and my family goes nuts over it but lately we have been cutting sugar from our diets so I was wondering if there is a replacement for the sugar or if it would be fine without it?
Are you eating honey? You could use honey or try leaving it out (it helps with the bread rising).
I’m about to make this for the third time, this is pretty much the only bread we’ve eaten in two months. So good!
Very good. My oven has electric coils on the bottom so when I use ice for my bread a just stick another pan on a rack on the lowest setting. That way I can toss ice in it without worrying about my oven. Lol.
I haven’t baked mine yet and my loaves are like soggy or something, they look like they’re melting when I try to shape it !
If the loaves aren’t holding their shape, it sounds like you need to add more flour to the dough when mixing. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl and be soft…but shouldn’t be overy sticky.
I’ve made this recipe several times and it turns out perfectly each time. I want to cut it into four loaves and am wondering how long they should bake. I bake them at convection 375 which actually bakes at 350. Thank you.
Hi Chris – I would check around 22 minutes. They might take upwards of 28 or so minutes.
Best. Bread. EVER. This recipe was so easy to make and so delicious!! I will be making this recipe all the time!! Thank you so much!
I love making nread
This recipe is easy and is the BEST bread I’ve ever made – I’ve been baking for years. My family each gave it two thumbs up!
I found your recipe a week ago and have made it twice already! Once for a meal I made for my SIL and tonight for my family. It’s turned out great and smells so good while baking. What would you say the ‘shelf life’ is for the bread (if you don’t eat it all right away!)?
Hi Jacy, the bread is best the day of and it’s pretty good on the second day, but after that, it tends to dry out.
Thanks for this recipe, it is my go to for French bread. I have tried a variety of recipes…some were so complicated. This is simple but good. I have always used water in the oven for some breads. The ice cubes are a great idea. I put a small foil pan in my oven while I preheat and drop the ice cubes in the pan when I put the bread in.
I’ve made this a few times now and no one believes I made it my parents liked it so much they asked me to make them some for every event from now on that’s how good it is! The only thing I can’t seem to get right is that beautiful color.. It cooks perfectly but the color is always so pale how can I get it to look nice and dark like yours ?
Try increasing the oven temp by 25 degrees and/or moving the bread to bake on a higher rack in the oven.
Easy and delicious! This was my first attempt at homemade bread. I’ve made it several times now and with great success . I plan on making Mel’s Rosemary Bread next.
Can you make ahead and refrigerate before baking?
I haven’t tried that…but you could. If so, I’d suggest cutting down the yeast otherwise the slower rise in the fridge might allow the bread to over rise.
Troubles with oven spring. I got good rise but experiencing a deflation after scoring with my lame.
Fantastic! So easy and turned out better than what you buy at the store, OMG!
Can I use this recipe on the dough setting on my bread machine?
A lot depends on the capacity of your bread maker – if the dough ingredients fit, it should work just fine.
I’m not sure what all the fuss is about with failing bread. I just started baking bread about 6 months ago and this recipe is my favorite! It has never failed me….well except for that one time I wasn’t paying attention when I used a sealer and it sucked all the air out of my bread…but it was still good when we ate it dipped in oil. I have applied cinnamon sugar to one loaf before rolling up and it taste great to me. I have bought the bread sheet and the lame that Mel suggested…I’m still trying to get the hang of that lame. I bake bread once or twice a week with this recipe and today I am going to use this recipe in mt stone loaf pans. Thank You Mel for a wonderful recipe for a beginner bread maker.
The BEST bread, consistently!! I didn’t have any regular yeast, so for the first two batches, I used a sourdough yeast culture….then back to regular yeast. This recipe is perfect. Nice thick crust, and the interior is a thick, dense sponge. Freezes great! Slices great! Thank you for this recipe!!
I love you and bread. and I hope to establish bread maker factory as soon as possible in my town.
I am confused….A standard cup of flower weighs 120 grams. You list 5.5 – 6 cups which should be 660 grams to 720 grams. Instead you say it’s 781 grams to 852 grams. This would mean 6.5 cups to 7.1 cups
I test my recipes using 142 g of flour per cup.
Buy a Stanley Knife or any razor blade holder and keep if for only kitchen stuff
Great recipe, easy and delicious. Thank you for sharing.
How can I triple the recipe? The liquids are making the dough wet. I have been experimenting but it is not quite right. Have you figured it out? Is there a formula? I use quick rise dry yeast. Thank you!!
Sylvaine
Hi Sylvaine, for a triple recipe, only double the yeast. Triple all the other ingredients. Add flour until a soft dough is formed (don’t worry much about the exact amount of flour – judge the dough based on the look and feel).
The bread tastes great! But – it is not the beautiful toasty brown color. Any suggestions? I’m a newby at this
Hi Pattie, try increasing the oven temp by 25 degrees and/or moving an oven rack to the middle or upper middle position.
I love this recipe! I haven’t tried any other but why try another one when this one is easy and perfect!
Hi Patti, I had the same problem with it not browning nice.increasing my temp did not help so i tried a trick that i had read about from another receipe. and it came out perfect-take a egg white and 1 tsp of water and whip it with a wire wisk till its somewhat frothy ,and brush the bread with it before you place it in the oven
First time making French Bread and won’t be the last. This recipe was awesome. Great direction and turned out beautifully! I purchased a bread pan and lame which I think are game changers. Thanks for the notes and tips, Love your site!
If you are worried about harming your oven with ice cubes, just place a pan on the lowest shelf when preheating your oven. When you put your bread in, just put the ice cubes in the hot pan.
It is what I do when making sourdough.
Amazing!!!
Great recipe!! Came out perfectly. Thank you.
Good but a bit dense for myself and my husbands taste.
A dense bread just didn’t rise enough. So, next time let it rise 2-3x longer or let it slowly rise overnight and bake in the morning.
Also, knead longer or use a mixer on a high speed for 5 min to really knead.
This was easy and delicious. First time I ever made French bread – thanks for making it a great experience!
I LOVE this recipe! I have made this multiple times and the only thing I’ve changed is adding more salt. I do bake both loaves at the same time on the same cookie sheet. I just swap them about halfway through. Put the melted butter on it, it’s sooo good! Also, like most bread, this isn’t as good the next day. Unless you freeze it! We usually eat this with soup, so we cut the bread into individual pieces and then put it in a freezer bag in the freezer. Just pop it in the microwave and it’s just like the first day you made it!
Wondering how to keep my crust crunchy? It came out nice and crunchy and then as it cooled it seemed as if the crust got soft. Any ideas?
There’s not a super great way to keep the crust from softening on this bread. It always softens for me too. You could try reheating the bread in the oven for a crispier crust but it might make the crumb dry.
Great recipe, if you want the crust crunchy, just brush with water instead of butter.
I have made this 3 times now. This last bake was my best yet. I don’t have a mixer so I hand kneed, this time I did it for 15 minutes and the dough rose so much quicker and the end result was bigger, more airy, and very good! Also this time I did one loaf with egg wash and one without, the one with the egg wash was awesome like I bought it from the store. Next time I will divide the dough into 3 or 4 loaves, I realized absolutely love the crust and want more surface area.
Man, this is by and large the BEST bread I have ever made. I real keeper.
BTW, I used the full tablespoon of salt instead of the 3/4.
So I made this recipe this morning and ate it for lunch. Couple changes I made. during the dough making process I put in 1 tablespoon of Salt instead of the called for 3/4 tablespoon. Before I placed it in the oven I egg washed it the cut slits then egg washed it again. Lastly sprinkled Kosher Salt on top and it was amazing.
Recipe was easy to follow, did an egg wash instead of the ice and came out beautiful. Crispy outside, soft fluffy inside. Only issue I had was a slight yeasty taste in the bread. I used active dry yeast. I think next time I’ll try 2 teaspoons of yeast instead of a whole tablespoon.
Followed the recipe somewhat exactly… used 3 cups all purpose flour, 1 cup whole wheat, and 1 cup bread flour. Bread was still fluffy and tasted great…. Made some little bread sticks too.
Highly recommend this recipe if you want to make a loaf of bread using whole wheat and bread flour. It has great texture and isn’t heavy.
I save a knob of my last loaf of French bread and throw it into the next one as a preferment. It adds a lot of flavor. I also often make a poolish by mixing a cup of water with a cup of flour and a pinch of yeast and letting it sit overnight. Then I finish with the rest of the recipe (although I cut back on the yeast,) It’s another preferment to add flavor.
Super easy, and so yummy!
I don’t have any idea why I was intimidated to try and make French bread… because they turned out PERFECT! We loved this and I will be making this recipe A LOT more! Thank you Mel!!!
Smelled so good while baking, I will never buy french bread again!
Came out just like the picture. The ice cube trick made the outside nicely crusty. The inside was perfect. I made it by hand so no machinery necessary.
Easy to follow and the bread turned out amazing!
Wonderful dough easy quick & tastes great.
what does it mean to roll the dough and the stuff about sealing it? is there a video?
It’s regarding shaping the dough into a loaf. I’ll try and post a video soon.