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
- 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
Any thoughts on adding sugar or honey, butter instead of oil, to add flavor. I haven’t made it yet, but in previous recipes I’ve found the oil to be a negative influence to the taste.
The amount of oil is low enough, it doesn’t add a strong flavor (assuming it is a neutral-flavored oil like canola or vegetable or grapeseed) but you could definitely try butter.
Excellent recipe for bread. Came our perfect. Hey Toni, If you do not have anything good to say then don’t say anything. French bread is not always made with just those ingredients. They are also made with sugar and oil these days. Obviously you have no clue about the culinary world at all so best to keep your uninformed comments to yourself until you actually know what your talking about.
Excellent recipe for bread. Came our perfect. Hey Toni, If you do not have anything good to say then don’t say anything. French bread is not always made with just those ingredients. They are also made with sugar and oil these days. Obviously you have no clue about the culinary world at all so best to keep your uninformed comments to yourself until you actually know what your talking about.
Hey Larry, If you do not have anything good to say then don’t say anything.
As a beginner baker, this is the easiest bread recipe I have ever tried! It came out perfect with no extra “tweaks”…..thank you so much! After trying this bread I never want to eat store bought again! Great recipe!
This certainly LOOKS somewhat like a loaf of French bread, and it sounds tasty, but it IS NOT French bread. French bread is made from flour, water, salt and yeast – and nothing else. The addition of sugar and oil/fat makes this, maybe, an Italian loaf of bread, but it’s not French — more like grocery store French bread. Good? – probably. French? – no.
Toni, if you already know the ingredients to real French bread why did you even bother coming to this site. Let someone who doesn’t mind trying something new try it first. Thanks
Ezekiel, loved this FRENCH bread! It’s my go to. After having lived in France for 3 years, I can say that French bakers have been known to add a touch of sugar (lets the yeast rise) and oil. Once in a while I will add coarse Kosher salt to the top after the egg wash. I don’t know what that would be called then, but… who really cares, it’s the right recipe.
Can you repost with weights please. Dough was very slack after adding extra flour. Taste was good. Appearance, not so much. Will try again.
I made this tonight and my family LOVED it! I made 4 small loaves rather than 2 bigger. Baked them all on the same pan, turned once in oven half way through. Absolutely perfect. I have put pans of water in my oven with my bread but never chucked ice cubes straight in the oven. Neat trick, worked like a charm. Crust was delightfully crunchy without being a danger to anyones teeth and it may be tbe chewyest bread i ever made. Petfect texture, wonderful flavor, awesome recipie. Thanks!!
Hi
Can i bake this in an electric oven?
I have an electric oven and it bakes just fine (if you mean toaster oven, I don’t think that would work, but I haven’t tried).
My first time making bread. The recipe produced the best bread. So long to store bought. Thank you for sharing your recipe. I now have the confidence to keep baking with yeast
This was the first time i’ve made French bread. Is the best bread recipe of any kind, in my opinion. I used the ice method and the bread was very crispy without the egg wash. Thank you for the tips. This will be my go to from now on.
When posting a baking recipe you should use weight measurements. It matters quite a bit.
Not every one has a kitchen scale. Before I got one I would get frustrated not being able to try a new recipe that called for weight measurements.
Great recipe! I made this recipe 2 days in a row. The flavour is great!
First time, I followed the recipe exactly (aside from putting on an egg white wash since I had one leftover from the pasta dough I had just made). It required just over 6 cups of flour to get the right dough consistency.
It browned beautifully and tasted great but I wanted a slightly crisper crust.
On my second attempt I used 1-1/2 cups whole wheat and almost 5 cups of white flour.. No egg white with this time, but instead of throwing in the ice cubes, I put a whole pan of boiling water on the rack beneath the bread. Without the egg white wash the bread did not brown as well, but this time the crust had that nice French bread texture.
Thank you so much for this very easy and tasty bread recipe!
Did you pre boil the water before adding it to the oven or did you just put a pan of water into the oven to boil alongside it
It came out ok. I felt like the flavor was lacking, though.
Made this on 3.02.19. Beautiful to look at but the inside was slightly doughy after baking it the full 30 minutes. I have a gas stove and oven so it could be that the temperature did not stay hot enough throughout the baking process . (?). It still tasted good though. I will try it again and bake it in my neighbors convection oven.
Is there a way to make this without a standmixer i dont own one.
Yes, I think you could make it by hand – just be careful not to overflour.
Can you use fresh yeast instead and get the same results? Thanks.
I’m not sure – I haven’t tried that and am not super familiar with working with fresh yeast. Sorry!
You would have to work out the amount but the bread would taste much better with fresh yeast.
It is against the law in France to use butter,oil or any fat in french bread.
But sugar is okay? 😀
Not in French bread. This is more of an Italian style.
Great recipe but my bread came out a bit dense, I’m guessing too much flour though I actually used less flour then the recipe called for and got a nice smooth dough with just a bit of tack. I didn’t get the oven spring, maybe from lack of humidity, I did the ice cube trick but I think it needs a pan of water in the oven (especially in lovely dry winters). I tasted it though and it’s got great flavour!
Best french bread recipe ever. Tastes even better than Panera!
AMAZING!
I literally make this bread recipe so frequently I have it memorized and I’ve added my own tweeks. I don’t know why it took me so long just to comment on here. I love this recipe and I now use the ice trick in many of my own recipes.
One question, when it comes to let the dough rise, can i leave it over night, at room temperature?
No, I think that would be too long and the dough would over rise and deflate (which can cause issues baking the next day as well as a very strong yeasty taste). However, you could put it in the refrigerator overnight and then take it out the next day to come to room temp and rise.
Made this bread multiple times always turns out great!! Just wondering if I can put pats of but in dough as I’m rolling into loaves
This bread tastes great! Mine kind of flattened out a bit and wasn’t golden at all. I kept wondering if I didn’t keep it in the oven long enough but when I cut it, the bread crusty on thw outside and was fluffy inside. Do you know what I did wrong? Also, should I have used an egg wash to get it golden? I would like to make this recipe again and work out the kinks due to my error.
Sometimes adjusting an oven rack to a higher position can help bread develop a nice golden color.
Thanks!
Mine came out the same. A little flat lol. There are pans you can get from Amazon for baking French Bread. The link is posted at the end of the blog post. I’m going to get one and try it again.
THANK YOU!! You broke my bread curse!! Lol I have NEVER had a homemade bread turn out right. Not from scratch, not from the box mixes, nada. It was always a dry, dense, disappointment. I could NOT be happier with this!! It came out so delicious, so soft. I did an egg wash before putting in the oven (and did the ice cube trick!) And it had the perfect golden & glossy sheen, with a nice crust…but so very soft inside. This will be my forever recipe, and one that I will recommend to all! Thank you!!
Made this tonight because I forgot to grab French bread at the store and oh my gosh!!!! I haven’t made much bread so I was nervous but it came out SO good! Ate a whole loaf tonight! But how do I store the other one?
Well covered in a bread bag or ziploc at room temp is your best bet (don’t refrigerate or it will dry out!).
I have frozen my loaf and it still tastes great a week later.
Often I have more than I can eat while fresh. I pre-slice it, wrap tightly, and freeze; then take it out as I need it.
Outstanding, first time I made French bread and was as good or better than bought from the store
So my husband and I made these breads last weekend, and though they came out tasting good, they were really dense. Now we love in Colorado so we are at almost 9,000 ft. So naturally we need to add a bit more flour to most recipes, but not much at all. So just wondering what made them so dense? Is it possible we overworked the dough? I let my husband form the breads, and he was having fun lol.
It could be a combination of over flouring or not enough kneading (to activate the gluten). I’d be surprised if it’s due to over working the dough – it could also be that the bread needed a longer rise.
I love this recipe and I’ve used it multiple times but I have one issue I was hoping to get some help with. I use the ice cube method and right when the bread comes out of the oven, it’s nice and crusty but just a few minutes after the crustiness goes away. Am I doing something wrong? Can I do something to keep the crispness?
You might try putting an oven-safe pan of boiling water in the bottom of the oven and see if that helps the crispiness.
Very easy and delish! I did not have any of the “extra” tools and it turned out great! I tried one loaf with the ice cube option and it was definitely crispier. I will make this again!
I made this recipe 3 times already,perfect every time.Thank you so much!!
Fabulous recipe! Turned out beautifully! This was my first try at French bread. I hand kneaded about 8 minutes, did the first rising in the fridge about 3 hours because I had to go out unexpectedly , then shaped and the 2nd rise took just over an hour. I brushed an egg wash on before baking and had to cover with foil after 20 minutes because they were already beautifully brown. I was a little nervous making the slashes so my loaves could’ve been prettier but the taste is out of this world! Reading all the comments answered my questions and helped give me confidence. Great advice (and video) on adding flour, Mel! PS I used a thermometer to test doneness and my oven must be a little slow because they took 35 minutes.
Hi Mel,
Have you tried making this in a bread cloche? Curious how it would come out.
Cheers,
Joe
I haven’t – sorry I can’t help!
Easy, delish, even for a bread noob like me.
I egg washed the top before baking. Beautiful loaves.
Very flavorful.
This was the first bread recipe I ever tried and now is my go-to! Delicious! Thanks!
I ended up with flat bread. My daughter says, “Oh, ficcoccia again!!!” I followed the directions EXACTLY, and once again am disappointed with the outcome. Flat, not crusty, and a complete disappointment. Couldn’t be more unhappy with this recipe.
Excuse my bluntness, Sandy, but I believe you failed (not the recipe.)
Kas, That’s terribly rude and unhelpful. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Sandra, there’s many reasons why this could be happening. The dough could be overworked or underworked, over proofed, too high liquid ratio, or more. Your best bet is to keep trying and adjust a little each time.
Anne, this is the fifth recipe I’ve tried for French bread; the method I’ve used is the one from the bread maker dough recipe. That one turns out fantastic!!! I really want to be able to make a great loaf from scratch myself.
I’m not “Sandy,” Ms. Inhelpfu.
Kas,
I’m Sandra, not “Sandy,” Ms. Unhelpful. Either suggest a remedy, or stop trolling people who are frustrated.
Sandra, my bread came out extremely flat the first time I made it, too. When I cut the slits in it before baking, the knife wasn’t sharp enough and the whole loaf deflated. How I got around this problem was by cutting the slits right after I rolled the dough into a loaf. Good luck!
Turns out great every time!
I use a sharp scissors for making slashes on to of bread; works great.
A quick question. I made this the other day and tried the method of rising in the bowl. I was late in mixing it once and wondered if that was why my dough was sticky. It was a nice soft loaf after I mixed in all 6 cups plus a tad more of flour. I think I will go back to the old stand by of letting rise for an hour untouched. I have baked bread since my 4-H days. Never French bread yeast breads.
Also wondered if you have ever cut it in half. There are only four of us and too much bread is not always a good thing.
Yes, you can definitely cut the recipe in half! As for the stickiness, I don’t notice a huge difference with either rising method (I usually add the same amount of flour) but I’m not totally sure. If the one-time rise works best for you, I’d say stick with it.
I’ve never made bread before, this was my first time and loved this recipe because it’s easy to follow. I ran out of flour after 4 cups and ended up using almond flour. It still worked and came out delicious! Thank you for this recipe 5 stars!
I live in Italy. About 1 hour from Venice. I find i have to adjust the flour amounts quite a bit here. How much glour would u recng at sealevel?
Honestly, I’m not sure, sorry! Maybe start adding gradually and then focus on the texture of the dough vs the exact flour amount – that should help the bread turn out!
This recipe is perfect! I read the tip while I waited for the first rise and realized I’ve been adding too much flour to my breads, but despite that this loaf still turned out pretty good. It was the lightest softest loaf of bread I’ve ever baked and as soon as I finish off the loaf I made last night I’m going to try it again and see if I can get it to stay taller instead of falling sort of flat.
Well, this was my first foray EVER into breadmaking. I wanted to try something new on my new standmixer that I just got for Christmas. I decided to try this recipe because it seemed simpler than some others I’ve seen. It was AMAZING! So fluffy, so crispy, so delicious. Thank you!!!
Came out great. I did sesame seeds topping. Also left my pizza stone in oven. Used a misting of water sprayed in oven and over loafs every 15 minutes. Plus used a threw away aluminum pan with water on bottom of oven I used a High Gluten Flour. Used for pizza dough. 00 Caputo. Loafs came out crispy crunchy Tasty. I also used bottles water in dough. Tap water has to much chemicals. This recipe is a keeper. I live in Oklahoma transplant from new york. The bread here is nothing like back home. Sure glad I Tryed your recipe. Know to run down to store to get some cold cuts. And make me a New York Style Hero or as you southerners call a hoagie or sub ps I’m a male. If I can bake this .So can you wish I could share a photo of bread
Just had to comment again. Made this recipe and got one large loaf and two baguettes. The large loaf was gone the same day. Froze the 2 baguettes. One was gone the next day, the other one was used for shrimp po boys today and it is now also gone. I need to get a way bigger mixer as this recipe is now a staple in our home. I will NEVER buy store French bread again, wife will not allow that after tasting this bread. Thanks again Mel.
I don’t have a mixer, how long would I knead for?
Probably 8-9 minutes by hand.
Wife said “da*# that’s good!”
Thanks, Mel.
Hey Mel, I’m planning my cooking timeline and want to get as much done ahead of time as I can. Do you think I can make the dough Monday night and do an overnight rise in the fridge ? Also, do you think I can par boil pasta shells, stuff them, top with the marinara Monday or will the texture be weird ?
Yes, I definitely think you can do an overnight rise in the fridge for the bread (I’d probably shape it into loaves if it were me before popping in the fridge). I don’t know about the pasta. I think that might work!
Hi what measurements of the cups ur using I mean if u can give in grams as measuring cups differ ,
Here we measure 1 cup as to 250 Grams . So just got confused.
Pls do reply want to try this tom.
You might need to use a conversion calculator (via google); I don’t measure my flour in grams. But it should be right around 25-30 ounces of flour total.
My bread came out hard as a rock. What did I do wrong?
Could be overfloured dough or not a sufficient rise – those are two culprits to dense bread.
Can I make it without the sugar?
Can definitely try. 🙂
Try using malted barley instead of sugar.