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
I’ve made this recipe before and loved it! I’d like to make it again, but the recipe yields 2 loaves and we won’t need that much bread all at the same time. Halving recipes like this one doesn’t always turn out right. Can I freeze either the dough or a finished baked loaf? Thanks!
The baked and cooled loaves freeze great!
Oh my Heavens. I made this this afternoon and it turned out DEVINE! My husband’s eyes just lit up at the first bite and that to me was worth all the effort. We are also socially isolating ourselves in the wake of this pandemic and due to the shortage of bread this recipe will be #1 in our home. Thank Mel.
the bread tastes great, but I couldn’t get the outside crusty even with your ice cube trick. any idea what I did wrong?
delicious with minimal Kneading compared to other breads. I made by hand with Red Star instant yeast and all purpose flour.
I made this recipe today because our stores are out of bread here and wanted some bread for the kids. Every thing was fine until the 2nd rise. I place it in a warm oven and it didn’t rise up but spread out and flattened. Not sure what I did wrong.
Hi Sarah, if it flattened, it sounds like you might need a bit more flour to help with structure.
Thanks. We are trying again today. This time I upped the flour so I’ll see how it goes!
I have been making breads for 40+ years. I absolutely recommend this recipe. Crust has the perfect crispness and the inside is soft and light. I placed a round cake pan with boiling water in the oven, rather than risk the ice cubes. I did not vary from the original ingredients. Slashed bread at the end of the rise. I brought two baguettes to a family BBQ a week ago and it was a hit with old and young alike. I can’t remember the last time I received so many compliments. I had no problem sending the small remainder home with my oldest granddaughter. This recipe is a winner in my opinion.
Hi Mel. I just made your French bread and I can’t wait to taste it! I was wondering what to do to keep it from spreading out so much on the sheet pan when baking. Did I need more flour? Thank you for answering!
Yes, it sounds like a bit more flour will help the structure of the dough so it rises up instead of out!
With 700+ comments, I knew I had to try. AMAZING! Thank you for making bread-making more manageable in my life. I love easy, yummy recipes like this. Will be making more loaves this week to leave on door steps for neighbors…I think we all need a little more bread at times like this.
Fantastic! This was my first effort with bread. I love French bread the best and this is wonderful. I will keep this and make it often definitely a 5/5. Thank you.
I can’t see anything in the notes about using bread flour…just AP and whole wheat flours. The grocery store sold me 50 lbs of bread flour, telling me it was AP flour. So now I need to use bread flour! Is there anything different about the recipe if I use bread flour? Thanks for your help and expertise!
Hey I’ve used bread flour and AP both came out great
Thanks, Alli!
Just used this recipe to make rolls for po’boys. Excellent.
I did not look up the bottom of the oven concerns and just used this cool mini loaf pan I bought many years ago an only used them one time. This was a perfect use for the ice, I assume any oven safe pan that fit would serve the purpose, but this worked perfectly. I also went with an individual loaf for the sandwich and I finally got to use my bread couche I have had in the cabinet for years. Definitely recommended.
Thank you for this great starter recipe.
Bread flour will work great – no need to change anything!
Hi Julie,
Bread flour will work perfectly! :]
hello Mel…thank you for sharing this …dying to try this this morning!
Do you have this recipe in grams?
This is a great recipe. My kids and I love this recipe.
This was fantastic. Much Appreciated! I was a little skeptical because with the handful of times I have made bread, it hasn’t been great.
This bread was so soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Made it exactly to specifications using the second rising method.
Thanks again! <3
Hello! I tried this recipe and everything was going very well until I baked them. Mine never got the golden crust that the pictures seem to have. I’m sure it’s something I did rather than the recipe, but I can’t figure out what. If anyone has any suggestions or ideas, I would appreciate it!
Hey, most likely you just didn’t let them bake long enough. Maybe your oven tends to run on the cold side or something. I personally don’t use hard and fast baking times, so I’ve found that when my bread is nearing the 25 minute mark I tap the bread with my nail, and if it’s slightly golden and sounds hollow when you tap the crust, it’s done. Ovens sometimes cook differently, so using your senses is a better bet than relying on the timer. Hope that helps.
I love it! Made today and turned out so scrumptious.
Lol just made toast with it and topped with PB and honey. This is so bad. But oh so good!
Anyone know how many calories in a slice??
I made this for the family yesterday. It was perfect and made the social distancing a little more bearable. Thanks Mel!
Hi! Could I braid this bread instead of turning into artisan style loaves?
Yes, I think so!
Did you try braiding it?
This bread is fantastic.Everyone could not get enough!my kids loved it!
Used second rise method. Loaves were beautiful. Thank you!
I’ve never tried to bake bread before today and thanks to your recipe it turned out perfectly! So delicious – thank you!!
We are very lucky to be on holiday but we’re missing our usual homemade bread! This recipe fit the bill and came together easily as you promised and turned out beautifully. I usually hate it when people comment on how they changed a recipe but I had to adapt a bit as I’m not at home. So I had to sub honey that was available for sweetener and I halved the ingredients and mixed it by hand ( no stand mixer here). Success! Real bread fresh from the oven! So easy you can do it anywhere!!!
Thank you so much for sharing the recipe. I’ll be using it again.
I forgot to add the salt- what can I do?
Yes I did and it was delicious but a little pale. The texture was great and the crust was crunchy
My French bread didn’t cone out too golden. The cane out good but not the top. Why is this.
I tried this recipe today.. used the full tablespoon of salt, and it was excellent. I e tried so many french bread recipes, and this one was by far the best. The kids were gobbling it up. Thanks for posting. Can’t wait to make some homemade garlic bread with pasta this week with it. Absolutely will be using your recipe again!
I have a Emile Henry 13 inch Bread Baker. Can I use this instead of the ice in the oven method?
I’m not familiar with that so I’m not entirely sure – sorry!
Quick note to yall making this, the author does its yeast wrong. When doing the yeast, your water should be pretty warm. The general guide is to ask yourself would you take a bath in that water? If yes, it’s perfect. Make sure to mix the yeast together properly and let sit for about 10 minutes not five.
Other than that, this is an incredible recipe. Great job.
How incredibly rude. The recipe clearly states warm water. She also goes over this process on her website through multiple tutorials and explains the water should be warm like you indicated. Five minutes of sitting is the standard recommended time, this is what King Arthur flour suggests as well…. if you want to let it sit for 10 go ahead but she’s not wrong just because you feel it should be longer. Also she says you could use instant yeast and then this wouldn’t matter at all…
So I am not a baker, but I’m trying. I absolutely love this recipe. I’ve made the normal, bread bowls, and jalepeno cheddar bread. I love it so much and so does my family. The only complaint is that it doesnt taste as good room temp. Thank you so much for this recipe!!!!
Bread HEAVEN!!!! I’ve been experimenting with making bread for the last month-after I was gifted a Kitchen Aid by my DO for Christmas.
I started with No-Knead, slow rising, Artisan doughs. They do get an amazing crust, but the inside was lacking that fluffy, French bread, texture. This has it!
The dough was a breeze to make in the Kitchen Aid, I mean so easy. I did knead with my dough hook for about 5 minutes on speed 2, and then a couple extra minutes on speed 4, it just didn’t have the smooth texture that properly kneaded dough has at the suggested 3 minutes of kneading.
The loaves rose for an hour—except for the second loaf that was cooked— and I put a pan of water on the bottom rack. You can tell they are done rising when you poke an indent with your finger, and it doesn’t fill in (bounce back).
At 15 minutes of baking I added more boiling water to the bottom pan, and they got a beautiful, golden crust.
The second loaf had more rise time, so it spread out more, and browned faster. I took them out at exactly 25 minutes, but 30 seems like it would keep a crispier crust, once they cooled the crust was soft.
Going in the recipe book! Can’t wait to try different sweet, and savory, additions to this dough. Thank you
This is definitely a keeper. Great recipe. Great results. Didn’t change a thing. Absolutely scrumptious. Thank you.
Whenever I bake bread I try and plus it into my Magnum opus so now I put 1/4 cup honey (you won’t taste it trust me) and 1/4 melted Kerrygold butter before the addition of flour, bread comes out amazing.
Hi! this bread is delicious – it’s my boyfriends new favourite bread that I make. I like to braid it with shredded cheese or cinnamon sugar! One question though – can I make the dough and put in the fridge and let it sit for a couple days? I want to eat it friday but won’t have time thursday or before dinner on Friday to make it fresh! Will the dough be okay in the fridge? 🙂
The longest I’ve refrigerated is 24 hours…not sure how it would fare longer than that but it’s worth a try.
I made this over the weekend and my husband said, “You are getting SO good at baking bread! This tastes professional!” I loved the compliment, and told him it was due to this recipe on your site. I used olive oil within the recipe, and did Rising Method #1 – which I had never heard of before! It was awesome! And I used the lame my mom got me for Christmas too, so life is definitely good. 🙂
I’m a professional chef ,and I would say that anyone should have a success with this recipe,so easy to make,it turned out perfectly for me
Bread turned out great! Now the real test is the taste. Easy recipe and rather quick using rapidrise yeast. Thanks!
Thanks for the recipe Mel! Hands down, the best loaf of bread ever! I halved the recipe and it was perfect!
I have just started to make homemade bread. This French Bread recipe is so simple and easy to follow. My results were nothing short of fabulous, great tasting bread. From now, it is the only one I will use for French Bread.Thank you so much Mel !
1000 % perfect
Thank you
Fantastic bread! I find it’s very soft and tastes amazing. Easy to make
This isn’t actually French bread, as they are strict about ingredients. This is more akin to Italian. Just being nerdy and letting you know!
French cooking typically has a lot of butter I thought. I tried this recipe 3 times and it tastes like it needs double the amount of salt requested. I also thought about adding another tbsp of sugar and using melted butter instead of oil. Other than that, I think it has a nice texture. But it doesnt have that really nice bread smell to it. I will have to make some changes and try it a fourth time
Would it work to add chocolate chips to this bread after its risen?
I haven’t tried that, so I’m not sure – but if I was using an add-in I would add it during the kneading process.
That is the best bread I’ve ever made! I opted for the 10 minute incremental rising. You, my friend, are a genius. ❤️
For some reason, I can’t get this recipe to cast to my Google home device. Would be great if I could see it there and save it to my cookbook.
Does it have to be in the rectangular shape? I am curious if this recipe will work in a round loaf shape or even cut into little rolls. Thanks for your insight.
Yes, you can definitely use different shapes.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have made it about 5 times now. It it a huge hit! (And I am getting better and better at perfecting my technique). A family member that had some about 6 months ago requested that I make a loaf to bring to tonight’s dinner party. To me, that is the ultimate compliment. It is extra yummy with garlic, herbs, and cheese.
Thanks so much!!
What a wonderful recipe. Big hit in my home tonight.
How do you get your loaves so shiny? Mine were dull, which was fine, but yours look a lot nicer lol. Egg wash? You don’t mention it in the recipe.
Thanks!
I don’t use an egg wash – I just butter the tops when they come out of the oven.
This was so easy and turned out CRAZY SOFT!! It’s delicious and stays moist and soft for days. Make this recipe.
do you use bread or ap flour
You can use either in this recipe.
This recipe was super easy to prepare and the bread got rave reviews from my family. It held its shape nicely and was super delicious! I will keep this one for future Thanksgiving dinners for our family. Thanks for posting.
What if I dont own a dough hook and stand mixer? Can I make any bread or is that type of mixer a must?
You can make many yeast doughs with a bowl and wooden spoon/spatula.
The results were great, but I’m confused about how the total time can be listed as “2 hours 5 minutes” when there are two “about an hour” rises. Total time was more like three hours and it threw off the timing of Thanksgiving dinner. (Luckily, we’re all pretty laid back so not a huge deal.)
Thanks for sharing, we’ll definitely be making it again!
Thanks for the heads up on that, Erik – I’ll adjust the timing. I agree it is off and I’m not sure why. Thank you!
I want to make this bread because the comments have been very good
My question is that I don’t have a bread pan can I just put it on the baking sheet?
What do you mean when you say press the seam.?
If it is rolled in a cylinder where goes the seam come from.
Do I have to cover this bread when baking?
Thanks
Hi Feroza, if you look at the tutorial in the post you’ll see that I don’t use a bread pan either, I bake the bread freeform on the baking sheet so you should be good there. By “press the seam” it basically means pinch the seam together so it seals the bread (so it doesn’t unravel). I put the seam on the bottom. I don’t cover the bread when baking.
Hello,
When I make this recipe, it rises so much that it spills over the french bread pan which makes a weird shape. It also seems to “deflate” when it it is cooking so it really doesn’t have a pretty shape.
Thoughts?
Dana
Hi Dana – try letting it rise for less time. It sounds like if it’s deflating that it is rising too long before it goes in the oven.
Made this today and it came out perfectly! I’m impressed considering how little time it took. Crispy outside and soft and fluffy inside. Fantastic recipe! Thanks!
Came out perfect!! I put water in an oven proof crock while preheating oven. I do this for French macarons. Will be making this for Thanksgiving!