Easy French Bread
makes 1 loaf
2 1/2-2 3/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 pkg(2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 cup warm water(120 degrees F)
In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine 2 cups flour with the salt, sugar, and yeast. Add water and beat for 3 minutes. Beat in enough additional flour to make a soft but kneadable dough.
Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead for 3-5 minutes, or until smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a bowl, cover with tea towel, and let rise 45 minutes(an hour if your house is cold).
Punch dough down and roll into a long rectangular shape. Starting from the long end, roll up jelly-roll style.
Place seam-side down on a greased baking sheet, cover with a wet tea towel, and let rise 30-45 minutes, or until doubled(it’ll depend on the warmth of your house).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk one egg white with one tablespoon of water until slightly foamy. Using a pastry brush, gently brush beaten egg white onto loaves. Using a sharp knife, make 3-4 diagonal slashes on top of the loaf.
Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until nicely browned. Cool on a wire rack.
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Thanks! I’m going to give it a try.
You are so cool to post these recipes/pictures! I am inspired to make a loaf of bread- either this one or that wheat bread from last week- I’ll let you know how it goes!
Thanks!
I made this bread this weekend for the first time. I had never made bread before in my life! It was easy and delicious! Thanks! I have been checking your blog everyday to see what else you put up! Thanks!
Oh, that’s wonderful, Jeanne! so glad to hear it.
Kristin, I think you are missing one line in this version of the recipe. (I got a little confused as I was doing it, and had to look online for the original…) The missing line is after the first paragraph. I think it should say:
Beat in enough additional flour to make a soft but kneadable dough.
Great recipe! I love it. Next time I’m going to try changing half a cup of flour for whole wheat. Thanks so very much for posting it!
Thank you, Barb! I got it all fixed now.
I just made this a few minutes ago and, I have to say, it’s awesome. I did do something different from the recipe though in that I sprinkled the top with a little smoked sea salt after rubbing it with olive oil before I baked it. I didn’t want/have an egg wash but it still came out fantastic.
This is so much fun. From now on, I think Fridays will be Baking days for me. Thanks.
Thanks so much for posting this. I found it through the Non-Consumer Advocate. So inexpensive and simple to make… and yummy too!
Hey Kristen! I am going to a superbowl party today and been assigned to bring a big pot a chili for the boys. I have been searching all morning for a great EASY french bread recipe to make garlic bread with. After settling for some recipes, it dawned on me that I have a great resource for this type of baking… you!!
anyway, I am going to attempt this, as it seems at about jenny-level of baking breads, lol.
I have a really hard time getting my dough to rise and this has happened before with my husband’s biscuits. Is my house too cold? We keep it at 78* here in Arizona. Today I tried putting the dough on a chair in front of the window to make it rise in the bowl, which after an hour hadn’t risen too much. But then I rolled it out and placed it on my warm oven to rise in loaf form. Still not much rising after 45 minutes. Can anyone help me figure out what I’m doing wrong?
78 is definitely not too cold. Is your yeast fresh? The other common culprit is dough that is too stiff. If your dough is pretty firm, try adding less flour. Yeast is not strong enough to raise a stiff, heavy dough.
The yeast was new and I got the fast rising, active dry yeast. I will try the less flour thing. For perspective, my french bread came out a little dense and was more the size of a baguette than a french bread loaf from the store. I can’t tell from your pictures, but yours look larger than that, especially on the pizza page.
Thanks for the advice and I’ll let you know how my next loaf turns out! (And at least my family still found it delicious!)