French Bread Recipe

French Bread

Recipe by: Jenn Hall

"A crisp, crunchy crust and slightly chewy center make this bread as traditional as the breads served in France."

Directions

Prep
25 m
Cook
40 m
Ready In
2 h 40 m

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Stir in 2 cups warm water, and beat until well blended using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
On a lightly floured surface, knead in enough flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Knead for about 8 to 10 minutes total. Shape into a ball. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn once. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled.
Punch dough down, and divide in half. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each half into large rectangle. Roll up, starting from a long side. Moisten edge with water and seal. Taper ends.
Grease a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Place loaves, seam side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon of water, and brush on. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise until nearly doubled, 35 to 40 minutes.
With a very sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch deep across top of each loaf. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for 20 minutes. Brush again with egg white mixture. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until bread tests done. If necessary, cover loosely with foil to prevent over browning. Remove from baking sheet, and cool on a wire rack.

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Nutrition Facts

Per Serving: 94 calories; 0.3 g fat; 19.5 g carbohydrates; 2.9 g protein; 0 mg cholesterol; 119 mg sodium. Full nutrition

By Patricia Guerra

How much yeast is in a package of yeast?

By Tim Claxton

Can I freeze dough and then bake it later?

By Tiffany J.

I want my bread loaves to have a thicker crust. What can I do?

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Reviews

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1170 Ratings

Most helpful positive review

Tony Kollman

9/8/2005

Quick disclaimer...I loved this recipe; great crust with a soft, yet, chewy center. With that said, I'll poke some holes in the instructions. First, the recipe does say 2 and 1/2 half packages...

Most helpful critical review

Sarah Waltrip

1/27/2011

This was fun to make, but the end product was dense and the flavor wasn't that great. I'll keep hunting. I think a little sugar would have helped.

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Tony Kollman

9/8/2005

Quick disclaimer...I loved this recipe; great crust with a soft, yet, chewy center. With that said, I'll poke some holes in the instructions. First, the recipe does say 2 and 1/2 half packages...

ANTHONYRIOS

2/1/2003

All I can say is "Wow". I tried this recipe twice. The first time I made this, I found the bread to be a bit too dense, but the second time, I added a pinch more yeast and only used 5 cups of ...

dthomsen

2/4/2007

This is a very good & easy french bread recipe. I first made the bread exactly as described and ended up with dough that was a bit too dense. The bread was good but a bit thick and a little on...

I'm nuts too...

10/2/2002

I'll put it to you this way, this recipe made 2 loaves, I planned on serving it with dinner. When I took it out of the oven I "decided" that I had to be the guinea pig, or pig if you will, bec...

Illisil

2/2/2008

This came out just as I intended, crust was nice and golden, crispy, crunchy and crusty on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. Exactly what I wanted. Thanks. I did add an extra pinch ...

Sabra Bartlett

9/20/2008

Very easy to make and who doesn't like hot fresh bread right out of the oven! I took the time and read most of the reviews, and based on their suggestions the bread came out perfect! So that you...

Cheryl Brooks

5/10/2006

Oh my! This bread is wonderful. I bake bread almost every week, and decided to try something different. I did change a couple of things to suit my family's taste. I proofed my yeast with abo...

Kyra

2/28/2009

I have always been so intimidated by bread making! Well, the first batch was a total disaster! So, knowing there must be some tricks to French bread making, I researched online. Trick no.1: I fo...

Peripheree

12/4/2002

Perfection! Beautifully fine texture and creamy taste. I have sensitive teeth however so the hard crust was a little too hard for me. For a softer, yet still deep golden crust use this as an e...

French Bread

Ingredients

Directions