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Homemade French Bread
Simple, quick, and easy homemade French bread recipe.
Kids can even make this bread. For real. It’s that easy. Making any bread from scratch can be a daunting task and it’s easy to be intimidated by the whole process. I am going to break it down and hopefully ease any worries. You may even become a master bread maker!
This Homemade Bakery French Bread can be done in a little more than one hour which means you can have hot, fresh bread straight out of the oven when the kids get home from school even if you don’t start baking until afternoon. You won’t need to run to the bakery for your french bread anymore when you can make better bread at home….in no time flat.
I taught a culinary class for kids in both Texas and Arizona and I’ve watched 7-year-olds tackle this homemade French bread recipe. I loved seeing the pictures those kids sent me showing the french bread masterpieces they made for their families.
As a child, I remember riding my bike home from school and opening the back door to the smells of homemade bread baking in the oven. My Mom always said that she could live on bread alone so bread was always essential in our home. There’s nothing more comforting than a hot piece of bread straight from the oven covered in churned butter and homemade strawberry jam.
Let’s get down to the basics so you can start baking.
How to make quick and easy homemade bakery french bread:
- Making sure the yeast proofs is essential. Using fresh yeast is important and mixing with warm water (not too hot, not too cold) will ensure success. Yeast loves sugar so add a pinch of sugar to the mixture. Let it work for about 10 minutes.
- Adding flour one cup at a time is important so you can see when the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. That’s when you know it’s ready. Put flour down on the counter so the dough doesn’t stick. That isn’t fun. I love my Bosch mixer and can find a great deal on one below.
- Using rolling pin, roll out into a 9 x 12 rectangle. Roll up lengthwise and mold into french loaf. I love this marble rolling pin.
- The loaves don’t have to look perfect. I rolled these babies in 7 1/2 minutes flat before I sprinted to my little girl’s performance. Don’t forget to make 3-4 diagonal cuts with a sharp knife before placing on silpat or greased cookie sheet. These silicone baking sheets make it so easy to remove the bread from the baking sheet. Let rise for 30-40 minutes.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 18-22 minutes until lightly golden brown. Watch it carefully to turn a light golden brown color.
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Homemade Bakery French Bread
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Yeast
- 1/2 cup Warm Water
- 2 cups Hot Water
- 3 Tablespoons Sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons Salt
- 1/3 cup Oil
- 6 1/2 cups Flour
- 1 Egg for brushing on bread
Instructions
- In a small bowl, dissolve your yeast in ½ cup warm water. Make sure that your water is warm (not too cold, not too hot). Let proof for 10 minutes.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine hot water, sugar, salt, oil and 3 cups of the flour and mix together. Add the yeast mixture to a bowl.
- Add the remaining 3 1/2 cups of flour, one cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Watch for it to start pulling away from the bowl to know it's ready. Once all of the flour is added, let sit for 10 minutes.
- Separate your dough into 3 pieces. On a floured surface roll each piece into a 9x12 rectangle. Roll it up like a jelly roll. Shape into a french bread loaf and smooth out edges.
- Place the dough on a greased baking pan or a Silpat, seam side down. Using a knife, make 3-4 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch thick in bread. Brush with your beaten egg.
- Let dough rise uncovered for 30-40 minutes in a warm place.
- Bake at 375 for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.
Video
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Happy Baking, my friends! I can’t wait to hear what you think about this quick and easy homemade french bread.
Great recipe! It also makes a great pizza crust when rolled out thin plus I use it to make dumplings in chicken n’ dumplings.
I meant to post that on the French bread recipe, not the cinnamon rolls one. Sorry
Thank you for an easy and delicious recipe! I’ve made it 3 times now!❤️
I’m on my third round of this bread. It’s predictable and delicious every time. My new go-to!
My mother in law owned a restaurant and baked all of her pastries homemade by scratch and when I made this recipe for our x-mas rolls she stated they were better than hers which is a giant compliment to both you and me LOL! Hands down best, easiest and yummiest bread recipe and my “go to” always.
WOW! What a compliment, April! Thank you so much. I am just happy that you guys liked it!
Can I use this recipe for cinnamon rolls? Will it work to let it rise in bowl and then roll and let rise again?
Tried this instead of my go to 1 hr recipe. It was delicious and so easy to follow! I did a tsp of salt, a tsp garlic salt and tsp of bread dipper spices- other than that followed exactly!
Very very very, disappointed It did not rise was flat and heavy and did not cook after 10 extra minutes
I think using hot water was a mistake as I think the yeast stopped working
It would have been useful to have the temperature of the hot water specified, However I will not be baking this again
I activated my yeast with water appx 105°F.
My hot water was just hot water. I mixed all that together while my yeast proof so it was no longer really hit when added in. Mine are rising now. Hoping they bake well
Supper easy to make. I made it with my 8yr granddaughter. She loved helping. It raised just fine. When the time comes to put it in with the rest of the Ingredients the water that you put in with the flour was not hot enough to kill the yeast. Love this recipe.
Can this bread be frozen? I may or may not have doubled the recipe by accident (didn’t realize x2 was on🫣) so now I have 8 loaves of bread 😂
What kind of yeast did you use? Active dry, fast rising or rapid rise? I only have the packets
I’m new to baking and this was a wonderful, easy recipe to follow. It looked just like bakery bread but tasted so much better! I was wondering if, before I rolled the dough into a loaf, I could spread olive oil with garlic or maybe pesto to give the bread a different flavor? I’m unsure if it will affect the rise. Either way, I’m using your recipe from now on. Thank you so much.
The best bread recipe I’ve made in a long time. A KEEPER!!