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 1.5 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.
Supriya Kutty
Saturday 11th of May 2019
Wow, I always dream to try bread at home, but every time I failed due to small mistakes into ingredients or somewhere silly mistakes..your recipe is seems very simple and easy to do, I will definitely try with your style, thanks a lot for sharing
Monique Y. Holmes
Friday 8th of March 2019
Hello. I'm a total newbie to bread making (without a breadmaking machine!) and I'm trying to reduce the amount of animal products I use. Is the step with brushing the egg on necessary? Or is there something else I could use? I guess butter is also an animal product...Lol! I'm just wondering. Thanks so much! I love your blog. It is the only one I've read consistently for about 7 years. Monique
Kristen
Monday 11th of March 2019
You can definitely skip the egg wash. I skip it all the time!
And I'm so happy that my blog has made you want to stick around. :)
Elizabeth
Monday 14th of July 2014
Kristen, can't wait to try this French bread recipe, do I use all purpose of bread flour? Thanks
Kristen
Monday 14th of July 2014
I just use Gold Medal Unbleached all-purpose flour. It's so great for bread!
Amanda
Wednesday 8th of January 2014
I made the dough in my bread machine yesterday. My youngest daughter, who is notoriously fussy (yes, even about bread), couldn't leave it alone.
Michelle Binkley
Tuesday 1st of October 2013
I was wondering if this recipe could be frozen? How would I go about it? Can the dough be frozen before being baked?
Kristen
Wednesday 2nd of October 2013
I've never tried freezing the dough-I do freeze the baked loaves, though. If I were going to try to freeze it, I'd probably shape the loaves, freeze them unrisen, and then thaw them and let them rise before baking.