Easy French Bread
Simple, soft, fluffy, delicious!
Bread lovers unite on this recipe! It’s a definite keeper! Just requires a bit of patience and prep work.
I’ve been trying my hand at making some homemade breads - any type! Dinner rolls, crusty bread, sandwich bread, and my favorite - French Bread! As I find recipes and adjust (playing with fire), I save them so I can build my arsenal of go-to recipes. This is one of them! This is great to make Garlic Bread, Sandwiches, or with just some butter and jam when it’s fresh out of the oven.
I am by no means a professional but this is such an easy recipe that I promise you can do it too! Entire time to make from start to finish is probably about 2 hours so plan ahead! A good chunk of the time is just waiting and letting the yeast do its thing so you end up with a light, fluffy, and delicious end result. The key is to be patient.
I’ve had a Kitchen Aid Mixer for a while and this has helped save my arms and do a good bulk of the heavy lifting. It is a bit of an investment but definitely worth it for all it can do and the extra attachments you can get later. THIS is the one I use and it’s yet to fail me!
I am terrible at pictures so I will come back at some point and add those in. In the meantime, check out the recipe below! The recipe does easily double!
Please note this post may contain affiliate links in which I may earn a commission at NO cost to you!
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1 Tbspn dry yeast (I uses SAF Instant)
1/4 cup warm water - needs to be between 100 and 110 degrees
1 cup hot water
1.5 Tbspns Sugar
2.5 Tbspns Vegetable Oil
1/2 Tbspn Kosher Salt
3 Cups A/P Flour OR use half Bread flour and half A/P
1 egg beaten
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Dissolve yeast and warm water - let sit while you prep dry ingredients (let it bubble!)
In a separate bowl, combine 1.5 cups flour, oil, salt, sugar, and hot water
Add flour mixture to the yeast mixture and slowly incorporate 1/2 cup of remaining flour at a time.
Scrape the sides down as needed to make sure you incorporate all of the flour. If the dough seems too wet still, add a tablespoon at a time.
Knead the dough in your mixer about 5 minutes or until the dough begins to become smooth and easily pulls away from the sides of your bowl.
Once done, turn off and cover with a clean tea towel and let sit for 10 minutes. Here is where you get your timer out! You will need to knead every 10 minutes for the next hour! I leave my dough in the mixer and on the bread hook to keep it easy. You will turn your mixer on for about 10 seconds each go around. This is super important for getting the bread the perfect texture and consistency once done.
After that hour mark, lay your dough out and stretch to a 9x13 size. You will then roll and shape into your loaf!
Let rise for another 20 to 30 minutes.
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Preheat your oven to 375
Make a few diagonal slits in the bread
Cover with your egg wash (this will help give it it’s pretty golden color)
Bake on parchment lined pan for 20-25 minutes
