Looking for an easy French Bread recipe to try? This homemade French Bread can be made in just a couple of hours!
Recipe by Gretchen on the Money Saving Mom team.
This is the Best French Bread Recipe!
If you’re looking for that perfect French Bread recipe, look no further! This recipe has become one of my tried and true favorites! And it’s SO easy to make.
It’s the perfect blend of a crunchy crust and soft inside. I can whip this up in less than two hours and it goes as a great side to so many dishes.
We love it fresh out of the oven with butter, but it also tastes good several days later.
French Bread Recipe Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 2 cups hot water (110ºF)
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/3 cup oil
- 6 1/2 cups flour; divided
- 1 Egg for brushing on bread
- 3 Tablespoons melted butter for brushing on bread
How to Make Homemade French Bread
1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Let rest for 10 minutes.
2. In a larger mixing bowl, combine hot water, sugar, salt, oil, and 3 cups of the flour.
3. Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture.
4. Add in the remaining flour, one cup at a time, and mix until the dough begins to pull away from the bowl.
5. Form into a large ball and let rest for 10 minutes.
6. Separate dough into three equal pieces.
7. On a floured surface, roll each piece into a 9×12 rectangle.
8. Roll it up like a jelly roll and shape into a French bread loaf.
9. Place the dough on a parchment lined or greased baking pan, seam side down.
10. Using a small paring knife, make several diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch thick into the dough.
11. Brush with beaten egg.
12. Repeat with other two pieces.
13. Let loaves rise, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes in a warm place.
14. Bake at 375 degrees for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.
15. Immediately brush warm loaves with melted butter.
16. Cut into slices and serve warm with butter, jam, or honey.
Easy French Bread Recipe Tips
The first tip whenever making any type of yeast bread is not to take a less-than-perfect loaf personally! Making yeast breads has a learning curve and it might take you a while to “master” the process (even with a super simple recipe like this one!)
Commit to trying it a few times, tweaking it based on your results!
Also, as much as possible, use high-quality fresh ingredients (especially flour and yeast). It will make a difference in your finished product.
How to Serve Homemade French Bread
This bread is so delicious, you could eat it plain and you’d still love it.
However, butter is always a bonus — along with jam or honey!
French bread is a fantastic side dish for almost any main meal, especially soups and stews. It’s also a really great housewarming or hostess gift.
And if your loaves start to get a bit stale before you can eat them all, they make excellent french toast!
How to Store Homemade French Bread
Store any leftovers in airtight zip-top bags or food storage containers at room temperature for up to 5 days.
You may also freeze loaves or slices in zip-top bags for up to 3 months. Do not store in the refrigerator as it will dry out the bread much faster.
French Bread Recipe FAQs
French bread is typically a different shape — longer and skinnier — with a harder crust all the way around as it’s not baked in a loaf pan.
If your bread gets hard and dry, you need to reintroduce moisture to it. You can do this by wrapping a damp towel around the bread and putting it in a 200º oven for 10 minutes or putting it in the microwave for 10 seconds.
Unfortunately, there are dozens of reasons why homemade bread can turn out too dense — which is why it’s important not to give up too quickly. Using too much flour or not enough water are probably the main reasons for dry loaves. However, too much OR not enough mixing could also be he issue. And, as mentioned above, using low-quality or expired ingredients could easily cause the bread to be dense.
The best way is to store it, already pre-sliced, in a zip-top bag in the freezer, only pulling out the slices you need when you need them. A bread box is also a great way to store homemade bread at room temperature.
Easy Recipe for French Bread
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1/2 cup water (warm)
- 2 cups water (hot – about 110ºF)
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/3 cup oil
- 6 1/2 cups flour divided
- 1 egg for brushing on bread
- 3 Tablespoons butter melted, for brushing on bread
Instructions
- In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Let rest for 10 minutes.
- In a larger mixing bowl, combine hot water, sugar, salt, oil, and 3 cups of the flour.
- Add the yeast mixture to the flour mixture.
- Add in the remaining flour, one cup at a time, and mix until the dough begins to pull away from the bowl.
- Form into a large ball and let rest for 10 minutes.
- Separate dough into three equal pieces.
- On a floured surface roll each piece into a 9×12 rectangle.
- Roll it up like a jelly roll and shape into a french bread loaf.
- Place the dough on a parchment lined or greased baking pan, seam side down.
- Using a small pairing knife, make several diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch thick into the dough.
- Brush with beaten egg.
- Repeat with other two pieces.
- Let loaves rise, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes in a warm place.
- Bake at 375 for 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.
- Immediately brush warm loaves with melted butter.
- Cut into slices and serve warm with butter and jam/honey.
Notes
Nutrition
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Can I used Bread Flour for this recipe? I ran out of all purpose. Thanks!
I have never tried that. It may make the bread a bit chewier, but you could give it a try. -Jordan, MSM Team
My family loved this!! 5 of us ate 1 1/2 loaves the day I made it. Fortunately, I had put one loaf in the freezer for later. 🙂
Yay!! That is so great! We ar so happy your family loves it. -Jordan, MSM Team
Hi, just now coming across this recipe. This could be an obvious answer, however, this will be my first time trying to make bread. What kind of flour should be used as well as what kind of oil? Thank you in advance.
I believe you can use any find of wheat flour you prefer. As for the oil I would suggest canola or vegetable oil for the best results. I hope that helps! -Jordan, MSM Team
Thank you, Gretchen, for this amazing French bread recipe! It was so easy to follow, and the bread turned out perfectly with a crunchy crust and soft inside. Brushing the warm loaves with butter was a great tip. This has become a new favorite in my house!
Yay! We are so glad you loved it!! -Jordan, MSM Team
My family loves it so much that it never lasts more than a few days. Plus its pretty easy to make.
Thanks for sharing your honest review! We are so happy you and your family love it! -Jordan, MSM Team
Could it be possible to use wheat or wheat white flour in you French bread recipes? I’m diabetic and your bread sounds and looks delicious.
Thanks so much!
Yes! You should be able to!
The recipe says two slices for the nutritional info How many slices are in each loaf. The nutrition would change depending on how thick or thin I made each slice.
I am very excited to try to make this.
That would depend upon the size you made your loaf, but you could definitely get 10-12 sizes out of one loaf!
Love this recipe! Super easy and quick! I’m always daunted by making bread. It never comes out great. This was amazing and we got so much bread out of it. I had some extra whey and used some of that for the water portion. My family loved it!
Yay!! I’m so glad you had such a great success and that the family loved it so much!! -Jordan, MSM Team
Thankyou so much for the recipe for the French bread I’m going to try making it tomorrow you sent it so fast I’ll let you know how I made out making it
You are so welcome!! Please let us know how you like it. We love getting honest reader feedback! -Jordan, MSM Team
That’s a lot of yeast. Are you sure it’s 2 TBS and not 2tsp?
Yes, it’s 2 Tablespoons. I’ve made the recipe many times + many others here have, too. It makes three large loaves.
Looks so yummy! Have you tried it with gluten free flour?
No, but if you do let us know how it turns out! -Jordan, MSM Team
Just curious if you could freeze the actual bread dough once you’ve divided it into thirds, then thaw that later to make it then? Rather than freezing the bread? Thanks!
I have frozen biscuit dough before and then baked them later. It might be worth a shot giving it a try! -Jordan, MSM Team
Looks so yummy 😋