Easy French Bread Recipe
This Easy French Bread recipe gives you a golden-brown, crispy outer exterior with a soft, airy inside that's baked to perfection in a dutch oven. It's super simple to make, incredibly tasty, and pairs beautifully with your favorite butter, dipping oil, sandwich filling, and much more!
Servings: 8 servings
Equipment
- Quarter Sheet Baking Pan optional
- Banneton Bread Proofing Basket or mixing bowl can be used
- Mixing Bowls if mixing by hand
- Dough Hook if mixing by hand
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast
- 1 tbsp Granulated Sugar
- 1 1/4 cup Warm Water
- 1 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 3-3 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
Instructions
- To the bowl of your Ankarsrum mixer or a separate bowl (if not using a mixer), add the active dry yeast, granulated sugar, and warm water (temp should be between 80ºF-110ºF). Give it a quick whisk, then cover it with the mixing bowl cover (or use a clean tea towel). Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes. The top of the mixture should be foamy.2 1/4 tsp Active Dry Yeast, 1 tbsp Granulated Sugar, 1 1/4 cup Warm Water
- Add in 3 cups of all-purpose flour, olive oil, and salt. Mix on medium speed using your dough roller and dough knife attachments (or dough whisk if mixing by hand) until the flour has been fully incorporated into the dough. The dough will be a bit sticky to the touch and shaggy looking in appearance. If you find the dough is still quite wet and super sticky, add 1/4 cup (36g) of all-purpose flour. You can add another 1/4 cup to the dough if needed, but wouldn't add any more past this amount.1 1/2 tsp Salt, 3-3 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour, 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- Leave the dough in the mixing bowl and cover with either the mixing bowl cover or a clean tea towel. Place in a warm spot in your kitchen and let it rise for 1 hour or until it's doubled in size. Do NOT punch the dough down.
- Thoroughly flour a round 9-inch banneton proofing basket (or you can use a mixing bowl). Set to the side.
- Once the dough has doubled in size, invert it onto a clean, lightly floured surface (kitchen counter, wooden cutting board, etc). If you have any remaining dough stuck to the bottom of the mixing bowl, use a spatula to remove it and add it to the dough. Gently shape the dough by pulling up on a corner of the dough and then folding it into the center. Repeat this several times until the dough no longer wants to stretch.
- Place the shaped dough seam side down (the smooth side should be facing up) into the floured banneton, then cover with a fabric bread cover or a clean tea towel. Let the bread rise again for 30 minutes or until it's doubled in size.
- While the bread goes through its second rise, adjust your oven rack to the center or middle position. Place a sheet pan or cookie sheet onto the oven rack, then place the dutch oven (lid on) on top (see Notes about why I use a baking sheet). Preheat the oven (with the dutch oven and baking sheet inside) to 425ºF.
- When the bread is ready, invert it onto a crumpled sheet of parchment paper. The seam side should now be facing up. Very carefully place the bread with the parchment paper sling into the preheated dutch oven. Put the lid back on, then bake for 30 minutes at 425ºF. Your bread should be a light golden brown color at this point. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake the bread for another 15 minutes more.
- When done, remove the dutch oven from the oven, then carefully remove the bread using the parchment paper sling. The parchment paper will be slightly brittle, so handle it gently. You can use tongs or oven mitts to grab the parchment paper to transfer the bread onto a cooling rack. Slide the parchment paper from out under the bread and discard. The bread will take 1-2 hours to cool down. It will be tempting to slice it immediately after you remove it from the oven, but it's best to wait as the bread will continue to cook as it cools down.
- Once cooled completely, slice the bread and use immediately or place it into a plastic Ziploc bag and keep it at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also wrap the sliced bread in plastic wrap and keep it stored in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
Prep time includes proofing the yeast and rise times for the dough.
I highly recommend preheating a sheet pan or cookie sheet placed directly underneath the dutch oven to avoid your bread loaf getting a burnt bottom. Having one will absorb more of the heat instead of it going directly to the bottom of your dutch oven.
If you choose not to place a baking sheet underneath your dutch oven, you'll want to reduce your second baking time (sans lid) to 10 minutes.
Crumpling up my parchment paper is a personal preference and not at all required. I simply find it easier to place into the dutch oven along with the bread.
Nutrition
Calories: 195kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 439mg | Potassium: 59mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin C: 0.003mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 2mg