How to Make French Bread

Guide Note Perfect straight from the oven, French bread is simple and satisfying. How to Make French Bread explains the necessary steps for baking two crispy, chewy baguettes or one loaf of French bread. Bring a touch of European cuisine to your next meal with this easy guide.

Table of Contents

French Bread Tips

  1. Yeast is a living plant and will die if placed in too hot water.
  2. The water should be warm enough for your finger to rest in.
  3. A sprinkle of sugar can be added to the yeast to encourage it to proof.
  4. Knead dough for a fluffy texture.
  5. Bread rises best in a warm, moist environment.
  6. Make sure to thoroughly clean all surface areas and utensils that the dough touched.
  7. Store French bread in paper sacks, not plastic bags.

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Introduction

  • With its crispy crust and chewy interior, French bread is wonderfully satisfying and surprisingly easy to bake. This guide to How to Make French Bread will show you how to have your kitchen smelling like a Parisian bakery in just two hours. French bread is a relatively simple bread to make, the perfect starter for the novice bread baker.

What You'll Need

  • French bread traditionally calls for water, yeast, flour and salt as the only four ingredients. However, brushing the loaves with egg makes the crust even more crispy and shiny. In addition, placing a pan of water in the oven with the loaves while they bake improves the texture of the crust.

Ingredients

active dry yeast1

  • 1 cup warm water + extra
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 1 beaten egg

Equipment

Step 1: Proof the Yeast

  • Yeast is a plant.1 It produces carbon dioxide, which is what causes the bread to rise.4 Proofing the yeast means mixing it with water and letting it sit so that it can produce carbon dioxide.5 If the surface of the water turns foamy and bubbly, it means the yeast has proofed properly.6 If it doesn't foam or bubble, the yeast is probably too old and needs to be thrown out.1
  1. Mix the cup of warm water with the yeast in the small bowl.
  2. Let sit 10 minutes or until yeast proofs.

Step 2: Mix the Dough

  • One of the most difficult aspects of bread baking is knowing when you have added enough flour. The surface of well-made bread dough should be soft and slightly sticky to the touch.7 French bread dough will be quite pliable and cling a bit to the counter and your hands. You need to add enough flour so that the dough is not sticking stubbornly to everything and is fairly easy to handle, but be careful that it does not
    (Creative Commons photo by kochtopf)
    (Creative Commons photo by kochtopf)
    become too dry.
  1. Pour the yeast water into the large mixing bowl.
  2. Add salt.
  3. Add about 1 1/2 cups of flour to the yeast water or enough so that it forms a ball of dough.
  4. Put a handful of flour on the counter and dump the dough out onto the flour, scraping dough from the bowl.
  5. Immediately soak the mixing bowl and spoon in water: bread dough hardens quickly and is difficult to remove.

Step 3: Knead the Dough

  • Kneading the dough is crucial to breadbaking.8 Kneading breaks down the gluten, a protein present in flour.9 When the gluten is broken down, it forms strands that trap the carbon dioxide produced by the yeast and provides a framework for the bread.9 In general, the longer you knead bread, the better its texture and quality will be.
  1. Sprinkle some flour on the top of the dough.
  2. Press the heels of your hands into the center of the bread, gently stretching it out into a circle.10
  3. Pick up the edges of the circle and fold them back into the middle to make a ball.
  4. Turn the ball around.8
  5. Sprinkle some more flour on it.
  6. Repeat the process and gradually work flour into the dough until the dough is smooth, elastic and moist, but does not cling.10
  7. When the dough has reached the right consistency, knead it an additional 8-10 minutes more.11

Step 4: Let it Rise

  • Most yeast-leavened bread recipes call for a rising time. During this time, the yeast is still at work producing carbon dioxide and making the bread dough fluffy and light.12 Bread rises best in a warm, moist environment.
  1. Thoroughly clean the mixing bowl and grease it.
  2. Place the bread dough in the bowl.
  3. Flip it over once to grease dough all around.11
  4. Cover with a towel.
  5. Place somewhere warm and draft-free.
  6. Let rise 1 hour.
  • TIP: For fuss-free bread rising, you can even let the dough rise in the fridge overnight in order to bake in the morning. Simply cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge where the dough will rise slowly. In the morning, shape the loaves, let them rise 30 minutes and bake to enjoy fresh bread for breakfast with little fuss.

Step 5: Shape the Loaves

  • This recipe will make two French baguettes or one French loaf, depending on what pan you have and which version you want. If you don't have a baguette pan or French loaf pan, make two baguettes on a cookie sheet. Baguettes made on a cookie sheet may be a bit misshapen, but they will still taste wonderful.
  1. (Creative Commons photo by foéÖþoooey)
    (Creative Commons photo by foéÖþoooey)
    For baguettes, divide the dough in two. Leave in one piece if making one big loaf.
  2. Roll each piece of dough into one long tube, stretching and rolling it between your hands.
  3. Place each loaf of dough in loaf pans or on cookie sheets.
    • -If using cookie sheets, pat each loaf between both hands and smooth it out so it is even and straight.
    • -Baguettes will shrink in length: this is normal.
  4. Cover with a towel.
  5. Let rise 30 minutes.

Step 6: Prep and Bake

  • Make sure the oven is preheated before putting the bread in. Having steam in the oven is important for developing the bread's crust, so put a pan of water in the oven along with the bread. Make sure to use a metal container: a glass container full of water may shatter in the oven. When you open the oven to check the bread, be careful of the steam coming out of the oven.
  1. Put about an inch of water in the bottom of the metal pan.
  2. Place pan on the bottom rack of the oven.
  3. Make sure that there is another rack positioned in the middle of the oven.
  4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
  5. With a sharp knife, make several shallow slash marks on each loaf.11 This helps the crust expand.
  6. Brush each loaf with the beaten egg.
  7. Bake bread in preheated oven.
    • -For baguettes, bake about 22 minutes.
    • -For a French loaf, bake about 30 minutes.
    • -The bread is done when it is a deep golden brown color.14
  8. Let cool. French bread is best the day it is baked.
  9. Store in paper bags.

Conclusion

  • (Creative Commons photo by j.fisher)
    (Creative Commons photo by j.fisher)
    While many yeast bread recipes require several hours of work from the baker, French bread is relatively quick and easy to make. When a loaf or baguette has passed its point of freshness, it makes wonderful toast, bruschetta, French Toast and croutons. Once you master the art of How to Make French Bread, you are well on your way to making other types of yeast-leavened breads.



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References for How To Make French Bread

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Baking911: The Pantry Leveners
  2. ↑ Food Network: Baguette Pan
  3. ↑ Recipetips.com: French Bread Pan
  4. ↑ Fine Cooking: Yeast's Crucial Roles in Breadbaking
  5. ↑ Baking911: Proof Yeast
  6. ↑ Koko's Corner: Yeast Bubbling Away
  7. ↑ Baking911: Knead the Dough
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 About.com: How to Knead Bread Dough
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Utah State University Extension: Keys to Making Bread
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 YouTube: Kneading Bread Dough (Time: 2:19)
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Allrecipes.com: French Bread
  12. ↑ What's Cooking America: Yeast in Bread Making WARNING: Ad-Heavy
  13. ↑ Diana's Desserts: Tips for Breads, Biscuits, Rolls & Scones
  14. ↑ Washington Post: The Fall and Rise of French Bread (August 24, 2005) WARNING: Pop-ups

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