10 Minute French Bread Recipes

BASIC HOMEMADE BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1/2 teaspoon sugar in warm water; let stand until bubbles form on surface. Whisk together remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, salt and 3 cups flour. Stir oil into yeast mixture; pour into flour mixture and beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 8-10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 1-1/2 to 2 hours., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide dough in half. Shape each into a loaf. Place in 2 greased 9x5-in. loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, 1 to 1-1/2 hours., Bake at 375° until golden brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped or has reached an internal temperature of 200°, 30-35 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

FRENCH BREAD ROLLS TO DIE FOR

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
• To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
• Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces, and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth, and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Bake for 18 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, yeast and salt. Stir in 2 cups warm water, and beat until well blended using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
• On a lightly floured surface, knead in enough flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. Knead for about 8 to 10 minutes total. Shape into a ball. Place dough in a greased bowl, and turn once. Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled.
• Punch dough down, and divide in half. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each half into large rectangle. Roll up, starting from a long side. Moisten edge with water and seal. Taper ends.
• Grease a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Place loaves, seam side down, on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly beat the egg white with 1 tablespoon of water, and brush on. Cover with a damp cloth. Let rise until nearly doubled, 35 to 40 minutes.
• With a very sharp knife, make 3 or 4 diagonal cuts about 1/4 inch deep across top of each loaf. Bake in a preheated 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for 20 minutes. Brush again with egg white mixture. Bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until bread tests done. If necessary, cover loosely with foil to prevent over browning. Remove from baking sheet, and cool on a wire rack.

FAST BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat milk to 110ºF-115ºF
• Combine flour, instant yeast, sugar, and milk in the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attached and mix for one minute
• Add in salt and melted butter
• Add in a 1/4 cup more flour if the dough is not sticking to the bowl because of the butter. If the dough is still not sticking to the bowl, add in 1-2 Tablespoons of water.
• Mix for 5 minutes on speed 2
• After 5 minutes, take a piece of dough and stretch it between your fingers. If you can make a very thin "window" that does not tear then you have developed enough gluten and you can shape your dough.
• If the window tears, then mix for 2 more minutes.
• Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 4-5 turns until you can form a smooth ball
• Coat a large bowl in a little olive oil
• Place the dough top side down into the bowl to get the top of the dough covered in oil then flip it over. Cover with a cloth and place in a warm area for 25 minutes to rise until the dough doubles in size (about 25 minutes) *see notes*
• Preheat your oven to 375ºF
• Divide your dough into two loaves (or more if you want to make hoagie's or rolls)
• Let your loaves rest for 5 minutes
• Brush your loaves with egg wash to promote a nice golden brown color
• Use a sharp knife to make three slashes at a 30º angle in the top of the loaf, about 1/4" deep. These slashes make the loaves look nice and also keeps the crust from tearing while it bakes in the oven.
• Bake your loaves for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. You can also use a thermometer to check the center of your bread. If the temperature reads 190º - 200º your bread is done.

FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• In large bowl, mix all-purpose flour and yeast. Add warm water. Beat with wire whisk or electric mixer on low speed 1 minute, scraping bowl frequently, until batter is very smooth. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let stand about 1 hour or until bubbly.
• Stir in salt and enough bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft dough forms. Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead 5 to 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy (dough will be soft). Grease large bowl with shortening. Place dough in bowl, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until dough has doubled in size. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
• Grease uninsulated cookie sheet with shortening or spray with cooking spray. Place dough on lightly floured surface, forming it into an oval-shaped mound. Sprinkle top of dough with flour. Press straight down with a straight-edged knife lengthwise on dough to divide it into 2 equal parts (the parts will be elongated in shape). Gently shape each part into a narrow loaf, about 16 inches long, stretching the top of the loaf slightly to make it smooth. Place loaves, smooth sides up, about 4 inches apart on cookie sheet.
• Cover loaves loosely, but airtight, with plastic wrap. (Loaves will expand slightly in the refrigerator.) Refrigerate at least 4 hours but no longer than 24 hours. (This step can be omitted, but refrigerating develops the flavor and texture of the bread. If omitted, continue with next step.)
• Uncover loaves and spray with cool water; let loaves rise in warm place about 1 hour or until refrigerated loaves have come to room temperature.
• Place 8-inch or 9-inch square pan on bottom rack of oven; add hot water to pan until about 1/2 inch from the top. Heat oven to 475° F.
• Carefully cut 1/4-inch-deep slashes diagonally across loaves at 2-inch intervals with sharp serrated knife. Spray loaves with cool water. Place loaves in oven and spray again.
• Reduce oven temperature to 450° F. Bake 18 to 20 minutes or until loaves are deep golden with crisp crust and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack; cool.

FRENCH BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• Put 1/4 cup of bread flour on your clean counter top and reserve. Place remaining 3 3/4 cups bread flour in your mixer bowl. Spoon the yeast on one side of the bowl, and the salt on the other side. Pour in the warm water and with your regular mixer paddle, mix on low speed until the dough comes together in a mass. Switch to the dough hook. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Dough should clear the sides but stick to the bottom. If it is too sticky, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time. If too dry, add 1 tablespoon of water to dough to adjust.
• Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
• The dough should look like this during the rest:
• Turn the mixer on again and mix for 3 minutes. Take the dough out and place on the counter. Remember that 1/4 cup of flour that we reserved? We'll use it now. As you knead the dough by hand, incorporate more flour as you need.
• Knead by hand until the dough is very satiny, smooth, tight and formed into a nice, compact ball:
• Place this dough in a large lightly oiled bowl (I use Pam spray). Turn dough over so that all sides have a thin coating of oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set in warm place for 1 1/2 hours to let rest and rise. Dough should almost double in size.
• While the dough is rising, about 1 hour into the rising stage, preheat your oven to 450F and place your pizza stone, inverted baking sheet or covered cast iron pot into the oven to heat up. If you are using a loaf pan for steam, also place that into the oven, on the very bottom rack, off to one side of the oven.
• After the dough has risen fully, punch dough down and form back into a ball. Poke your finger on the surface - the dough should give into the pressure and slowly creep back up.
• Ok, here's the fun part. Cut the dough into half & you'll shape one half at a time (keep the other piece under wraps) Pick up the dough & stretch it out until it forms a big rectangle. Dust your work surface with flour and fold over the ends of the dough like this:
• Now do a little karate chop lengthwise down the middle of the bread and stretch out the long ends again. Fold over in half. The karate chop helps get the middle tucked inside. Pinch all sides shut. This is important you want to make sure that all ends including the short ends are pinched tightly to create a seal. This allows the bread to rise & expand up and out evenly. If the bread looks a little lopsided, you can try to fix it by letting it rest 5 minutes and gently stretching it out again. Just don't knead the dough again & pop all the beautiful gas that took 1.5 hours to create!
• Here's what it should look like:
• Turn the bread over so that it is seam side down. Cover the loaf with a damp kitchen towel. Repeat with the other dough ball. Leave the loaves to rest on your well-floured pizza peel or cutting board for 30 minutes.
• After bread is done rising, take a sharp paring knife and make 3-4 shallow, diagonal slashes on the surface of the loaf. This allows the steam in the bread to escape so that it expands evenly during the baking process:
• When you are ready to bake, remove your baking vessel from oven. Carefully slide the gorgeous loaf into or onto your baking vessel.
• If you are using pizza stone or inverted baking sheet:You can probably fit both loaves on it at the same time, just leave at least 6-8" of space between the loaves.
• Get a 1/2 cup of water ready next to the stove. Open the stove, put your bread in the oven and throw the water on the oven floor or in the pre-heated loaf pan. Immediately close the oven door. This creates your steam.
• Bake 20-25 minutes. Check temperature of the bread internal temperature should read 190-200F. Remove and let cool before cutting into it.
• If you are using a long cast-iron pot or covered baker:Before closing the lid on your pot/baker, put 1/4 cup of water directly in the pot. Cover immediately. Put pot in oven.
• Bake 10 minutes. Remove lid of pot. Bake another 14 minutes. Check temperature of the bread internal should be 190-200F.
• Remove and let cool before cutting into it. Repeat with other loaf. (For convection ovens- bake 8 min covered, 10-12 min uncovered.
• Check temperature of bread) To re-crisp the crust, put in 375F oven for 5 minutes. Eat one loaf, share the other loaf with a friend!

MY FAVORITE FRENCH BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• Add the water, yeast, sugar, salt, and olive oil to a large bowl. Allow mixture to stand for 5 minutes.
• Add one cup of flour, and mix to combine. Add another cup of flour and mix through. Mix by hand for 1 or 2 minutes. The dough should be the consistency of cake batter. Add another cup of flour and mix until well combined. Add flour until you can't mix it by hand very well.
• Sprinkle some flour on your table and turn the dough onto the table. Knead the dough by hand until it is smooth and elastic, adding flour as needed. This should take 6 to 10 minutes of kneading. You can also do this part in a stand mixer if you have one. The kneading is really important when it comes to making the bread really soft and tender, so don't be skimpy on this step.
• Place the dough back in the bowl, cover it with a towel, and let it rise in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes.
• Gently remove the dough from the pan (no need to punch is down or squish it too much).
• Divide the dough in half. Gently roll it into a log that is 12 to 14 inches long. Place the first log on one side of a baking sheet. Use your hands to gently reshape the loaf and tuck the ends as needed. I like to tuck in the loaf with two hands right at the base of the loaf close to the pan.
• Repeat with the second loaf, and have it fit on the other side of the baking sheet.
• Cover the baking sheet with a towel, and allow to rise in a warm place for another 45 minutes or so. The dough will be puffy.
• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
• If you are using the egg wash, mix it together and gently brush it over the top of the bread. I like to use it! It makes the top shiny and the color really nice.
• Use a sharp knife to slash the top every 2 inches on a diagonal right before you put it in the oven.
• Place in the hot oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the crust is golden-brown.
• Remove from the oven, and transfer the loaves from the pan onto a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving warm or at room temperature.
• Store extra bread once it is fully cooled in a sealed container or plastic baggie. It makes great French toast and French bread pizza.

FABULOUS FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• Pour warm water into a large, warm mixing bowl.
• Stir in sugar, salt, oil, 3 cups of flour, and yeast.
• Beat vigorously for 2-3 minutes.
• Stir in remaining flour until all dry ingredients are incorporated, leaving spoon right in batter.
• Allow dough to rest 10 minutes; then stir down.
• Allow dough to rest another 10 minutes and stir down again.
• Repeat this process until dough has been stirred down 5 times.
• Turn dough onto floured surface.
• Knead only enough to coat the dough with flour so it can be handled.
• Divide dough into 2 parts.
• Roll each half into a rectangle approximately 9x12 inches, and roll up like a jelly roll starting from the long side.
• Pinch ends to seal.
• Arrange on a large baking sheet that has been dusted with cornmeal, leaving enough room for both loaves.
• Cover lightly and let rise at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• With a very sharp knife, cut 3 diagonal slashes on top of each loaf.
• Brush each loaf with beaten egg.
• Bake immediately at 400°F for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire racks.
• *NOTE: I have used my Kitchenaid mixer to do all the mixing and it works great either way.

HOMEMADE FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• Combine sugar and 1 cup warm water in a bowl. Stir in yeast and let stand 5 minutes.
• Stir in salt and 2 cups of flour. Continue adding flour a bit at a time to form a stiff dough. Knead until about 5 minutes (or use a dough hook on a stand mixer per notes below).
• Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Let rise 1 hour or until doubled. Punch dough down and let rise 30 minutes more.
• Roll dough into a 14"x10" square and roll up jelly roll style to create a 14"x2.5" loaf. Place on a parchment lined pan seam side down. Using a sharp knife, cut 3-4 diagonal slits into the loaf (about ¼" deep).
• Cover with a damp towel and let rise 30-40 minutes or until doubled. Brush bread with egg white. Preheat oven to 425°F.
• Place in the oven and bake 20-25 minutes or until browned. Cool on a baking rack.

HOMEMADE FRENCH BREAD RECIPE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit 5 minutes, or until it begins to foam.
• In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl, stir together 2 cups flour and salt. Stir in the yeast mixture on medium-low speed or by hand. Knead in 1/2 cup of the remaining flour in increments until the dough is smooth but not sticky. Add more flour as needed.
• Rub the olive oil around the dough ball, cover the bowl with a towel and let rest 15 to 30 minutes. If you have more time, let rise up to 1 hour.
• Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and divide it in half. Set one half aside. Roll the other half into a rectangle (about 15 inches). Starting from the long side, roll the dough into a cylinder.
• Turn both ends in and pinch the seams closed. Round the edges and place onto a baking sheet. Repeat with the second dough ball. Make three diagonal cuts across the top of each loaf. Cover loaves lightly with a towel. Let rise 30 to 60 minutes (the longer the better, if you have the time).
• Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bake 17 to 23 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. When you knock on it, it should sound hollow. If it's browning too fast, lightly cover with foil and lower the temperature to 375°F.
• Brush the top with melted butter, if desired. Slice and serve while warm.

10 MINUTE FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• Mix water, yeast, and sugar.
• Then add salt, 4 cups flour, and oil.
• Add a little more flour if dough is not thick enough to turn out of bowl.
• Turn out on to 1 cup flour. Knead for 5 to 10 minutes until dough is elastic and smooth. Add more flour if needed.(It usually takes about 5 minutes until the dough is not so sticky when you press. I press my dough to flatten it some; turn it over; press a little;fold; press; repeat.So it's 1.Press 2.Turn Over 3.Press 4.Fold 5.Press 6.Turn.
• Divide into 2 to 4 loaves with a knife. Lay the sticky side down on a little flour to form a little round loaf. You can bake it just like that.
• If you want a sub roll, roll with a rolling pin into an oblong sheet and roll the sheet up into a loaf. Spray with water if you want crunchy bread. You can also put a mug of water into the oven to make your bread crunchy.
• Place on lightly floured cookie sheet.
• Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

FRENCH BAGUETTE

Steps:

• Add all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and combine with a dough hook. Once combined, cover with plastic wrap and let it rest on the counter overnight, about 12 hours.
• In the morning the dough will be bubbly and wet and large. Flour your hands and counter and gently remove the dough to the floured surface. Cut into two pieces and gently stretch into 12-14 inch rectangle. Gently but snugly roll the rectangles inward to form logs and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
• Dust generously with flour and cover with a clean dish towel. Allow to rise for 1-2 hours. Once risen use a very sharp knife or a clean razor blade to cut about 4-5 long diagonal slits along the loaf, cutting in about ½ inch.
• In the oven, arrange the racks so there is one on the bottom rack and one in the middle. Place a cookie sheet full of hot water on the bottom rack. Preheat the oven to 475°.
• Be careful of the steam from the pan in the oven, add the loaves on the middle rack. Bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove the water pan and turn the baguettes around. Lower the temperature to 450° and bake for 15 more minutes, until nice and golden brown.
• Allow the loave to cool for at least 5 minutes before cutting into them.