I love bread. All bread. I really don’t discriminate. White bread, wheat bread, thin bread, thick bread. I love it all. But my favorite bread has got to be French bread. Not because I love everything French. Macarons, the French language, the Eiffel Tower, berets and eclairs to name a few. It’s because it’s just plain good! Crusty on the outside. Light and fluffy on the inside. I love to eat it with soup and stews especially, but I can go for it with any dish.
When I first learned to make french bread, I felt so accomplished, like I could bake anything. Fact of the matter is, french bread is super easy. So easy, I knocked it out of the park on my first try. These days every time I make a loaf my husband claims ‘I think this is your best French Bread yet!’, but surely he is just famished by the time he gets to it. I must say it is pretty good though.
This bread starts like most breads with yeast, water and sugar. Allow the yeast to proof, mix in the flour and salt until it pulls away from the sides of the mixer and is no longer sticky.
Place into a greased bowl, cover and let rise for about 30 minutes or until double in size.
Turn your dough out on a floured surface, pat down and shape into 2 baguettes. Cover and let rise for another 30-40 minutes.
You can score a few decorative lines in your dough to give it an ‘authentic’ look.
I get two loaves from this recipe, but you can definitely make one large loaf or even three or four smaller loaves for sandwiches. This bread is also great the next day. I like to eat one loaf when I make it and wrap the other in plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter for dinner the next day.
Easy French Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour I have used AP flour and it comes out great
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Instructions
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Dissolve sugar in water (115 degrees) add yeast and let proof for 10 minutes until foamy.
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With a dough hook, mix in flour and salt until dough pulls away from the sides of the mixer bowl and is no longer sticky.
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Place dough into a greased bowl, cover and let rise for about 30 minutes or until double in volume.
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Turn dough out onto a floured surface, pat down and shape into to loaves. Cover and let rise again for another 30-40 minutes.
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Score decorative lines (optional) and bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Enjoy!
