Description
This Soft Fluffy French Bread recipe yields bakery-style, golden loaves with a crisp crust and tender interior. Perfect for sandwiches or toast, it combines simple ingredients like all-purpose flour, yeast, and olive oil, and requires minimal prep with hands-on kneading and rising times to develop wonderful texture and flavor.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
Wet Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water (110°F)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 egg white beaten with 1 tablespoon water (for egg wash)
Instructions
- Activate Yeast: In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let sit for 5–10 minutes until foamy, indicating the yeast is active.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine flour and salt evenly to create the dry base for the dough.
- Combine Ingredients: Add the yeast mixture and olive oil to the dry ingredients, mixing until a rough dough forms.
- Knead Dough: Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 8–10 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic, which helps develop gluten for structure.
- First Rise: Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover it, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until it doubles in size for proper fermentation.
- Shape Loaves: Punch down the risen dough to release air, divide it into two equal portions, and shape each into a loaf form.
- Second Rise: Place the shaped loaves on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover loosely, and let rise for 30–40 minutes until puffy.
- Prepare for Baking: Preheat oven to 375°F. Brush the top of the loaves with the egg wash for a shiny crust and make 3–4 diagonal slashes on top with a sharp knife for steam release and aesthetics.
- Bake: Bake the loaves for 25–30 minutes until golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped, indicating doneness.
- Cool: Remove from oven and let the bread cool completely on a wire rack before slicing to set the crumb.
Notes
- For extra crispiness, place a small pan of hot water on the bottom rack of the oven while baking to create steam which helps form a crust.
- Bread can be frozen after completely cooling—wrap tightly in foil or plastic wrap to maintain freshness for up to 2 months.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: French
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 120
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 180 mg
- Fat: 2 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 23 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
