Almost 5 years ago I posted a homemade french bread recipe, and it’s been one of the most popular posts on my blog ever since. So many people are excited about the fact that you can make incredible french bread at home that tastes way better than the loaves you buy at the store. It’s easy, it’s cheap, and I always serve it with a garlic butter (boursin) spread that absolutely takes it over the top.
I decided it was time to update that old post with new photos, a new printable recipe card, and a new step-by-step video so even more of you can try your hand at making amazing homemade french bread.
I first tried this bread when my friend Cathy delivered a hot loaf to me one Christmas Eve. Seriously, she won the best neighbor gift award that year. Since then I’ve made these loaves a kajillion times, both to deliver and to keep. This recipe makes 2 large or 4 medium loaves, so I usually keep a few to eat and give a few away each time I make them. I’ve even doubled the recipe to make 8 medium loaves at a time so I can deliver to lots of neighbors at once!
Here’s the video that walks you step by step through how to make homemade french bread:
French Bread & Garlic Spread
Ingredients
Bread
- 2.5 cups Warm Water
- 1.5 tablespoons Yeast
- 1.5 tablespoons Oil
- 1.5 tablespoons Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Salt
- 6 cups Flour, plus up to an addition 1/2 cup
Garlic Spread
- 8 oz Cream Cheese
- 1/2 cup Butter 1 stick
- 1 clove Garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon Basil
- 1/8 teaspoon Dill, Marjoram, Thyme, and Pepper OR 1/2 teaspoon Poultry Seasoning
Instructions
Bread
- Place water, yeast, oil, sugar, salt and three cups of flour in the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Mix until flour is incorporated, then add remaining three cups of flour gradually.
- Knead about five minutes, adding another half cup of flour if needed, then turn out onto generously floured surface.
- Let rise for one hour. During that hour, knead the dough four to five times every ten minutes.
- Form into four loaves. Brush with beaten egg white.
- Slash 3 diagonal lines into tops. Raise until double or thirty minutes.
- Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then at 375 for 20 minutes.
Spread
- Soften cream cheese and butter. Beat all ingredients until completely combined. Serve with bread.
And here are some photos/text instructions (all this is covered in the video above):
It can be hard to know just how much flour to add when you’re making bread. I use the scoop and level method to measure my flour, and 6 cups is often plenty, but occasionally I need to add up to 1/2 cup additional flour. You don’t need to dough to completely pull away from the sides/bottom of the mixing bowl. This bread is incredibly tender, which means the dough is soft and a bit sticky. You’ll see in the picture below that much of the dough is hanging onto my dough hook, but some is still stuck to the sides and bottom of the bowl.
You want to let it knead for at least five minutes, then turn it out onto a well floured surface. It will look a little gnarly at first:
…but once you give it a quick roll in the flour you’ll be able to shape it into a nice ball.
Now comes the part that gives the crust a nice, characteristically french bread chewiness. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, then come back and knead it two or three times. Just punch it down and fold it over a few times, then gather it back into a ball. Come back every ten minutes for an hour (so if you pulled the dough out of your mixer at 3:30, your last quick knead will be at 4:20 and the dough will be ready to shape at 4:30). It sounds like a lot of work, but if you’re going to be home anyway it only takes about 30 seconds to walk into the kitchen, knead three times, and walk back out. AND it’s not crucial that the kneading takes place at exact ten minute intervals, and it’s not crucial that you do it for exactly an hour. Just make sure you come back at least four times in the next hour to punch and fold it a few times.
When you’ve hit an hour, divide the dough into four even pieces. Push each piece into a rough rectangle shape, then roll it up and pinch it so it stays together. Place it pinched side down on a greased or lined cookie sheet. Then beat one egg white with a dash of water and brush the egg mixture over the loaf (or just use your hands to spread it over the loaf like I do if you don’t have a pastry brush). Get it all covered – anything not covered with the egg mixture will end up pale and sickly looking. Then slash through each loaf three times.
You’ll let it rise for about half an hour, (preheat the oven during this rise), then bake for 10 minutes at 425 degrees, then turn the oven down to 375 and bake for 20 more minutes. The picture above shows what the loaves look like when shaped, then after the 30 minute rise, then after baking time.
You’ll want to let it cool for about 10 minutes before slicing so you don’t squish it. Then spread it with the herbed garlic butter and enjoy!
Want more bread recipes? Visit these posts:
How to make perfect dinner rolls
Easy 4 ingredient no-knead artisan bread
Beautiful braided bread recipe
Better than Olive Garden garlic breadsticks
Jessica Birdsong says
Wow! I am a novice bread baker and this was my first attempt at a French loaf — this bread turned out PERFECT! Thank you for sharing this recipe 🙂 Also, you had mentioned that you sometimes freeze this..do you freeze the dough or the pre-baked loaf? What is your process for thawing/baking? Thanks again!
Deb says
Can this be done with an electric hand mixer if you don’t have a stand mixer?
Autumn Baldwin says
No, but you can knead it by hand!
Ronnie says
Are there alterations for high altitude?
Autumn Baldwin says
I don’t know of any alterations you’d need to make!
Patricia says
Can you use a bread machine on the dough programen for this bread?
Melissa says
I have made this recipe for almost 10 years now. We love it so much!
Andrea says
This is in the oven now. I made the spread already. I’m amazed at how well this came together with basically a single rise and no real hand-kneading. It’s a beautiful dough that rose perfectly. My 7 yr old came out saying “Ooooh! What’s that smell?”. Nothing beats the smell of fresh bread in the oven. Really.
Andrea says
OK here’s a 24 hr later follow-up. This bread is freaking amazing. My husband was over-the-moon happy and my 6 yr old? She had 3 slices w/ her dinner last night. She kept telling me it was the best bread she’s had in her life. She should know. French bread is one of her favorite foods because of some pretty heavy textural issues due to a rare genetic condition. I didn’t give her the spread tho. It’d be too much for her. Hubs? He was dubious when he first saw it but one bite and he was hooked. Thanks! This will be going into the regular rotation. 🙂
joe says
so,do i not understand measurements? when i saw on the original post it said use 1 1/2 t, i used teaspoons, here its saying tablespoons? my dough is on the counter now and i really dont think its going to work. could you clarify this for people who have never made bread please
autumn says
Hi Joe! I’m so sorry for the confusion. In the old post I used abbreviations: capital T for tablespoon and lowercase t for teaspoon. That was confusing for some people, so when I updated the post I wrote the words out to clear things up. I’m sorry it wasn’t clearer, I know that’s frustrating.
If you used 1 and a half teaspoons instead of tablespoons it might still turn out if you give it extra time rising! Sorry again and I hope it works out better next time. Thanks for visiting.
Barbara Karr says
Thank you, AGAIN for another beautiful bread recipe! I usually but loaves of French Bread for two dollars at the grocery store. I use it for making pizzas for myself. For mere pennies, I just made your French bread, and have four loaves. One will be pizza tonight and three will be frozen. You make magic that’s for sure. Barb Karr
Jessica Birdsong says
Barbara Karr— how do you use this recipe for pizza crust? I am definitely interested in trying this. Thank you.
Andrea says
If I don’t have a stand mixer, how long do I knead by hand?
Marian Maher says
Which kind of flour is used for your French bread recipe? I have both your flours in my pantry.
Sherry Duin says
I just made this to go with tonight’s dinner. Tried a slice warm and could have eaten the entire loaf in one sitting! It is so yummy & easy! So excited to have this recipe. I was honestly afraid of yeast. Figured my breads would fail. Can’t wait to make again!
Vanessa Davis says
I made this recipe last night. My girlfriend and I adored it! The tastes were fantastic. I will make this once again for certain! Many thanks
Kristie says
This is one of my favorite recipes…along with the daisy braid bread. Most used, and yummiest! Thank you so much for sharing it all those years ago.