French Bread is a crusty, chewy and soft bread loaf that’s perfect for any meal. Eat fresh French Bread as a side dish, snack or convert it into a meal.
We love how dense this french bread is. It’s a hearty bread that is wonderful with pasta, chili, or just for dipping in marinara sauce. I personally love it the next day toasted for my favorite sandwich. Yum!
Homemade french bread isn’t hard to make but does take some time for the dough to rise.
If you can handle waiting for a few minutes at a time, then you can handle this recipe.
With only 4 ingredients and 1 hour, you can have sliced french bread on the plate. Pass the butter, please!
Going to the bakery for a fresh warm loaf of french bread requires proper time management and intel.
You have to time the trip just right so the bread is fresh from the oven. But even if you buy the bread warm, by the time you eat it, it’s not.
Making homemade french bread from scratch means that you can pull a hot loaf from the oven whenever you want.
You also get to enjoy the amazing aroma of yeast dough in the air. Your home will smell amazing and your baking skills will increase.
If that doesn’t sound like a win-win situation, I don’t know what does! This easy french bread recipe is going to become a huge favorite in your home. Keep the recipe card handy, you’re going to need it!
What's in Easy Garlic Bread?
- Warm water
- Active Yeast
- Honey
- Garlic and Herb Seasonings
- Flour
How to Make French Bread
- In a bowl mix your warm water, honey, and yeast.
- Gently stir and then allow it to sit for 10 mins.
- In your stand mixer, add 2 cups flours and salt or Herbs and Seasonings. (If you are only using salt, use about ¾ tsp. If you are using Herbs and Seasonings, I use about 1 Tablespoon.)
- Mix the liquid with 2 cups of flour and then allow the mixer to knead the dough.
- Slowly add in the additional 1 to 1 ½ cups of flour until dough pulls away from the side of the mixing bowl.
- Allow the mixer to knead for an additional 5 minutes.
- Place dough in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a towel to proof until double in size (about 30 mins)
- OR Tip! Use your Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker Yogurt Setting to proof dough in half the time. Spray inside liner and place dough inside. Use a glass lid or a dinner plate to cover.
- Shape the dough into a french loaf and then place it on a cookie sheet.
- Using a sharpe knife, cut small slits across top of loaf
- Cover with a flour sack cloth and allow it to rest for 15 minutes.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and then brush with butter.
Proofing Dough in Instant Pot
Here is a fun tip/hack using your Instant Pot or Electric Pressure Cooker.
Spray the inside liner with cooking spray and place dough inside on the Yogurt Setting. Place a glass lid or dinner plate on top. This will cut your proofing time in half!
How to store French Bread
After your french bread loaf has completely cooled, wrap it well with plastic wrap and keep it stored in an airtight container like a gallon sized Ziploc bag or Tupperware style contianer. This will keep it nice and resh until you go in for another slice.
How long does French Bread Last?
Homemade french bread usually lasts about 2 to 3 days tops. This is because it’s missing a lot of the preservatives that keep it lasting longer like store bought. On the plus side, it’s much better for you. On the downside, you gotta eat it quick.
If you can’t eat our french bread fast enough and it dries out, you can use it for bread crumbs or bread pudding. This will help to keep you from wasting a single crumb.
Can I freeze French Bread?
Absolutely! French bread freezes very well. Just wrap your cooled loaf in plastic wrap and store it in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you go to eat it, just let it thaw on the counter for a few hours. You can eat it at room temp or toss it in the oven for a few minutes to warm up.
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Quick and Easy Bread Recipes
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- Cheese Bread
- Pizza Monkey Bread
- Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
- Zucchini Coconut Lime Bread
- Banana Bread
Sweet Corn Cakes ~ A Cheese Cake Factory Copycat Recipe
Easy French Bread in Under an hour
Ingredients
- 1 ½ Cup water - Warm
- 1 Tbls Active Yeast
- 1 Tbls Honey
- 1 Tbls Weber Garlic and Herb Seasonings
- 3 to 3 ½ Cups Flour
Instructions
- In a bowl combine very warm water, honey and yeast. Stir yeast in and cover in plastic wrap for 10 minutes.
- In your mixer, with dough hook, pour yeast mixture mixture into mixer and add flour one cup at a time.
- Add Garlic seasonings after 2 cups of flower and then add the remaining flour.
- Dough will be sticky. Remove from mixture and knead in the remaining flour if needed.
- Proof dough until double in size by placing in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap OR place dough into Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker. Set to Yogurt Setting and place a glass lid or dinner plate on top. The Instant Pot will perfectly proof the dough in half the time.
- After dough has doubled in size gently shape dough into 1 french bread loaf and allow to rest for 10 mins
- Using a sharpe knife cut slits on top before baking
- Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove and drizzle butter on top.
Nutrition Disclaimer
All nutrition values are approximate and calculated by a plugin and are provided as a courtesy. Adding or subtracting ingredients will change the nutritional value.
Pam white
Can I make this if I don’t have a stand mixer with a dough hook?? Unfortunately not everyone has this expensive equipment
Devour Dinner
You could try to knead by hand. When making bread the consistency of the dough is so thick you would need a dough hook to knead it when using a mixer. Regular beaters would not work.
Lisa Wiseman
This recipe is unbelievably easy to make yet is packed with flavor. I have made this recipe several times and so far haven’t been able to resist the urge to have a slice fresh from the oven.
Devour Dinner
Hi Lisa! Making French Bread is so simple. I love making it and serving with Dinner. A Hot Fresh Slice is the BEST!
Trelva Schuck
This is such an easy recipe. The bread is moist! We love it.
Devour Dinner
So glad you tried this recipe. It's super easy and great!