The awesome aroma of freshly baked homemade bread by itself will inspire you make this Crusty French Bread time and time again. However, once you taste this yeast bread, you'll definitely be hooked. It only has five simple ingredients, and the bread machine does most of the work!
Generally, Saturdays at my house are focused, in part, on making bread. Susan asked if I would make some sandwich size French bread for Jambon et Fromage. I said absolutely!
I'm making lasagna for dinner. Therefore, the timing was perfect. I made this fool proof french bread recipe for not only the smaller loaves of crusty bread for Susan, but also a larger loaf for dinner!
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Ingredients - Here's What You'll Need
I used the following ingredients to make the bread dough: Filtered water, Kosher salt, granulated or white sugar, bread flour, and instant yeast.
I've learned through the years that the way to ensure perfect bread every time is to weigh the ingredients. Weighing the ingredients for this bread machine french bread recipe was no exception.
Making the French Bread Dough
I added the five bread dough ingredients in the order listed to the bread machine pan. Once the ingredient were in the pan of my bread machine, I selected the dough setting, and pressed start.
After the dough cycle finished, I removed the dough ball from the bread maker to a floured piece of parchment paper.
The dough weighed a little over 24 ounces. I cut it into four equal sized pieces that were roughly 4 ounces each for the smaller baguettes. I was left with an 8 ounce piece for the larger baguette.
Forming the Dough into Baguette Shapes:
Working with one piece at a time, I patted the dough into a rough rectangle on a well floured piece of parchment paper. Then I folded the long end toward me, and pinched the two sides together. I patted the dough again into a rough rectangle, and repeated the folding and pinching.
Next, I rolled the dough back and forth on the floured surface to achieve the shape of French bread and ensure that all edges were sealed. I repeated this with the remaining dough.
Now it was time to place baguettes into the different pans.
Specifically, I placed the four pieces that were 8-inches long for the sandwich size baguettes into the wells of my baguette pan. I placed the 12-inch piece onto parchment lined perforated French bread pan.
Finishing Steps for Crusty French Bread:
I consistently follow Julia Child's advice for the perfect warm place for the bread to rise. Specifically, I turn on my electric oven for exactly 1 minute and 45 seconds. After I turned the oven off, I placed the dough into the oven for about one hour to allow it to rise.
Before baking the baguettes, I misted them with water and made deep diagonal slashes in each one to allow further rise in the oven. Either a sharp knife or razor blade works well here.
Update: There have been some comments that with the diagonal cuts, the bread deflates. This will occur if you're not ultra fast with the slashing.
Laterally, what I do is to slash the dough once the baguettes are formed. It pretty much serves the same purpose and no deflating!
At the end of the rising time, I baked the homemade french bread in a preheated oven set to 400°F oven for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, this foolproof french bread was golden brown and perfectly cooked. I placed the bread on a wire rack to allow it to cool completely.
I don’t think that there has been a time when I used this easy french bread recipe that I didn’t marvel at the result. This was no exception!
I ended up with four baguettes with crispy crust that were the perfect size for Susan's Jambon et Fromage, and one larger one for dinner.
You should definitely try this perfect recipe for making an artisan bread that never disappoints. Yum!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use either a stand mixer or a food processor to make the dough for this French bread.
I often use this dough to make homemade crusty french bread rolls. I cut the dough into roughly 2 ounce pieces, form the pieces into balls and then place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. After allowing the rolls to rise, I bake as directed for the French bread.
Instant yeast, sometimes referred to as bread machine yeast is different from active dry yeast. Active dry yeast needs to be proofed before it is added to the other ingredients. On the other hand instant yeast can be added as is to the ingredients.
For my specific bread machine, I do not bother using warm water. Rather, I use room temperature water. The initial heating of the bread machine brings the temperature up to the perfect temperature. Different bread machines, however, may require warm water.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- I always weigh the ingredients when making bread. The reason is that different measuring techniques can result in significantly different weights, especially the flour. Do yourself a favor and purchase a scale. Mine was less than $10 and I consistently use it for perfect results every time.
- I never use tap water when making bread. The reason is that tap water generally contains chlorine that can retard the growth of yeast or even kill the yeast.
- I always use filtered water when making bread. Sometimes I use filtered water from the refrigerator, sometimes I use bottled water, and sometimes I even use club soda. The carbon dioxide in the club soda helps the dough to rise!
Other Bread Machine Recipes
Bread is one of my favorite things to make. Here are some of my favorite recipes.
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Best Homemade Crusty French Bread - Bread Machine
Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 3 ½ Tablespoons (9.75 ounces, 276 grams) filtered water
- ½ Tablespoon Kosher salt
- ½ Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 3 cups (15 ounces, 425 grams) bread flour
- ½ Tablespoon instant yeast
Instructions
- Add ingredients to bread machine pan in the order listed. Select Dough cycle, and press start.
- When the Dough cycle has completed, place dough on floured surface. Pat down, and cut dough into pieces. The weight depends on what you're making. For this recipe, cut into four 4-ounce pieces, and one 8-ounce piece. With each piece, pat dough onto a rectangle. Roll the long side, forming a cylinder. Press edges together, and continue to shape into loaf with tapered ends. Place on baguette pan. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough.
- Heat electric oven for exactly 1 minute, 45 seconds. Place baguettes into oven for 1 hour, or until double in size. Mist with water and make 2 to 3 make deep diagonal slashes across loaves with a sharp knife of razor blade. (See Tip 1)
- Preheat oven to 400°F. When oven has reached temperature, place in oven; bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
- Yield: 4 individual baguettes, and 1 large baguette.
Tips/Notes
- To avoid the deflating that often occurs when the bread is slashed right before putting it in the oven, I often go ahead and slash it once the baguettes have been formed. This way - no deflating!
Paul Buza says
If using a gas oven, how long should I leave it on before turning it off and rising the loaves for an hour?
Chula King says
Paul,
Since I don't have a gas oven, I can't say how long it takes a gas oven before it should be turned off. However, on my electric oven, the lowest temperature shown is 100°F. Therefore, when I turn my electric oven on, it shows 100°F. As soon as I see the temperature move above 100°F, I turn the oven off. Basically, you're just warming the oven.
Sorry I couldn't be more helpful here.
Chula
Sue Rudy says
Sounds easy and great! Is there a wheat baguette you make similarly?
Chula King says
Sue, I've only made the baguette with bread flour. Sorry.
Chula
Kimberly says
Can this be made on a regular baking sheet or do I need the special pan for it to turn out properly?
Chula King says
Kimberly,
I've never made the French bread without the special pan. You could certainly form the French bread and put it on a regular baking pan. However, since I've never done this, I don't know whether the resultant French bread would somewhat flat or not.
If you decide to try the French bread this way, I'd love to hear how it turns out.
Chula
MARISOL says
It came out perfect the slashing after the rise in the oven worked perfect. It literally was so easy thank you !!!
Chula King says
I'm so glad that the recipe worked out for you!
Susan says
Please help me understand what you mean by filtered water. My refrigerator filters water. Is that sufficient?
Chula King says
Yes Susan. Filtered water from your refrigerator is sufficient.
MIKE CUMMINGS says
Hi Chula - Looking forward to trying this. Previous attempts at other recipes have been a disaster, so looking forward to this one 🙂
Couple of quick questions:
1. When you say:
"Chula's Expert Tips
To avoid the deflating that often occurs when the bread is slashed right before putting it in the oven, I often go ahead and slash it once the baguettes have been formed. This way - no deflating!"
Are you saying that you now slash them, before you leave them in the slightly warmed over for an hour ?
2. Any idea what ingredient measurements I would use, if I just wanted to make three 10 inch baguettes ? (I have one of these small silicone baguette pans, that makes three 10 inch baguettes)
Thanks, Mike
Chula King says
Hi Mike,
1. Yes, I slash the baguettes as soon as I form them before letting them rise. From my perspective, this is more for visual appearance than anything else.
2. I have a metal baguette pan that makes three baguettes that are roughly 14-inches each. So (I'm thinking out loud here) if I were to scale the ingredients to fit a 10-inch baguette pan, I would use 2/3 of each of the ingredients. Specifically, 3/4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon (6.5 ounces) of filtered water; 1 teaspoon Kosher salt; 1 teaspoon granulated sugar; 2 cups (10 ounces) bread flour; and 1 teaspoon instant yeast.
I make this French bread every week and it never fails to impress! I hope that this works for you. Let me know.
Chula
Kristine says
Great recipe! I make it frequently. Usually, I make 4 dough balls then roll out 2 for a second rise and bake them. I save the other 2 dough balls for a different night. I store the unbaked dough balls in the fridge in zip lock bags. The bread actually tastes even better after a night in the fridge. The refrigerated dough takes longer to rise so I roll it out in the morning and let it rise in the baguette pans all day while I go to work. Thanks so much for a great recipe for legit baguettes using the dough cycle.
Chula King says
Thanks so much Kristine! I haven't saved part of the dough for a different night, but it totally makes sense that it would taste better. I'm going to try this the next time I make the French bread dough!
Chula
Maria Gil says
After coming out from the oven, the baguettes flattened, what am I doing wrong. Thank you.
Chula King says
Maria,
I'm sorry that your baguettes flattened. I unfortunately can't imagine why unless they weren't fully cooked. I've never had that happen.
Chula
Martin Watson says
I'm an experienced (male!) bread maker. Did you really mean 'half TABLESPOON' for salt sugar and yeast?
Martin
Chula King says
Yes - that's what I use. A half tablespoon of salt, sugar and yeast.
Mary says
Can I make one large loaf using this recipe? If so, how long should I bake it? Thanks!
Chula King says
Mary,
To be honest, I've never made just one large loaf, however, I suspect that you could do that. In terms of baking time however, since I've not done that, I really don't know. Sorry.
Chula
Carol says
Love the taste of this bread but I am confused about when you take out of oven and put slices across the top my dough flattens and does not rise when you bake it. Can you tell me what I am doing wrong.
Thank you
Chula King says
Hi Carol,
If you're not ultra quick with the slashing, the dough will deflate. After being frustrated with this, I've resorted to slashing the bread once the dough is formed into the baguettes. It pretty much serves the same purpose and no flattening of the dough.
Chula
Mark Pinkerton says
My dough was fine until I made the cuts before baking and it went flat. What am I doing wrong? The bread was good just flat. Thanks
Chula King says
Hi Mark,
This often happens to me as well when I make the cuts right before baking the bread unless I'm super careful. Over time, I've changed my strategy and make the cuts after I form the rolls. This way, there is no deflating of the dough and the cuts perform the same way.
Sorry about that. I should probably update the post to reflect this new strategy.
Chula
Lisa says
Hello! What bread maker do you use? My Spanish mom has been on the hunt for a bread maker specifically for baguettes for a long time. All the ones we seem to find are for the larger French bread types of loafs and we are trying to make the crispier baguettes that are more traditional, Based on the pics and previous reviews, we are very interested in trying your recipe and bread maker.
Thanks!
Lisa and Maricarmen
Chula King says
Hi Lisa,
My bread machine is the Zojirushi Home Bakery Virtuoso Breadmaker. I use the dough cycle on the bread machine to mix and knead the dough, and allow for the first rise. At the end of the dough cycle (1 hour and 40 minutes), I remove the dough from the bread machine and form it into the baguettes. I've been using the simple recipe in the post for a long time, and always weigh the water and the flour - it always turns out perfectly. I use the same dough to make rolls.
Let me know if you have any more questions.
Chula
Anonymous says
Yes it makes sense thank you for clarifying 🙂
I have been making them again every week! My family love them, especially my husband (he is French) he says this is the closest to French Baguette Thank you!
Chula King says
WOW - I thought that it was close to what I remembered from visiting Paris. Thanks for letting me know your husband's view on this.
Chula
Jeju Green says
I made this bread it did not come out the way I would have liked because the instructions are a little confusing. When it suggest to turn on the oven for 1 min and 45 mins but does not say at what temp???? This is before the raising.
(Heat electric oven for exactly 1 minute, 45 seconds. Place baguettes into oven for 1 hour, or until double in size. Mist with water and make 2 to 3 make deep diagonal slashes across loaves with a sharp knife of razor blade.)
Could you pls specify? Thank you!!!
Chula King says
Jeju, when you turn on a cold electric oven, the minute and 45 seconds just serves to warm the interior, not reach a specific temperature. Therefore, it doesn't matter what temperature you set the oven on because you are not wanting to reach that temperature. If you want to set a temperature, then set the oven at 350°F, but again, all you are doing is to warm the oven. For my specific oven, the starting temperature when I turn it on is 100°F. After 1 minute and 45 seconds, the temperature just starts to rise above 100°F. That's when I turn the oven off. Hope this helps.
Anonymous says
Turned out perfect!!
Chula King says
Outstanding! I make this bread several times a month. It's always amazing.