Soft French Bread
Light, airy, soft and delicious french bread. This bread is the perfect side to a weeknight dinner or makes great french toast. We love dipping it in fondue or slicing for toast.
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 30 min
- Yield
- 32 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 2.5 cups warm water (temperature of baby's bathwater)
- 1 Tablespoons instant yeast
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- 1/4 cup neutral flavored oil (or coconut oil (see recipe notes))
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 5 1/2-6 cups bread flour (see note)
Instructions
- 1
To the bowl of a stand mixer, add warm water, instant yeast and honey. Let sit until it smells yeasty and is a little foamy (this shows you that your yeast is active).
- 2
Add the oil, salt and 5 cups of bread flour. Knead together and a little bit more flour as needed until you can pinch off a piece of dough and roll it up into a ball with only a little bit of sticky residue left on your fingers. The dough will probably need 5 1/2 to 6 cups of flour. Start on the lower end and work your way up so as not to over-flour the dough Knead in between additions of flour. If the dough needs more flour, add flour 1/4 cup at a time until slightly tacky. More tips for how to tell when dough is ready here.
- 3
Once the flour has all been added and the dough is at the right consistency, knead with a dough hook for about 8 minutes. Set a timer and let the dough knead for the full eight minutes to achieve perfect elasticity and gluten development.
- 4
After eight minutes of kneading, let the dough sit for 15 minutes in the mixer. It will expand and rise a bit. Stir down the dough after 15 minutes by kneading for 20 seconds.
- 5
Transfer the dough to a dough container (affiliate link) and let the dough rise again for about an hour until doubled or tripled in size.
- 6
Turn dough out onto the counter and cut into two pieces. With your fingers, press each piece into a rectangle shape (not quite as long as your baking sheet). Roll up, pinching in the seams as you go. Pinch the dough closed and place on one half of a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the other portion of dough.
- 7
Cover the shaped dough with a kitchen towel and let rise for 45 minutes to an hour until puffy and doubled in size.
- 8
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 9
Using a bread lame or sharp knife, score the loaves.
- 10
For a crispier crust: Place a pan with a handful of ice cubes into the bottom of the oven, right before putting the loaves into the oven to bake. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.
- 11
Brush with melted butter and let cool before slicing and serving. Enjoy!