Use my 10-Minute All Purpose Dough recipe to whip up 4 beautiful homemade Soft French Bread loaves in mere minutes.
Soft French Bread Recipe
Here's a secret -- the 2 easiest ways to impress dinner guests are:
- homemade pies with homemade whipped cream
- warm homemade bread of any kind
We had a group of 10 friends from all across the USA visiting the farm last November for a few days.
One evening I was coordinating the dinner we were cooking together. Each person or couple was in charge of a dish. We were only a few minutes from the meal coming together beautifully when I realized I had forgotten to make bread.
My dear friend said, "Oh Chuckie... you don't have time to make bread. Don't worry about it."
I replied, "Watch me." and quickly whipped up this Soft French Bread recipe. Now, I'm not suggesting you wait until the steaks are on the grill to make this bread, but I can assure you that it can be done.
Make up a batch of my 10-Minute All Purpose Dough. Shape these beauties and impress your family and friends with warm, soft French Bread, sticky buns, homemade pizza, etc.
And if you don't "need" 4 loaves of Soft French Bread. Split the dough in half.
Later in the week, make Chicken Bacon Ranch Calzone with a quarter of the dough or roll up some sticky buns to raise in the fridge for tomorrow morning!
Ingredients for Soft French Bread
- 1 recipe of 10-Minute All Purpose Dough
- Baking spray - for the cookie sheet
- Egg white, optional - brush on the tops of the unbaked loaves to achieve the perfect golden brown crust
- Butter, optional - smear it on the top of the hot loaves to create a soft crust
See recipe card for quantities.
How to Make Soft French Bread
- Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
- Rise the dough for 5 minutes then punch down and divide into 4 loaves.
- Shape dough by flattening out into a rectangle the width of your cookie sheet. Then roll it into a loaf and shape the ends.
- Place the loaves onto greased cookie pans. Loosely cover with a clean tea towel and place knives between each loaf for a better loaf shape.
- In a warm location, allow the bread dough to rise for a second time until doubled in size. 30-45 minutes. Remove the knives about half way through the rise.
- Brush the tops of loaves lightly with egg white.
- Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, until golden brown and internal bread temperature reaches 190 degrees F. Using a thermometer will ensure your bread is baked through.
- Brush the top of the loaves with butter to keep it soft, if desired.
- Remove the bread from the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before cutting.
Hint: This technique yields a rustic and imperfect loaf of French bread. That's how I like it. If that bothers you, use long loaf pans.
Variations
- Crunchy French Bread - If you prefer a crunchy crust, skip buttering the tops of the hot bread loaves.
- Garlic French Bread -Knead chopped fresh garlic into the dough before shaping.
- Herb French Bread - Stir in fresh basil, rosemary, chives, or any other herb into your butter.
Storing Soft French Bread
After the bread has cooled completely, wrap each loaf in aluminum foil or slice it and place it in a plastic storage bag. Store it on the countertop.
Do not refrigerate as this dries the bread out.
To Freeze Soft French Bread - wrap it in foil and place it in the freezer for 1-2 months. Thaw on the countertop before using.
Top tip
If four loaves of bread seems like too many to eat and freeze. I suggest you use half the dough for Soft French Bread and the other half for homemade pizza later in the week.
Of course, you can always make good friends out of your neighbors if you share a loaf with them.
FAQ
Smearing butter on the top of hot French bread when it comes out of the oven softens the crust.
I love it smeared with butter and honey while it's warm. But it's fantastic for making sandwiches, garlic bread in the Air Fryer, Homemade Croutons in the Air Fryer, grilled open-face sandwiches, and more.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Soft French Bread:
HAVE A QUESTION? ❤️
Leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer you!
And, if you made this recipe, please let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment and/or giving a rating!
And of course, if you do make this recipe, tag @laughingroostereats on Instagram and hashtag it #laughingroostereats! Seeing your photos is our favorite thing!
Food Safety
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
Soft French Bread
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups Hot Water 120° to 130°F
- ½ cup Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Instant Yeast
- 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt
- ¼ cup Olive Oil
- 6-8 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil for coating the bowl and dough
- 1 Egg White
- 3 Tablespoons Butter
Instructions
- In a heavy-duty mixer with dough hook, mix water, ½ cup flour, Instant yeast, and sugar. Proof mixture for 3-5 minutes or until it starts to get a bit foamy.2 ½ cups Hot Water, ½ cup Flour, 1 Tablespoon Instant Yeast, 2 Tablespoons Sugar
- With the mixer running, add salt, ¼ cup olive oil, and sprinkle in 6 cups flour ½ cup at a time, allowing the flour to mix in before adding more.1 Tablespoon Kosher Salt, ¼ cup Olive Oil, 6-8 cups All-Purpose Flour
- Sprinkle in additional flour, small amounts at a time, until the dough does not stick to the sides of the bowl. Avoid adding any more flour than is necessary. I use around 8 cups of flour in total. The amount of flour will vary due to humidity, conditions, etc.
- Allow the mixer to knead the bread for 8-10 minutes. Set your timer.
- I usually knead the dough by hand for the last 1-2 minutes so I get a feel for the dough. Adding flour if needed.
- First Rise: Drizzle 1-2 Tablespoons olive oil in a large mixing bowl. Put dough in the bowl and flip over, coating the dough with oil.1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- Allow dough to rise in a large bowl or on the countertop for 5-10 minutes or until the dough has risen slightly.
- Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
- Punch down and divide into 4 loaves.
- Shape dough by flattening out into a rectangle the width of your cookie sheet. Then roll it into a loaf and shape the ends.
- Place the loaves onto greased cookie pans. Loosely cover with a clean tea towel and place knives between each loaf for a better loaf shape.
- In a warm location, allow the bread dough to rise for a second time until doubled in size. 30-45 minutes. Remove the knives when the loaves have risen about ¾ of the way.
- If desired, brush the tops of loaves lightly with egg white.1 Egg White
- Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, until golden brown and the internal bread temperature reaches 190 degrees F. Using a thermometer will ensure your bread is baked through.
- Brush the top of the loaves with butter to keep it soft, if desired.3 Tablespoons Butter
- Remove the bread from the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before cutting.
Chuckie says
Love this soft bread! Perfect for sandwiches, garlic bread, bruschetta, and and and...
Tracy Lee says
Lasagna was on the menu for dinner tonight. I was thinking I hadn’t tried any laughing rooster recipes in a while and thought this bread would be perfect to try out as we always have garlic bread with our Lasagna! It’s not my first time making bread but I was still worried I would add too much flour or not enough. About 8 cups was perfect and the instructions on how to lay out the dough were great. I was proud of my creation and surprised at how fast it came together. Sliced it up in the evening for dinner with some butter and garlic salt. My family approved! Even the little grandkids loved it 🙂 Thanks for the great recipe!
Chuckie says
I lovvvvvee garlic bread! Thank you for your kind feedback and support. Great job on dinner!
Angie Shireman says
I hadn't made homemade bread in years!! It was so easy to and made my house smell great! Everyone loved it and it made excellent French toast the next morning for breakfast!
Chuckie says
Way to go! I love the smell of bread baking. I'm not sure if there is a better scent. Love the idea of French toast! I just don't make that often enough. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!