Soft French Bread

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5 from 5 votes

Use my 10-Minute All Purpose Dough recipe to whip up 4 beautiful homemade Soft French Bread loaves in mere minutes.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Rising Time40

Total Time1 10

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, French

Keyword: bread, pre-made dough, yeast bread

Servings: loaves

Calories: 1052kcal

Author: Chuckie Hessong

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.

Notes

🧡 Alpha Gal bread - this is an easy one to make safe by skipping buttering the tops of the bread. Brush it with olive oil if you want a soft top.

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