Finally done exams and now I can relax (and cook/bake)! I came home after my exam this morning and I felt like making something. Bread was the first thing that came to mind and I was quickly able to find a good recipe for basic French bread. You know, that perfect, crusty French bread that’s great with butter, in a sandwich or just by itself. By no means was my bread “perfect”, but I think it turned out pretty well and it tasted pretty good for homemade bread. Finally, a baking success! I know I said I was going to lay off the baking, but this is something I’ve been wanting to make for a while. This will definitely be a go-to recipe for bread from now on. It’s pretty simple and only has four ingredients! The original recipe has a lot of important points, so I will highlight those in my recipe below.
Here’s what you’re going to need:
Simple French Bread (adapted from Steamy Kitchen):
- 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (1 package)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour (bread flour probably works best, though)
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 1 tsp. salt
Directions:
1. Set aside 1/2 cup of the flour and put the remaining flour in your mixer bowl. Place the yeast and salt onopposite sides of the bowl and pour the warm water over top.
2. Mix with the paddle attachment on low speed until completely combined and the dough is starting to come together.
3. Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium-low speed for 2 minutes. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Then mix again for another 3 minutes (the resting part is important for the gluten to relax).
4. Place the dough on your floured work surface (using the flour you set aside earlier). Knead the dough for about 5 minutes, incorporating in the reserved flour as necessary. The dough should become quite smooth and tight and form a nice ball.
5. Lightly oil a large bowl (non-stick spray probably works best). Place the dough in the bowl and turn over to coat completely. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 1/2 hours (should approximately double in volume).
6. After 1 1/2 hours preheat your oven to 450°F and place your “baking vessel” in the oven to heat. Your baking vessel can be either an inverted heavy baking sheet or a pizza stone (some people use bricks). Also place another baking sheet at the bottom of your oven.
7. Punch the dough down and transfer to a floured working surface. Reform the dough into a ball then cut it in half.
8. Take one half of the dough and stretch it out into a roughly rectangular shape (the size depends on how you want your loaf to turn out).
9. Fold the long sides into the middle, as shown in the picture below.
10. Do a “karate chop” down the middle of the dough. This is important for keeping the middle tucked in. Stretch the ends out a bit more.
11. This is the most important bread-handling step: Fold the long sides into the middle again then fold the short ends in slightly. Now pinch all of the seams shut. There’s no need to be gentle to the dough at this point. You’re going to have to pinch quite firmly in order to seal all of the seams. If there is an opening at all, it will eventually burst (which happened to one of my loaves).
12. Turn the bread over so it is seam side down. Cover with a damp towel. Repeat these steps with the other dough bowl. Allow them to rest for 30 minutes.
13. Take a sharp paring knife and make about 4 shallow, diagonal scores on the top of the loaf. Set aside ~3/4 cups of cold water.
14. Slide your dough onto the inverted baking sheet/pizza stone (depending on the size. you may be able to do both loaves at the same time). Remember the other baking sheet you put at the bottom of the oven? Pour the 3/4 cups of cold water onto the sheet then shut the oven door. This creates steam, which is important for creating a nice crust on your bread. Alternatively, you can just pour the water directly on the bottom of your oven, but I decided not to do that because mine is gas and it has openings for the flames on the bottom of the oven.
15. Bake for 20-25 minutes (mine took about 22 minutes). If you have an instant-read thermometer (I don’t) you can use that to measure the temperature of the loaf. It should reach 190-200°F when it’s done. Remove your bread and allow to cool before enjoying.
Loaf #2 had a hole blow open in the side. :(
FAQs
Feel: Bread dough that has successfully risen/proofed will spring back slowly when poked and leave an indent. If it snaps back too quickly, it needs more time.
What are the qualities of good French bread? ›
Spotting a Good Baguette
Hidden under a dusting of flour (make-up, some would say!), the crust should be smooth and brown, and the sides straight and regular. Five or six slices with a knife before cooking create an even texture on the surface, and act as an artisan bread maker's signature.
What is the secret of French bread? ›
One of the secrets of a great baguette is to start with a sponge (a mix of flour, water, and yeast), which gives the yeast time to mature and combine with the other ingredients, creating the mildly sour and nutty flavors and chewy texture.
How do you score French bread? ›
Score the top of each loaf: Use a sharp knife, razor blade, or bread lame to quickly score the surface of the loaves. Slash each baguette at a 45-degree angle 4 to 5 times along the loaf's axis. Bake the loaves: Bake the loaves according to the recipe's directions immediately after scoring.
How do you tell if bread is Overproofed or Underproofed? ›
Properly proofed dough will be much more consistent in structure, with a soft and fluffy interior, and larger, but more evenly dispersed air bubbles present in the crumb. Over proofed bread is likely to have a very open crumb structure, due to the development of excess CO2 during the proofing stage.
What should you look for when selecting French bread? ›
The French will tell you that a good baguette needs to look, feel, sound, smell and taste the part; with a golden-bronzed crust and holey ivory-cream centre, a thin, crisp shell that cracks with a little pressure, a faint hollowness when tapped underneath, a fruity, cereal aroma and a soft, chewy dough with hints of ...
What are the standards for French bread? ›
Its measurements are: 55-65 cm long, and it weighs 250-300 grams. It consists of four ingredients: flour, yeast, salt and water. According to the French Bread Decree from 1993, a traditional baguette must follow certain rules. Besides having a precise size and weight, it cannot be frozen or contain additives.
What makes French bread unique? ›
The French method uses more water to make a wetter dough, creating a lighter texture and less yeast, which is why later in the process the dough needs at least four hours to ferment – whereas the English method tends to use more yeast and a quicker proving process.
What is the best flour for French bread? ›
As noted in the recipe, French bread works quite well using whole wheat flour. I've found the best results are when using white whole wheat flour (red whole wheat flour makes a denser, heavier loaf).
What makes a great baguette? ›
It should be long and skinny (55 to 60cm would be traditional but is uncommon in these days of shorter baguettes) with a crisp crust, nice brown exterior color, and a moist, cream-colored crumb with an irregular structure. It's best eaten within a few hours once it's out of the oven.
Most bakers recommend a scoring depth of about 1/2 inch or 1 centimeter. Beginning bakers tend to not score deeply enough. I recommend scoring deeper than you think you need to, then if proves to be too deep, back it off slightly the next time.
What happens if you dont score bread? ›
Without scoring, the steam will find its own weak point and burst through the crust as it hardens, this creates unwanted bulges and blowouts in your bread. The goal of scoring is to guide the way dough rises in the oven in a way that helps it maintain its shape and allows it to take full advantage of oven spring.
Is it possible to prove bread for too long? ›
Very overproofed dough just gets sloppy to work with and won't hold its form as well, and makes denser bread. It's delicious and probably especially nutritious. Dough would have to be sitting around for a very long time to become “unsafe”…
How do you know if no knead bread has risen enough? ›
No knead dough doesn't rise like standard yeast breads, it only puffs up and gets bubbly. It will be a little bigger after the resting time but don't look for a much larger volume.
What does overproofed bread taste like? ›
A very sour taste (not a pleasantly sour tang like properly fermented sourdough)
How to tell when bread is done baking? ›
Inserting a toothpick into the center of a baked good is a tried and true method to test for doneness. If the toothpick comes out clean, your bread is likely fully baked. It needs a bit more time if it comes out wet with dough or crumbs.
