One-Hour French Bread With a Crusty Golden Finish
By Mason Brooks
Prep
35 min
Cook
25 min
Total
60 min
Servings
4
Make French bread to eat throughout the week by baking two loaves at once, either sliced or unsliced. One hour and four ingredients are all you need to bake French bread loaves with a crisp crust and soft interior.
Bread flour is an ingredient in quick breads to add structure. Other ingredients in the quick breads include sea salt and yeast mixed with warm water to add flavor and leavening. Tips for making quick breads include preheating the oven briefly and using oven heat to help bread rise. You can begin with 3 cups of flour and add more flour if needed to form a dough that does not adhere to pressed fingers.
The dough is sticky when touched by water and yeast but will be less sticky as it is kneaded with other ingredients. Dough and fingers that are no longer sticky are usually a sign that it's time to shape the dough. Overproofing is a common issue and can lead to loaves falling while baking.
Shape each half into a dense loaf with seams on the bottom. Bake the bread right away after the oven reaches 425° for easier slicing after 10 to 15 minutes of cooling. Serve bread warm with soups and other foods that complement fresh bread.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Bakes two loaves at once, so one can be eaten for dinner and the second saved for another meal.
- Short rising in a warm oven fits easily around other meal-preparation activities, Shaped loaves can rest while you perform other dinner-preparation activities, including cleanup and table setting.
- Chilling the bread before slicing helps ensure uniform slices if you need to slice the loaf into shapes or sizes for sandwiches or other uses.
- Bread flour and other basic ingredients allow you to buy supplies in large quantities because you only need to purchase flour, salt, yeast, and warm water to make bread.
- Both loaves are baked on a parchment-lined baking sheet to save washing and to allow you to bake two loaves simultaneously on busy days when you can't be in the kitchen.
- The shortened fermentation time allows the recipe to be prepared throughout the day along with other cooking activities and served at dinner with soups, pasta, and other foods.
Ingredients
- •4 cups bread flour (4-4 1/2 cups)
- •1 tsp sea salt
- •1 ½ Tbsp yeast
- •2 cups warm water (should feel warm to the touch without scalding)
Instructions
- 1
Turn the oven on to warm up and set a timer for 3 minutes.
- 2
Turn the oven off when the timer goes off.
- 3
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- 4
Measure the yeast into the bottom of a liquid measuring cup and pour the warm water over the yeast.
- 5
Combine 3 cups of the flour and the salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir to mix.
- 6
Pour the yeast water into the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the ingredients are combined; the dough should look shaggy.
- 7
Add another cup of flour and stir or mix until the dough becomes less sticky and smoother.
- 8
Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead by pushing and folding until smooth and no longer sticky when pressed; add additional flour as needed.
- 9
Divide the dough in half.
- 10
Roll one half into a rectangle about 8 by 10 inches, tightly roll it into a long log, pinch the seam closed, and place it seam-side down on the prepared baking sheet.
- 11
Repeat the shaping process with the second half of the dough.
- 12
Cover the loaves loosely with a tea towel, place the baking sheet in the warm oven, and set a timer for 10 minutes.
- 13
After 10 minutes, remove the loaves from the oven without shaking them or setting the pan down hard, then place them on top of the oven while it heats to 425°.
- 14
Remove the tea towel and gently place the loaves in the oven as soon as it is preheated.
- 15
Bake at 425° for 20 to 25 minutes, until the loaves are browned and crusty and an inserted thermometer reads 180°.
- 16
Allow the bread to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.
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