Classic Crusty French Bread Recipe

Loaves of French bread sprinkled with sesame seeds, partially sliced

The Spruce Eats

Prep: 20 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Rise Time: 105 mins
Total: 2 hrs 35 mins
Servings: 20 servings
Yield: 2 loaves

Whether it's served in a basket with butter or olive oil, spread with jam, or used to make garlic bread, stuffed sandwiches, French toast, or French bread pizza, a freshly baked loaf of French bread is always welcome. By law in France, this type of bread cannot contain any fat such as butter or oil.

Despite its simplicity, French bread has a wonderful flavor and texture—a well made loaf is beautifully crusty on the outside and tender on the inside. Its simplicity also makes it incredibly versatile, and a loaf of French bread is a great addition to breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner.

The Secret to the Perfect Crusty Exterior on French Bread

This bread is known for its crust, which is made by baking the loaves at 400 F for the first five minutes and then removing the loaves and using a mister or spray bottle to lightly spray the tops of the loaves with cold water. The oven temperature is then dropped to 350 F, and the bread bakes for another 25 minutes or so. The result is a deliciously crusty and fluffy bread that pairs well with every meal.

The Ingredients You Need to Make Classic French Bread

The perfect loaf of French bread has just a handful of ingredients. Here's what you'll need.

  • Bread flour: Flour is the main ingredient in this bread, so it's an important one. We recommend using bread flour, which has a higher amount of gluten than all-purpose flour. This means that bread made with bread flour will rise higher than bread made with all-purpose flour. However, if all you have is regular flour, that will work fine in this recipe—you might just get less of a rise out of your bread.
  • Yeast: Yeast is a single-cell organism that converts its food—sugar and starch—through fermentation, into carbon dioxide and alcohol. The carbon dioxide bubbles help your bread to rise and give it a tender texture. This recipe calls for active dry yeast, which must be rehydrated in liquid before being added to the dough. Keep yeast stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Heat, moisture, and air kill the yeast and prevent bread dough from rising. If you are unsure if your yeast is alive, you can test it by proofing it.
  • Warm water: Slightly warm water—95 F to 110 F—is best for activating yeast. Use hot water out of your tap, but not so hot that you cannot comfortably put your hand in it—hotter temperatures can kill the yeast before it does its work in helping the bread rise.
  • Salt: Salt improves the taste of the bread, helps control the rise, strengthens the gluten in the flour, and helps give the crust a nice browned color.
  • Sugar: A small amount of sugar feeds the yeast and gives a hint of sweetness to the bread.
  • Beaten egg white: Brushing the bread with beaten egg white helps to improve the color, sheen, and texture of the crust. For a darker crust, you can swap egg white for milk.
  • Sesame or poppy seeds: If you'd like, sprinkle the dough with seed before baking. This is especially nice if you'll be using the bread for sandwiches.

"Making bread at home is much simpler than you may think, and I think this recipe is a great place to start! With adding some misted water on the top of the bread, you can get a crusty bread with a soft inside for a classic loaf." —Tracy Wilk

French Bread Tester Image
A Note From Our Recipe Tester

Ingredients

  • 2 cups warm water, 95 F to 110 F

  • 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

  • 2 teaspoons fine salt

  • 5 1/2 cups bread flour, as needed

  • 1 large egg white, lightly beaten, optional

  • 1 ounce sesame seeds, or poppy seeds, optional

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Ingredients for classic French bread recipe gathered

    The Spruce Eats

  2. In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, sugar, and salt. Stir until dissolved.

    Yeast being dissolved in a bowl with water

    The Spruce Eats

  3. Mix in the bread flour, a little at a time, until a soft dough is formed.

    Soft homogenous dough in a bowl

    The Spruce Eats

  4. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead it for about 8 minutes.

    Dough ball on a lightly floured wooden board

    The Spruce Eats

  5. Put the dough in a greased bowl and flip the dough over so that all of the dough is lightly greased, including the dough top. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm, draft-free place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

    Dough with a lightly greased surface in a bowl

    The Spruce Eats

  6. Punch down the dough.

    Dough punched down in the bowl

    The Spruce Eats

  7. Give the dough a quick 2-minute knead.

    Smooth round dough ball on a lightly floured wooden board

    The Spruce Eats

  8. Divide the dough into 2 equal halves. Shape each half into a long loaf.

    Dough ball divided into equal halves

    The Spruce Eats

  9. Place the loaves on a lightly greased baking sheet. Make about 5 diagonal slits, 3/4 inch deep, into the top of each loaf.

    Loaves with horizontal slashes on a baking sheet

    The Spruce Eats

  10. Cover loaves with a clean towel or greased plastic wrap and let them rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in size. Heat the oven to 400 F.

    Loaves on baking sheet covered with a dish towel

    The Spruce Eats

  11. If you'd like, brush the loaves with the beaten egg white for a shiny crust, and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds. Bake at 400 F for 5 minutes.

    Loaves sprinkled with sesame seeds on baking sheet

    The Spruce Eats

  12. Remove the loaves from the oven and use a mister or spray bottle to lightly spray the tops of the loaves with cold water. Turn the oven down to 350 F and bake the loaves for another 25 minutes or until done. The bread should have a pronounced golden brown crust and an instant read thermometer should read 200 to 210 F.

    Pale partially baked loaves on baking sheet

    The Spruce Eats

  13. Remove the loaves from the baking sheet and let them cool on a rack.

    Loaves of browned French bread cooling on a wire rack

    The Spruce Eats

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
142 Calories
1g Fat
29g Carbs
5g Protein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 20
Amount per serving
Calories 142
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g 1%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 234mg 10%
Total Carbohydrate 29g 10%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 1g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 7mg 1%
Iron 0mg 2%
Potassium 42mg 1%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)