How to Make French Bread

French bread comes in different types and are quite different from other breads in aspects of size and taste. The most popular of French breads is the 'baguette', which is a narrow shaped or thin long bread. French bread is generally served with cheese and is one of the main parts of the French breakfast. Traditional French bread is made of cornmeal and egg, however, in other countries, cornmeal is substituted with other ingredients such as rice flour, wheat, sourdough, multigrain etc. Though ingredients differ, the ways to make French bread are almost the same everywhere. French onion bread is also quite popular in France. As the name suggests, French onion bread contains onion which gives a unique flavor to it. Are you now wondering how to make French bread? Well, wonder no more, in this article we are going to see how to make French bread from scratch, as well as some other mouth smacking ways to make French bread.

Traditional French Bread
Ingredients

• 1 tbs cornmeal
• 2½ (.25 ounce) packaged active dry yeast
• 1½ tsp salt
• 1 tbs water
• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups warm water
• 1 egg white

Process

Take a bowl and add yeast, salt and 2 cups flour to it and then stir in warm water. Blend with the help of a stand mixer, which has a dough hook attachment. Try to stir in as much as flour as possible. Now start kneading the dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead for about 8-10 minutes to a stiff dough, until it is smooth and elastic, and then shape it into a ball. Place the kneaded dough in a greased bow, cover it and keep aside until it has doubled. When doubled, divide the dough in half and turn it onto a lightly floured surface. Let rest for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, again divide each half into two large rectangles. Start rolling up, start from the longer side. When rolled up, moisten the edges with water and seal them up. Now grease a baking sheet and sprinkle cornmeal on it and then place the loaves, seam side down. Brush the loaves and cover them with a damp cloth, let rise for about 35-40 minutes. After the loaves have doubled, make 4-5 diagonal cuts on each loaf and then heat in a preheated oven at 375 degrees F for about 20 minutes. When well baked, remove from the baking sheets and cool the bread on a wire rack before serving.

French Onion Bread
Ingredients

• 1 cup warm water
• 2 tsp salt
• ½ cup dried minced onion
• 1 tbs sugar
• 3 cups bread flour
• 2¼ tsp active dry yeast
• 1 tbs cornmeal
• 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

Process

Place dried minced onion, water, sugar, salt, bread flour and dry yeast in a bread machine pan, in accordance to the suggested order by the manufacturer. Once the cycle is complete, place dough on a slightly floured surface and let rest for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, turn the dough into half and roll each half into a 15×10 inch rectangle. Place these rectangles on a pan, cover them, and let rest for 30 minutes. When the loaves rise, brush them with egg yolk and make ¼ inch deep cuts, 2 inches apart, in each loaf. Now bake for about 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees. When baked, move to a wire rack. This is one of the easiest French bread recipes.

French Herb Bread
Ingredients

• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp chopped fresh or dried rosemary
• 1 package dry yeast (about 2¼ tsp)
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp olive oil
• ½ tsp dried basil
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• 3 tbs (¾ ounce) finely shredded fresh Parmesan cheese
• 1 tsp chopped fresh or dried rosemary
• 2¼ cups bread flour
• ¼ tsp garlic powder

Process

Fill flour into dry measuring cups and level with a knife. Now place flour, dry yeast, basil, sugar, rosemary, salt, oregano, thyme and water into a bread pan, put flour through water. Select the dough cycle option and on the bread machine, do not bake. Now preheat the oven to 350 degrees and then turn dough onto slightly floured surface, rub thoroughly with oil. Cut the loaf into 12 inch long loaves and place them on the baking sheet. Now add 1 tsp rosemary, cheese and garlic to a bowl and mix well. Apply this mixture on the top of the loaf and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes. When properly baked, remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

These were some tasty answers to your question, 'how to make French bread at home'? So now when you get bored with the regular bread and butter, do try the above French bread recipes for a change. Bon Appetit!