Experience the magic of homemade bread in just one hour with this game-changing French Bread recipe. It is so easy that it always comes out perfect, even if it is your first time making yeast bread.
It makes two large loaves for about $2.87. Each loaf serves eight people each and will cost around 18¢ per serving!
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What You’ll Love About This French Bread Recipe
- Versatility: This is a great recipe because the bread can be enjoyed plain, used to make Garlic Bread, served as a side dish to most entrees, dipped in olive oil, made into sandwiches, or toasted for French toast.
- Quick Rise Times: Both rises only take 15 minutes, making this a relatively fast recipe for homemade fresh bread. This will quickly become your go-to bread recipe. Your family and friends will ask you to make this chewy French bread again and again.
- Simple Ingredients: The recipe uses basic pantry staples, making it accessible for most home bakers. You may find that you have most of these basic ingredients on hand.
- Easy To Work With: Forming the dough into two long loaves is simple and doesn’t require intricate techniques or a bread machine.
1-Hour French Bread Ingredients & Estimated Cost:
- 2 cups warm water – $0.00
- 2 Tablespoons instant yeast – $0.96
- 2 Tablespoons sugar – $0.06
- 2 teaspoons salt – $0.02
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil – $0.09
- 5 ½ – 6 cups flour – $1.62
- 1 egg white – $0.12
The cost of the recipe is calculated based on the amounts needed. To learn more about how we price our recipes, check out Budget Recipes Explained. The pricing for this recipe was updated in February 2024.
How To Make 1 Hour Bread
***For complete recipe instructions, see the recipe card below.
- Whisk warm water, sugar, and yeast in a bowl. Let it froth for 5-10 minutes before mixing it in the salt, oil, and flour.
- Knead in the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth and the bread dough does not stick to the sides of the bowl. Cover and rise for 15 minutes in a warm place.
- The dough will be puffy but not quite doubled in size.
- Divide dough into two loaves on a baking sheet, cut diagonal slits across the top of the dough, and let the dough rise again before baking for 30 minutes.
- Brush with egg wash mixture to get an extra crispy crust, and bake for five more minutes.
- Slice and serve.
Easy French Bread Recipe Variations:
Use this bread as the base for these recipes:
- BBQ Chicken Braid
- French bread pizza
- French-Bread Stuffing
- French Toast
- Garlic bread
- Grilled Cheese Sloppy Joes
How Long Does French Bread Last:
- Serve: Leftovers can be wrapped in plastic or placed in a Ziploc bag and kept at room temperature for 2-3 days.
- Store: Wrap the bread in plastic wrap and store it for up to 5 days. (I like slicing the bread for pizza or garlic bread when it’s cold and slightly stiff. It’s easier to cut this way.)
- Freeze: Wrap the bread in plastic wrap and then in foil before putting it in the freezer. It will keep for up to three months before getting freezer burn.
Quick French Bread Recipe FAQs
Why is it called French bread?
French bread, a long, crusty loaf known in France as a baguette, which means “a stick, ” is the top choice in French bakeries.
NOTE:
- This recipe is an Americanized version of French bread. You know, the big, squishy French Bread loaves you find at the grocery store. This bread is nothing like a crusty baguette.
How do you make French bread crusty again?
You can try to put water on the loaf of bread and then wrap it in foil before putting it in a cold oven. Next, heat the oven to 300 degrees and heat the bread for 10-12 minutes. Then, unwrap the bread and cook it for 4-5 minutes. That’s it! You should now be able to enjoy that fantastic crusty bread once again!
Can I skip the egg wash?
Yes, you can skip this step. The egg wash helps the crust get a little extra crispy, but it is still delicious without this step.
Can you freeze French bread?
Yes! This is one of our favorite things about this recipe. The bread will stay fresh in the freezer for up to three months.
How to reheat French Bread?
When ready to use, remove it from the freezer and set it on the counter to defrost. Then, when ready, warm it in 30-second intervals in the microwave.
Get Kids Involved With Making One Hour French Bread
Ages 2-3: Let your tiny sous-chef add the ingredients and mix them in the stand mixer for some messy, doughy fun! They’ll love watching the ingredients form into a soft dough ball.
Ages 4-5: Time to unleash their inner scientist! They can help measure the water and yeast (with grown-up supervision) and add the dry ingredients to the mixer.
Ages 6-8: Level up their skills! They can help measure, combine, and knead all the ingredients. Let them set the timer for the dough to rise (a great exercise in patience!) and, with proper knife safety guidance, teach them to score the dough before the second rise.
Ages 9-11: Prepare to be impressed! With your gentle guidance, they can follow a recipe from start to finish. Encourage them to read the recipe twice beforehand for a sense of accomplishment.
Ages 12+: Step back and watch your little chef work their magic! Let them handle the entire recipe, from gathering ingredients to baking delicious golden loaves. You can do the happy dance in the corner knowing you’ve raised a master baker!
Remember, baking is about creating memories together, so have fun, make a mess, and enjoy the delicious reward!
Homemade French Bread Budget Tips
This French Bread freezes well, so we love freezing one of the loaves to always have one on hand. We also love using the leftover bread to make other recipes, such as croutons, breadcrumbs, French toast, etc. Making homemade bread rather than buying it at the grocery store trims some of the grocery budget.
More From Easy Budget Recipes
1-Hour French Bread Recipe
Recipe Cost 2.87 Serving Cost 0.18Equipment
- stand mixer
- standard-size baking sheet
- parchment paper or silicone baking mat
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water 90-100 degrees
- 2 Tablespoons instant yeast
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 5 ½ – 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg white mixed with 1 Tablespoon water optional
Instructions
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat and set aside.
- First, add the water, yeast, and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Whisk the mixture together and let it sit for 3 minutes, or until it’s bubbly and frothy.
- Next, add in the oil, salt, and 5 ½ cups of flour.
- Attach a dough hook and mix on low until the dough comes together.
- Increase the speed to medium-high and knead. The dough should pull away from the sides of the bowl. If it doesn’t, add more flour, 2 Tablespoons at a time, until it does.
- Then, knead the dough for 2 minutes on medium-high.
- Remove the dough hook and cover the work bowl with a warm damp towel. Let the dough rise for 15 minutes.
- Remove the towel and punch the dough down.
- Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces and shape each piece into a long, thick dough that measures 16-17 inches long.
- Place the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, and cut 5-6 slits diagonally on each loaf.
- Move the oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 375 degrees.
- Let the dough rise for a second time while the oven preheats.
- As soon as the oven is done preheating, pop the pan into the oven (don’t let the dough sit out too long because it will over-proof). Bake for 23-25 minutes.
- Then, remove the bread from the oven and brush the loaves with 1 egg white mixed with 1 Tablespoon of water.
- Bake for another 3-5 minutes.
- Move the pan to a wire rack and cool the bread for 5 minutes before slicing and serving!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We recently updated the pictures to this post. Here are the originals from September 2019.
Heidy Linn says
I love any French Bread recipe takes only takesjust one hour from start to finish! Your recipe came out perfect and tastes wonderful. I will be saving this to make again soon!
Have a great day,
Jess Jankowski says
Heidy, we love that you love it! Enjoy!
Noelle says
So simple and crazy how quick it was! Super delicious too, can’t want to make again!
Jess Jankowski says
Noelle, so happy you enjoyed it!
Anita says
Wow! This is so fast to prepare and bake. We’ll be making lots of French bread from now on. 🙂
Jess Jankowski says
Anita thanks for your review! You can never have too much French Bread!
Lizet says
This was so easy to make. My boys had a blast making it.
Jess Jankowski says
Lizet, we love that you got your boys were involved in making this!
Beth says
Wow! I can’t believe that you pulled off a bread with that texture in 1 hour! I can’t wait to try your recipe!
Jess Jankowski says
Beth, it is life-changing! Definitely try it out.
E. Webb says
I have probably made this over 20 times. My grandson LOVES it and requests it when he comes over. He is 8. It is my go to when I need bread. Today I mixed a little shredded cheese into it and wow, awesome!!! Have given the recipe to many people and everyone is the same. Fantastic!!! Thank you
Jess Jankowski says
We could not love this anymore! Thank you so much for your review and we are beyond thrilled! We will have to try it with the cheese addition, that sounds yummy!
Reina says
First time making this bread and I’ve made 6 sticks of bread, for dinner with family and as gifts as they left. Absolutely delicious and so easy and quick! Thank you for the recipe!
Jess Jankowski says
Reina, that’s amazing! Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us!
Jackie says
I am French this is not even remotely French bread!!!!
Jess Jankowski says
Hi Jackie. This is definitely an Americanized version that you find in the grocery stores in the United States. This is noted in our French Bread Questions Answered section. We hope you still try it, as it is delicious!
Christina Bussen says
This was an awesome bread recipe, so fast and easy. Only thing I did different was a glazed it with egg yolk instead of the whites and I brushed it on prior to baking instead of the last five minutes, it got beautifully dark golden brown!
Jess Jankowski says
That’s awesome Christina! Thanks for sharing and letting us know!
Mckenzie says
The bread recipe was amazing! After completing the recipe I re read the instructions and realized I messed up some steps and skipped some but the bread still turned out perfectly. Super soft on the inside! Definitely a keeper
Jess Jankowski says
Mckenzie that is awesome! It really is so easy to have fresh bread!
Melody says
Just made this. Turned out wonderful. Thank you for the recipe.
Jess Jankowski says
Melody, so happy you loved it!
Marilyn Sturgeon says
Beautiful & delicious bread!
Will make this very often!
Jess Jankowski says
So happy you enjoy the bread! Slather some butter on and have another slice!
S says
I’ve been baking for decades and this bread was my proudest moment. It is a very quick, easy recipe. The crumb is small and soft, it slices beautifully. It held up well even at 2 days stale. My top bread recipe!!!
Jess Jankowski says
We are thrilled to hear your review! So happy you love it as much as we do!
Brooke says
Hi! I don’t have a stand mixer, can I use my hand mixer and still get great results?
Jess Jankowski says
Hi Brooke. You can knead it by hand without a stand mixer or dough hook. You will just need to knead it longer than you would in a stand mixer. Knead it for 7-10 minutes. Enjoy!
Ethel says
I made this 1 hour French bread today to go with my slow cooker lasagna. It was so soft and delicious. Some of the best bread I have ever had. So much better than that store bakery kind. I still can’t believe it only took an hour. Thanks so much for this recipe.
Jess Jankowski says
Ethel, we LOVE that you love it as much as we do! Thank you so much for your feedback.
Cindy Morey says
So quick and easy love it. I never used the instant yeast before really love that.Thank you
Cindy
Jess Jankowski says
Cindy, we are thrilled you love it!
Alicia Ruiz says
Huge fan. Easy, crusty, fast, inexpensive, and delicious!
Jess Jankowski says
Alicia, we are thrilled you are a huge fan of our French Bread! Thank you so much for your feedback!
Sandy says
I have used this recipe a couple of times and absolutely love how quick and easy it is. As I was trying to multi-task as we were getting ready to go camping I let it raise way to long before putting it into the oven. So, next time I will try and stay on task.
Jess Jankowski says
That has happened to me too! I have to set a timer so I don’t lose track of timing on all the things going on! So happy you enjoy our recipe as much as we do!
Stacy says
This is an amazing recipe!! So fast & easy to out together. This is a definite keeper. Thanks so much!!
Jess Jankowski says
Stacy, so happy you found us!
CJ says
A TOTAL Keeper! We’ve been experimenting with a number of breads and this hit all the marks for the family! We’re adding this to our Recipe Album we share with our whole family! Thank you!
Jess Jankowski says
CJ, we love that you love it and that you are sharing it with your family!