This soft and chewy French bread is ready in one hour, including baking time. There is no need to activate the yeast, knead the dough, or wait for hours to let the dough proof. And it only needs four ingredients. This is an easy and fool-proof bread to make for your family or for gatherings.
I don’t make regular yeast bread that often because it is often a lot of work or very time-consuming. Even bread recipes that are very little work or don’t require kneading still need several hours of proofing. But this bread recipe really is very easy. From start to finish, you need just one hour. My family loves this bread. It makes two loaves and we finish off one loaf within a few hours after it is out of the oven.
Ingredients
- Bread Flour
- Instant Yeast
- Salt
- Water
Bread flour: I recommend using bread flour in this recipe because it gives the bread a better texture. However, you can substitute with all-purpose flour if you really need to, but the bread won’t be quite as bouncy and chewy.
Instant Yeast: This recipe uses instant yeast. Instant yeast doesn’t require the extra step of activating it in warm liquid. I find it easier to use, especially if you are new to baking with yeast.
Salt: Salt is used to give this bread flavor. The bread definitely needs some salt otherwise it will taste very bland. I have made this with both non-iodized table salt and fine kosher salt. If using table salt, make sure it does not contain iodine because iodized salt can leave a chemical aftertaste in the bread. If using kosher salt, use fine kosher salt and not coarse kosher salt because coarse salt doesn’t dissolve as evenly into the dough.
Water: The water will need to be warmed up before being added to the bread dough.
How to Make Easy French Bread
Add the dry ingredients into a bowl of a stand mixer. Then add the water. Using the dough hook attachment, mix the ingredients on low speed just until they are fully mixed and a dough forms. Place the dough in a warm place, covered lightly with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, split the dough in half and divide and shape it into two loaves on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Slice four diagonal slits across the surface of the loaves. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rest for another 15 minutes. While the dough rests, preheat your oven.
If you want your loaves to have a golden brown finish, brush the tops with olive oil before baking. Bake the bread for 20 minutes or until done.
French Bread Texture
This bread is soft and chewy. This bread does not have a crusty exterior. It is more like the type of French bread sold in most bakery grocery stores.
More Easy Bread Recipes
4 Ingredient French Bread
Ingredients
- 4 cups (488 g) bread flour
- 1 tbsp (10 g) instant yeast
- 2 tsp (12 g) non-iodized table salt or 1 tsp fine kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups (12 oz/355 ml) warm water between 110°F-120°F (43°C-49°C)
Instructions
- Line a full or 2/3 size sheet pan with parchment paper. You will need a sheet pan that is at least 16 x 22 inches. If you don't have such a large sheet pan, you can use two half sheets and place one loaf on each pan.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add in flour, yeast and salt. Add in the water. Using the dough hook attachment of a stand mixer, mix ingredients on low medium speed (halfway between lowest and medium) until flour is fully incorporated and a dough forms. The dough should also pull away completely from the sides of the bowl.
- Remove bowl from stand mixer. Place a clean kitchen towel over the bowl and let the dough rest for 20 minutes in a warm place. I let it rest in my kitchen but if your kitchen is colder than 70°F you may need to put it somewhere warmer.
- After 20 minutes your dough should have more than doubled in size. Scrape dough out of the bowl onto the prepared baking sheet. Split dough in half.
- Shape each dough into a log about 3 ½ inches wide. If the dough is too sticky to shape, lightly coat your hands with oil or wet them with water and it should be easier to shape. The two loaves should be about 3 inches apart if they are on the same sheet pan. (I placed mine diagonally on the sheet pan so they had more room). Try to shape the logs as evenly and smoothly as possible. You want the surface to be as smooth as possible. After you have shaped the dough into logs use a sharp knife to make 4 diagonal cuts across the surface of each log (spaced about 1 inch apart).
- Place kitchen towel over logs and let them rest for another 15 minutes. While dough is resting, preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). If you desire your bread to have a golden brown finish, brush the entire surface of the dough with oil (I used olive oil but you can also use vegetable or canola) after the 15 minutes of resting time. You do not have to brush the dough with oil but it will make the bread bake up golden brown. Otherwise the bread will be browned on the surface and paler around the sides.
- Bake bread for about 20 minutes or until golden brown on top and cooked through. Let bread loaves cool before slicing.
Notes
- If using kosher salt, make sure it is fine kosher salt with a consistency like table salt. I find that coarse salt doesn't dissolve as evenly across the bread.
- If using table salt, make sure it is non-iodized table salt. Iodized table salt can leave a chemical aftertaste in your bread.
- This recipe yields two large loaves, about 14 slices per loaf.
- The bread has a soft and chewy consistency. It does not have a crusty exterior. This bread is like the French bread sold in most grocery store bakeries.
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
Thank you for this recipe. I will be trying it and will let you know how it turns out.
We hope you love it!
Sure were small
Hm, the loaves we make yield 14 slices of bread each – is that how many slices you got? If you prefer a large loaf, you can do that but the baking time will need to be adjusted.
Can you use all purpose flour?
You can but the bread won’t be exactly the same. You can read more about using AP flour in the post under the Ingredients Section. Hope that helps!
P.S. forgot to mention; I made 4 smaller loaves. Worked fine!
I made this today. Used 1/2 whole wheat flour. Turned out nicely. Will make again!
Thanks for sharing!
Easy bread to make and it is quite good
I’m glad you like it!
Title says “No-knead” yet stand mixer with a dough hook, kneads the dough. Misleading…
There is no kneading. The dough hook is used to mix the ingredients together. As soon as a dough forms, you stop mixing. You never get to the point where the dough is kneaded. You don’t have to use a dough hook if you don’t want to. You could even mix everything with a spatula. I used a dough hook because when the ingredients do come together it is very sticky and it’s much easier to get the dough off the dough hook then trying to get it off beaters.
Would using All Purpose Flour instead of Bread Flour change the outcome of the loaves?
This is discussed in the post under the Ingredients section – you can use AP flour, but the texture of the bread will be different.
More like baguettes instead of French bread. With no sugar the yeast cannot work like it should. Oh well, lesson learned. We will see how they taste.
Baguettes are a type of French bread… also it is not a requirement to have sugar for the yeast to work.
I agree, Jeff. I was very disappointed! I realized too late that I had saved and made the wrong recipe. No sugar, no rise! These look completely different than my other breads.
You don’t need sugar for yeast to work – a quick google search about this topic will give you lots of sources that support this. French bread also is traditionally does not contain any added sugar. If you did make this recipe and it didn’t rise, there must have been an error or your yeast was not fresh.
Can I use regular yeast for this recipe proofed with some of the warm water required? Instant yeast is hard to find, I only have regular yeast on hand.
We haven’t tried it so without testing we can’t say how it will work.
Very good recipe for the family.
I’m so glad your family enjoyed it!
Thanks so much! I’ll surely try it out.
Yummy, more recipes plz
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Yeah — “like French bread sold in the grocery store”. So not really French bread, but just a nice, quick, easy white bread. Great substitute for packaged white “bread” — way superior to that. But not a go-to if you really want French bread. —
Why is French bread baked at a grocery store not French bread? Are the donuts and pies baked at the grocery store also not donuts and pies? The grocery store might not make these baked goods as good as your local bakery but that doesn’t mean it isn’t French bread.