Chewy French Bread with Golden Crust and Soft Interior
By Isabella Quinn
Prep
30 min
Cook
25 min
Total
115 min
Servings
20
Level
Easy
Bake a whole batch of French bread for cooking in soups and sandwiches, and freeze slices for other purposes. This five-ingredient Chewy French Bread recipe yields loaves, buns, or a round with a good crust and bottom on the bread and chewy interior.
Ingredients for the dough include active dry yeast, sugar, warm water, kosher salt, and all-purpose flour. Water between 100 and 110°F enhances yeast activity. Add all-purpose flour to the dough gradually until you have about four cups, then continue adding small amounts of flour until the dough is sticky but still workable. A stand mixer can make preparing a large batch of dough easier, but it is not necessary.
The yeast mixture should be frothy after standing, and risen dough should nearly double in size before shaping. Baked breads should have a well-browned crust and bottom of bread. Common problems with bread baking include using water that is too hot or too cold to activate yeast and not properly measuring flour as it is mixed into dough. A bread lame or other cutting tool may help prevent collapse after cutting bread loaves.
Cool baked loaves before storing. Serve bread slices with other foods such as soup and chowder. Other ways to use bread slices are to make sandwiches and add butter or other toppings. Bread slices stay fresh for one day. Bread stored in airtight containers at room temperature stays fresh for two to three days. Bread frozen in airtight containers stays fresh for up to three months.
Why we keep this one around
- Freezes well in bags for up to three months. A batch can be used to make sandwiches or other bread dishes for other meals using soup, stew, or chowder ingredients.
- Makes 20 portions with five ingredients. This recipe can be used by busy bakers who want to feed family members several sandwich lunches and other side servings.
- Counter storage time for cook and freeze foods is two to three days in closed containers. Cook and freeze foods can be used to make meals over a limited period of time.
- Cut and form the risen dough into large and small loaves and rolls and other shapes, including round loaves, suitable for different dishes.
- Slices can be used in soups, sandwiches, French toast, and with butter. Freezing slices can help you think of other uses for them besides baking.
- A stand mixer is used to add flour and other ingredients to bread dough. Finished bread loaves are cooled and packaged for later use.
Ingredients
- •1 Tbsp active dry yeast (9 grams; Red Star used)
- •1 Tbsp white sugar (12 grams)
- •2 tsp kosher salt (12 grams, plus a sprinkle for topping)
- •2 ½ cups warm water (about 590 grams; 100-110 degrees F)
- •6 cups all-purpose flour (6-6 1/2 cups (720-780 grams), or until right consistency)
- •canola or olive oil (for greasing the bowl and work surface)
- •baking spray (for bread pans or jelly roll pans)
- •1 large egg (optional, beaten with a splash of water for egg wash)
Instructions
- 1
Using a large standing mixer, combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water warmed to 100-110 degrees F. Stir a couple of times with a spatula and let sit about 15 minutes, until the mixture is bubbly.
- 2
Add the salt and about 4 cups of flour to the mixer. Run the mixer, scraping down the bowl occasionally, and gradually add more flour until the dough is slightly sticky but easy to handle.
- 3
Grease a large bowl with canola or olive oil. Remove the dough from the mixer, form it into a ball while punching it down until smooth, place it seam-side down in the bowl, cover with a clean dishtowel, and let rise in a warm place until approximately doubled in size.
- 4
Prepare bread pans or jelly roll pans with baking spray. Oil a pastry mat or large flat surface, then form dough sections into oblong loaves, smaller loaves, or buns; alternatively, bake a round of dough in a cast-iron skillet.
- 5
Cover the shaped dough with clean dish towels and let it rise again until almost doubled in size.
- 6
Use a sharp serrated knife or bread lame to cut diagonal slits in the tops. If using, beat the egg with a splash of water, brush a thin layer over the bread or rolls, and sprinkle with kosher salt.
- 7
Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for approximately 25 minutes, until the bottoms are slightly browned and the tops are golden brown. Remove the bread to a cooling rack.
FAQ
Nutrition (per serving)
116
Calories
Reviews
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