Favorite French Bread

This is the bread-machine French bread that does what your bread machine was bought to do: turn six pantry ingredients into a respectable loaf with zero effort. Add everything, press start, walk away. By the time the smell hits you, dinner’s bread is done.

Bread flour is doing the heavy work here. Its higher protein content (around 12-14%) produces more gluten than all-purpose flour, which means a chewier crust and a structured crumb rather than a soft sandwich-bread texture. Don’t substitute all-purpose; the loaf goes flat and pillowy.

Butter is the small touch that pulls this away from authentic French baguette territory (which uses no fat) and toward an enriched, tender American-style French bread. Cut it into small bits so it incorporates evenly during the machine’s kneading.

Warm water is around 110°F (43°C). Too hot and the yeast dies before fermentation; too cold and it sleeps through the cycle. The wrist test works: water that feels just warm against the underside of your wrist is right.

Load ingredients in your machine’s recommended order, usually liquids first, then dry, with yeast on top last. Salt directly contacting yeast can stall the rise.

Pro Tips

• Let the loaf cool fully on a rack before slicing. Hot bread compresses under a knife.
• Use the French or ‘crust’ setting on your machine if available. Standard white cycles produce paler crusts.
• Brush the warm loaf with melted butter and sprinkle with salt for a finished bakery look.
• Store in a paper bag for crusty exterior, plastic for softer interior. Both for a couple of days.

Variations

• Add a teaspoon of dried Italian herbs to the dough for herb bread.
• Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds before the final rise (if your machine allows).
• Sub honey for the sugar for a more rounded sweetness.