This bread machine french bread recipe is very easy to make. It only uses a few simple ingredients such as flour, water, salt and yeast. Moreover, this french bread tastes great and you can mold it into a beautiful baguette shape. Your family will be amazed by baking skills... while you smirk because you made it with the help of a bread machine! Visit BreadDad.com for more great bread machine recipes.
Prep Time2 hourshrs40 minutesmins
Cook Time20 minutesmins
Total Time3 hourshrs
Course: Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch, Sandwich
Cuisine: American, European
Keyword: Baguette Recipe, Bread Machine Baguette, Bread Machine French Bread, French Bread, French Bread Recipe
Servings: 40Slices
Calories: 48kcal
Author: Bread Dad
Ingredients
1 1/3CupsWater(lukewarm) – 307 milliliters
3 1/2CupsBread Flour – 420 grams
1TeaspoonSalt – 6 grams
2TeaspoonsBread Machine Yeast– 6 grams - Not active dry yeast
2TablespoonsOlive Oil(to coat dough) – 30 milliliters - The olive oil is not added to the bread pan. It is used to coat the dough later before baking.
Instructions
Unplug the bread machine & then remove bread pan.
Place the water and then the rest of the ingredients into the bread pan. You can make a little indent on top of the flour in order to avoid the yeast falling into the water (until the machine starts). Do not combine the salt with the yeast (as the salt can kill the yeast). Place the yeast & salt in separate parts of the bread pan.
Place the bread pan back into the bread machine & then plug in the bread machine.
Put your machine on the "Dough" setting and press the start button. In our bread machine, the kneading & rising on the dough setting takes about 1:30 hours.
When your bread machine has finished, unplug the machine & pour the dough onto a cutting board. Wear oven mitts (as the bread pan/bread machine may be hot). Sprinkle some flour on the cutting board (before you pour the dough) in order to avoid the dough sticking to the cutting board.
Divide the dough into 4 equal parts if you want to make 4 skinny baguettes (roughly 12 inches long). Or divide the dough into 2 equal parts in order to make 2 thicker french bread "rolls". FYI - I usually make 2 thicker & longer loaves with this recipe.
Roll the divided dough with your hands into your preferred shape (i.e. baguette or thicker bread roll). See our tips below on shaping the bread dough (especially about making the dough roll about 1/2 the width of your desired end product... as the dough expands as the yeast rises).
Place the shaped dough onto a nonstick baking sheet.
Coat the dough with olive oil. Use a small pastry brush.
Cover the dough & baking sheet with a light kitchen cloth or plastic wrap in order to protect from dust, etc.
Let the dough rise for 1 hour.
During this "rising" time, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
After the hour, remove the covering from the dough and "score" (slice) the top of each dough roll with a sharp knife. Make diagonal slices about 1/2 inch deep and about 3 inches apart. This will help prevent the bread from cracking during baking. See the tips below about how to score bread.
Place the baking sheet in the oven. It should bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Wear oven mitts.
At the 8-10 minute mark, turn the baking sheet around in order to ensure an even "browning" of the bread. Wear oven mitts.
Remove the baking sheet when done and place the bread on a cooling rack. Wear oven mitts.
Notes
This is a Bread Dad recipe and may not be copied or reproduced. This recipe is copyright protected under the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Legal DisclaimerThe nutritional information is provided using recipe tools such as WP Recipe Maker. These figures should only be considered as an estimate. They should not be construed as a guarantee of accuracy given visitors may use different serving sizes, ingredients, etc. See our legal disclaimer for additional nutrition disclosures.