Hot, fresh, homemade bread with a crisp crust and soft, chewy interior. Bread perfection in less than an hour. And yes….making bread can be easy. I have been avoiding all things yeast for too long now, so I decided to experiment a little and make my own bread recipe that does not require a mixer or a bread machine, and only uses minimal ingredients. Easy Peasy!
I am telling you this bread is easy to make, but we can keep that our little secret. Shhhhh. So there I was in the kitchen getting ready to make this bread before making the boys their dinner. James came in to ask what I was doing and I told him I was making bread for him to have with dinner. I invited him to hang out with me, but he said he wanted to go for a run instead (I had already ditched him earlier and went to the gym without him, so that’s only fair I guess). I told him to have fun running in the 95-degree weather and off he went.
I got started making this bread and by the time James got back from his run, the dough was covered with a towel, proofing out of sight. Now fast forward to the bread coming out of the oven and James was like, “What?! This is so good! Why have you not made me bread before! It was so easy too!” Excuse me?? How do you know it was easy to make??? You weren’t even here! Never mind that it really is easy to make (our secret remember?)…not the point hehehe. But it really is easy, even though I may have (slightly) exaggerated the bread making process to James.
So make this easy bread! Even if yeast scares you…because I am giving you no fail instructions in the recipe too 🙂
Once you knead in the flour with your yeast mixture, cover the bowl with a towel and let proof for 20-minutes. This is my dough after the 20-minutes was up.
Form into a loaf and cut slits across the top…
The Easiest Homemade French Bread
Print RecipeIngredients
- 1-1/2 cups warm water (110-degrees is optimal, or anything between 100-120 degrees)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 5-7 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons butter, cut into 4 pieces
Instructions
In a glass bowl, mix together the water, honey, salt and active dry yeast. Let mixture sit for 10-minutes until there is a foam on top. Add five cups of flour to the bowl and start kneading the bread with your hands. Continue to add additional cups of flour to the dough until the dough is not longer sticky.
Cover the bowl with a clean towel and let the dough proof for 20-minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 400-degrees and place a piece of parchment paper on top of a large baking sheet.
After the dough has proofed, dump the dough out onto the baking sheet and work into your desired sized loaf. Cut slits across the top of the bread and add the four pieces of butter on the top of the dough, gently pushing the butter into the dough.
Bake dough in 400-degree oven for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let bread set for 5-10 minutes before cutting into desired sized slices.
Notes
Baking time may vary depending on how thick you roll your dough out.
Just rip off a chunk of bread, or be civilized if you must and cut actual slices…
XOXO,
Kelly
33 Comments
Amy
September 25, 2018 at 12:17 PMThis bread looks so good; I can almost smell it! I haven’t made bread without my breadmaker for a while. Maybe it is time to try it. I don’t remember bread being that easy!
Kelly
September 26, 2018 at 8:03 AMThanks Amy!! It’s seriously EASY! I hope you give it a try 🙂
pglooney
September 25, 2018 at 3:46 PMThere is nothing like homemade fresh bread! owning a coffee shop got me over any fear of yeast I might have had. LOL I used buckets of it everyday.
Kelly
September 26, 2018 at 8:04 AMHomemade, fresh bread is the BEST! I can’t imagine how much work owning your own bakery must have been!
heather (delicious not gorgeous)
September 25, 2018 at 11:23 PMi’m kind of terrified of yeast (it probably never works because i use old yeast oops) but i’ll have to play around with this recipe until yeast and i are best friends (;
Kelly
September 26, 2018 at 8:05 AMHehehehe I was scared of it too….but if I can make this bread, anyone can hahaha. But use fresh yeast 🙂
Kelsie | the itsy-bitsy kitchen
September 26, 2018 at 6:58 AMNothing is better than homemade bread! I’m so glad you dipped your toe in the pool of yeast; bread is my hands-down favorite thing to make (just not to photograph) so I love when other people enjoy it too! Save me a slice, OK?
Kelly
September 26, 2018 at 8:06 AMThanks girl!! I got your slice waiting over here for ya 😉 XOXO
All That I'm Eating
September 26, 2018 at 8:06 AMI love making my own bread and yours looks amazing!
Kelly
September 26, 2018 at 8:06 AMAwww! Thank you! XOXO
Pam
September 28, 2018 at 9:42 AMThis looks so delicious! I am going to try this with gluten free flour, as I have celiac. I wish gluten-free flour was more affordable! I am definitely trying this, though. It looks so good! Thanks for sharing at Thursday Favorite Things!
Kelly
October 1, 2018 at 7:58 AMThanks Pam! Let me know how it works out with the gluten free flour! I wish ALL the flours were as cheap as all-purpose, right?!?! XOXO
Pat Junko
November 29, 2018 at 5:49 PMI’d love to hear your results. I bought King Arthur brand measure for measure gluten free flour and tried a loaf in my bread maker. It was a disaster. When I called the company, they reminded me that the flour was not for yeast bread. I’m stomped.
Barrie Mooney
September 28, 2018 at 11:08 AMCan I ask what kind of yeast you use? I am so bread challenged and always have a problem with the rise!
Kelly
October 1, 2018 at 8:00 AMI used Fleischmann’s active dry yeast and I always wait to buy my yeast until I know I am going to use it…otherwise it will sit in the pantry lol. And I think old yeast does not work well. Give this recipe a try!
eyeloveknots
September 28, 2018 at 4:21 PMWOW! This bread recipe is quick and easy. I have always wanted to try baking bread, but the recipes have always left me intimidated. This one is totally doable, and not scary. Pinned!
Alexandra
EyeLoveKnots.com
Kelly
October 1, 2018 at 8:01 AMThanks Alexandra! I am intimidated by bread too…but this one is easy. I swear if I can do it, any one can do it!! Thanks for pinning darling! XOXO
Colleen
September 30, 2018 at 6:40 AMI’m going to have to try this one…when it comes to bread with yeast…I always need EASY!!! Thanks for sharing on Friday Frenzy!
Kelly
October 1, 2018 at 8:02 AMI totally agree Colleen! Bread with yeast has to be easy for me too 🙂 XOXO
helenfern
September 30, 2018 at 7:37 AMI love fresh made bread. I’m hooked on sourdough so I really should try something different! Thanks for joining the What’s for Dinner party! Hope we see you every week. Have a wonderful day.
Kelly
October 1, 2018 at 8:04 AMThanks Helen! This is a nice, quick and easy bread recipe. I need to try a sourdough one! Thanks for hosting! XOXO
Ashika | Gardening Foodie
September 30, 2018 at 12:28 PMI just love homemade bread,and your french bread looks absolutely delicious. Love the easy recipe, this I am definitely saving to try. Thank you for the yummy recipe Kelly…have a great week 🙂
Kelly
October 1, 2018 at 8:02 AMThank you Ashika!! Have a great week too! XOXO 🙂
Maria Doss
October 1, 2018 at 1:31 AMI’m a sucker for fresh baked bread!! This bread looks like a fluffy goodness and I love that it incredibly easy to make. too. Your home must be smelling so amazing Kelly:)
Kelly
October 1, 2018 at 8:03 AMThanks Maria!! Nothing like the smell of freshly baked bread!! XOXO
Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop 297 - Engineer Mommy
October 2, 2018 at 4:00 PM[…] The Easiest Homemade French Bread – Kelly Lynn’s Sweets and Treats […]
Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop #297 ~ LeCultivateur
October 2, 2018 at 4:03 PM[…] The Easiest Homemade French Bread – Kelly Lynn’s Sweets and Treats […]
Amy
October 2, 2018 at 4:39 PMCongratulations on the feature at Wonderful Wednesday.
Kelly
October 3, 2018 at 6:50 AMThank you Amy!!
Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop #297 - Ducks 'n a Row
October 2, 2018 at 4:48 PM[…] The Easiest Homemade French Bread – Kelly Lynn’s Sweets and Treats […]
Jodie Fitz
October 2, 2018 at 5:54 PMIt looks great. Yeast based bread is not one of my strong suits…I don’t know why! Thank you for sharing at Reader Tip Tuesday last week. We hope to see you at this week’s party. xo http://www.jodiefitz.com/2018/10/02/reader-tip-tuesday-weeks-craft-recipe-party-14-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2/
Kelly
October 3, 2018 at 6:51 AMThanks Jodie! It really is easy to make! Yeast isn’t my strong point either 😉 And thanks for hosting the party!
Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop | SimpleStepsForLivingLife
October 2, 2018 at 6:19 PM[…] The Easiest Homemade French Bread – Kelly Lynn’s Sweets and Treats […]