French Bread In One Hour

This is my French bread in one hour recipe you can make at the last minute for any meal. It’s very simple to make and it’s moist and chewy in the center and crispy on the outside. This recipe is an old family recipe, and my four daughters would sell the bread door-to-door to make a little spending money when they were younger.

Of course, nowadays, I would never send my girls door-to-door to sell it. That was 40 years ago, boy things have changed.

We sold it at church bazaars and at school functions. We got orders ahead of time when people were having spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. It’s a favorite bread when taking dinner to neighbors with a pot of chicken noodle soup.

The original recipe from almost 50+ years ago calls for shortening. I use butter these days, but almost any oil could be substituted. Here’s the deal with this recipe, it says it makes three loaves. You could make two larger loaves or make the three skinny loaves. I made two loaves today with a special bread pan I’ve had for years.

Bowl or Bread Mixer

You can make this bread dough in a large bowl or use a Bosch bread mixer as I did. As you know, I love pictures to visualize what I’m going to make, so today here are my pictures for this bread.

Just so you know, I dump everything in my Bosch and start mixing. Yep, I start it on low and work up to high. I emphasize it’s easy to make this recipe, I promise. It’s actually a no-fail recipe that anyone can make. You can actually make French bread rolls with the same recipe.

If you have fresh ingredients you can make this recipe. Fresh is the keyword here. It’s so easy to make any beginner can make this bread.

Just mold them differently and cut the cooking time according to how big you make the rolls. You can make these loaves on a greased cookie sheet as well. You may remember, I worked at a fabulous Kitchen store and I love to buy quality kitchen tools because I enjoy cooking and baking almost everything.

The thing I like about this recipe is that it doesn’t need eggs. So let’s get started with this easy French bread recipe.

Items You May Need In The Kitchen

• Bread Mixer
• Mixing Bowls
• Cookie Sheet or French Bread Pan
• Measuring Cups and Spoons

French Bread In One Hour

Step One

I love to gather my ingredients before I start making the recipe for the day. You only need six ingredients, including the water!

Step Two

I dump everything in a bowl, or my Bosch bread mixer, and mix the bread dough for about 6-8 minutes.

Step Three

Mix until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bread mixer bowl.

Step Four

I then cut the dough with a dough cutter into two sections. 

Step Five

I roll out the two pieces of dough into a rectangle shape, roll them up into tube shapes, and then place them on a greased cookie sheet or French bread/baguette pan. I love my French bread pan, I think it helps the loaves maintain their shape.

Step Six

Make sure they are centered on the French bread pan so they bake evenly. They may flatten out slightly if cooked on a cookie sheet.

Step Seven

Grease some plastic wrap and cover the dough and let rise until double in size.

Step Eight

Preheat the oven to (400°F) = (204°C). Just before placing the loaves in the oven to bake, remove the plastic wrap and use a sharp knife to slice a few shallow cuts on the diagonal on the top of the dough. Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until golden brown.

Finished Product

Lightly brush the baked loaves with butter on the tops and serve while warm.

French Bread In One Hour Recipe

How do I store this bread?

I actually store my bread in bread bags. They are disposable and very inexpensive. Remember, this bread doesn’t have any preservatives so it will only be good for about 1-2 days sitting on your countertop. Bread Bags We love homemade bread and appreciate that it doesn’t have all the chemicals, including no preservatives, but it does prompt us to eat it faster.

Can I freeze it after baking it?

Yes, you can, that’s what I love about this recipe. You can make two loaves, or three smaller ones, and freeze some for another day. The frozen loaves will be good for 1-2 months in your freezer.

Can I freeze the dough?

I can’t recommend it because I haven’t tried freezing the dough. You have to remember, commercial bread companies have preservatives to freeze the dough.

Can I make French Bread Pizza with one of these loaves?

Absolutely, slice a loaf after baking it lengthwise. Scoop some pizza sauce on the halves, top with slices of pepperoni, chopped onions, sliced olives, green onions, and chopped tomatoes. Bake at (400°F) = (204°C) degrees until the cheese is melted.

How do I reheat my French Bread?

Preheat your oven to (350°F)= (176°C) Wrap the bread tightly in foil and bake for about 15 minutes.

Final Word

I hope you try making my French Bread in one hour! There really isn’t anything like fresh-baked bread right from the oven. My kids still tell me how much they loved coming home from school to fresh bread smothered with butter and jam, yummy. Please let me know how making this recipe went, I love to hear from you. It’s all about cooking from scratch and teaching our kids and grandkids this critical skill. May God Bless this world, Linda

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