You’ll like this bread machine French bread recipe. It’s surprisingly easy to make and so good! It’s great for garlic bread and French bread pizza.

Last Updated on April 6, 2024 – First Published August 20, 2016

Featured Comment:

I made this last night into the 2 loaves (baguettes) to go with our gumbo. It was absolutely delicious!! Out of the untold loaves of bread I’ve made, my husband declared this the best!! ~Donna

It’s surprisingly simple to make French bread at home with this bread machine French bread recipe. 

And why wouldn’t you make homemade French bread?  As always, the bread you make at home tastes better than what you can buy at the grocery store.  

French bread is really nice to have on hand.  I use it for garlic bread as well as French bread pizza.

Two Hints for Shaping Bread Machine French Bread 

#1 –  When I first made this recipe I didn’t make the loaves long enough.  That resulted in some pretty poofy French bread.  Here’s an example.

These loaves tasted great, but they weren’t long enough. That’s why they’re too poofy.

I made these loaves longer and the result is loaves with a better shape.

#2 – When you’re shaping the dough, you’ll start with an oval of dough.  Then you’ll fold it in half.  At that point it’s really important to pinch the edges of the fold.  You’ll fold it again and then you’ll need to pinch the edges again.

Why?

I got into the habit of not not pinching the edges and my French bead was lopsided.  I checked the recipe and noticed that I’d been missing that critical step.  My French bread has not been lopsided since.  

French Bread Recipe Ingredients

Note that this recipe is for the dough cycle of a two-pound bread machine. 

1 cup water
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon active dry yeast

If you’d like to use the quick cycle for this, substitute 1 ½ teaspoon fast rising (rapid rise) yeast for the active dry yeast.

French Bread Recipe Instructions

Again, this recipe is for the dough cycle of a two-pound bread machine. 

Follow the instructions that came with your bread machine (I have a Zojirushi BB-PAC20 Virtuoso Breadmaker) in terms of which ingredients to put in the bread machine first.  You’ll be using the dough setting.  

Check on the dough after five or ten minutes of kneading.   You should see a smooth, round ball.  If it’s too dry add liquid a teaspoon at a time until it looks OK.  If it looks too wet, add flour a tablespoon at a time until it looks like it should.  Here’s more information on that in case you have questions. 

When the dough is done, put it on a lightly floured board and divide it into two equal sections. Gently form each section of dough into a ball.  Then use a rolling pin to make an oval.

Fold the oval in half and pinch the edges closed.  The pinching is important for well-shaped loaves of French bread.

Flatten the dough a little and then fold in half again.  Pinch the edges closed.  Again, don’t forget to pinch that dough!

Then turn the dough so that the seam is at the bottom.  Then do a little smoothing and shaping until the loaf looks the way you want it.

Put shaped loaves onto a baking sheet that has been lightly greased or covered in parchment paper.

French bread typically has slashes cut in it.  This is called “scoring”.

Usually, that’s done to the bread after it’s done rising with a special tool called a lame.  

However, I don’t have a lame.  After a bunch of experimenting, I’ve taken to scoring the bread with a bread knife after I’ve shaped the dough and before the rise.

Cover the loaves with a clean, lightweight kitchen towel and let the dough rise for half an hour.

Bake for 11 to 15 minutes in a 425-degree oven. The bread should be golden brown.

Bread Machine French Bread Recipe

You’ll like this bread machine French bread recipe. It’s very easy to make and tastes great. I use it for garlic bread, sandwiches as well as French bread pizza.

4.34 from 21 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Bread Machine Recipes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: french bread

Yield: 2 loaves

Author: Marsha Perry, BreadMachineDiva.com

Recommended Equipment

Bread Machine

Lame

Measuring Cup

Ingredients

• 1 cup (236.6 ml) water
• 2 teaspoons (2 teaspoons) olive oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons (1.5 teaspoons) salt
• 3 cups (375 g) bread flour
• 1 teaspoon (1 teaspoon) active dry yeast

Instructions

• Use the dough setting of a two-pound bread machine
• When the dough is done put it on a lightly floured board and divide into two equal sections. Gently form each section of dough into a ball. Then use a rolling pin to make an oval.
• Fold the oval in half and pinch the edges closed.  The pinching is important for well-shaped loaves of French bread.
• Flatten the dough a little and then fold in half again.  Pinch the edges closed.  Again, don’t forget to pinch that dough!
• Then turn the dough so that the seam is at the bottom.  Then do a little smoothing and shaping until the loaf looks the way you want it.
• Put shaped loaves onto a baking sheet that has been lightly greased or covered in parchment paper.
• Score bread.
• Cover the loaves with a clean, lightweight kitchen towel and let the dough rise for half an hour.
• Bake for 11 to 15 minutes in a 425 degree oven. The bread should be a golden brown.

Notes

Note that this recipe is for the dough cycle of a two-pound bread machine. 

If you’d like to use the quick cycle for this, substitute 1 ½ teaspoon fast rising (rapid rise) yeast for the active dry yeast.

If the loaves are too poofy, try making the loaves longer next time. This can make a real difference.

Don't forget to pinch the dough after you've folded it in half.  This happens twice.  If you forget this step, you'll get lopsided loaves of bread.

This recipe was developed and tested using US customary measurements. Metric measurements are calculated automatically.

 

All information presented within this site is intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on breadmachinediva.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. I try to provide accurate information to the best of my ability; however these figures should still be considered estimates.