Sourdough French bread is a simple and classic recipe with a fluffy texture and crusty exterior. Knead the night before and allow it to ferment overnight, then shape, rise, and bake the next day. It’s wonderfully simple.
There is nothing better than a crusty loaf of bread. Slice it thick and spread with homemade butter, and now you are speaking my language.
Most French bread recipes call for instant yeast, which I almost never keep in my pantry, except for that rare occasion I want to make this einkorn sandwich bread.
Once you switch to fermenting grains and using wild yeast to leaven bread, it’s hard to go back to the conventional fast-rising breads. It lacks the flavor that develops during that slow rise.
But it is a delicate balance, because that fluffy center can sometimes be a challenge to perfect with sourdough.
These sourdough French baguettes have all the good qualities one can hope for. Crusty outside with a fluffy, tender texture inside. It’s perfect to serve as garlic bread, or with a bowl of soup.
Why you will love this recipe:
- Super simple. Start the night before and allow to ferment and rise overnight. The next day, all you have to do is shape, allow to rise, and bake. It’s a perfect almost-make-ahead side.
- Fermented grains for easier and better digestion. There is no doubt we love sourdough in our house. Not only is it tasty, but the fermentation process helps break down phytic acid, making it more nutritious, and helps break down the gluten, making it easier to digest.
- Delicious. This recipe is everything you love and hope for in a French bread: crusty exterior with a soft and fluffy inside. Use it as a side, garlic bread, or slice it in half to cover with sauce, cheese, and pizza toppings and now you have a pizza bread. This last particular idea was one my mom made us for a quick dinner growing up.
Is French bread the same as sourdough?
No. While they are similar, most French breads are not made with sourdough, but rather with conventional rapid yeast. You can easily make it into sourdough French bread by using this recipe. Just know that most French breads you buy from the store will use yeast.
Sourdough French Bread Tips:
- For a soft, fluffy, sourdough bread baguette, your dough should be on the wetter side. A dry dough will leave you with a drier loaf.
- To make those perfect long loaves, I like to roll it out into a rectangle and then roll it up and pinch the ends. This allows for a more even loaf for a better shape and more even baking time.
- To give the baguettes a crustier outside, place a few ice cubes in the oven. This will release steam and achieve that beautiful, golden crust.
- New to sourdough? Learn how to make a starter and care for it. Once you get the hang of it, I promise it is really easy. You can even make a ton of recipes from sourdough discard.
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Tools you may need:
Stand mixer with dough hook.
Measuring cups and spoons
How To Make Sourdough French Bread
Feed your starter 4-12 hours before starting this recipe. It should be very active and bubbly.
To your mixing bowl, add all of the ingredients.
Knead in a stand mixer using the dough hook until stretchy and pulling away from the sides of the bowl. This should take about 5-10 minutes. It should pass the ‘windowpane’ test, which is when you take a small piece of the dough and try to stretch it into a square-like shape. If you can stretch it thin enough where you can “see through it”, then the gluten formation is adequate.
If it doesn’t pass this test and is breaking apart, then place it back into the stand mixer and knead for a few more minutes.
Place in a large, oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap, beeswax wrap, or something that is airtight. This will keep the dough moist, preventing it from developing a hard skin.
Allow to ferment for 8 to 24 hours in a warm place.
The next day, it should have at least doubled in size.
Punch down the dough. Divide into two equal parts.
Shape it by rolling the dough into a flat rectangle (about 1/4 – 1/2 inch thickness) and roll up. Pinch the seam.
Place French bread dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Cover with a towel and allow to rise until doubled again. This could take a few hours depending on how warm your kitchen is.
Slash with lame.
Preheat to 400. Bake for 25 minutes.
For a more golden crust, add ice cubes in the oven. This helps add moisture and steam to make that golden, crustier crust.
Once it is done baking, pull it out of the oven and allow to cool completely before slicing.
Find More Delicious Sourdough Recipes:
- Sourdough Chocolate Cupcakes
- Sourdough Sandwich Rolls
- No-Knead Sourdough Bread
- Sourdough Blueberry Muffins
- Homemade Sourdough Bagels
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone
Sourdough French Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup sourdough starter, 227 g
- 1 1/4 cups water, 295 g
- 2 teaspoon salt and, 10 g
- 4 cups all-purpose flour, 560 g
- 1 tablespoon honey, 21 g
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, 27 g
Instructions
- Feed your starter 4-12 hours before starting this recipe. It should be very active and bubbly.
- To your mixing bowl, add all of the ingredients.
- Knead in a stand mixer using the dough hook until stretchy and pulling away from the sides of the bowl. This should take about 5-10 minutes. It should pass the ‘windowpane’ test, which is when you take a small piece of the dough and try to stretch it into a square-like shape. If you can stretch it thin enough where you can “see through it”, then the gluten formation is adequate.
- Place in a large, oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap, beeswax wrap, or something that is airtight. This will keep the dough moist, preventing it from developing a hard skin.
- Allow to ferment for 8 to 24 hours in a warm place. The next day, it should have at least doubled in size.
- Punch down the dough. Divide into two equal parts.
- Shape it by rolling the dough into a flat rectangle (about 1/4 – 1/2 inch thickness) and roll up. Pinch the seam.
- Place French bread dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Cover with a towel and allow to rise until doubled again. This could take a few hours depending on how warm your kitchen is.
- Slash with lame.
- Preheat to 400. Bake for 25 minutes. (For a more golden crust, add ice cubes in the oven. This helps add moisture and steam to make that golden, crustier crust.)
- Once it is done baking, pull it out of the oven and allow to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- For a more golden crust, add ice cubes in the oven for a crustier crust.
- The windowpane test is when you take a small piece of the dough and try to stretch it into a square-like shape. If you can stretch it thin enough where you can “see through it”, then the gluten formation is adequate. If, after kneading, your dough just breaks apart, then knead it longer until it can pass this test.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Easy to follow instructions! Turned out great. This might be my new go-to!
That’s awesome! So glad you enjoyed it!
With the water does it have to be a certain temperature?
I just use room temperature water.
Can I do a cup of whole wheat flour in this recipe?
Very excited to make this recipe but the ads are making it impossible to read the ingredients from my phone. I totally support you having ads to make a living when you provide so much free content. I just wish I could easily read the recipe!
Hi,
I made this for the first time, followed the recipe, however, my dough didn’t rise after the shaping portion. I’ve never done a window pane test but as I did this one, it broke and wasn’t too stretchy. What did I do wrong?
Not being able to stretch to where you can see through it means it needs to be kneaded more. Not an indication of anything wrong, just that it’s not kneaded enough.
In general, the failed window pane test means the dough wasn’t kneaded long enough before the bulk rise. Try kneading for 2 additional minutes on speed 3 of a Kitchen Aid mixer with dough hook (low/med speed) and do the windowpane test again. I had to do this 2 or 3 times with my baguette recipe. Check out foodgeek.dk for a great video on the windowpane test before the bulk rise. I also had trouble with overproofing my dough during bulk rise step (not this recipe, actually I was attempting a whole wheat sourdough recipe). Commercial yeast will cause dough to double easily, but I’ve had the best luck with pure sourdough with only a 50% rise during bulk rise and then moving to shaping. Hope that helps.
Couldn’t get it to rise after I shared them?? They rose just a bit after 2 hours. They baked pretty small. The weather is slight chilly so I put them in the cooling door under the oven eventually and turned the oven on to give off some heat. They ended up drying out on top. Thoughts? The same thing is happening to my sour dough sandwich bread loaves.
Delicious! Definitely a keeper! I did have to add a little more flour (1/2 cup), but turned out delicious!
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed.
Can this be kneaded by hand or would it be too wet to do this. Is scrolled through quite a few comments but didn’t see this questIon. .
Thank you!
I would like to know the answer to this as well Lisa! I don’t have a stand mixer yet. Expensive!
You could probably use the no-knead method (although I haven’t tried it, it typically works). Follow the stretch and fold directions here: https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/no-knead-sourdough-bread
Would this recipe work with my einkorn sourdough or would some measurements be different?
The measurements would be different, since einkorn absorbs fat and liquid a lot more slowly than modern flour.
I’m making an einkorn batch now. I did the same measurements, understanding that it should be 20% different, it was stickier and wetter as usual after fermenting which is to be expected but I didn’t want to dry it out either. To form, I just used a scraper to pull up and fold over using flour, then placed on a cookie sheet. It is looking great, in the oven now. I would be open to your experience and I will be adjusting if needed as well.i think it’s going to be fine! Thanks Lisa!
Wonderful! Glad that worked out for you. Thanks for sharing.
Nice easy recipe it is almost the same recipe I use for pizza dough except I make it 100% whole grain. I think it’ll work well as a French bread whole grain too. To tamp down the sourness I add 5-7 grams of baking soda.
Hmm..seems like every sourdough bread comes out heavy and dense (so when you eat a lil bit it sinks to the bottom of stomach). I was wondering if you could have helped me….I took a pic of inside up close so you can see and perhaps give feedback….I tried and did everything exactly the way it read. Unbleached four from our local mill…..Everyone liked it…but I am thinking they are just trying to be nice….
Autolyse your flour 2 hrs before adding your starter
Great idea!! These would be great to make a big batch of and freeze a bunch so you can just take one out for a meal here or there and just keep plain or whip up soem garlic bread real quick!