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.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.
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.
I just made these, and as with absolutely every recipe that I’ve tried on your blog, they turned out perfect. Thank you! This website is my reference for everything sourdough
Thank you for these kind words! Glad you enjoy all these recipes as much as my family does! Have a great weekend!
My loaves flattened out during the second proofing… what did I do wrong?
Oh no. It’s hard to tell not knowing a lot of factors. Did you try to bake them? Were they still flat?
Can you proof these in a Banneton? If so, what size would you use? How much dough does this recipe make? Thanks.
Usually a banneton is only used if you are baking in boule shape. I would think it would work okay though if you prefer it. It makes two loaves of bread.
It’s been hot here and I haven’t yet gotten my mind to remember to adjust my timing, so this was likely due to over proofing. I bet if I made them 6 hours in when the dough definitely doubled already, they probably would have been fine. But I kid you not, these turned into giant long ciabatta’s !! Honestly still delicious with dinner but I was laughing, wonderful error. I look forward to trying these again. I used bread flour too so I’m not sure if that could have contributed to my fail, but I’m thinking my timing more likely.
I’m glad it still tasted good! Hoping next time turns out just right!
The flavor was wonderful! I did put a small baking dish of ice cubes in and I think that helped with the crustier crust. Next time I will experiment with not adding the ice cubes, as we do love the softer crust French bread we get in New Orleans.
Also, a question. My loaves were a bit flatter than pictured from you. But the dough didn’t seem to be too moist. Could I have just let them sit too long? What can I do to get the more shapely loaves? Thanks!
Thank you for your kind words! If you didn’t notice much oven spring, it could be from over proofing, yes.
Yes, to the weighted measurements if you get the chance! Thank you. Trying this today.
I have been baking the honey wheat sourdough sandwich bread for months and love it.
Sorry about that. You DID add the weight measurements. I was looking at a version I downloaded a while back. Thank you. It has passed the window pane test and is rising now.
Love the recipe easily to follow. Took my dough 24 hours to double, (cool house) however on the 2nd rise – it just did not happen. Any suggestions? I have a mixture of whole wheat and white flour. Thank you so much .
Hmm. That is interesting that it doubled the first time, but not the second time. How long did you let it rise the second time? Did you still bake them and did they rise during baking?
Loved this recipe.? So easy, so good.
Thank you for inspiring me to love my Sourdough cooking..
That is wonderful to hear!
Made this today & my family had 1 loaf gone in less than 30 minutes. Will definitely make again. Finally a sourdough recipe that turned out for me. Thanks!
Yay! That is so wonderful to hear Valerie!
So I just made this recipe and my crust didn’t develop any color or real crunch! Everything else is wonderful though! I put ice cubes in the oven and even let it bake another 5 minutes but its still so pale! Any tips? Should I try an egg wash?
I recently made some sourdough bread bowls and figured out a way to make it really crusty. The answer is lots of steam! I placed rolled up towels in a baking dish and a cast iron skillet with pie weights into the oven and preheated them. Right as I added the bread, I added boiling water to the towels and cold water to the pie weights. This created a ton of steam and made nice crusty bread. A reader also suggested they just add a small baking dish of water to the oven during the first half of the baking. Hope that helps.