Crusty French Bread Recipe

Crusty French Bread Recipe Crusty French Bread Recipe photo by Taste of Home Rating 5

I love to treat guests to these golden brown, crusty loaves. Don't hesitate to try this recipe even if you are not an accomplished bread baker, there's no kneading required!

This recipe is:

Diabetic Friendly

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Crusty French Bread Recipe
  • Prep: 30 min. + rising Bake: 20 min. + cooling
  • Yield: 20 Servings
30 20 50

Ingredients

  • 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
  • 1-1/2 cups warm water (110° to 115°), divided
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon shortening, melted
  • 4 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
  • Cornmeal

Directions

  • In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup water. Add the sugar, salt, shortening, remaining water and 3-1/2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Do not knead. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled.
  • Turn onto a floured surface. Divide in half; let rest for 10 minutes. Roll each half into a 10-in. x 8-in. rectangle. Roll up from a long side; pinch to seal. Place seam side down on greased baking sheets sprinkled with cornmeal. Sprinkle the tops with cornmeal. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
  • With a very sharp knife, make five diagonal cuts across the top of each loaf. Bake at 400° for 20-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pans to wire rack to cool. Yield: 2 loaves (10 slices each).

Nutritional Analysis: One slice equals 100 calories, 233 mg sodium, 0 cholesterol, 20 gm carbohydrate, 3 gm protein, 1 gm fat. Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 starch.

Originally published as Crusty French Bread in Taste of Home February/March 1999, p31

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Reviews for Crusty French Bread

Crusty French Bread Recipe

Crusty French Bread

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(1-7) of 7 reviews

Reviewed on Oct. 17, 2012 by T5834lp

Excellent bread and very easy to make! Try it, you'll love it.

Reviewed on Jun. 26, 2012 by shecooksalot

I am not great at breads, so I loved this recipe with no kneading. It was fairly easy to whip up these loaves and they tasted great.

Reviewed on Dec. 31, 2009 by matteliz@swbell.net

Super-easy and surprisingly good texture. As far as the melted butter goes, I just substitute oil and avoid the whole temperature problem altogether.

I substitute up to 3 cups of white whole wheat flour and it comes out nicely wheaty!

Reviewed on Dec. 04, 2008 by JMMRN

William, I haven't tried this recipe yet, but from experience with other breads, I recommend letting the melted shortening cool to the same temperature as the warm water before you mix in the yeast. Hope that helps.

Reviewed on Jul. 19, 2008 by leanda

I absolutely LOVE this bread. I lost the magazine issue with this recipe and thank goodness Reiman Publications has this wonderful website where I found the recipe again.

Reviewed on May. 28, 2008 by williampye

I usually have good luck with bead recipes. I'm new at this and all my other recipes called for kneading the bread so this sounded like a nice change. The dough did not rise as I expected. The yeast is fresh and I think the melted shortening killed all the yeast and dtopped the growth. How do you mlet/add shortening and not kill the yeast? Melted shortening is pretty hot.

William

Reviewed on Apr. 01, 2008 by badgergirl

This bread was fabulous, with a crunchy outside, soft inside, and really great flavor!

I did have to knead the dough ten times or so in order to get it to form a ball.

 
 

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