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Sourdough French Bread Recipe

Sourdough French Bread Recipe photo by Taste of Home

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Since receiving the recipe for the Sourdough Starter, I've made this French bread countless times. In fact, one year I donated 2 dozen loaves for a benefit dinner! These loaves rival any found in stores and can be made with relative ease.

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Sourdough French Bread Recipe

Prep: 15 min. + rising Bake: 20 min. + cooling

Yield: 20 Servings

15 20 35

Ingredients

1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1-3/4 cups warm water (110° to 115°)
1/4 cup Sourdough Starter
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
CORNSTARCH WASH:
1/2 cup water
1-1/2 teaspoons cornstarch

Directions

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the Sourdough Starter, oil, sugar, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough additional flour to form a soft ball.
Turn onto a floured surface; gently knead 20-30 times (dough will be slightly sticky). Place in a greased bow, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each into a 12-in. x 8-in. rectangle. Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch ends to seal. Place, seam side down, on two greased baking sheets; tuck ends under. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
With a sharp knife, make four shallow diagonal slashes across top of each loaves. In a small saucepan, combine water and cornstarch. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Brush some over loaves.
Bake at 400° for 15 minutes. Brush loaves with the remaining cornstarch wash. Bake 5-10 minutes longer or until lightly browned. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool. Yield: 2 loaves (10 slices each).

Originally published as Sourdough French Bread in Best of Country Breads , p53

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Reviews for Sourdough French Bread

Sourdough French Bread

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Reviewed on Mar. 13, 2013 by Pilates51

Made this bread today. It was easy and rose well. I did need more than 4 1/4 cups of flour to get the soft ball. I used about 5 cups.

Reviewed on Apr. 17, 2012 by quietbaker

I have made this recipe a couple of times and it hasn't failed. This will be one I will keep and use often. Not only did the bread look good it taste fantastic.

Reviewed on Mar. 02, 2012 by quietbaker

I made this recipe for the first time today and the bread is delicious. This will be my brench bread recipe from now on. Used my sourdough starter and everything turned out wonderful.Thank You for this recipe

Reviewed on Mar. 01, 2012 by feedthemwell

Wow!! This bread was amazing and really simple. My family LOVED this recipe! I made two loaves, we ate one for dinner and I sliced and immediately froze the other one and had it with another meal. Stayed perfectly fresh in the freezer and thawed on the counter within an hour.

Reviewed on Jun. 06, 2011 by azbkyb

Absolutely 5 star! Family is just eating the first bites and planning when I can make it again! :)

Reviewed on Dec. 05, 2010 by Karihardy

I used spelt and unbleached flour. I added a smige more starter because we like it sour. This was the best bread I have made yet! We had family over for dinner and everyone left with this recipe! Great Job!

Reviewed on Oct. 17, 2010 by grannygourmet

This bread is a winner! It was very easy to make and my family loved it. I have limited experience with sourdough, but my attempts at making a starter were successful and I am looking forward to more sourdough ahead. The bread raises quite quickly, so minimum raising time was adequate.

Reviewed on May. 10, 2010 by Dawn-Rae

I've not made this recipe but you can find the starter in the recipes. Just do a search for sourdough starter.

Reviewed on Jan. 06, 2010 by geejudy

Does anyone have a recipe for a sourdough starter that could be used for this bread? Thanks for any help.