Classic French white bread


Classic French white bread
This is the recipe for classic, everyday French bread raised with yeast. French bakers call this "pain courant".

It is quicker and easier to make than leavened bread or new leavened bread, so ideal for a beginner.
294 K 4.3/5 (74 reviews)
Grade this recipe:
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Last modified on: June 6th 2017
For 4 loaves, you will need:

Change these quantities to make:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 40 min.
Resting: 2 hours 30 min.
Cooking: 40 min.
All in all: 3 hours 50 min.
When should you start or finish this recipe?
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time

Step by step recipe


Stage 1 - 5 min.
Classic French white bread
Put into a food-processor bowl: 1 kg plain white flour (French Type 65), 18 g fine (or table) salt, 15 g yeast and, if possible, 100 g Soured dough.

Stage 2
Classic French white bread
In bread-making, the water temperature is always important. It's not a fixed value, but related to 3 other temperatures: 1) the temperature of your flour, 2) the room temperature in your kitchen, and 3) the basic temperature of this recipe, which is 48-52°C.

You can calculate the temperature of the water for this recipe in one click, using this small calculator.

Stage 3 - 3 min.
Classic French white bread
Add 620 ml water at the right temperature, then knead on the slowest speed until the ingredients are well mixed (about 3 minutes).

Note: For the best way to knead, see: A few tips for effective kneading at home.

Stage 4 - 15 min.
Classic French white bread
Knead a little faster (the next speed up) for around 15 minutes, until the dough temperature reaches 24°C (75°F).

You could also chech the dough by trying the window-pane test.

Stage 5 - 2 min.
Classic French white bread
Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured worktop.

Stage 6 - 15 min.
Classic French white bread
Gather the dough into a ball and transfer to a large, clean bowl. Cover with a sheet of plastic.

Leave to rest for 15 minutes.

Stage 7 - 5 min.
Classic French white bread
After this time, tip the dough onto a lightly floured worktop and cut into pieces of about 500g each.

Stage 8
Classic French white bread
You can weigh each piece to check, as it is not easy to do this by eye.

Note: using the quantities stated, you can expect to obtain 1750 g of dough, to divide up as you choose.

Stage 9 - 5 min.
Form each piece of dough into a ball.

As the gesture for doing this is difficult to describe, you can see it in the short video on the right.

Stage 10 - 15 min.
Classic French white bread
Place the balls of dough on the floured worktop, dust the tops with flour and cover with a sheet of plastic.

Leave to rest for 15 minutes. This allows the dough to "relax".

Stage 11 - 5 min.
Shape the loaves.

As the gesture for doing this is difficult to describe, you can see how it is done in the short video on the right.

Stage 12 - 2 hours
Classic French white bread
Place each loaf in a banneton (French raising basket), dusting the bottom generously with flour first.

Cover with a sheet of plastic and leave to rise for 2 hours.

Stage 13 - 40 min.
Classic French white bread
Preheat the oven to 240°C (460°F).

Turn the loaves over onto the peel (for a wood-fired oven) or onto a baking sheet (for a conventional oven), slash the tops and bake...

Stage 14
Classic French white bread
...for 30 to 40 minutes.

Note: As when baking any bread, you should ensure that the oven is filled with steam for the first 15 minutes of baking. This page shows you how; it really is the secret of golden-brown, crusty loaves..

Stage 15
Classic French white bread
You will notice how the holes in the bread are regular in size. This comes from the action of the yeast which, unlike leaven, produces even bubbles.
Remarks
You might also like to take a look at this page about making your own bread.
Keeping: A few days in a cloth bag.
Source: After Thomas Marie (of the INBP French National Bakery Institute).
Nutritional information
Proteins (gr)Carbohydrates (gr)Fats (gr)Energy value (in k-calories)Energy value (in k-joules)
Whole recipe110 RDI=40 %800 RDI=80 %20 RDI=2 %3,780 RDI=190 %15,820 RDI: 190 %
Per 100 g6 RDI=3 %50 RDI=5 %0230 RDI=10 %960 RDI: 10 %
Per loaves30 RDI=10 %200 RDI=20 %3 RDI=1 %940 RDI=50 %3,960 RDI: 50 %
The % figures are calculated in relation to the Recommended Dietary Intake , or RDI of 2,000 k-calories (or 8,400 k-joules) per day for a woman Change to a man
Possible allergens in this recipe: Gluten, leaven
How much will it cost?
  • For 4 loaves : 2.10 €
  • Per loaves : 0.55 €

Change currency:

Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
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