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.
It is quicker and easier to make than leavened bread or new leavened bread, so ideal for a beginner.
293 K 4.3/5 (74 reviews)
3 hours 50 min.
Easy
4 loaves
5 IngredientsLast modified on: June 6th 2017
For 4 loaves, you will need:
- 1
1 kg plain white flour (French Type 65) - 2
620 g water - 3
18 g fine (or table) salt - 4
15 g yeast - 5
100 g Soured dough (optional) - Total weight: 1,655 grams
Change measures:
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 40 min.
Resting: 2 hours 30 min.
Cooking: 40 min.
All in all: 3 hours 50 min.
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.
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
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.
You can calculate the temperature of the water for this recipe in one click, using this small calculator.
Stage 3 - 3 min.
Add 620 g 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.
Note: For the best way to knead, see: A few tips for effective kneading at home.
Stage 4 - 15 min.
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.
You could also chech the dough by trying the window-pane test.
Stage 5 - 2 min.
Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured worktop.
Stage 6 - 15 min.
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.
Leave to rest for 15 minutes.
Stage 7 - 5 min.
After this time, tip the dough onto a lightly floured worktop and cut into pieces of about 500g each.
Stage 8
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.
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.
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.
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".
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.
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
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.
Cover with a sheet of plastic and leave to rise for 2 hours.
Stage 13 - 40 min.
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...
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
...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..
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
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 recipe | 110 RDI=40 % | 800 RDI=80 % | 20 RDI=2 % | 3,780 RDI=190 % | 15,820 RDI: 190 % |
| Per 100 g | 6 RDI=3 % | 50 RDI=5 % | 0 | 230 RDI=10 % | 960 RDI: 10 % |
| Per loaves | 30 RDI=10 % | 200 RDI=20 % | 3 RDI=1 % | 940 RDI=50 % | 3,960 RDI: 50 % |
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)
Plain white flour (French Type 65)
Like these other recipes: Roscoff loaf, Mustard baps, Hamburger buns, Leavened bread, French baguettes, ... See them all 19
Water
Like these other recipes: "Buttonhole" quail eggs, Minestrone, Pumpkin (or potimarron) soup, How to prepare Jerusalem artichokes, How to prepare endives , ... See them all 132
Fine (or table) salt
Like these other recipes: Mixed salad stack, Poppy seed and lemon cake, Involtinis, Sweetcrust pastry (pâte sablée), Avocado "tarte fine", ... See them all 97
Yeast
Like these other recipes: Kouign-amann brioche, Dipping bread with cheese, Loaf for "les filles'", Lumberjack turnovers, Sandwich bread, ... See them all 55
Other recipes you may also like
French baguettes
This classic of French baking is rather different from the recipe for leavened bread, it's a question of making a good crust and light crumb along the whole length. To succeed, you should know that there are two secrets: water first of all (much more than for normal bread), and the working of the...October 24th 20171.07 M 364.7 5 hours 6 min.
Chestnut cake
This delightful cake is doubly chestnutty: it contains chestnut flour, and sweet chestnut purée.May 8th 2020330 K5 1 hour 15 min.
Brioche dough
It's a soft and rich dough, with butter and eggs which give a smooth and incredibly tasty brioche. This is the basic recipe for brioche dough, used for all other brioche-based recipes on the site.September 16th 2020519 K 44.2 14 hours 30 min.
Clarified butter
This is a way of melting butter to eliminate all the impurities. The clarified butter can then be heated without spoiling, and is more digestible. It is ideal for cooking at high temperatures where small black specks would spoil the appearance, or for emulsified sauces like béarnaise or mousseline.June 21th 2017456 K4.2 2 hours 15 min.
Sweetcrust pastry (pâte sablée)
Sweetcrust pastry is one of the basic pastry of French patisserie, used in many tart and cakes recipes, but it can also be rolled out and cut into biscuits, delicious with tea or coffee. This recipe is given for those who have a mixer (Kenwood, KitchenAid or other), but it can also be done with your...July 1st 2019476 K 24.4 35 min.
News list of cooking-ez.com
Sign up to receive the latest recipes (next batch due to be sent on 2024-11-24)
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Post a comment or question
Follow this recipe (as 13 people already do)
If you are interested in this recipe, you can "follow" it, by entering your email address here. You will then receive a notification immediately each time the recipe is modified or a new comment is added. Please note that you will need to confirm this following.
Note: We'll never share your e-mail address with anyone else.
Alternatively: you can subscribe to the mailing list of cooling-ez.com , you will receive a e-mail for each new recipe published on the site.