
Diane’s No Fail French Bread is the best French bread recipe ever! Simple ingredients, most of which you already have in your pantry and about an hour and a half is all you need before baking. Most of the time is rising in the bowl or on the baking sheet.

Homemade French Bread vs Store bought
French Bread. When you think French Bread, do you think of the light, airy stuff you buy in a paper bag or a plastic sack at the grocery?? I used to buy it all of the time. When we moved to Bountiful nearly 25 years ago, my friend Diane made a loaf of this bread for me.


Fail Proof French Bread!
This bread has a chewy texture, without being too dense. It’s beautiful and golden. And the recipe makes two HUGE loaves! When I asked Diane for the recipe, she told me that it turned out perfect every time (this is the Pollyanna coming out in her, I thought). But she was right.

2 loaves per recipe, leftovers make the best French Toast!
Diane’s No Fail French Bread is wonderful in so many ways: It really is so easy. A perfect bread recipe for a novice- to a seasoned cook. It blows the socks off of that grocery store French Bread you have been buying.
One last bit of advice… if you live in a humid environment, PLEASE read the recipe notes for tips. Reducing the amount of liquid in the recipe will help tremendously!

Diane’s No Fail French Bread

Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons dry yeast, I prefer SAF brand
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 2 cups warm water*
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon (yes tablespoon!) sea or Kosher salt
- 5 tablespoons Olive oil, Canola or vegetable oil*
- 6 cups flour (4 cups bread flour and 1 1/2-2 cups All Purpose)
- 1 egg *optional, beaten- for glazing bread
Instructions
- **Please read recipe notes before beginning if you live in a humid environment!**
- Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.
- In a separate large bowl combine warm water*, sugar, salt, oil and 3 cups of the flour. Stir well.
- Add the yeast mixture to the warm water-flour mixture. Mix together with large wooden spoon or paddle attachment.
- Add the remaining 3 cups of flour, a cup at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- After all of the flour is added and mixed in, let sit in bowl for 10 minutes.
- When the dough has risen, stir down with a large spoon. If making in a stand mixer, turn the machine on low for a few seconds until the dough is deflated, and push dough to bottom part of bowl with a spatula.
- Repeat 5 times, every ten minutes, for a total of 60 minutes of rising and then punching (or pushing) down.
- Divide the dough in half. Roll each half of dough in a 9×12 rectangle on a floured surface.
- Roll the dough up like a jelly roll (long way). Place the dough on a greased baking pan (jelly roll pan), with the seam side down. Both loaves will fit on one pan.
- Score the bread across the top 3 or 4 times, and brush with beaten egg (if using).
- Let rise for 20-30 minutes in warm place.
- Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes in lower half of oven, until golden brown. Or you may bake at 350-375 convection for 18-20 minutes until golden.
Notes
- Tips for humid environment: If you live in a humid environment, you may need to either add more flour than called for or you may reduce the liquid in the bread by 1/2 cup. Instead of 2 cups hot water, use 1 1/2. While living in Spain (humid environment) , I use 4 cups bread flour and about 1-2 cups all purpose flour and about 1 1/2 cups water (not including the 1/2 cup of water used to proof the yeast). So, the water total is about 2 cups instead of the 2 1/2 cups called for in the recipe. This recipe was developed in Utah, where the elevation is often 4000 ft and very dry climate!
- After reading comments from people who have expressed frustration with the bread failing (the exception) I decided to change the water from “2 cups hot water” to “2 cups warm water”. I believe part of the issue was hot water was added along with yeast, and the hot water was killing the yeast. Warm water works. I use warm or hot water right from the tap.
- I add bread flour in place of the all purpose flour. When doing this, I use 4 cups bread flour and 1-2 cups All Purpose flour. Watch the amount of flour if using bread flour. In some cases, you will need only 1 1/2 cups of additional All Purpose flour. Do not add too much flour, it will result in the dough being stiff and difficult to handle.
- I make this in my KitchenAid stand mixer. Use the paddle attachment until you have mixed in the first 3 cups of flour. Then switch to the dough hook to mix in the final 3 cups of flour.
- I often forget the mixing down step (5 times every 10 minutes) and have never had a problem with the bread turning out perfect. Just make sure the bread raises in the bowl until it has almost doubled in size, or for about 45 minutes. Then proceed to the rolling out step. If you skip mixing down every 10 minutes, the bread will not have quite the same texture. Mixing down the dough will help develop the gluten and create the texture that is slightly chewy, but still light!
- If you have a convection oven, use the convection setting. Bake at 350-375 convection for about 15-20 minutes. The convection setting turns out the prettiest loaves of bread!
- This bread is best made with Extra Virgin olive oil.
- In Spain, my oven was very small and it works better for me to shape the dough into 3 smaller loaves. The bake time is about the same! I got used to shaping into three smaller loaves and now almost always shape into three loaves. I bake at 375 convection for about 18 minutes.
- The egg wash or glaze is not necessary. Egg wash will produce a shiny instead of a matte finish on your loaves. You will need about 1/3 of the egg wash for this recipe. Lightly brush the loaf with the egg wash before it starts to rise after shaping.
Did you make this recipe?
Be sure to leave a comment and rate this recipe! I’d love to see a photo, tag @abountifulkitchen on Instagram!
Melissa Bird
Love this recipe for an amazing loaf (I cut it in half all the time) or loaves of bread. Thanks for sharing!!
Debbie Lewis
This was the first recipe I made of yours…so good and easy!
Emily Ferons
I never thought I could make my own French bread but this recipe was so easy and turned out great! Can’t wait to make it again.
Alicia Cravens
Best and easiest bread recipe! My husband make it once a month and we use one as a loaf, and one we turn in to cinnamon rolls to deliver to neighbors!
Rebecca Hatch
This recipe truly is no-fail. I make it at least once a month for my family, it is one of our favorite dinners. It makes me feel so proud to make something like this from scratch!
Siri
This truly is a no fail bread. I doubled the recipe but ran out of flour halfway through and had to use home ground whole wheat flour for about 3.5 cups. And then, I forgot to add the salt until after the dough and already mixed. Figured I didn’t have anything to lose at that point, so I mixed in the salt and finished it like usual. To my surprise, it still tastes delicious, albeit the texture is a little grainier due to the more coarse whole wheat flour I had on hand.
Jillian
Hello Friend!
Such a sweet compliment, thank you for sharing with us. The wheat flour will definitely change the texture but we are so happy to hear that you’ve enjoyed this recipe.
Happy Holidays!
Jillian
ABK Team
Beckie Manning
Truly no fail! The best French bread recipe I’ve ever tried, and makes the best French toast with what’s leftover!
Meaghan
I like the confidence for sourdough, but this makes me feel like a professional with my family! Love this easy bread that rounds out a meal
Carolyn Black
I have literally made this French bread hundreds of times. It is without a doubt the best French bread! 💗 It has never failed me, just like it’s name implies! 😋
Sarah Walker
My mother-in-law showed me the recipe and now I’m hooked! It’s seriously fail proof and delicious.
Martha V
This French bread recipe has been my favorite for years!
Shelby Chadburn
Easy to follow with CONSISTENT results. My entire family loves this bread!
Rachel meldrum
A Wintertime staple – we usually try and share one of the loaves each time with a family who might need some love.
Amy Asper
Bread is not my forte, but these loaves came out amazing! Easy enough for a beginner and delicious enough for an expert.
Kiersten Nelson
We are obsessed with this bread! When we lived in Utah, I’d make as the recipe directs and it turned out great every time. We have since moved to North Carolina (much more humid than Utah!), and here I reduce the water by 1/2 cup as the recipe notes suggest. It is my favorite thing to make with a meal for a dinner party or if I’m dropping off a meal to a friend. I always get requests for the recipe! Thank you for this new family favorite.
ERica S
My one regret with this recipe is that I waited so long to try it! It yields delicious results and is easy for a beginner to master the technique. I really appreciate in the notes that you mention the bread turning out just fine even if you don’t get all the mixing down done in step 8 (note #5). This makes a great side to soups, pasta, and has an amazing texture for homemade french toast. Always a win with my family.
Amy Tingey
My family loves this recipe. The first time I made it my kids were so happy and my oldest requested it for his birthday rather than going out to eat. It’s also perfect for French toast IF you have any leftovers.
Karen Duvall
A family go to for French Bread! So much so that we dont buy it from a store anymore. Its truly no fail and some of the tastiest bread to share with a friend or neighbor.
Amie Searcy
This recipe has been my favorite for years for easy bread. We use it to make Italian subs for a crew of teens on Friday nights!
Abby Perkins
Great recipe! Makes a delicious loaf of fresh bread and is so easy to make!
Kristy tidwell
Love this recipe and giving it to others every time I take a meal in!
Laura Niederhauser
This is my most often used of your recipes! It truly comes out amazing every time! It comes together quickly and the smell of it baking is an added bonus!
Venita dimmick
Truly is no fail, delicious home made bread! The notes, as usual, so helpful! This is such a crowd pleaser and makes 2 nice big loaves, my son loves to use leftovers grilled for his home made smash burgers!
Bailey Davis
This recipe is a long time family favorite! Amazing! We always get so many compliments on it.
Calene Lucero
This is one of my favorite recipes. During quarantine I was making this so much for everything. It is delicious. I also love your chocolate chip and Levain cookie recipes. They always turn out yummy!
Josi Farnsworth
Best recipe! It always turns out great. I like to make it in three loaves. Two for my family and one to give away.
Jessie p
This recipe is delicious and very easy to do! Homemade French bread will change your life!
Stacey Smith
Perfect bread every time!
Kate H
This french bread is amazing and so easy to make! It’s very forgiving dough. I could eat this everyday and not get sick of it. My family asks for it regularly.
Maci
My mom was intimidated by bread making when I was growing up, so I was always terrified to try it too. I finally got myself into making basic white bread, but all other types of bread still seemed out of reach. I’ve made this recipe a couple times now and it’s so yummy and chewy and easy! It makes me less scared to try out other breads now.
Kristine Herbon
Amazing bread! I made a loaf for a neighbor with soup last week and she immediately text me for the recipe.
Leslie Lawson
I had my doubts, but I was literally astounded at how amazing this bread turned out! It looked exactly like the store bought stuff, but so much better!
Patricia
Love this bread recipe. Always turns out great.
Lydia Tribe
I love this recipe! It is my go to for any meal. When I take this bread to others, they are always so impressed. I tell them how easy it is to make and always share the recipe.
Kristine Jackson
This recipe is easy and simple. I share it with all my beginner bread making friends. It makes wonderful garlic bread and French toast too!
Jessica Macdonald
This is my go-to French bread recipe. Always turns out perfect and gets eaten up in a jiffy.
Brooke
I have taught my children how to make this it’s so straightforward and easy and reliable to be delicious! I love doubling it so I can share it with neighbors and usually we eat our first loaf with dinner and the second loaf is breakfast the next day. It really is no fail which is great for building baking confidence with new bakers I’m teaching in my home. Thanks for sharing!
Jennifer Mecham
My favorite bread recipe!
Beth
I have so many favorites from your recipes, this is ONE.
I sent it to the Young Women in my class at church and asked them to bake some during COVID.
Many of them did and we gave the loaves away. We met in a neighborhood with members of our congregation and walked around to deliver them. At that time we couldn’t meet inside.
This recipe is a winner and we were still able to serve even though our meeting looked different.
Thanks for the wonderful recipes, Si, and please keep them coming.
Christa Wagstaff
This is our go to bread recipe for our weekly spaghetti dinner night. The bread is delicious and we always share the 2nd loaf with our neighbors. It really is the best!
Jennifer
We make this frequently. I used to make one for us and one for our neighbors. My family doesn’t like that. 😄 They’re selfish with this bread.
cindy
Making bread Intimidates me but I try this recipe and it truly was so easy and turned out delicious! Thank you for making such an easy to follow recipe!
Katie
Hands down the perfect French bread recipe. Truly is a no-fail for me.
Kathy CAMPBELL
Best French bread. The texture was spot on. It is worth extra steps. I made smaller loafs. Nothing better than hot bread!
Laura Brinton
I find myself choosing recipes that need French bread just so I can make this. We devour it. Such a good texture.
Nicole
I’ve made this many times, it’s a family favorite. Last time I made it I was sending some home with our dinner guest and my daughter (2 years old) started crying because she thought I was giving away the rest of the bread. I assured her we had another loaf and all was well! It turns out perfect, every time!
marilee clarke
I have made this recipe dozens of times! Every time it turns out. Its quick, easy, and delicious! It really is failproof. It is a family favorite!!
Brooke
The best French Bread recipe!
Susan Jurkatis
I never had success with making bread until I tried this one. It really lives up to its name. Since it makes 2 huge loaves, it freezes really well to use for later.
Katie Merrill
Truly no fail. And ALWAYS delicious.
Amber
This recipe is so easy and so delicious! Definitely a staple in my home.