Whole Wheat French Bread
I wanted to make a pot of soup for dinner so I decided to also make a loaf of bread to go with it. One of my very favorite bread is this Crusty French Bread that I love to make. It’s simple and has always turned out delicious for me. I decided to make this bread more nutritious by using half whole wheat flour. I had to add a bit more water to the dough but other than that it was very easy to make. It smelled divine while it baked and my kids gobbled up freshly baked bread while doing homework… they couldn’t wait until dinner. They loved it and so did I. It paired nicely with the soup and tasted fantastic.
How to Make a Whole Wheat French Bread
Place all dough ingredients (through yeast) in the bread machine in the order listed. Put the yeast in a well in the center of the flour. Select the dough cycle and press start. Once the bread machine stops (it was one and a half hours on my machine). Remove the pan from the bread machine and punch the dough down (deflate it), then cover and let it rise a second time, until doubled in size, at least 30 minutes.
Remove the dough and place it on a floured surface and knead for 1 minute. Roll the dough into a rectangle. Roll up jelly-roll fashion and pinch the seam together. Tuck the ends underneath. Line a baking sheet with a silpat mat and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place the bread on the prepared baking sheet.
Cover and let the bread rise until it doubles in size, at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Carefully make several evenly placed diagonal cuts (with a sharp knife) on top of the loaf. Beat together the egg white and 1 tablespoon of water then brush over each loaf with a pastry brush.
Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 23-25 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown and it sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire racks. Enjoy.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup + 2 tbsp of warm water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 ½ cups of whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ cups of all purpose flour
- 1 head of roasted garlic chopped up (click here for recipe)
- 1 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- Cornmeal
- 1 egg white
- 1 tbsp water
Instructions
- Place all dough ingredients (through yeast) in the bread machine in the order listed. Put the yeast in a well in the center of the flour. Select the dough cycle and press start.
- Once the bread machine stops (it was one and a half hours on my machine). Remove the pan from the bread machine and punch the dough down (deflate it), then cover and let it rise a second time until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
- Remove the dough and place it on a floured surface and knead for 1 minute. Roll the dough into a rectangle. Roll up jelly-roll fashion and pinch the seam together. Tuck the ends underneath. Line a baking sheet with a silpat mat and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place the bread on the prepared baking sheet; cover and let rise until it doubles in size, at least 30 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Carefully make several evenly placed diagonal cuts (with a sharp knife) on top of the loaf. Beat together the egg white and 1 tablespoon of water then brush over each loaf with a pastry brush.
- Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 23-25 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown and it sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire racks. Enjoy.
I love homemade bread. Although I have not had the courage to make one at home yet. Yours look delicious!
I love to make bread! And love this recipe.I bookmarked!
The bread looks so yummy and perfect!
Perfect and soft bread.. looks great !!
Nothing goes better with a good bowl of soup than warm crusty bread.. and when that warm crusty bread is homemade… mmmmmmm… a true winner!!
Mmmmm I can smell it from here 🙂 Diane
So how do you change the recipe if you don’t have a bread machine?
Katie,
I got the original recipe from Lynda and she made it by hand. Here is the link so you can follow her instructions. I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Pam
http://www.lyndasrecipebox.com/2011/01/homemade-french-bread.html
Thanks! I like that it’s whole wheat.
I like making bread. You should try this one. It’s a no brainer – really. I made it with cheddar and rosemary (I have several plants). The hardest part is waiting for it to be cool enough to slice.
http://www.simplysogood.com/2010/03/crusty-bread.html
Nothing beats a crusty loaf of fresh bread along with a bowl of soup. This bread looks perfect, Pam. Have a blessed day!
Yum yum yum! You definitely stirred a bread and butter craving in me!
Good bread makes such a difference!! I just had a delicious brie sandwich on a great baguette the other day.
The smell from your kitchen must have been amazing.
mmmm, i could really go for a warm loaf of bread fresh from the oven! delicious!
How delicious! My problem would be eating the whole thing! I love fresh baked bread!
I swear I’m coming to your house for dinner sometime!
Your bread looks fantastic. Homemade bread is always a family pleaser.
Is there anything better than a homemade loaf of bread? I’m sure I can make a dinner out of this!
I am thinking to turn some leftover to the French toast!
I could go for some fresh baked bread this morning, that sounds great. Makes the best french toast.
Love this loaf! I’m going to have to give it a try as I’ve had baking bread on my list lately and I like that you used some whole wheat flour to make it a bit healthier.
I have been dying to make bread, so I tried it out yesterday. Not sue if it’s the way that I made it but the loaf was quite dense. And in the photos you have up, it looks quite similar to the loaf I made. Could it be the whole wheat flour that made it become dense rather than light and fluffy? Or is there something I need to add to the process?
Poe,
In my experience, whole wheat flour makes my breads more dense than regular flour too. Luckily, my family still enjoys it. I don’t know what could be done to make it fluffier.
Pam
Is the chopped garlic necessary? I thought french bread was supposed to be kind of sweet. Is it more of a personal preference thing? Although, I bet it would smell AWESOME while cooking….hmmmm…
By the way, I hope you don’t take that as a criticism, I was just browsing through some of your recipes and they look amazing!
Kathryn,
I didn’t take it as criticism at all. Garlic get’s fairly sweet & subtle after roasting so I thought it was a wonderful addition to this bread. It’s totally a personal preference and you don’t have to include it if you don’t want to.
Cheers,
Pam
I followed the recipe exactly and had to throw it out! No taste, hard and the texture was terrible. What did I do wron?
Carol,
I am not sure what happened. I am sorry it didn’t turn out for you.
Pam
The link to the garlic recipe is not working for me.
I just made this bread and it came out amazing. It came out with a nice crust with a soft and fluffy inside. After I added the egg wash I sprinkles a little Parmesan cheese on top as well. I also foil tented it half way through so it would not over cook the top. I purchases a french bread pan as well which made it the perfect shape. Thanks for posting this recipe, my first one from my bread machine recipe book was a fail.
Hi there – can you use all whole wheat flour instead if 1/2 wheat 1/2 all purpose?
Thank you ~ Rosemary
Rosemary,
I’ve never tried it so I’m not sure. I would assume it would be fine. Please let me know how it turns out if you give it a try.
-Pam