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This Sourdough French Bread is soft and fluffy and so easy to whip up. It is made using sourdough discard and instant yeast for a quick homemade sourdough bread.
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French bread is perfect as a side dish for your favorite Italian dinner or to make a delicious sandwich. You might also enjoy my active starter version Sourdough French Bread, or other Italian night sides like same day breadsticks and a cheesy garlic bread.
Table of Contents
Reasons you will love this recipe
- No Fancy Tools. All you need is a parchment-lined baking sheet! No dutch oven or bread pan.
- Ready in a few hours. This French Bread can be made in just a few hours with the help of instant yeast. Another quick recipe to try is my Sourdough Discard Dinner Rolls and Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Rolls.
- Soft crust. Sourdough discard french bread has a soft crust, making it kid-friendly and a great choice for sandwiches and garlic bread. Or serve it on the side of a family favorite like Baked Sourdough Mac and Cheese.
Important Ingredients and Substitutions
- Water – Use warm water to help the yeast activate and bread rise.
- Sourdough discard- For a quick rise, use discard that has been sitting on the counter and is room temperature. You can use cold discard from the fridge but it will slow down the rise time.
- Yeast- Instant yeast is used to leaven the bread. If you use SAF Instant Yeast or other rapid yeasts you can add it directly in with the ingredients, no need to let it sit to activate. Although it’s best to check the instructions on your yeast to see if it needs to be activated before adding it.
- Oil – Any neutral flavored oil will work. I always use olive oil.
- Bread flour – I like to use bread flour rather than all purpose flour because it has a higher protein content.
Instructions to make Sourdough Discard French Bread
Step 1: Add the flour, salt, sugar and yeast to a mixing bowl and combine.
In another bowl, mix room temperature sourdough discard, oil, and warm water.
Combine the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix the ingredients together in a stand mixer or by hand until all the ingredients are incorporated.
Step 2: Once combined, knead all ingredients until smooth on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes by hand or in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment.
Place the dough in a straight-edge container or medium-sized bowl. Place in a warm spot covered until doubled in size. Let rise for 1-2 hours until it has doubled in size.
Step 3: Once the dough has doubled, punch down the dough and then dump onto an lightly floured surface.
Step 4: Divid the dough in half.
Step 5: To shape, take one half of the dough and flatten into a rectangle. Then, take one third of the dough on the long side and fold into a trifold shape (like a letter).
Step 6: Take the other side and fold it on top of itself to create one long loaf. Pinch the seams on the ends together. Then, flip the dough over seam side down and using your hands roll the dough to create a tight surface and one long log shape. Then repeat the process with the other half of the dough creating two loaves.
Step 7: Place both loaves on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a reusable baking mat, seam side down. Cover with a kitchen towel.
Step 8: Let the dough rise for another 30–60 minutes in a warm spot until the loaves are puffy.
Step 9: When it is ready to bake, add an egg wash. The egg wash is optional but will give the loaf a golden brown shiny crust. Then take a bread lame or sharp knife and create diagonal slashes down the bread, about four or five cuts.
Step 10: Bake in a preheated oven for 17-23 mins at 400ºF, until the bread is lightly browned and cooked through. Remove the bread from the oven and move the loaves to a wire rack to cool.
Slice the bread and enjoy!
Recipe Tips
• Full rise. Make sure the dough gets it’s full rise (doubles in size) before moving to the next step. If your house is too cold, you can use a warming mat (use coupon code country10) to speed up the process.
• Use warm water. Using warm water will help activate the yeast, but if the water is too hot it will kill it. If the water feels like a warm and comfortable temperature then you are good to go.
• Room temperature discard. For a quicker rise, use room temperature sourdough discard. If using cold discard straight from the fridge, expect a longer rise time.
Storage instructions for Sourdough Discard French Bread
Store the french bread in an airtight container or ziplock bag on the counter for up to one week. You can eat it at room temperature or add to your toaster oven or regular oven at 350ºF until warmed through.
To freeze, keep the loaf whole or slice it up. Since it is a longer loaf, it may be easier to cut in half first if placing in a bag. Then, wrap the bread in foil and place in it a freezer ziplock bag. If slicing, place a piece of parchment paper between each slice and save in a freezer bag and use pieces as needed. Than on the counter overnight to defrost, or place in the oven at 350ºF until it’s warmed through.
Yes! I have a Sourdough French Bread recipe using active starter that I think you’ll love.
Yes. You can freeze the french bread as a loaf or sliced. See storage instructions for my recommendations on freezing and thawing this bread.
Yes, if you want to use all-purpose flour in this recipe, I recommend reducing the amount of water in the recipe by 25 grams or adding a little extra flour if the dough is hard to work with.
Sourdough Discard French Bread
Ingredients
- 700 grams bread flour, 5 cups
- 10 grams salt, 2 teaspoons
- 30 grams granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons
- 12 grams instant yeast, 1 Tablespoon
- 330 grams water, warm, 1 ⅓ cup
- 240 grams sourdough discard, 1 cup
- 30 grams oil (I use olive oil), 2 Tablespoons
- Egg wash (1 egg + splash of water), optional
Instructions
- Add the flour, salt, sugar and yeast to a mixing bowl and combine. 700 grams bread flour, 10 grams salt, 30 grams granulated sugar, 12 grams instant yeast
- Heat water to 120℉. If your discard is coming straight from the fridge heat the water to 130℉ since the discard will cool down the water. Add the discard and oil to the water and mix it up. 330 grams water, warm, 240 grams sourdough discard, 30 grams oil (I use olive oil)
- Knead all ingredients together until smooth on a lightly floured surface for about 5 minutes by hand or in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. If the dough is extremely sticky add a little extra flour.
- Let rise covered in a warm spot for 1-2 hours until the dough has doubled in size.
- Punch down the dough and then dump onto a lightly floured surface to shape.
- To shape, first cut the dough in half. Take one half of the dough and flatten into a rectangle. Take one third of the dough on the long side and fold into a trifold shape (like a letter). Take the other side and fold it on top of itself to create one long loaf. Pinch the seams on the ends together. Then, flip the dough over seam side down and using your hands roll the dough to create a tight surface and one long log shape. Then repeat the process with the other half of the dough creating two loaves.
- Place both loaves on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, seam side down. Cover with a kitchen towel.
- Let the dough rise for another 30 mins–1 hour until the loaves are puffy.
- When it is ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400℉. Add the optional egg wash and then take a bread lame or sharp knife and create diagonal slashes down the bread, about four or five cuts.
- Bake for 17-23 mins, until the bread is lightly browned and cooked through.
- Remove the bread from the oven and move the loaves to a wire rack to cool.
- Slice the bread and enjoy with butter or your favorite way to serve!
Notes
- If you use sourdough discard straight from the fridge the rise time will be slightly longer.
- Be sure to read the instructions on your instant yeast. SAF Instant Yeast does not require activation but some brands will need to be activated before adding to the dough.
- The egg wash is optional but will give the loaf a golden brown shiny crust.
- Turn a loaf into the most delicious garlic bread!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I would like to make this but notice there is yeast added. Why?
Hi Sharon, this uses sourdough discard, which is why the yeast is added for a quicker rise. But if you prefer a long fermented option you can use active starter in place of discard (the same amount) and remove the yeast just note that the rise times will be longer. Thanks!
This has become my go to discard recipe. So easy and delicious. I recently added some rosemary and parmesan (rosemary folded in during shaping, parm on top before bake). So good!
Yum that sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing.
This bread is SO SOFT!
I accidentally did the letter fold along the short end and created a wide loaf but it was still amazing.
Wow! This is easy and so delicious! My son accidentally left the meat & veggie freezer door slightly open & now we have SO much food to eat- this quick recipe was perfect for meatball subs 1 night & a compliment for veggie beef stew the next, so I going to make it again just to eat with butter!
Thanks Anna! So happy to hear you liked the recipe. It’s one of my family’s favorites.
This is the closest I’ve come to store bought bread texture ever. It is so soft. Love this recipe. Thank you.
I’m so glad! Thanks for the kind review.
Made this with just starter (no commercial yeast) and they were phenomenal! Of course the timing is different (longer) but they came out perfect. Half the dough was shaped into one large roll of French bread for garlic bread and the other half was split into 3 to make 3 sub sandwich rolls for lunch. Both versions were great!
Thanks Colleen! I’m so glad you liked it.
How much starter would you use if leaving out the yeast?
You can do the same amount as the discard but just use active starter instead.
Can I reduce the amount of salt? 2tsp is a lot for someone on a low sodium meal plan.
Sure!
Wow this is soft! So good!! Feels like i could put this in a loaf pan to bake? Im looking for the easiest way to replace that soft bread at stores that my kids like. Any thoughts? 🙂
Yes you could or you could make a discard sandwich bread too: https://countryroadssourdough.com/sourdough-discard-sandwich-bread/
This bread is fantastic! 💯 reminded me of the store bought kind. My family of 6 likes it. And it also works without the yeast. Yes, I forgot the yeast once. I didn’t toss it though, I just shaped into sandwich bread, let is rise and then baked. Delicious! Thank you.
I’m so glad you like it. Thanks for sharing
I’m new to the sourdough world. Do you think I could use whole wheat flour instead of bread flour? Thanks