Julia Child's French Bread Simplified from 101 Cooking for Two

Name: Julia Child's French Bread - Simplified
Prep time: 270 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 300 min
Ingredients: 3 1/2 cup flour; 2 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 1/2 cup water (at 105 degree); 1 pack instant dry yeast; 1 tablespoon water

Recipe Table of Contents

4.69 from 29 votes

Julia Child's French Bread recipe is the ultimate crusty artisan French bread. An excellent round bread, simplified to the essentials to get it done with less fuss. While speed was not a goal, it was 5 hours from the start to the cooling rack.

Julia Child's French Bread Simplified from 101 Cooking for Two

Jump To:

👨‍🍳How to Make Julia Child's French Bread
🥣Dough Tips
♨️Baking Tips
FAQs
📖Bread Recipes
🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
📝Recipe

Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

Introduction

I love a loaf of round French bread, and nobody does it better than Julia Child and her book The Art of French Cooking.

Her classic French bread recipe was nine pages. After multiple attempts, I felt I had it modernized, including a stand mixer, and cut down to only the essential important points, eliminating things that were "just the way it was done." I now had just over a page of instructions.

The essential points of this recipe you should not skip.

The rest of the dough before kneading.
The short amount of hand kneading.
The large initial rise.
The use of tripling, not doubling, in size for all dough rises.
And finally, the baking method. While you could cook in a Dutch oven, the pizza/baking stone is better but fussier. The moisture with the pan and brushing is critical to the crust.

👨‍🍳How to Make Julia Child's French Bread

Proof your yeast in warm water. Fresh yeast probably does not need to proof.
Keep all bowls and the dough warm.
Combine yeast in water with the flour using a dough hook and a stand mixer. Follow the instructions carefully about adding more ingredients and the time of kneading.
Move out of the mixer to a floured work surface and hand-knead for 2 minutes.
Place in a warm bowl covered with a dish towel in a warm area and allow to rise to triple in size—about 2-3 hours.
Move the dough back to the floured surface and knead more by folding the dough according to the directions.
Place back into a warm bowl coated with PAM cooking spray, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a towel. Again rise to triple in size—about 1 hour.
Place back on the floured surface, form into a ball, and fold edges under.
Transfer to parchment paper on a wooden peel or baking sheet. Cover and again let rise to triple in size.
Preheat oven to 450° with a baking or pizza stone in the middle and a pan of water on a lower rack.
Slash the top of the loaf and brush the top with water.
Move to the baking stone and bake. Bush the loaf with water several more times early in baking.
Baking until golden brown, a dull thump, and an internal temperature of 200°-205°.
Cool on a rack for 2 hours before cutting.

🥣Dough Tips

Keep everything warm, heating the mixing bowls with warm water.
Mix the yeast with warm water before adding it. I like this because it distributes the yeast throughout the dough with water and proves it is good.
Use rapid-rise or instant yeast. It's the same organism as active dry yeast but produced differently, and more organisms are alive. This will somewhat speed up a slow process.
A large glass serving bowl was used for the rising bowl. The straight sides and larger volume are necessary to judge the rise, and it was convenient to cover the last rise so nothing stuck to the dough. Also, keep the bowl coated with cooking spray to keep the side of the dough from sticking.

♨️Baking Tips

I used a sheet of parchment paper to make the dough transfer easier. A large pizza stone was my baking stone. We all have one of those.

I have a large pizza peel handy to slide the loaf and parchment paper onto the stone, but a baking sheet without an edge should work, or pick up the raised dough by the parchment paper edges and move it that way.

Brushing with water and having moisture in the oven helps a crispy crust.

FAQs

Can this French bread be baked as a batard or baguette?

Sure, you will need to divide the dough into equal pieces before the final rise and use a canvas or linen dough cloth. Baking time will be a bit less.

📖Bread Recipes

Great Everyday Bread

Stand Mixer Rustic Peasant Bread

Easy English Muffin Bread

Multigrain Bread

This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

101's Best Recipes, Bread Recipes

🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

Preheat the stand mixer bowl with warm water. Dry bowl and add 3 ½ cups AP flour and 2 ¼ teaspoon salt. Mix well.

Combine 1 ½ cups 105° water with yeast and mix well. Wait for the yeast to "proof." Those are the bubbles that prove your yeast is good.

Add the yeast mixture to the mixer and uses one additional tablespoon of water to rinse the measuring cup and add that water to the mixer. With the dough hook, mix on "2". Continue to mix until the ball forms. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom. The dough should pull away from the sides and have about 2 inches sticking in the bottom. Add flour 1 tablespoon at a time if needed. Time: about 2 minutes.

Stop the mixer and allow the dough to rest for 2 minutes, then restart kneading on 2. At 5 minutes into kneading, stop the mixer and check for "spring" by pressing your finger on the dough. It is done when this springs back. Keep checking every 2 minutes of kneading. It will usually take 5-7 minutes in total.

While the dough kneads, measure 10 ½ cups of warm water into the large bowl with straight sides. Mark the top of the water for reference and pour out the water, dry the bowl, and spray lightly with Pam, oil, or butter.

Collage 1 for the initial kneading of the bread dough

Place on a floured surface and hand knead for 2 minutes. Place dough in the bowl. Cover with plastic and a towel. Place in a warm spot until raised to your mark. It takes about 2-3 hours.

Collage 2 moving raised dough to mat and starting second kneading

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface with a rubber spatula sprayed with Pam. If the dough seems very wet, sprinkle it with a tablespoon of flour. Press to somewhat flatten and form about 12-inch square. Fold the lower-left corner to the upper right.

Collage 3 finishing second kneading and starting second rise

Lower right to the upper left. Fold on itself several more folds. Then form into a rounded ball with folds underneath, and the top rounded like a cushion. Respray the large mixing bowl with Pam, place dough, and cover again with plastic wrap and a towel. Place in a warm spot to rise to about triple in size. About 1 hour.

Collage 4 with the third kneading and starting last rise under a bowl

Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface again. Flatten slightly and gently into a round loaf. Start turning edges underneath, forming a rounded ball, stretching the "skin" to form a firmer ball of dough but not deflating the rise completely.

Place a square of parchment paper on a large wooden peel or a cookie sheet with no edge. Place dough in the center and cover (I used the bowl I used for raising after you respray it with Pam to prevent any sticking if it touches the dough). Allow rising until approximately triple in size again.

Collage 5 adding water to the oven and doing release cuts in dough and a brush of water before the oven

Preheat oven to 450° (not convection) with a baking stone on the middle rack and pan for water on the bottom rack for at least 30 minutes.

Score the top of the dough about ¼ inch deep with three cuts. Brush the top liberally with water. Transfer on parchment paper to the baking stone.

brushing the loaf with water during the baking

Brush the dough with water at 3, 6, and 9 minutes. Add 1 cup of water to the pan at 6 minutes. Continue to bake until the top is browned, thumping produces a hollow sound, and the internal temp 200°-205°. It takes about 25-30 minutes in total. Note: A spray bottle would work great instead of a brush for watering the dough in the oven.

Remove from oven and cool on a rack for 2 hours before cutting.

A loaf of Julia Child French bread cut on a wooden board.

📝Recipe

Julia Child's French Bread on wooden peel

Julia Child's French Bread - Simplified

From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

Tap to leave a Rating

4.69 from 29 votes

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Prep Time: 4 hours 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 5 hours

Servings #/Adjust if desired 8

Ingredients

US Customary - Convert to Metric

Instructions

Preheat the stand mixer bowl with warm water. Dry bowl and add 3 ½ cups AP flour and 2 ¼ teaspoon salt. Mix well.
Combine 1 ½ cups 105° water with yeast and mix well. Wait for the yeast to "proof." Those are the bubbles that prove your yeast is good.
Add the yeast mixture to the mixer and uses one additional tablespoon of water to rinse the measuring cup and add that water to the mixer. With the dough hook, mix on "2". Continue to mix until the ball forms. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom. The dough should pull away from the sides and have about 2 inches sticking in the bottom. Add flour 1 tablespoon at a time if needed. Time: about 2 minutes.
Stop the mixer and allow the dough to rest for 2 minutes, then restart kneading on 2. At 5 minutes into kneading, stop the mixer and check for "spring" by pressing your finger on the dough. It is done when this springs back. Keep checking every 2 minutes of kneading. It will usually take 5-7 minutes in total.
While the dough kneads, measure 10 ½ cups of warm water into the large bowl with straight sides. Mark the top of the water for reference and pour out the water, dry the bowl, and spray lightly with Pam, oil, or butter.
Place on a floured surface and hand knead for 2 minutes. Place dough in the bowl. Cover with plastic and a towel. Place in a warm spot until raised to your mark. It takes about 2-3 hours.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface with a rubber spatula sprayed with Pam. If the dough seems very wet, sprinkle it with a tablespoon of flour. Press to somewhat flatten and form about 12-inch square. Fold the lower-left corner to the upper right.
Lower right to the upper left. Fold on itself several more folds. Then form into a rounded ball with folds underneath, and the top rounded like a cushion. Respray the large mixing bowl with Pam, place dough, and cover again with plastic wrap and a towel. Place in a warm spot to rise to about triple in size. About 1 hour.
Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface again. Flatten slightly and gently into a round loaf. Start turning edges underneath, forming a rounded ball, stretching the "skin" to form a firmer ball of dough but not deflating the rise completely.
Place a square of parchment paper on a large wooden peel or a cookie sheet with no edge. Place dough in the center and cover (I used the bowl I used for raising after you respray it with Pam to prevent any sticking if it touches the dough). Allow rising until approximately triple in size again.
Preheat oven to 450° (not convection) with a baking stone on the middle rack and pan for water on the bottom rack for at least 30 minutes.
Score the top of the dough about ¼ inch deep with three cuts. Brush the top liberally with water. Transfer on parchment paper to the baking stone.
Brush the dough with water at 3, 6, and 9 minutes. Add 1 cup of water to the pan at 6 minutes. Continue to bake until the top is browned, thumping produces a hollow sound, and the internal temp 200°-205°. It takes about 25-30 minutes in total. Note: A spray bottle would work great instead of a brush for watering the dough in the oven.
Remove from oven and cool on a rack for 2 hours before cutting.

See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

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Recipe Notes

Pro Tips

This is not a recipe where you can just read the recipe card and do it. Please review the step-by-step photo instructions in the recipe post to get this right. I have now included the photos in the recipe card to help.
Never do a recipe like this by time. If it says triple in size, then wait for it.
This must be kept in a warm environment to rise correctly.
Store at room temperature for 2-3 days in an airtight container. There are no preservatives, so it will mold quickly.

To adjust the recipe size:

You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Nutrition Estimate

Nutrition Facts

Julia Child's French Bread - Simplified

Amount Per Serving

Calories 179 Calories from Fat 1

% Daily Value*

Fat 0.1g0%

Saturated Fat 0.01g0%

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.0001g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.04g

Sodium 548mg23%

Potassium 100mg3%

Carbohydrates 39g13%

Fiber 2g8%

Protein 6g12%

Calcium 1mg0%

Iron 2.2mg12%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

Course : Bread

Cuisine : French

© 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

Editor note: This recipe was first published on April 4, 2010. I was a "baby blogger" with only three months of blogging. This was my first adventure into a major project. It is still one of my favorite recipes but has been long neglected by me—time to fix that. I have updated the text, clarified some wording, re-edited and added some photos (some backgrounds may not match), and added a dog photo. Please enjoy this "simplified" version of a classic Julia Child recipe.