Best 5 Sourdough French Bread Recipes

SOURDOUGH FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the Sourdough Starter, oil, sugar, salt and 3 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough additional flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead gently 20-30 times (dough will be slightly sticky). Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, 1 to 1-1/2 hours., Preheat oven to 400°. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each into a 12x8-in. rectangle. Roll up, jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch ends to seal. Place seam side down on 2 greased baking sheets; tuck ends under. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes. , With a sharp knife, make 4 shallow diagonal slashes across top of each loaf. In a small saucepan, combine water and cornstarch. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened. Brush some over loaves. , Bake for 15 minutes. Brush loaves with remaining cornstarch wash. Bake until lightly browned, 5-10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

SAN FRANCISCO STYLE SOURDOUGH FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl dissolve yeast in warm water, mix with starter.
• Add 3 cups flour, sugar and salt, stir vigorously 2 or 3 minutes.
• Cover with a cloth, set in warm place and let rise 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until doubled in size.
• Mix baking soda with 1 cup of remaining flour and stir in, the dough should be stiff.
• Turn out onto a floured surface and begin kneading.
• Add the remaining 1 cup of flour or more if needed to control stickiness.
• Knead until satiny, between 5 and 10 minutes.
• Shape into 2 oblong loaves or 1 large round loaf, place on lightly greased cookie sheet.
• Cover with a cloth, set in warm place free from drafts and let rise 1 to 2 hours or until nearly doubled in size.
• Before baking, brush outside with water and make diagonal slashes across the top with a sharp single-edge razor blade.
• Put a shallow pan of hot water in the bottom of the oven.
• Bake at 400° F for 45 minutes or until the crust is a medium dark brown.

FRENCH ONION SOUP IN A SOURDOUGH BREAD BOWL

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Butter a baking sheet.
• Cut a hole in the top of each bread round, leaving the sides and bottoms untouched, to make the opening of the bread bowl. Pull apart the cut-out section.
• Place 1/2 cup butter and 2 tablespoons crushed garlic in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat until butter is melted, 2 to 4 minutes. Brush the insides of the bread bowls and the cut-out pieces with butter; place on the prepared baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 3 to 5 minutes. Leave oven on.
• Melt the remaining butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add sweet onion. Cook and stir until onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue cooking and stirring until onion is very tender and dark brown, about 20 minutes more.
• Stir the remaining garlic, beef broth, chicken broth, wine, and Worcestershire sauce into the onions. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cook until flavors intensify, 5 to 10 minutes. Spoon soup into each bread bowl. Cover soup with Gruyere cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is bubbling and melted along the sides of the bread bowl, about 5 minutes.

MOCK SOURDOUGH FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• Heat yogurt to lukewarm (110 degrees F).
• In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water, stir in yogurt, sugar, salt, oil and 2 cups flour, and beat until smooth.
• Stir in enough additional flour to make dough easy to handle.
• Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes, adding more flour as necessary, to obtain a firm, non-sticky sough.
• Place in oiled bowl, and turn to oil top of dough.
• Cover, and let rise in warm place until doubled in volume.
• Punch down dough, divide into 8 equal parts, knead each one, and flatten into a 4"x6" rectangle.
• Roll up, beginning on one of the long sides, excluding any air bubbles.
• Pinch edge of dough firmly into roll to seal, press each end firmly to seal, and fold ends under.
• Place loaves, seam side down, on greased cookie sheets sprinkled with cornmeal.
• Brush or spray tops with cold water, and cut three diagonal slices across top of each loaf with a sharp knife or razor blade.
• Let rise until doubled, about 30-40 minutes.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Brush or spray loaves with cold water, and sprinkle pepper into slashes if desired.
• Bake until loaves sound hollow when rapped on the bottom or when they reach an internal temperature of 190 degrees F on an instant reading thermometer, about 35 minutes, brushing or spraying with cold water every 10 minutes.
• Cool on wire rack before wrapping.
• Recipe can be doubled successfully, and bread freezes very well.
• Thaw to room temperature and heat unwrapped in oven to restore the crisp crust.

SPEEDY "SOURDOUGH" FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• 1. Mix together warm water, sour cream, and vinegar in a small bowl. Set aside.
• 2. In a large mixing bowl combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add sour cream mixture to flour mixture. Blend together on low speed until moistened. Continue to blend on medium speed for 3-4 minutes.
• 3. By hand stir in 2-3 more cups of flour until dough pulls cleanly away from bowl.
• 4. On a well-floured surface knead in additional 1-2 cups of flour until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough ball in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a clean dish towel. Let rise in a warm (80-85 degree) place until doubled. Approx. 30 minutes.
• 5. Grease a large sheet pan. Punch down dough and divide in half. Roll each half into a 14x8 rectangle. Roll, starting from a long side. Pinch seam and ends closed. Place seam side down on baking sheet. I have also shaped these loaves into rounds, typical of sourdough bread.
• 6. With a sharp knife make 4-5 1/4 inch deep diagonal slashes in the top of each loaf. Cover with clean dish towel and let rise in warm place until doubled again. (Approx. 20 min.)
• 7. Heat oven to 375*. Bake 30-35 minutes until golden and hollow sounding when tapped. Remove loaves immediately to a wire rack to cool.
• 8. **NOTE: I often make this dough in my bread machine. Add ingredients in the order prescribed by your machine manufacturer and use the dough setting. I usually add 4 cups of flour to start. After the first rise, knead in any additional flour to obtain the standard elastic dough. Rest dough five minutes before rolling out and continue at Step 5.