Easily make these soft, fluffy French Bread Rolls with just six simple ingredients. They taste just like the famous French bread that you love!
There is nothing better than taking a bite into some fresh French bread. I love eating it plain, or with a slice of cheese. Honestly, if I had the choice between French bread and cake, I would choose the French bread.
These French Bread Rolls have the EXACT taste and texture of regular French bread, and are super easy to make. What’s great about this recipe is that it also has no dairy or eggs, so if you are allergic or sensitive to those things, you can have your cake and eat it, too! So to speak 🙂
How to make French Bread Rolls
First you’ll want to mix 1 tablespoon of yeast with 1 1/2 cups warm water and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let it sit until it gets frothy. If your yeast never gets frothy, the water was either too hot or too cold and you may want to start over.
Then you’ll mix in 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 2 cups of flour. You can either mix this by hand, or use the beater attachment on your stand mixer.
If using a stand mixer, switch now to a dough hook and add another 1 1/2 cups of flour. Mix well, then add another 1/2 cup of flour slowly, until dough cleans the sides of the bowl (but it can still stick to the bottom).
Cover it loosely with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place until doubled (30-60 minutes).
Then comes the fun part! (This is especially great if you have some frustration you need to work out). Punch the dough down. I don’t mean maim it. Just punch it a few times until it deflates. Then turn it out onto a floured surface.
Now you’re going to divide the dough into 16 pieces. I will often roll it out a little and use a pizza cutter to try to cut it into somewhat even squares so that my rolls turn out the same size.
To form them into balls, pick up the dough with both hands and repeatedly move your thumbs from the top of the roll to the bottom, pulling a little dough with them each time. Rotate the roll as you do this, and pinch the dough at the bottom. This will give you a nice, smooth top.
Now set all these rolls onto lightly greased baking sheets, about two inches apart. Cover with a cloth and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes.
Preheat your oven while your rolls are rising to 400 degrees F. Then bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.
As soon as possible, break one open, smother with butter and jam, and enjoy!
Light, fluffy French Bread Rolls with the exact taste and texture of your favorite store-bought French bread!
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 cups flour
In a large mixing bowl, add the yeast and sugar to the warm water and let sit until frothy, about ten minutes.
Add the oil, salt, and 2 cups of the flour to the yeast mixture. Blend well.
Add another 1 1/2 cups of flour to the mixture and blend well. If using a stand mixer, use the dough hook.
Add another 1/2 cup of flour until the dough is smooth and elastic. Cover and let rise until doubled in size, about 30-60 minutes.
Punch down and turn out onto floured surface. Divide dough into 16 equal pieces and form into balls. (See instructions above in this post).
Place the balls about two inches apart on lightly-greased baking sheets. Cover with a cloth and let rise until doubled. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. while rolls are rising.
Bake at 400 degrees F. for 18-20 minutes, until golden brown.
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For more super yummy bread recipes, try these!
These rolls look incredible and so delicious! Love the texture!