Yes, you can make amazing French Bread right at home with this easy recipe. Once you see how easy it is to make, store bought French Bread will be a thing of the past.
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water with the sugar. Wait 5-10 minutes for the yeast to activate and bubble up.
Add oil and salt to yeast mixture. Mix well. Add flour, one cup at a time, kneading well in between. Knead until smooth and elastic. If you are using a mixer, the dough will pull away from the walls of the bowl and look like a ball. Don't add too much flour or the dough will become dry.
Cover the dough with a dish towel or inverted plate and let rise until doubled in size, about one hour.
Punch dough down and recover. Let rise again for 30 minutes.
Remove dough from bowl and place onto countertop lightly dusted with flour. Divide dough in half and gently roll each half into a long skinny loaf. Carefully lay the loaf onto a french bread pan or cookie sheet dusted with cornmeal. With a sharp knife, make 3-4 slashes diagonally on each loaf.
Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise a third time, for 25 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Lightly brush loaves with a mixture of egg white and 1 tsp of water. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
Notes
Thank you to Amber Eggett of @amberskitchen for this recipe.