27 Reviews of Sourdough French Bread

From: Normaone

On Mar 24, 2003

Donna, this is a wonderful recipe. Thank you for sharing it. I made mine into two long loaves in a french bread form. Although i sprayed them with water when they went into the oven, I find that a pan of ice cubes works nicely. Plus, you don't have to mess with it once the bread is in the oven. Thanks again.

From: BeachGirl

On May 3, 2003

Nice, light loaf with good texture and flavor. I had one cup of sourdough starter in my freezer, so I thawed and proofed it as directed in step 15. Then I followed the mixing and kneading directions. I put all the dough in one large loaf pan. After making slit in top of loaf, I spritzed the top of loaf with water. I put sauce pan of water and the loaf of dough in a COLD oven and turned temp. to 375 degrees and baked the required time - about 40 minutes. The bread turned out very light and high, as it rose even more while the oven was heating. I will be making this bread weekly for sandwiches. Thanks Donna for a very good recipe!

From: pumacreek

On Feb 1, 2005

I used all whole wheat flour, freshly ground. I was surprised at how well it rose — even down to springing enthusiastically in the oven. I think I might try letting the dough rise a couple of times before proofing to develop the flavor and texture a bit more, but it has surprisingly good (and fast!) results as the recipe is written.

From: CobraLimes

On Mar 13, 2005

Donna, thanks for another beautiful bread recipe utilizing the Red Sea wild yeast starter. A perfect crumb, soft textured, and a crisp crust with a delightful flavor. Using the dough cycle of the bread machine made this so simple to throw together. Keep those good bread recipes coming!

From: Sage

On Oct 30, 2002

Superb! Light and a nice thick crust. Hope you don't mind DonnaM I was concerned there was no sugar so I added 1Tblsp sugar as well as 1 tsp Vital Gluten. I read that it helps with sourdough. I will be making this one again and again!

From: Gumboot Gourmet

On Dec 13, 2005

Made the classic mistake of not reading the entire recipe all the way through before making it. The first direction " Put ingredients, in order listed, into bread machine pan." so I ended up having 2 tablespoons of cornmeal in my loaves! LOL They still turned out great! Easy to follow recipe. Especially thank you for put "proofing" instructions in for those of us who don't know how. thanks, dee

From: Marg (CaymanDesigns)

On Nov 12, 2004

Excellent recipe! This was the first time I had ever been able to make a loaf like one you buy or get in a restaurant. I only remembered to mist it twice but it was so crusty that as it cooled the crust was snapping & popping as it cracked. The interior was soft & chewy. It was perfect! Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful recipe! It is a keeper.

From: Katzen

On Jun 21, 2009

Wow, Donna, is this ever a gorgeous loaf!!! It's so easy to make, and it comes out so absolutely stunning. I wish I had time to take a picture, but we're off to Dad's (with the loaf of fresh bread!) for Father's Day. I'm sure this will be a huge hit - and I will definately make this regularly.

From: ~Nimz~

On Jan 29, 2006

Oh this was awesome. I didn't mist the bread or the oven, but brushed the finished bread with some melted butter. Crispy on the outside, but not hard, and chewy on the inside. Just wonderful. I made this with KimmieOH's Sourdough Starter #67075 I made this again tonight for Savory Party Bread #121011. I made 2 round loafs, one a little larger than the other. I turned out great. I had to add 2 tbls of water to the batter. Used Paula's Fail Proof Sourdough Starter which is excellent. Great turn out.

From: Bonnie G #2

On Aug 21, 2007

How could I possibly give anything less than 5 stars. This was soooo good. I don't have a bread machine so mixed it in my Kitchen Aid and then shaped by hand. My only mistake that I can think of is I didn't make the slashes quite deep enough. I wasn't sure how deep to go. Spraying with water was new to me, but when all was done it had a wonderful crust and soft inside with just a mild sour dough taste. YUM!! This is on my list to repeat many times to come. Thanks again Donna for another great recipe. Bonnie G PS: Just made this for the second time and it came out even better than the first. LOVE IT