Instant Pot French Bread is very simple to make especially with the short time it takes to proof in the Instant Pot or Instant Dutch Oven. A delicious crusty soft loaf of bread adapted from Julia Childs, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Volume II with just a few ingredients that is proofed and baked to perfection every single time.
1pkgactive dry yeastor if you have a jar, 2 ¼ teaspoons
⅓cupwarm water
3 ½ cupsall-purpose flour
2 ¼teaspoonsalt
1 ¼cupswaterlukewarm
Instructions
Stir the yeast into the warm water until it dissolves.
Add the flour to a large bowl, and whisk in the salt. Add the yeast mixture, and remaining water to the flour. Stir to combine.
Flip dough out to a lightly floured surface and let rest for a few minutes.
Knead the dough until it becomes elastic, and retracts it shape when pulled out. Depending on your experience this could take just a few minutes or a little longer. Roll into a ball.
Oil the inside of your Instant Pot with olive oil, and set the dough ball inside. Cover the pressure cooker with a plate or lid. DO NOT USE THE PRESSURE COOKER LID. If you use the pressure cooker lid, it may become permanently stuck on.
Press the yogurt button, and set for 30 minutes on the normal setting. Once complete, remove the dough, and knead for a few minutes to punch down. Return to the Instant Pot to rise on the yogurt setting for another 30 minutes.
For the Instant Dutch Oven set to 85-degrees on manual mode 1 for one-hour.
Once done, knead the dough one more time. Follow with another rising/proofing in the Instant Pot or Instant Dutch Oven.
For the third rise, knead the dough and form into loaves. Cover with a clean towel, and place in a cold oven for one hour.
Once done make a few slashes in the top of the loaves with a small sharp knife. Brush the top of the loaves with water. Bake for about 25 minutes in a preheated 450-degree oven. Once done remove, and brush with butter.
Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container or bag for a few days. This can also be frozen for up to one month.
Video
Notes
Always be sure to check the date on your yeast to make sure it is still good. The best place to store yeast to make sure it lasts longer is in the freezer. After opening be sure to store in the refrigerator.If the dough is to wet it may have issues rising, so be sure to work in enough flour during the initial kneading to avoid this. You can knead this dough by hand or with the dough hook on your mixer.Also, if you're house is very cold or your dough didn't double as expected then you can continue to proof without kneading. Do this an additional 30-minutes in the Instant Pot or one-hour in the Instant Dutch oven to increase the size of the dough.