Fries, fries, oh my. I love a good french fry. Really any sort of variety is fine with me. I lean toward the skinnier crispier version but all fries are worthy of my attention. Sometimes I am craving a delicious cardboard box of fries from a fast food restaurant but don’t want the guilt and stomach discomfort that that entails. These easy oven fries will satisfy that craving and you don’t need to face the guilt because these babies are baked to perfection instead of fried. Woohoo!
Let’s dive in. Start with some good ol’ fashioned, tried and true, russet potatoes. Like I said earlier, I lean toward the skinnier crispier fry so cut your potato into 1/4″ strips.
Cutting Sizes:
You can decide for yourself how to cut your potatoes. You are an adult that can make your own decisions so let your preferences and tastebuds be your guide. But know that the thicker the slices, the longer the baking time will be and, you guessed it, the thinner the fries, the shorter baking time you will need.
After the fries are cut and beautiful, add them to a bowl with hot water for 30 minutes. Soaking potatoes in water helps to release starch and thus gives a crispier fry. You can skip this step, but you will regret it when you have fries with a gummy texture. It is also important to note that lots of people advise soaking in cold water, I did this for many years but still ended up with a fry that had the wrong texture. Once I started soaking in hot water, my fries became the perfect crispy on the outside, and soft and fluffy on the inside.
Next, dry the potatoes completely. This is important. This ensures that your potatoes will crisp when baking instead of steam. This is essential for perfect fry texture.
How to dry fries completely:
- Place a kitchen towel on counter.
- Place a layer of paper towels over the kitchen towel.
- Drain your fries from their hot water bath and lay them on the paper towels.
- Place another layer of paper towels over the potatoes.
- Place another kitchen towel over the top of the paper towels so you have a nice sandwich that reads: kitchen towel, paper towels, fries, paper towels, kitchen towel.
- Roll your hands over the top so all parts of the fries are being dried off.
- Pat yourself on the back and take a break from all your hard work.
Now it is time to season these lovelies. Place the fries in a bowl and add some olive oil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Shake them up really well so they are all evenly coated and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Make sure they are in a single layer and no one is overlapping anyone else. This helps give each fry the crisp exterior.
Bake these beauties at 425 degrees F for 40 minutes, tossing the fries once halfway through. When they are finished baking sprinkle them with a pinch of salt.
The next part is important, so pay attention: you worked hard to make these so eat as many as you want and only share if you absolutely have to. I am talking life and death.