I've been trying in vain to bake french bread here in the Philippines and it has never turned out to be anything worth eating. It always ends up yeasty, hard/rubber-like and small! Would shortening the rising time or decreasing the yeast amount work?

Some details:
-instant yeast was used
-slamming was employed for the kneading
-the dough was given 2-4 hours for the first rise, 1-2 hours for the second, and 1-1/2 hours for the final rise
-the typical temperature around here is 36 C or roughly 97 F
-there was difficulty slashing the loaves because it sticks and it doesn't rise much in the oven