Easy Artisan Bread Recipe

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Bread baking can be intimidating, especially if you are new to baking. This easy and delicious artisan bread recipe can be baked by anyone and always tastes great. There is very little kneading involved and it’s ready in about 3 hours. You’ll be sure to want to bake this delicious bread recipe again and again. 

Making This Easy Artisan Bread at Home

What do I love most about artisan breads? They have very few ingredients and are so easy to make. Most artisan breads are yeast, bread, water and salt. This wonderful recipe also a touch of sugar and a bit of olive oil for softer bread. 

It’s a perfect option for anyone choosing to go vegan as there is no milk, butter or eggs. It’s also a cheap way to get bread without having to do a lot of work to get it made. 

No Knead Bread Baking

Believe it or not, this recipe needs very little kneading. In order to get the right texture, the added olive oil really improves the soft and fluffy texture of the bread, while the crust is brown and crunchy. Less kneading makes for a very easy recipe that anyone can bake. 

Ingredients:

• Flour – I like to use bread flour as the texture is usually a little softer, but regular, all-purpose flour is also great.
• Salt – No bread recipe is complete without salt. Salt brings out the flavor in your bread.
• Yeast – I like to use active-dry yeast, although I’m sure rapid rise yeast would also work.
• Sugar – Sugar feeds the yeast so that it grows happily before being baked. If you’re at high altitude, always reduce the amount of sugar you use in a bread recipe.
• Hot Water – The heat will activate the yeast, allowing it to rise. It cannot be too hot though, water should be between 110 degrees and 130 degrees. Anything higher will kill your yeast.
• Olive Oil – This helps the texture of your bread come out softer on the inside. You can leave it out if you don’t have any, but I would encourage you to include it. 

Allowing Your Bread to Rise

This recipe has two rising times for the best result. After mixing the ingredients initially, you will need to allow the bread to rise for 2 hours. After the initial rise, the bread will be kneaded a bit.

Knead the dough by adding a small amount of flour, then fold the dough in on itself 10 or so times. Then place the bread in a Dutch oven that has been lined with parchment paper. The bread will need to rise once more inside a pre-warmed Dutch oven for 30 minutes before baking.

Baking In A Dutch Oven

This recipe is ideally baked in a Dutch oven. A Dutch oven is perfect for bread baking because it keeps all the moisture inside of the cast iron pot, resulting in a perfect loaf. This is especially important if you live in a dry area.

Although this recipe can also be baked on a baking sheet, I find the Dutch oven to be your best option. My two favorite Dutch ovens to cook in are: the Le Creuset 5 qt. Dutch oven, which is a bit more expensive, and the Lodge 5 qt. Dutch oven, which is much more reasonably priced. 

An enameled cast iron pan is a lot less work, but more cost up-front. While a cast iron Dutch oven requires occasioning seasoning and special cleaning. Both will last a lifetime with proper care however.

Enjoying Your Artisan Bread

This bread is delicious right out of the oven, although it slices better if you allow it to cool. Like all breads, this easy artisan bread can be slathered in freshly churned butter with some homemade strawberry jam or plum jam!

WANT MORE BREAD OPTIONS? You may want to check out this delicious No Knead Beer Bread baked in a Dutch oven. You may also like this easy Irish Soda Bread too!

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Easy Artisan Bread

Make this delicious artisan bread in just a few hours! Perfect for beginners, this artisan bread can be baked in your Dutch oven with little kneading and easy ingredients. Enjoy it with soup or some homemade butter and jam.

Course Bread

Keyword artisan, bread, cast iron cooking, easy recipes

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Rising Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 3 cups bread Flour you can substitute all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 2 tsp dry active yeast you can substitute rapid rise or instant yeast
• 1 ½ tsp salt
• 1 ½ cups warm water 110-130 degrees Fahrenheit
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, yeast and salt with a baking spatula or whisk.

2. Mix in olive oil and warm water until a dough forms. Dough will be sticky and wet.

3. Lightly oil your other mixing bowl and place the dough into the oiled mixing bowl. Place in a warm location (I usually turn on the oven and place it on the stovetop) with a tea towel covering the dough.

4. Allow the dough to rise for 2 hours until doubled in size. Pre-heat your Dutch oven a bit before the rising time has finished. It just needs to be warm - not hot.

5. Once the dough has doubled in size, remove from the bowl and place the dough on a floured surface.

6. Begin to knead the dough into itself, folding the outside into the center of the dough until you get a nice ball. The dough should not be sticky because of the flour and should be pretty elastic.

7. Line your warmed Dutch oven pan with parchment paper and place the ball of dough into the Dutch oven. Cover your Dutch oven with a tea towel and allow the dough to rise for about 30 minutes. Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

8. Cook in the Dutch oven 30 minutes with the lid on.

9. After 30 minutes your bread should be cooked and delicious. If you want a crusty, darker exterior, bake an additional 10 minutes with the top off.

10. Remove you Dutch oven from the oven, and then remove the bread from the Dutch oven. Allow the bread to cool slightly before eating.