Artisan Bread

You can make bakery-style artisan bread at home! My incredibly easy recipe can rise overnight or be made the same day. Naturally egg and dairy free!

Recipe includes a how-to video!

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 40

Rising Time 2

Total Time 3 5

Servings loaf

Calories 1713kcal

Author Sam Merritt

Equipment

Ingredients

3 ½ cups (437 g) bread flour plus more if needed
2 ¼ teaspoons (7 g) instant yeast
1 Tablespoon (12 g) granulated sugar optional
1 ½ teaspoons (10 g) salt
1 ½ cups (360 ml) warm water 115F/46C

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.
3 ½ cups bread flour, 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast, 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons salt
Add warm water and stir until combined. Dough will be sticky.
1 ½ cups warm water
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in volume, usually 2-3 hours. Alternatively, cover dough and refrigerate overnight (no need for it to rise first, pop it right in the fridge).
When dough has risen, scrape out onto a generously floured surface and form into a ball with your hands. If the dough is too sticky to handle, sprinkle a light amount of flour over the surface, adding more as needed to handle/shape the dough.
Stretch and fold: Grasp the dough at the top (think 12 o’clock, if the dough were a clock face) and stretch it over the bottom (6 o’clock). Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat. Repeat this step two more times for a total of 4 stretch and folds. I demonstrate this in the photos above and in the video, if a visual helps!
Use your hands to form the dough into a ball again (don't be afraid to shape it, you want it to be more round than flat!), place on a large piece of parchment paper (the parchment should be large enough that you can lift it up and lower it into a Dutch oven), and lightly cover with plastic wrap.
Allow dough to rest, covered, for 30 minutes. As it rests, preheat oven to 450F (230C) and place a 4qt Dutch oven (with lid) in the center rack of your oven.
After 30 minutes, carefully remove Dutch oven from the oven. Score your bread down the middle, remove the lid off of the Dutch oven, and gently lower the parchment paper and bread into the pot. Place lid on top, and return to 450F (230C) oven.
Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, then remove lid and allow to bake for another 10 minutes. I like to check the internal temperature of my bread with an instant read thermometer to be sure it's finished baking, look for an internal temperature of 195-200F (90-93C) in the thickest part of the bread.
Remove from oven and allow to cool in Dutch oven for 10 minutes, then use the parchment paper to carefully lift the loaf from the pot and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing. Do let the bread cool until no longer warm to the touch or the interior will be gummy.

Video

Notes

Video Note

I accidentally say to return the pot to the (350F) oven once the bread is added. I misspoke! You want the oven to remain at 450F the entire time.

Baking in different dishes:

A 4 qt Dutch oven works best for this recipe, but you do have some other options that will work, too:

9x5” bread pan: After the “stretch and fold” process, gently roll dough into a loaf shape, tucking the ends under. Place in a greased bread pan and let sit, covered, for 30 minutes while oven preheats. After 30 minutes, score bread, cover pan with an inverted loaf pan (or tent with foil) and bake in 450F (230C) oven for 20 minutes, then remove the “lid” and bake another 10 minutes.

Bake on a cookie sheet: After dough has risen, (step 3) scrape onto a generously floured surface and divide into two pieces. Form each into a ball, and follow the “stretch & fold” instructions in the recipe for each. Place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet, cover lightly with plastic wrap, and sit for 30 minutes while oven preheats (space the dough as it will increase in size). After rising, score each loaf and bake in 450F (230C) oven for 17-20 minutes.

Larger Dutch oven: Baking time will likely be reduced and bread will be flatter.

Flour

An equal amount of all-purpose flour could be substituted in a pinch.

Storing

Wrap tightly or store in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Bread may also be tightly wrapped (or sliced and individual slices wrapped) and frozen for several months. To thaw, let sit at room temperature for several hours or toast individual slices. Whole loaves may also be rewarmed in 350F/175C oven for several minutes.

Nutrition