I’ve been making no-knead homemade artisan bread for the last 15 years and its always been good but never quite what I hoped it would be. It just wasn’t quite right.
Of course, it was still delicious and we enjoyed the homemade bread, but it always left me thinking it could be better.
I’ve experimented with different quantities of yeast and salt. I’ve added sugar, honey and other types of flours to the recipe in my quest for the perfect no-knead bread recipe.
Then one day I was watching a sourdough bread video, which was way too much work for a loaf of bread, but the technique that was used to knead the dough intrigued me. And I thought I would try that method with my much easier to make no-knead bread recipe.
And it was amazing! The results finally yielded the bread I’ve been hoping to make for the last 15 years. It does require a small amount of kneading but it’s pretty darn easy to make.
See all those little air holes, that’s what I’ve been missing in my no-knead bread all these years! It has a nice crisp crust, a lighter texture and a wonderful flavor.
What do I need to make Homemade Artisan Bread?
It’s a very short list of ingredients to make this perfect loaf of homemade artisan bread. All-purpose flour, sea salt, yeast and sugar are the only ingredients you need.
I use Sherpa Pink Himalayan Salt in my kitchen. The other products I use are King Arthur Flour, Active Dry Yeast and Natural Cane Sugar.
Why do I need sugar in my Bread Recipe?
That’s a good question and one I had pondered until I spoke with master baker about what each ingredient did to make the end result the bread I wanted.
Sugar has quite a few jobs and provides substantial improvements to yeast bread. It’s not an essential ingredient but it helps make a better loaf of bread.
- Sugar provides an additional source of food for the yeast. The yeast converts this food to carbon dioxide and alcohol
- Sugar (like salt) enhances the flavor of the bread
- Sugar helps gives the crust that golden color we love
- Sugar improves the crumb texture of the bread
- Sugar helps retain moisture in bread and slows down the fomation of gluten strands, which helps keep the bread fresher longer
Will sugar make my homemade bread sweet?
That’s a great question and the answer is no. We are not using enough sugar to make this a sweet bread. You won’t even notice it’s in the bread.
Why do I need salt in my homemade bread?
- Salt regulates the rate of yeast activity. It provides a slow and steady rise which is even more crucial in this semi no-knead bread. The slower rise gives the yeast time to develop the characteristic bread flavors we love
- Salt also strengthens the gluten structure of bread dough. It keeps the trapped carbon dioxide bubbles to expand too quickly
- Salt makes bread taste better
How do I make Homemade Artisan Bread?
The process is fairly simple and only takes about 10 minutes to make the bread dough and get it set up for the first rise.
Following the recipe add the salt, sugar and yeast to the flour. Whisking it all together to make sure everything is equally distributed.
Then in a stand mixer (or by hand) add in the water. Depending upon the brand of flour you use, you may need a little less or a little more water. So start with about ¾’s of the water adding more if needed. The dough should be a little wet and sticky.
The last step is to place the bread dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place the bowl on your counter away from drafts and allow it to rise for 12 -16 hours.
When the first rise is done, the bread dough should look like this. The dough may rise a little more, than fall a little. That’s normal, don’t worry.
The first step is to lightly flour a counter top and place the bread dough on the floured area. At this point you are going to begin adding additional flour to the bread until the dough is no longer wet and sticky.
You don’t want the dough completely dry, but it should be easy to work with when you’ve added enough flour. This should take you about 5 minutes.
The next steps are the folding process that will give the dough the textures and appearance we want.
- On a floured surface flatten the dough out to make a rectangle
- Fold over ⅓ of the dough to the center (you’re folding the widest part first as shown in the pictures above)
- Fold over the other side of the rectangle overlapping the first fold of the dough
- Continue the folding process by folding the bottom ⅓ of the dough upwards towards the center of the little package you’ve made
- Now fold the top part of the dough down overlapping the fold you just made
- Turn the dough over (seam side down) and make a disc or oblong loaf depending upon what shape bread you want to make.
A Dough Scraper/Cutter will make the process easier and will help move the dough around without touching it all the time.
Place the finished dough on parchment paper (sprinkle cornmeal or flour on the parchment before placing the dough)
Cover the dough with a bowl or damp tea towel for the second rise. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. and place the dough on top of the stove to finishing rising for about 30 minutes.
When the bread has finished rising it should have a pillowy appearance and feel. Don’t handle the dough anymore than you have to at this point.
The next step is cutting a design (if you want to) on the top of the bread. I used one of my kitchen knives but they never really make great cuts so I ordered a Bread Lame and Scoring Tool from Amazon. You don’t really need this, but you know what they say about a boy and his toys.
The last step before placing the bread dough in the oven is to brush the dough with water. Water helps crisp up the outer crust of the bread, which is what I prefer.
- Brush with olive oil for a smooth chewy crust
- Dust the bread with flour for a rustic look and chewy crust
- Brush with melted butter for a softer crust and appearance
- Brush with egg to get a shiny brown crust
**If you want to add seeds to the bread, any of the wet methods will help the seeds stick to the bread.
I use an Emile Henry Cloche to bake my bread in. You can also use a Dutch oven for this Artisan Bread.
What size dutch oven should I use to bake this recipe?
To make one loaf from my recipe you will need a 7 qt. dutch oven or bigger. If you have a 5 qt dutch oven, you can reduce the recipe by one-third or make two loaves.
What if I don’t have a cloche or a dutch oven?
If you don’t have a cloche or a dutch oven, a heavy metal cake pan (round or oblong) will work. If you use a cake pan, you will do your final rise in the pan. The bread will come out a little darker because it won’t be covered.
The finished bread is simply amazing. And once you get the hang of it, the process will only take minutes.
I keep a ziplock few bags of the flour and other ingredients measured out ahead of time. That makes it super easy to get the make the bread after dinner so it’s ready to bake in the afternoon.
If you love to bake you may also like these recipes:
- Artisan No-Knead Bread
- Pecan Caramel Cinnamon Rolls (no-knead)
- Apple Butter Sticky Bun Recipe
- Pan Dulce Recipe (no-knead)
Homemade Artisan Bread
Equipment
- cloche or ductch oven
Ingredients
Bread Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp dry active yeast
- 1½ cup water room temperature
Proof and Bake
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ½ cup flour to finish dough and use on countertop
- water to brush the bread with to brush the bread with
Instructions
Bread Dough
- Mix all the dry ingredients together. Use a whisk to make sure they are mixed well. Place into the bowl of your stand mixer set up with the dough hook.**you can also mix this by hand using a wooden spoon or your hands.
- Add the water and stir into the dry ingredients until a dough forms. It should start to pull away from the bowl. The dough will look wet and sticky.
- Place the dough in a large bowl that has been lightly oiled. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place the bowl in a warm part of your kitchen away from any drafts.
- Allow the dough to rise for at least 12 hours up to a maximum of 16 hours. 12-14 hours is the sweet spot. Bubbles wil form in the dough and it may drop a bit after rising.
Proof and Bake
- Lightly flour the countertop and dump out the bread dough on the floured surface.
- Add flour into the dough as you work the dough around. This will take about 5 minutes. Keep adding flour until the dough isn't sticky. Form the dough into a ball.
- Flatten the dough out to make a rectangle.
- Fold over ⅓ of the dough to the center (you're folding the widest part first as shown in the pictures). Fold over the other side of the rectangle overlapping the first fold of the dough.
- Continue the folding process by folding the bottom ⅓ of the dough upwards towards the center of the little package you've made. then fold the top part of the dough down overlapping the fold you just made.Turn the dough over (seam side down) and make a disc or oblong loaf depending upon what shape bread you want to make.
- Place the finished dough on parchment paper (sprinkle cornmeal or flour on the parchment before placing the dough)
- Cover the dough with a bowl or damp tea towel for the second rise. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
- Place the cloche or dutch oven in the oven on the middle rack and preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. and place the covered dough on top of the stove to finishing rising for about 30 minutes.
- When the dough has fully risen, using a very sharp knife cut a design into the top of the bread. Make deep cuts.Brush the entire bread dough with water.
- Very Carefully remove the cloche from the oven (close the oven door).
- Place the parchment paper with the dough onto the cloche, cover with the lid and place back into the oven.It's okay to bake the bread on the parchment paper.Â
- Bake for 30 minutes at 450 degrees F.
- Remove the lid from the cloche or dutch oven, leaving the bread in the oven. Turn off the oven. Allow bread to stay in the oven for about 10 minutes. Less if it looks like its getting too dark. This will finish the baking process, crisping up the outside of the crust bread adding more color to the crust.Dark Bread is okay, it looks more rustic!
- Let the bread rest for at least an hour before cutting. Cutting the bread too soon will release the steam (water) and toughen the bread.
Angela
Hi Chef Dennis!
Like half the world, I’ve been utilizing this pandemic home time to improve on my baking, and artisan bread has been my Achilles heel. Much to my aggravation, I have been unable to create those amazing holes inside the bread. It always comes out very dense. Flavorful, but heavy. I stumbled on your website and this recipe for your minimum-knead artisan bread and I am very intrigued however I have some questions about timing.
Everything that I’ve researched and subsequently put into practice is to let the bread rise for a minimum of 24 hours up to a week (depending on the recipe) in the refrigerator.
Yet your recipe says to put on the counter for 12-14 hours. I am assuming that the addition of the sugar speeds up the process – hence the shorter rise cycle (none of the other recipes I’ve used included sugar). However with a 12-14 hour cycle, I can’t figure out when to start it so I’m not baking at 2 in the morning or some other ungodly or inconvenient time. Can I put this dough in the refrigerator to rise for 24 hours so I can start it after work on day one and bake it after work on day 2?
Many thanks in advance for your time and advice!
Chef Dennis Littley
Thats the method I use to use for making bread but was never really happy with the results. After watching a video on sourdough I decided to try a new method for making bread combining the slow rise method with the folding of the dough.
I would make the dough sometime in the afternoon or early evening and then bake the bread the bread the next day. I tried refrigerating the dough and it didn’t do well.
Try this method and if it doesn’t provide a better loaf of bread you can always go back to the old techniques. This is the only way I make bread anymore and after a few loaves it becomes automatic and takes no time at all.
Colleen
I’ll be making this recipe this week and I’m wondering if I double it, do I need to simply double the amount of each ingredient. I’ve made no-knead breads for years and I’m very excited to try your version with sugar. Thank you for being so thorough in your directions!
Chef Dennis Littley
yes, just double the amount of each ingredient. I’m very happy with the results this dough makes. There is a little folding of the dough but its still basically no knead
Colleen
Update:
I made this recipe for my family for NYE dinner and it has now become their new favorite. It was a double size loaf that I baked in my large size EH Tagine. My advice, break away from no knead and try this. You won’t be disappointed.
Mazy Walczak
The bread is wonderful and SO easy! Relatively fool proof of you follow the instructions. Eventually I experimented a little and added a whole packet of instant yeast. Additionally I also added about 1/2 cup of my sourdough starter. The result was a bread that was truly irresistible; full of lovely air pockets and impossible to quit eating! I cook mine in a fast iron skillet with parchment paper but no lid. Thanks much for the wonderful recipe!
Chef Dennis Littley
I’m happy to hear that you’ve been enjoying making bread Mazy. It is extremely easy to make. I’m also happy to hear you’ve been experimenting with the recipe, thats when you really start having fun cooking!
Elizabeth Kelley
What size of Dutch oven do I need? They come in sizes from 3 qt. To 8 qts!
Chef Dennis Littley
to make one loaf out of the dough in the recipe you would need a 7 qt dutch oven. If you only have a 5 qt, you can easily cut the recipe by 1/3.
Maureen K Cosentino
Darn, I can’t this my cast iron pan with lid (osteoporosis) anymore. Could I cover a pan with foil for a cover?
Maureen K Cosentino
U meant I can’t lift the cast iron pan.
Chef Dennis Littley
sure, it might not be quite the same but it should come out well.
Tina Luebke
I use rapid rise yeast for all my other breads. As you know, yeast is almost impossible to find right now! Can I use rapid rise yeast in this recipe? Thank you.
Chef Dennis Littley
it shouldn’t be a problem, there is very little yeast in this recipe
Jill
Hi .. this looks like a great and easy recipe. Wondering if there a flour substitutes that would give the same result?
i.e. oat flour; coconut flour?
Thanks
Chef Dennis Littley
hi Jill
working with non-gluten flours requires a different method, but not working with those flours, I wouldn’t know where to tell you to begin.
Steph
Can I use my Emile Henry Tagine and get the same (or close to it) results?
Chef Dennis Littley
that should work. I would just foil the top so the heat doesn’t escape.
Alena
I love how you make it look so easy to make such a delicious looking loaf of bread! The step by step pictures are really helpful too.
Sara
Such a helpful guide to making this (almost) no-knead bread! I can’t wait to try it out … those air pockets are everything that I want in bread. Looks and sounds delicious!
Sophie
I love artisan breads. This looks so so good and easy to make. I am adding this to my list of to-do.
Denise
Who can turn down a piece of fresh homemade bread? I know I can’t! I love this easy to follow recipe, thank you for sharing.
Sharon
There is nothing like homemade bread. This artisan bread is perfect alongside soups and stews or even for sandwiches.
Paula Montenegro
There’s certainly nothing better than fresh bread! The smell in the house is priceless. Great post Dennis, very well explained. I will be making this bread soon!
Eva
Really enjoyed reading your bread recipe, thank you for that. I have recently bought my first Dutch oven (I’m a late bloomer) and started baking bread, so I get hooked on all bread recipes I find!
Karen
I think a small pinch of sugar in the dough makes a difference – thanks for making this bread look so easy to make!
Cory Varga
Great bread. The pictures show such nice and fluffy interior. I love making bread at home and I can’t wait to try it
rika
The bread looks so good! I love homemade bread, always taste fresh and delicious!
Swathi
Beautiful no knead bread. Love that it is an easy to follow recipe. Great bread.
Lizzie Lau
This artisan bread recipe is awesome! I’ve had a bread revelation recently too. I’ve been baking sourdough for years and had no idea I could do a no knead version. My bread baking has leveled up.
Kita Bryant
I have got to try this recipe! I love baking homemade breads.
Barbie
Yummy, making me hungry. The shrimp looked so yummy too.
Tayo
I love all the very helpful tips you gave and the process shots also. This is one recipe I’ll definitely print out to try. Thank you!
Kathy
This bread looks amazing. I’ve been wanting to make some bread too. I will certainly be giving this one a try. I bet it’s going to be so good.
Heather
This bread turned out delicious! I served it with some soup and it was perfect!
Lynndee
I actually just had artisan bread with my coffee. I didn’t bake it, though. I got it from a restaurant. Going to try your recipe soon.
Agnes
I am planning to bake bread and this is the help that I need! Thank you for this post.
Catalina
Oh my goodness! This bread is everything I need right now! The homemade bread is always irresistible!
Rena
This looks amazing! I’ve only recently gotten my nerve up to try to bake bread, but I have to try this one!
Jess
This is such an easy recipe to get fresh bread in your house.
Maren
I love artisan bread! The crust on your bread looks so crisp and delicious
Amber Myers
I might have to make this. I LOVE fresh bread in the house. I know I’d eat so much of it, but you know, worth it 😉
Beth
This looks like a great recipe for homemade bread! I haven’t made bread in years and didn’t think I would be up to all the work that is normally involved. I am excited to try this.
Sue
Yum! There is nothing like the smell of fresh baked bread!
Pam Wattenbarger
I love to make bread from scratch. It’s so relaxing to knead the dough. I look forward to trying your recipe too!
MELISSA Chapman
This is a great tutorial for bread makers. Alas I have never made bread at home. I wish I could make a bread like this and it looks so moist and fresh.
Danielle Fox
I never thought to use my dutch oven as a took to make bread. I am totally trying this way next time I bake bread
Tasheena
I have to invest in a Dutch oven. Looking forward to giving this recipe a try.
Jen
Looks delicious. I’ve never made bread, but it sounds relaxing to knead the dough. Might be fun to have kids help if they have sensory needs!
Melanie
I have making bread for the last past weekend and I will try yours next weekend. I love that it is not using a lot of yeast! I’m totally saving it and will let you know how it turns out!
robin rue
That sounds so good. I have never really made bread here at home, but since I have all this extra time I might have to give it a try.
Christi
Oh wow! This is a GREAT recipe. I have trouble finding good artisan bread recipes that don’t require a lot of ingredients. Thanks so much.
Saif
I could imagine fresh homemade artisan bread from the oven. Perfect to eat this with butter.
Marina
Great recipe!