Artisan Bread - Easy Homemade Recipe

loaf of homemade artisan bread on a wooden cutting board

5 from 155 votes

Artisan Bread - Easy Homemade Recipe

What could be better than a warm loaf of Homemade Artisan Bread that you made in your very own kitchen. You'll amaze your family and friends with my easy to make "almost" no-knead bread.

Prep Time25

Cook Time40

Total Time1 5

Course: Bread

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 218kcal

Equipment

cloche or ductch oven

Ingredients

Bread Dough

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoon sugar *see notes
1½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dry active yeast
1½ cup water room temperature

Proof and Bake

1 teaspoon olive oil
½ cup flour to finish dough and use on countertop
water to brush the bread with to brush the bread with

US Customary - Metric

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.
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). 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.
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 the oven to 450 degrees F and place the empty cloche or dutch oven in the oven on the middle rack to preheat along with the oven.
Place the covered dough on top of the stove to finish rising for 30 - 40 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 (or dutch oven) from the oven (close the oven door).
Place the parchment paper with the dough onto the cloche, (or inside the dutch oven) cover with the lid and place back into the oven.
It's okay to bake the bread on parchment paper.
Bake the bread for 30 minutes at 450 degrees F.
After the 30 minutes have passed remove the lid from the cloche or dutch oven, leaving the bread in the oven.
Turn off the oven.
Allow the bread to stay in the oven for about 10 minutes (less if it looks like it's 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.

Video

Notes

Why do I need sugar in my Bread Recipe?

That's a good question and one I had pondered until I spoke with a master baker about what each ingredient did to make the end result in 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 give 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 formation of gluten strands, which helps keep the bread fresher longer

Will sugar make the 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.

*The Sugar can be left out of the recipe. I use sugar because of all the reasons listed above. But the bread recipe will still work without it.

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 to cook the bread on a cookie sheet

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Set one rack in the bottom of the oven and one rack in the middle of the oven. Place a metal cake pan in the bottom of the oven (you will add water to this later)
Prepare a sheet pan by dusting it with cornmeal or use parchment paper.
Place the dough on the prepared cookie sheet for the final rise.
Follow the recipe for the rest of the dough preparation.
Place the sheet pan on the middle rack and pour one cup of warm water into the cake pan on the bottom rack.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the outside of the bread has a nice golden color.
Allow the bread to rest on a wire rack until completely cool.

Nutrition