Even if you have by no means produced bread, or have produced bread and have failed – this Easy Artisan Bread recipe is for you!  This bread is soft and fluffy on the inside and crunchy on the outdoors. The ideal side dish to soup or pasta for a dunkable delight!

How to Make Artisan Bread at Home

Artisan bread is extremely simple to make simply because there are just a handful of components and you do not even require a stand mixer to make it.

  1. Start by adding flour, yeast and salt to a bowl.  Mix, then add water and mix till every thing is incorporated.  If you are going to incorporate add-ins you would add them now.
  2. Let it sit in the bowl for 8-20 hours, covered.  Yes – you study that appropriate.  You can mix it up at evening and then in the morning you are prepared to finish it off.  After you let it sit in the bowl, turn it out onto a floured surface, or you can also place it in a floured bowl.  Cover and let it sit for 1 hour.
  3. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 450 degrees for 30 minutes. You will require an oven protected pot for this recipe. I like to use a ceramic dutch oven.  Place your pot in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
  4. After your bread has risen for an hour and your pot has preheated for 30 minutes, meticulously location your dough into the pot. Bake your bread with the lid on for 30 minutes and then take away the lid and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes based on how dark you like your crust.
  5. Remove from pot and permit to cool ahead of slicing.

Then serve!  This bread goes excellent with soup and salad, or also with brunch or breakfast as a side.

Easy Artisan bread baked in a cast iron dutch oven, just out of the oven, placed on a slate countertop with a kitchen towel waiting to cool

What Type of Flour is greatest for Artisan Bread?

I have produced Artisan bread with all varieties of flour. The 3 most important varieties that I advise working with are:

  • All-Purpose: Standard all-goal flour is a standard white flour and has mid-variety of protein levels as far as flour goes, which tends to make it a very good selection for most baked goods simply because it will make sufficient gluten to give the light and airy texture we all appear for. AP flour functions effectively with this Artisan bread recipe and will give you the fluffy chewy bread we all appreciate!
  • Bread Flour: This sort of flour has a larger protein content than all-goal which indicates it will make more gluten and give you a lighter, more airy and chewy bread. It is absolutely the excellent flour for generating bread.
  • Whole Wheat Flour: Whole wheat flour can come in a range of consistencies from added coarse to added fine. An added coarse grind will give your bread a more dense complete grain texture whilst an added fine grind will give the bread a smoother texture. If you use complete wheat flour in your artisan bread, it absolutely will not rise as a lot as when working with white flour and you will finish up with a a lot more dense loaf. This is not necessarily a terrible factor, if you get started with that expectation. You can usually attempt half wheat and half white flour or a mixture of each.
Two loaves of rustic round loaves of artisan bread on cooling racks

What Variations of Artisan Bread Can I Make?

This artisan bread recipe is extremely versatile.  You can make it just plain which is very good if you are serving with a flavorful soup.  Or you can get started playing with it and use add-ins.  Some of our favorites are:

Sweet Add-Ins:

  • cranberry+white chocolate+walnut (add 1/4 cup of every)
  • cranberry + cinnamon (1/4 cup cranberries + 2 tsp cinnamon)
  • cinnamon + raisin ( 2 tsp cinnamon + 1/4 cup raisins)
  • white chocolate + pecan ( 1/4 cup of every)

Savory Add-Ins:

  • rosemary (1 tbsp dried rosemary)
  • jalapeno cheddar (1/4 cup chopped pickled jalapenos + 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese)
  • garlic parmesan (6 cloves minced garlic + 1/3 cup shredded parmesan)
  • sundried tomato + oregano + feta (1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes + 2 tsp dried oregano + 1/4 cup crumbled feta)

Let me know what variations you attempt in the comments beneath!

Artisan white bread baked in a cast iron dutch oven, one a cutting board waiting to be sliced
Two loaves of rustic round loaves of artisan bread on cooling racks
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1/2 tsp yeast
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
  • Put initially 3 components in bowl and stir till incorporated. If you are going to use add-ins, place them in now.
  • Add the lukewarm water and stir once more till components are combined.
  • Cover bowl with saran wrap. Set aside and let rest for 8-10 hours or overnight.
  • After dough has rested, flour a surface.  Wet hands and pat into a ball – attempt to get as round as you can. Let it rise for an hour.
  • Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Place your pot into the oven at 450 for 30 minutes
  • After the bread has risen for an hour, take your pot out of the oven and location bread in the hot pot. Bake for 30 minutes.  Take lid off and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes for a darker crust. Let cool ahead of slicing and get pleasure from!

Calories: 172kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 445mg | Fiber: 1g