Crusty Artisan Bread
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This crusty bread recipe is astonishingly easy—no kneading required—and makes three beautiful loaves, which you can bake as needed.
This homemade artisan bread recipe is astonishingly easy, and it makes enough for three delicious loaves, which you can bake as needed. What’s more, the dough takes just five minutes to make, does not require kneading or any special equipment, and can rest in the fridge for up to two weeks (the flavor becomes more complex the longer it sits). The recipe is modestly adapted from one of my favorite baking books, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day by Jeff Hertzberg M.D. and Zoë François.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Crusty Artisan Bread
This recipe has just four ingredients: all-purpose flour, instant yeast, kosher salt, and water. (The cornmeal is for dusting the pan.) As you can see, I use instant (or rapid-rise) yeast. Active dry yeast may be used instead of instant yeast, however, the dough will take longer to rise. To give active dry yeast a boost, you can dissolve it in the lukewarm water and let it sit until frothy, about 10 minutes. After that, add it to the flour and proceed with the recipe.
How To Make Crusty Artisan Bread
In a very large (6-quart) bowl, combine the flour, salt, and yeast. Mix to combine.
Add 3 cups of lukewarm water (no need to be exact but lukewarm is about 100°F).
Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is uniformly moist, without any patches of flour.
The dough should be sticky and conform to the shape of the bowl. If your dough is too dry, add a few tablespoons more warm water. If it’s too wet, add a few tablespoons of flour. Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter in a warm spot for 2 hours. As you can see below, it will rise a lot!
When you’re ready to bake a loaf, pull out one-third of the dough.
Coat the outside lightly with flour (you don’t want to incorporate more flour into the dough, you just want to be able to handle it). Gently work the dough into a smooth ball, stretching the surface and tucking the ends underneath.
Put the dough ball onto a cornmeal-dusted baking sheet and let rest at room temperature, uncovered, for about 40 minutes. (If the dough has been refrigerated, allow it to rise for 60 minutes, or up to 90 minutes if you want a more open and airy crumb structure.) The dough will rise a bit. It may also spread/flatten a bit; that’s okay.
The dough will rise a bit.
Generously dust the dough with flour. Using a sharp knife, make a few 1/2-inch-deep slashes in the dough — a scallop, cross, or tic tac toe pattern all look nice.
Set a metal pan on the bottom rack of a preheated 450°F-oven. Slide the baking sheet with the dough into the oven, and carefully fill the metal cake pan with one cup of hot tap water. This creates steam in the oven. (Try to do this quickly so as not to let heat out of the oven.) Bake until the loaf is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
This bread is best enjoyed fresh on the day it is made. Once sliced, place the loaf cut-side down on a cutting board or plate and leave it uncovered.
How To Freeze
The dough can be portioned into thirds and frozen in airtight plastic containers for up to 1 month. Defrost the dough in the refrigerator overnight, then shape, rest and bake as usual. The baked loaves can also be frozen whole or sliced. Wrap in a zip-top freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 month. To thaw, take the bread out of the freezer and let it come to room temperature, about 3 hours. Reheat in a 350°F oven until warmed through, about 10 minutes.
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Crusty Artisan Bread
This crusty bread recipe is astonishingly easy—no kneading required—and makes three beautiful loaves, which you can bake as needed.
Ingredients
- 6½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off (preferably King Arthur; see note)
- 4 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1½ tablespoons instant/rapid-rise yeast (see note)
- 3 cups lukewarm water (no need to be exact but lukewarm is about 100°F)
- Cornmeal, for dusting the pan
Instructions
- In a very large (6-quart) bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the water and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is uniformly moist, without any patches of flour. The dough should be sticky and conform to the shape of the bowl. If your dough is too dry, add a few tablespoons more warm water. If it's too wet, add a few tablespoons of flour. (See the step-by-step photos for guidance on what the dough should look like.) Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter in a warm spot for 2 hours. If you plan to bake a loaf immediately, proceed to the next step. Otherwise, place the bowl of dough in the refrigerator to be used over the next 14 days. (Once refrigerated, the dough will shrink back a bit; that's okay. Do not punch down the dough at any point, and keep it loosely covered with plastic wrap.)
- Dust a sturdy baking sheet with cornmeal.
- Dust the surface of the dough and your hands lightly with flour. Pull out one-third of the dough and coat the outside lightly with flour (you don't want to incorporate more flour into the dough, you just want to be able to handle it). Gently work the dough into a smooth ball, stretching the surface and tucking the ends underneath, adding more flour as needed so it doesn't stick to your hands. (Don't overwork the dough; this process should only take about 30 seconds.) Put the dough ball onto the prepared baking sheet and let it rest at room temperature, uncovered, for about 40 minutes. (If the dough has been refrigerated, allow it to rise for 60 minutes, or up to 90 minutes if you want a more open and airy crumb structure.) The dough will rise a bit. It may also spread/flatten a bit; that's okay.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Set one rack in the lowest position of the oven and one rack in the middle position. Place a metal pan (any metal cake pan or broiler pan will work; just don't use glass) on the bottom rack. (You will fill this with water later to create steam in the oven).
- Generously dust the dough with flour. Using a sharp knife, make a few ½-inch-deep slashes in the dough -- a scallop, cross, or tic tac toe pattern all look nice.
- Slide the baking sheet with the dough into the oven, and carefully fill the metal cake pan with one cup of hot tap water. (Try to do this quickly so as not to let heat out of the oven.) Bake until the loaf is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.
- This bread is best enjoyed fresh on the day it is made. Once sliced, place the loaf cut-side down on a cutting board or plate and leave it uncovered. (If it lasts beyond a day, I suggest slicing and freezing.)
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions The dough can be portioned into thirds and frozen in airtight plastic containers for up to 1 month. Defrost the dough in the refrigerator overnight, then shape, rest and bake as usual. The baked loaves can also be frozen whole or sliced: Wrap in a zip-top freezer bag and freeze for up to 1 month. (If you plan to use slices one at a time, place pieces of parchment between them so they don't stick.) To thaw, take the bread out of the freezer and let it come to room temperature on the countertop. Reheat in a 350°F oven until warmed through, about 10 minutes.
- Note: Active dry yeast may be used instead of instant/rapid-rise yeast, however, the dough will take longer to rise. To give active dry yeast a boost, you can dissolve it in the lukewarm water and let it sit until frothy, about 10 minutes. After that, add it to the flour and salt, and proceed with the recipe.
- Note: I use King Arthur flour, which is higher in protein than some other all-purpose flours. If using a flour with a lower protein content, such as Gold Medal, you will likely need to add a few more tablespoons of flour.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 slice
- Calories: 100
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 21 g
- Sugar: 0 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 64 mg
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Amazing recipe & so easy! Thank you!
Oh my! Delicious! I too had a bit of a problem getting the dough off my hands but kept at it and while the loaves don’t look as beautiful as Jenn’s, they sure taste good! Next time, will be better. thank you Jenn for all you do. I have made soooooooooo many of your recipes, all with success. You and your family stay well.
Very easy to put together and has wonderful flavour.
My dough out of the fridge did not rise again, and despite the “it may spread/flatten a bit, that’s okay” it baked flat, not risen like a nice loaf. More like a hockey puck.
Should I have reworked it into a taller round before baking? Help, please!
Hi Jenna, Sorry you had a problem with this. It sounds like the dough was too wet. Can I ask what brand of flour you used as that can make a big difference.
Absolutely perfect bread. Thank you for the recipe. Can you make this with whole wheat flour?
So glad you liked it, Rakhi! I’ve only made this with all-purpose flour so I can’t confidently say how it will turn out with different kinds of flour. King Arthur has a variety of bread recipes that call for whole-grain flours if you want to check them out here. And if you have any interest in buying a cookbook, this recipe was adapted from cookbook authors Jeff Hertzberg M.D. and Zoë François and they also have a book that focuses on whole grain bread recipes.
Hi Jenn,
This is excellent bread and very easy to make. I am cooking this almost every day this week my husband and I just love it. You could never go wrong with nice homemade bread. I cut the recipe into half. Just enough for two of us. Can you please send me the link of how to order your book. Thanks for the wonderful recipe. Rose
So glad you like the bread and thanks for inquiring about the cookbook! You can see where to purchase it here. 🙂
I don’t typically write recipe reviews but WOW. For as simple as this recipe is, I am pleasantly surprised at how delicious this turned out! I baked 2 and froze one just to test its freezer friendliness and I’m thankful because I could have easily devoured all 3 loaves tonight 😐 Thank you!
My husband is the dough guy in the family but I made this bread and was very impressed that it turned out! It was easy and delicious!
Hello Jenn,
I have made this bread by exactly following the recipe and it was amazing. My kids said it was like they had in restaurants!
I wanted to ask you, do you think I can add Cranberries and Walnuts to it?
Thanks
So glad this was a hit! I’ve never added any “extras” to this dough, so I’d be hesitant to suggest it – sorry!
Help! This bread is amazing and after reading about two hundred great reviews, I know it was supposed to be easy, too. And it was so easy until I got to the part where I removed from the bowl after it had risen. That’s when it all when downhill….in slow motion! I couldn’t get the dough off of me or in any type of shape. I was about to give up but kept wrestling with it until it sort of resembled bread. I baked it….it came out perfect…crusty outside and soft, delicious inside. What did I do wrong? Should I have floured the board and my hands when removing from the bowl? I am determined to master this as it was that good. I served with manchengo cheese, pepper dew peppers and balsamic vinegar. Thank you…….love your recipes!
Hi Jackie, Glad it ultimately turned out well! It’s a very wet/sticky dough. Just flour your hands very generously so you can work with it, and do your best not to incorporate that flour into the dough. Hope that helps!
Dear Jenn:
When I finally found yeast at an outdoor Farmer’s Market, I searched for easy bread recipes and found yours. I hit the jackpot!!
It was my first time making bread and it turned out perfectly. I followed the instructions exactly as given and ended up with delicious, moist inner layers and crusty-on-the-outside loaves. I baked two, put one baked loaf and one unbaked loaf into the freezer. My husband and I ate the third entire loaf between us in less than two days!
So, so good with spaghetti bolognese, fresh broccoli and a glass of Merlot! The next morning I sliced thinner and toasted for breakfast with butter and fresh, hot coffee! YUMMY! Not a habit I need to “feed” but rationalized it as OK because we’re stuck at home!
Thanks for a simple recipe for a clumsy cook like me!
Hi Jenn,
This recipe was the best bread I have ever made. A packet of yeast has 1 Tbsp in it, so we 2/3rd the recipe (is that a verb?). Quick question – have you ever made this with whole wheat flour? Tips for trying?
Thanks for the ideas! Love from Texas…Pam
So glad you liked it!! I’ve only made this with all-purpose flour so I can’t confidently say how it will turn out with different kinds of flour. King Arthur has a variety of bread recipes that call for whole-grain flours if you want to check them out here.