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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Hi Jenn- I’ve had so much success with the recipes from this site and your cookbook. Thanks for all of the great recipes. I have very little room in my freezer right now. Can the extra dough be refrigerated for a period of time?
Thanks,
Kathy
Yes, you can refrigerate the dough for up to 14 days (and so glad you like the recipes)! 🙂
Made this bread twice. First time followed exactly. Wonderful! Second time subbed half King Arthur whole wheat flour and unintentionally hit convection setting on my oven. Also wonderful! Thanks Jenn
Can I bake part today, put the unbaked dough in the fridge and bake the rest tomorrow? Should I bring it to room temperature before baking?
Definitely! After removing the dough from the fridge, allow it to rise for 60 minutes, or up to 90 minutes if you want a more open and airy crumb structure.
I made this bread and wow! It was terrific, made loads of bread for the freezer (I froze it after cooking, not the dough), and reheated beautifully for a dinner with frozen and yet fresh bread. My only tweak for the next time I make this is to put a little more salt in the bread.
This recipe is so easy and as usual, the instructions for preparing and cooking are detailed and very clear. I love Once Upon a Chef Recipes!!
This bread is great! Unlike an artisan bread that has a very thick and hard crust, this is a dense bread with a crispy crust. It slices beautifully. No modifications and it came out perfect. I have been baking a lot of different breads lately, and this one is the best. It’s perfect and easy.
Hi Jenn, I made this bread and it turned out fantastic. Everyone loved it and we ate 3 loaves in 2 days 😬. I am planning to make it again this weekend but I’m just wondering, is it possible to shape it and cook it as a baguette? If not, do you have a recipe for a baguette?
So glad you enjoyed it, Victoria! Yes, you can definitely shape the dough into a baguette. 🙂
I tried it today and it turned out perfect 👌
What kind of pan did you use? Did you just shape on a cookie sheet? How long? Thank you!
Can you cook this in a heated dutch oven and then remove top to brown? I think that’s a much safer way to bake bread
Yes, Kathy, that should work. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Thank you so much for your recipe! I just tried for the very first time to bake bread and this recipe works for me!
So happy to come across this recipe as many other recipes require equipment like a Dutch oven which I don’t have and I don’t intend to buy just so that I can try making bread.
I also didn’t have a baking tray so I made one using aluminum foil to place it above a grill tray (which comes together with my microwave oven). And also my microwave oven can only reach 428 degrees fahrenheit but it still works on my bread. Just to share steps that I modified a little.
I had some difficulties shaping it into a dough ball, the step before you put the dough on baking paper. In the end, after pulling the surface of the dough and tucking the ends towards the base of the dough, I turned the whole dough in a circular motion. End up it works too! And I had a dough ball in the end! Of course, flouring the hands works too to better handle the dough.
I would really highly recommend this recipe to anyone new to baking. I can’t praise this recipe enough 🙂
Hi Jenny, here in the UK I’ve made quite a few of your recipes especially the breads but what I want to know is very important. Are your oven temperatures for fan assisted ovens? I’m sure this will be of use to everyone. Greetings from the UK and carry on baking! Thanks for the great recipes.
So glad you like the recipes! I always develop and publish my recipes using the regular setting on my oven (because many people don’t have convection settings on their ovens), so I’d go with the regular/non-fan setting.
Best bread ever! Perfect! I’m so glad I found this recipe. 2 loaves gone with minestrone soup tonight. Kids, grandkids all loved this bread. It was also the easiest bread I’ve ever made. Thank you for the recipe!
This bread is addicting!!! It is one of the best recipes out there. I used Artisan flour and it turned out great. Make sure you stir every last bit of flour in. Delicious!!!