Crusty Homemade Artisan Bread is so easy to make with NO KNEADING required. Soft on the inside with an irresistible chewy crust!
A no knead bread recipe without special equipment, stand mixers or dough hooks? YES! If you’ve never made bread before, you will LOVE how easy and forgiving this recipe is. Bread lovers will appreciate the thick, chewy crust and soft open crumb, similar to Ciabatta, perfect to smother with butter.
Have warm, homemade bread from scratch on your table in less than 3 hours!
ARTISAN BREAD
It looks too good to be true, I know. Fluffy, crusty bread with no effort? No way. But ever since we first saw this recipe a few years ago, we have been baking it just about every week. Now you will too! Beginner bakers rejoice: no intimidation needed!
Nothing beats fresh warm bread coming out of your oven, tearing it apart to see hot steam escape while the sweet carb smells make you dizzy. Dip chewy bread pieces into a hot bowl of chicken soup or chili for bread soaked in delicious flavours.
HOW TO MAKE ARTISAN BREAD
All you need is:
FLOUR: Bread flour results in a softer, fluffier bread because of the higher protein content. Regular all purpose or plain flour also work really well, with the texture changing only a little. If using wholewheat flour, use about 1/4 cup less flour and add more as you go, if needed.
SUGAR: Yeast feeds on sugar and starch, the perfect pairing in bread dough. The mix releases carbon dioxide gas, causing the bread to rise while baking. The bubbles push the dough up and out, creating a soft and spongy texture.
YEAST: We have tried this recipe over the years with dried, instant and rapid-rise. We found the dried yeast did not need activating before mixing it through the dry ingredients. If hesitant, feel free to activate it first in the warm water and oil for a couple of minutes before adding the rest of your ingredients.
OIL is what makes our bread even softer. You need this sneaky little addition for a silky, soft crumb.
WARM WATER: Not too hot or it will kill your yeast. 130°F or 55°C is the perfect temperature. You can also do the finger test: if you dip your finger in the water and its nice and warm, it’s perfect. If it burns, let it cool down slightly until warm.
MIX ALL OF YOUR INGREDIENTS TOGETHER UNTIL YOU GET A WET AND SLOPPY MESS
RISE BABY!
Cover with plastic wrap and place in a draft-free warm place for about 2 hours. The dough will double in size; the surface will possibly alarm you, becoming dotted with bubbles. The texture will be like jelly and super sticky. KEEP GOING You’re on the right track.
PREHEAT YOUR OVEN AT THIS POINT! You want to place you dutch oven in so it gets nice and hot!
SCRAPE OUT AND FOLD INWARDS
Lightly flour your work surface AND spatula with up to 1 tablespoon flour. Scrape dough out of bowl onto work surface, sprinkle with a little flour and fold it inwards over itself about 5-6 times.
Don’t use too much flour! You still want it quite sticky for moist, fluffy soft bread.
SHAPE DOUGH
Transfer dough onto a large piece of parchment paper and shape it into a rustic round shape with your spatula. You’re mainly doing this to get some of the air out of it!
Carefully remove your HOT pot using oven mitts. Then, grab the ends of your parchment paper to lift the dough into your pot.
BAKE!
Don’t forget to put the lid back on. This creates steam to bake your bread in before the crust sets in. To get that golden, crunchy crust, remove the lid and bake for a further 12-15 minutes.
You won’t believe how good it looks when it comes out of the oven. Cracks and all!
Let it cool before cutting into it to let the centre of the bread finish cooking. Slather with butter and prepare to have your mind blown! If you love bread, this homemade bread recipe is truly life changing!
MORE BREAD RECIPES
Easy Soft Dinner Rolls (NO MIXER + EGG FREE)
Easy Cheesy Garlic Bread
Soft Cinnamon Rolls
Hot Cross Buns
No Knead Artisan Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups bread flour, or plain/all purpose (15.8 oz. or 450g)
- 1 tablespoon white granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons dried, instant or rapid rise yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) warm water
- 1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
Instructions
- Combine flour, sugar, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add water and oil, mixing to incorporate all of the ingredients together. Dough will be wet, sticky and shaggy.
- Lightly spray the top with cooking oil spray. Cover with plastic wrap and place a dry tea towel over the top.
- Leave in a warm, draft-free place for 2-3 hours, until doubled in size. Dough will have a lot of little holes or bubbles and be wobbly like jelly.
- Place a large (10-inch or 26cm) dutch oven or heavy based pot in the oven with a lid. Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C) 30 minutes before baking.
- Lightly flour work surface and plastic spatula with up to 1 tablespoon flour. Scrape dough out of bowl onto work surface with spatula. Sprinkle the top of dough with a large pinch of flour and fold it over on itself with the spatula (about 5-6 folds). Roughly form a round shape.
- Measure out a large piece of parchment paper, large enough to transfer the dough into the pot. Place paper next to the dough and roll dough onto the paper, smooth side up. Carefully move it to the centre of the paper and reshape if needed, or shake pan a couple of times to evenly distribute dough. (It will even out while baking.)
- Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rest while oven is preheating.
- Use oven mitts to carefully remove hot dutch oven from oven. Grab the parchment paper from each end to pick up the dough and transfer it into the pot.
- Cover with lid and bake for 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake for an additional 12-15 minutes, until loaf is beautifully golden browned.
- Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
SMB says
Excellent taste and texture! So easy to make!
Urvi says
This was my first time making bread and it came out PERFECT!!! Thank you for the recipe!! I don’t have a dutch oven so I used a stainless steel pot and covered it with a baking tray to create the steam…worked like a charm! My family LOVED the bread so much that we finished the loaf in one day! Will be making more today to give to my neighbors. Thanks again!!
Criz says
So easy and taste so good. My husband’s favorite and we don’t have to go out again to grab one from the bakeshop or grocery store. 2nd time i’ve made it, and still turned out so awesome. Thanks for sharing 🙏🏻
Crystal Skarsvog says
Easy recipe so far lol dont have a Dutch oven or pan so I have put then on a cookie sheet . And did a lil egg wash . Crossing my fingers, this is my first bread attempt.
DP says
I don’t have one either. I use two skillets lined wth parchment paper. Works awesome!
Shammin says
I made this a few days ago and it was fantastic! Used bread flour, used a large pyrex bowl and used a cake tin as a lid lol! Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside! The crispiness was PERFECT!
My children and husband LOVED it!
I love that i barely have to mix it and just plop it onto a sheet of baking paper for a change!
Had it with a turkish lentil soup I made!
Will make over and over again!
Thank you so much!
Arlene says
My husband found this recipe and shared it with me. We are very big fans of your recipes!!! I haven’t had the best of luck with artisan type bread (AKA a LOT of “could be used in housing construction / brick” results). This was worth a try. YAY!!! I have been successful at bread!!! Crispy crust outside, so soft inside. It was browned already when I took off the lid so I checked the temp (internal temp about 200 degrees) and we were good to go. The house smelled absolutely wonderful!!! And the taste was awesome. The only problem is warm bread sitting on the counter – it requires some self control ;-). Thank you so much for your recipe, clear instructions and photos! Thank you!!!!
Shannon Bryan says
Easy to do and turned out great! Will more than likely, make another!
Amanda Byers says
I don’t know if it’s just this recipe or this recipe combined with my first time using Einhorn flour but it doesn’t even need butter and I love butter on fresh bread. It’s DELICIOUS!
Julia says
Tried this today, and it came out perfectly!
I was a little hesitant to believe this would work without kneading, but it’s like magic!
Jenny M says
Super easy and delicious! Definitely recommend for beginner bakers!
Janette Foster says
I have made this bread 10x and baking once a week since then i love this recipe
Julie says
I love this bread! But it’s really too much for just the 2 of us. If I half it, how would that change the baking time? Thanks!!
Toby says
How good is this. So simple even a retired truck driver who has never cooked can follow and have perfect success. Now trying your meatloaf. Your husband is a lucky lucky man. Thanks.
Toby says
Hi. Karina I’m a 64 year old retired truck driver that has NEVER cooked.Just taken your artisan loaf out of the oven. WOW how simple was that. 2nd recipe of yours I’ve cooked, even I can follow them. Even my wife was impressed. Thanks for making me look good . Regards Toby
Julie says
I absolutely love this recipe, as my husband. I make it pretty much every other weekend. But one loaf is a lot for two people. If I half the recipe, how much does that change how long you bake it?
Thank you!!
Leah Miller says
I have tried so many bread recipes, and this one is the absolute best, works every time! So soft inside, nice crust outside, and really nice slightly sweet flavor. I just use all-purpose flour and it’s plenty chewy inside the loaf. I use a cast iron dutch oven, works great. Thank you so much, Karina!
Will C says
This is a simple, great recipe for anyone looking to try their hand at homemade bread. I’ll mention that added 1 tbsp. of crushed rosemary and, after proofing for 3 hours on the countertop, let the dough sit in the fridge overnight. A friend who is a great baker shared that tip with me so I gave it a try and this loaf of bread came out better than any other recipe I’ve tried. 5/5
Lynda says
I have to say I love your recipes, thank you for posting. I follow you on FB and receive your emails (just in case I miss one…lol).
I made this with all purpose flour and bread flour. Both are very good but bread flour is the better of the two. I didn’t have a dutch oven so I used the suggestion of one person here and used two cake pans and wrapped them in foil. Worked fine. I think I’ll invest in a dutch oven soon.
I’ve never made bread before and this was very easy and my husband loved it. Thank you.
Sasha Kay says
is it possible to add 10 grain to this recipe? if so – presoaked or as is? many thanks
Pete the Baker says
Loved the recipe!
I have been experimenting with bread for the past 2 years now. This one was probably the easiest to make.
Had tweaked the recipe a bit. Doubled it and then replaced 1/3 cup of water with half a cup of sourdough starter. The result was amazing! The smell of baking bread!! I find that there is nothing more soul satisfying than the delicious smell of bread wafting through the house. My three boys couldn’t wait to eat it – one loaf was finished in under 10 minutes.
Used a dutch oven, a present from the wife, for baking. Would definitely recommend getting one (oven I mean, though a wife isn’t too bad either!)
The bread had a very nice rich color, much like what you see in some of the better restaurants.
Meiling says
I have made this bread around 5 times now, this recipe is a definite keeper.
I remember I couldn’t believe it turned out well the first time around and thought it was a fluke, as I had never baked bread before.
Liz Strbac says
My first attempt at making bread and it turned out perfect…I even used this recipe for pizza dough….love it!
Karen says
does the parchment paper go in the oven? or is that just used to transfer the dough?
Karen says
Yes, once the dough is rolled onto the parchment paper use it to lift the dough into the pot and leave as is….
Jo says
In the oven!
Dee says
I have always left the dough on the parchment paper to cook in the dutch oven. It is fine.
Alexandra says
It goes in the pot. I also sprinkle cornmeal over the paper, before I place the bread on it. It seems to help it not get too dark on the bottom. Also, I like the taste of it, lol
Diane says
The parchment paper does go into the Dutch oven. I wet my piece and squeeze out the excess moisture; this makes the paper easy to manipulate, and then easier to remove from the bread once it is out of the oven and ready to cool. The parchment paper makes it easy to transport the dough and the bread; once you have transported the dough to the hot Dutch oven you can trim the corners if you don’t want them to stick out over the edge of the Dutch oven-just be careful as that Dutch oven is hot hot hot!!!
Ada B says
I have made this recipe 3 times now. It is so easy and the bread is delicious. I was hoping that the crust would come out crustier. My crust is always soft but still a great recipe. My husband has probably eaten an entire loaf in one day!
Julie says
Spritz the oven a few times while heating with water, that will make for a crustier crust!
Angelica Perez says
I have made this bread 2 times now using a Dutch oven and both times the crust is extremely hard. Too hard to enjoy eating but the inside is very soft, fluffy, and yummy. I use 3 1/2 cups flour. Could this be the problem?
Marie says
May I ask why you are using more flour than the recipe suggests
This is likely where the problem lies
Roni says
Angelica,
Baking requires more precise measurements to keep the ratio of the ingredients for successful baking. The recipe stated 3 cups of flour and also stated weight equivalents. It is also important to note that humidity affects dry ingredients such as flour that will also impact your baking success. I suggest that you purchase a digital scale. I use a digital scale that allows the scale to hold, tare (to reset to zero when adding another ingredient into the same bowl such as flour), and offers several weighing options such as pounds and ounces, ounces, and grams. If you are going to be making a lot of bread and rolls, I suggest that you look at scales that will weigh at least 12 pounds or more. Happy Baking
Dennis says
Yes too much flour. Follow the receipt. Use a scale to weigh the flour into grams. i found a cheap but good one on amazon. Also use a spoon to stir up your flour before you weigh it. Flour becomes compact and when placed in a measuring cup is not as accurate as a scale. So your 3 1/2 cups could really be 4 cups of flour. Use less flour.Bake at 450, not 475, sometime 425 is good enough.After 5 minutes in the oven, lift the dutch oven top for a few seconds and then replace cover. This will remove the moisture traps in the dutch oven and give you a softer crust.After 35 minutes remove the dutch ovens lid. Test the temperature of the bread by sticking a thermomater in the top center (half way in) and see what registers. Your bread is done when it reads 190-208 max.Let your bread rest at least 30 minutes before cutting into it. It hard to wait, but the bread will continue to brake and add flavor during this rest period. Good luck
Meiling says
Making it for the second time today! Thanks for sharing this amazing recipes with us! And for all those amazing tips and step by step details.Love your butter chicken and flat bread recipe too!
Rhiannon says
I am going to be making the bread for this weekend! I just wanted to see if we can put the bread in the fridge after the first rise for a few days or it has to be baked the day it is made? Thanks!
Lorena says
This bread is delicious and so easy to make!
Can I freeze the dough to bake another day?
Regina says
Best bread recipe ever. So easy to do!
Thank you 🙂
Debbie says
I made it a couple of weeks ago. It was awesome.
My daughter works in a prep kitchen where there are caterers, food trucks and such doing preparations. She had brought me an artisan bread from one of their bakery vendors. This was just as good, if not better. And it’s so easy.
If you are using cast iron pot for cooking it will probably be done when you take the lid off. 😁
Elizabeth says
Hi, please can you tell me what should I use instead of the dutch oven because I don’t have one.
Thks. Elizabeth
Nick says
Al the dutch oven is doing is exposing the bread to steam. The steam keeps the surface of the dough moist so it can rise and expand. If you don’t have a dutch oven, you can add steam to the oven by placing a pan of water (couple cups should do fine) on the bottom rack while baking.
AlexB says
We just baked ours on a pizza stone – came out great!
Jo says
I use a round glass pyrex casserole dish with lid which works perfectly! You can also just bake it in the oven on a tray and use the tray with boiling water method as mentioned in article.
Julie says
I use a glass casserole dish with a lid. I skip the preheating. Mine turns out perfect.
Theo Vermaak says
Although the recipe looked a bit daunting at first, it was actually very easy once I got started.
End result was absolutely delicious!!!
Served it with a chunky homemade lentil soup. Yummy.
Hinemarie says
Great recipe. Excellent explanations Bread came out just like the pics. Tasted delicious. My husband has requested a loaf on a weekly basis.
Karen says
Oh my, another winner!! Mine came out just like the photos and tasted divine. Crispy crust and fluffy inside. Normal flour was great! I made this with your Creamy Garlic Chicken Breast and using this bread to sop up that sauce…ridiculously good! I will never use another recipe site! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Greetings from Vienna!
Kim says
Easy peasy and delicious! What more can one ask?
Noreen Gamble says
Hi Karina,
Wondering if I could proof this on my yogurt setting in my instant pot for a couple of hours, would it be too much?
LOve your recipes & thank you so much,
Noreen
Sherry says
Does the parchment paper go into the Dutch oven as well?
Katemari says
Yes!
Barbie says
Tried this today! It’s wonderful taste and so light! Loaf half gone in an hour! Have to bake another for the rest of the family lol.
Only problem I had was the bottom got too crispy to cut through, I had to turn on it’s side to cure through it with a serrated knife.
Gloria says
Can an oval shaped le creuset Dutch oven of a similar size be used instead? And, does that affect how much flour or yeast you would need?
Julie says
I don’t see why not. I use a glass casserole dish
Margo Loftus says
This recipe is awesome, easy and wonderful! The taste is perfect, the crust is perfect and the recipe is so easy even I couldn’t mess it up. (THAT in itself is saying something!) I have made 3 loaves in 4 days and am making 2 more today to share with friends (I also rarely share anything I cook). Thanks for posting this.
Wendy says
Thank you SO much for this fabulous recipe!! I don’t have a Dutch oven, so I used two cake tins, one upside down on the other, and wrapped the whole thing in tin foil. I then placed that onto a baking sheet in the oven. An absolutely perfect result! I also used a 50/50 ratio of white and brown bread flour and incorporated toasted seeds into the final folding. Unbelievably delicious!! ❤️
La’Shawn says
Tried this recipe for the first time tonight and it turned out wonderful! This was my third attempt at making bread and this was the best and easiest recipe. I really appreciated the notes on why each ingredient was used.
Ivan Lo says
The recipe was superb despite not having the proper pot to do it in. I used the website you provided for the alternative method and basically just put it in a cake pan with a dish of water underneath. The shape…was a bit flat but the taste and texture were literally perfect! Thanks Karina!
Peggy says
How about if you use a bread cloche. Do you heat the lid as well? Same oven time?
Rosalind Billson says
Hi
I tried Artisan Bread today, a great success. Will definitely make this again.
Thanks for posting such great recipes.
Rosalind
Leanne Potts says
It was delicious! Could you add cheese garlic or herbs. If so what kind of cheese?
El says
I loved the bread, came out perfect. I note that someone else also made a comment on adding herbs and other ingredients. I did not see a comment. So wondering is this due to you not having tried this or somehow I missed the reply. My question would be would one use fresh or died herbs and what would the quantity be and would you add these in when mixing in all ingredients or at another time?
Leanne Potts says
this was amazing and so easy. Could you add some cheese garlic and herbs if so wohld kind of cheese?
Aissa says
At what temperature fo we bake this bread?
Kevin says
thanks it was sooo sooo sooo good!
Marcy youker says
great recipe, very good and easy, love all of them.
Diana Fields says
Don’t have a dutch oven. Is there an adjustment for a sheet pan? Understand that the bread will keep it’s shape better in a dutch oven.
Karina says
Hi Diana. Here is a great article with plenty of tips for alternative methods!