Crusty Artisan Bread Recipes

HOMEMADE CRUSTY ARTISAN BREAD

Steps:

• In large mixing bowl, combine flour, yeast, and sea salt. If you're making the Muesli variation, add the dried muesli in now with the other dry ingredients.
• In a glass bowl, combine water and honey. Stir well to combine.
• Pour water/honey mixture into dry ingredients and mix with wooden spoon. Once the mixture is combined, it will appear rough.
• Grease a large glass bowl with butter and set dough inside and cover with plastic wrap.
• Allow to rise overnight for at least 18 hours and up to 24 hours.
• Tear off sheet of parchment paper large enough to fit inside Dutch oven. Place the parchment paper on your work surface.
• Using lightly floured hands, form dough into a ball and place on piece of parchment paper large enough to fit into Dutch oven and come up the sides. It will be easier if you can do this on a cutting board or close to the oven. It will be transferred to a piping hot Dutch oven! Don't worry about the shape being perfect. Do you best to shape it into a round shape. It will bake and take shape and be beautiful.
• id="instruction-step-8">8. Let the dough rise for 30 minutes.
• id="instruction-step-9">9. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 450F. Check your parchment paper box for instructions about how hot the oven can be for cooking with the paper. If the temperature of your paper does not go to 450F, then use a 425F (assuming your paper goes to 425F, most will) and bake it for 40 minutes, then the additional 5 to 10 without the lid.
• id="instruction-step-10">10. Once the oven reaches 450F, place the empty Dutch oven into the 450F oven with the lid on and preheat it for 30 minutes.
• d="instruction-step-11">8. Place an empty cookie sheet on the bottom rack of the oven. This will prevent the bottom of the bread from over-browning.
• d="instruction-step-12">9. Carefully remove the very hot Dutch oven and place the dough inside. Cover with lid.
• d="instruction-step-13">9. Place another empty cookie sheet on the rack where the Dutch oven will be place. (again, to prevent over-browning). Set the Dutch oven on top of the cookie sheet.
• ="instruction-step-14">9. Bake covered in 450F oven for 30 minutes. Remove lid and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
• instruction-step-15">10. Move to a cooling rack.
• instruction-step-16">11. Cool for 30 minutes before slicing. It is important to let the bread sit for 30 minutes as it will continue to cook after you remove it from the oven. Makes 1 loaf. The best way to store artisan bread is to wrap it in a clean tea towel or paper bag.

NO KNEAD ARTISAN BREAD

Steps:

• 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.

NO-KNEAD CRUSTY ARTISAN BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and yeast. Stir in water using a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a shaggy but cohesive dough. Do not over-work the dough. The less you "work" it, the more soft, fluffy air pockets will form.
• Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough sit at room temperature for 8-24 hours*. Dough will bubble up and rise.
• After dough is ready, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place your Dutch oven, uncovered, into the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
• While your Dutch oven preheats, turn dough onto a well-floured surface. With floured hands, form the dough into a ball. Cover dough loosely with plastic wrap and let rest.
• After the 30 minutes are up, carefully remove Dutch oven. With floured hands, place the bread dough into it. (You can put a piece of parchment under the dough if your Dutch oven isn't enamel coated.)
• Replace cover and bake for 30 minutes covered. Carefully remove cover and bake for 7-15 minutes* more, uncovered.
• Carefully remove bread to a cutting board and slice with a bread knife.
• Enjoy!
• Uncovered baking time depends on your oven. In my oven, the bread only needs 7 minutes uncovered until crusty and golden brown, but this can vary. Just keep an eye on it!
• Preheating your Dutch oven to 450 degrees F will not damage it, or the knob on top.
• I've let this dough rise anywhere between 8-24 hours and it has baked up beautifully. Just make sure it has risen and appears to "bubble" to the surface.
• There's no need to grease the Dutch oven/baking dish/pot
• . My bread has never stuck to the pot. If you are concerned though, put a piece of parchment paper under your dough before placing into your pot.
• I do not recommend using whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour in this recipe. The resulting bread will be very dense, and not as fluffy and delicious.
• I used a 5.5 quart enameled cast iron Le Creuset pot, but you can use any large oven-safe dish and cover. All of these also work: a baking dish covered with aluminum foil, crockpot insert, stainless steel pot with a lid, pizza stone with an oven-safe bowl to cover the bread, and old cast iron Dutch oven.
• Add any mix-ins you like - herbs, spices, dried fruit, chopped nuts and cheese all work well. I recommend adding them into the initial flour-yeast mixture to avoid over-working the mix-ins into the dough. The less you "work" it, the more you're encouraging soft, fluffy air pockets to form!

SIMPLE CRUSTY BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl or plastic container, mix yeast and salt into 3 cups lukewarm water (about 100 degrees). Stir in flour, mixing until there are no dry patches. Dough will be quite loose. Cover, but not with an airtight lid. Let dough rise at room temperature 2 hours (or up to 5 hours).
• Bake at this point or refrigerate, covered, for as long as two weeks. When ready to bake, sprinkle a little flour on dough and cut off a grapefruit-size piece with serrated knife. Turn dough in hands to lightly stretch surface, creating a rounded top and a lumpy bottom. Put dough on pizza peel sprinkled with cornmeal; let rest 40 minutes. Repeat with remaining dough or refrigerate it.
• Place broiler pan on bottom of oven. Place baking stone on middle rack and turn oven to 450 degrees; heat stone at that temperature for 20 minutes.
• Dust dough with flour, slash top with serrated or very sharp knife three times. Slide onto stone. Pour one cup hot water into broiler pan and shut oven quickly to trap steam. Bake until well browned, about 30 minutes. Cool completely.

CRUSTY HOMEMADE BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Using a rubber spatula, stir in 3-1/2 cups flour and salt to form a soft, sticky dough. Do not knead. Cover and let rise at room temperature 1 hour., Stir down dough (dough will be sticky). Turn onto a floured surface; with floured hands pat into a 9-in. square. Fold square into thirds, forming a 9x3-in. rectangle. Fold rectangle into thirds, forming a 3-in. square. Place in a large greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise at room temperature until almost doubled, about 1 hour., Punch down dough and repeat folding process. Return dough to bowl; refrigerate, covered, overnight., Grease the bottom of a disposable foil roasting pan with sides at least 4 in. high; dust pan with cornmeal. Turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead gently 6-8 times; shape into a 6-in. round loaf. Place into prepared pan; dust top with remaining 1 tablespoon flour. Cover pan and let rise at room temperature until dough expands to a 7-1/2-in. loaf, about 1-1/4 hours. , Preheat oven to 500°. Using a sharp knife, make a slash (1/4 in. deep) across top of loaf. Cover pan tightly with foil. Bake on lowest oven rack 25 minutes., Reduce oven setting to 450°. Remove foil; bake bread until deep golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Remove loaf to a wire rack to cool.

NO-KNEAD ARTISAN STYLE BREAD

Steps:

• Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl and mix to combine. Add the water and herbs, if using, and mix well. The dough will be very sticky and shaggy-looking. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 18 to 24 hours.
• Generously flour a work surface. The dough will have risen and will be covered in bubbles. Transfer the dough to the work surface and dust it with flour. Fold the dough in half, and then form the dough into a ball by stretching and tucking the edges of the dough underneath the ball.
• Liberally flour a kitchen towel (do not use terrycloth). Place the dough ball on the floured towel. Cover with another floured towel. Let the dough rise for about two hours [see footnote].
• Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Place a lidded Dutch oven or deep heavy duty casserole dish (with lid) into the oven to preheat.
• Carefully remove the hot baking dish from the oven. Remove the lid and gently turn the dough ball into the ungreased baking dish, seam-side up; shake the dish so the dough is more evenly distributed.
• Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake until the crust is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the loaf from the baking dish and let it cool on a rack before slicing.

CRUSTY DUTCH OVEN BREAD

Steps:

• Pour bread flour into the bowl of an electric stand mixer and add water, followed by salt. Sprinkle yeast over the surface and allow to dissolve, about 5 minutes.
• Mix on medium speed using the paddle attachment until the dough comes together. Replace the paddle with a dough hook. Continue mixing until dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow to the dough to rise to about twice its size, 30 to 45 minutes. Push a finger into the dough. The dough should give some resistance, but not spring back. If it springs back, let it rise longer.
• Turn dough out onto a floured surface and punch down to expel excess gas and redistribute the yeast. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Shape the dough into a boule by pushing back and forth on the counter in a circular motion until you have a round, smooth ball. Cover dough with a clean dish towel and allow to rise, about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease a Dutch oven.
• Slice a very shallow "X" into the top of the bread with a sharp knife to help it expand while baking. Place loaf into the prepared Dutch oven and cover with the lid.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and continue to bake, covered, for 20 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking until deep golden, 25 to 30 minutes.