Easy Crusty Bread Recipes

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.

EASY CRUSTY BREAD

Steps:

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, sugar and yeast. Allow to stand for 5 minutes until foamy.
• Add the flour and salt then knead with the dough hook for 5 minutes.
• The dough will be slightly sticky but shouldn't be wet. If it is, add 1-2 tbsp flour and knead in.
• Bring the dough together into a ball with your hand. Dust over 1-2 tbsp flour (you want it to be well covered).
• Cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour until doubled in size. Leaving the dough in a warm spot will aid the rising.
• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Place a pot (dutch oven) with a lid into the oven to preheat.
• When the dough has proved, turn it out onto a floured surface. Fold the edges into the center of the dough then place into a floured bowl, seam side down. Dust over more flour.
• Cover with the tea towel and allow to rise for another 30 minutes.
• Carefully remove the pot from the oven and remove the lid. Transfer the dough to the pot and cover with the lid.
• Place in the oven and allow to bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove the lid and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the bread is golden brown.
• Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes (or until it has cooled to room temperature) before slicing and serving.

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.

EASY PEASY CRUSTY BREAD

Steps:

• 1. In a large mixing bowl. whisk flour, salt and yeast. Add warm water and mix until a shaggy mixture forms. Spray a large oversized bowl with cooking spray. Remove the dough mixture and pour onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball.
• 2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit covered for 12-18 hours. Overnight is even better.
• 3. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Once it has warmed up to the temperature. Put a cast iron dutch oven covered with lid in the oven. Heat the pan for 30 mins.
• 4. Remove the hot pot from the oven and drop the dough in. I do not spray the dutch oven. Cover and return to oven baking for 30 mins. After 30 mins. remove the lid and bake for another 15 mins. Remove bread from oven and cool on a cooling rack.
• 5. To make the bread even more savory you can add any or as much as you like of any of the following or create your own concotion: Jalapeno, Pepper jack cheese, Rosemary, Gruyere, Lemon/Thyme, Asiago, Sharp Aged Cheddar. If you want to change it up and go sweet here are some suggestions: dried cherries, raisin/walnut, pumpkin/sunflower, dried cranberries, dried apricots. The limits are endless.

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.

EASY CRUSTY FRENCH BREAD

Steps:

• MIX THE DOUGH & FIRST RISE (1 HOUR):.
• Combine yeast, sugar, and warm water in a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
• Let the yeast proof for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is foamy.
• Add kosher salt and flour to bowl. Mix with your hands or a sturdy spatula, or mix on low speed with your stand mixer until all flour is incorporated and dough has just started to pull away from the sides of the bowl. For best results, mix until no dry bits of flour remain. Please note: This is a relatively slack (wet) dough, so it may seem a bit shaggy and sticky at this point. Don't worry - it will become more smooth and elastic as we go!
• Lightly flour all sides of your dough (don't mix the flour in - it's just to keep the dough from sticking!) and turn it over inside the mixing bowl to coat with flour on all sides. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise on the counter for about 1 hour, until dough has doubled in size.
• SHAPE THE DOUGH & FINAL RISE (30 MIN):.
• When dough has risen, lightly flour a large cutting board.
• Tip the dough out of the bowl and onto the cutting board. DO NOT PUNCH THE DOUGH DOWN - you want to keep all those nice air bubbles intact so you have an airy, delicious loaf of bread. (Note: If the dough is sticking to the bowl a little bit, wet your hand with a bit of cold water and gently separate the dough from the bowl to get it all out).
• Sprinkle a bit of flour across the top of the dough, then begin shaping it into a round loaf. Pull each corner of the dough in towards the center (like you're folding an envelope) and repeat until the dough feels tight and begins to resist your folds. Flip the dough over and tap it into a round loaf.
• Flour a proofing basket or a medium bowl and place your loaf into it seam-side down. Cover with a tea towel and let rise another 30 minutes or so while you preheat the oven.
• HEAT THE OVEN :.
• While bread is rising, place an empty dutch oven (with the lid on) in your oven and heat to 460 degrees Fahrenheit.
• BAKE!
• When the oven is hot, you're ready to go! Use oven mitts to pull the dutch oven out and remove the lid.
• Lay a piece of parchment paper down on your counter or cutting board (optional - it makes transferring the bread easier!).
• Tip your bread dough gently out of the proofing basket onto the parchment paper. Make sure the seam side is up this time - this is what will create those beautiful cracks on top of the bread!
• VERY CAREFULLY (without burning yourself!) use the sides of the parchment to lift the bread up and place it into the hot Dutch oven.
• Put your oven mitts back on, place the dutch oven lid back on the pot, and slide the whole thing back into your hot oven.
• Cook bread for 30 minutes.
• After 30 minutes, remove the lid from your dutch oven. The bread should be taller, crusty, and very lightly browned. Continue cooking the bread, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes more until the bread has deepened in color and you have a beautiful brown crust.
• When bread is done, use oven mitts to pull the pot out of your oven.
• Use a long spatula or the corners of your parchment paper to lift the bread out of the dutch oven and onto a cooling rack. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into it.

SIMPLE WHITE CRUSTY BREAD

Steps:

• Begin by warming the flour in the oven for about 10 minutes, then turn the oven off. Sift the flour, salt, yeast and sugar into a bowl, make a well in the centre of the mixture, then add the water. Now mix to a dough, starting off with a wooden spoon and using your hands in the final stages of mixing, adding a spot more water if there are any dry bits. Wipe the bowl clean with the dough and transfer it to a flat work surface (you may need to flour this).
• Knead the dough for 3 minutes or until it develops a sheen and blisters under the surface (it should also be springy and elastic). You can now either return the dough to the mixing bowl or transfer it to a clean bowl; either way, cover it with clingfilm that has been lightly oiled on the side that is facing the dough. Leave it until it looks as though it has doubled in bulk, which will be about 2 hours at room temperature.
• After that, knock the air out, then knead again for 2 minutes. Now divide the dough in half, pat each piece out to an oblong, then fold one end into the centre and the other in on top. Put each one into a buttered tin, sprinkle each with a dusting of flour, then place them side by side in an oiled polythene bag until the dough rises above the tops of the tins – this time about an hour at room temperature. Alternatively, place all the dough in the one tin. Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to gas mark 8, 450F (230C).
• Bake the loaves on the centre shelf for 30-40 minutes, or 35-45 minutes for the large loaf, until they sound hollow when their bases are tapped. Now return them, out of their tins, upside-down to the oven to crisp the base and side crust for about 5 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.

EASY NO KNEAD DUTCH OVEN CRUSTY BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the flour and salt, stirring until blended.
• The dough will be shaggy and sticky.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap.
• Let the dough rest at least 8 hours, preferably 12 to 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
• The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles.
• Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it.
• Sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice.
• Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
• Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or to your fingers, gently shape it into a ball. Generously coat a clean dish towel with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal.
• Put the seam side of the dough down on the towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal.
• Cover with another towel and let rise for about 1 to 2 hours.
• When it's ready, the dough will have doubled in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
• At least 20 minutes before the dough is ready, heat oven to 475 degrees.
• Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in the oven as it heats.
• When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven and lift off the lid. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over into the pot, seam side up.
• The dough will lose its shape a bit in the process, but that's OK. Give the pan a firm shake or two to help distribute the dough evenly, but don't worry if it's not perfect; it will straighten out as it bakes.
• Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove the lid and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully browned.
• Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and let it cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.

EASY CRUSTY BREAD ROLLS

Steps:

• Weigh out ingredients for starter in your mixing bowl and whisk together. They should be the consistency of pancake batter.
• Measure out the remaining bread flour and place on top of starter.
• Make two little wells in the dry bread flour, add the salt in one and the yeast in the other.
• Place mixing bowl on its stand, cover (loosely with plastic wrap or a lid), and let ferment for 1-2 hours. The yeast will become active during this time.
• Measure out buttermilk and let stand until ready to use.
• After the preliminary ferment, add buttermilk to bowl and mix with a dough hook until a smooth, elastic dough ball is formed, about 5 minutes.
• Turn the dough out onto a greased countertop (olive oil or Pam Spray works well).
• Knead into a ball (1 minute) and place into a dough riser lightly coated with oil. Spray top of dough with oil, cover and let rise for 2 hours or until doubled in size*.
• Preheat oven with two pizza stones (one per shelf) to 450°F Be sure that the stones and a cookie sheet (bottom shelf) are in the oven when you start pre-heating it.
• Turn bread dough out onto a lightly floured countertop and divide into four pieces. You can make four large loaves at this point or can continue on and divide each dough ball into 8 pieces.
• Form the rolls and place them on 2 sheets of parchment paper that are roughly the same size as your pizza stones (16 rolls/sheet).
• Cover** and let rise for 45 minutes.
• After rising, sprinkle the rolls with flour and slash the tops. ***.
• Place the rolls in the oven using a pizza peel.**** At the same time, put a cup of ice into the cookie sheet to humidify your oven.
• Bake at 425F for 30-35 minutes. If your oven has a convection bake setting, switch to convection for the last 10 minute of baking.
• Cool on wire racks and enjoy!
• *If you are not ready to form the rolls/loaves after the first rise, you can punch the dough down and let it rise again until doubled in size. **I use a plastic storage container that is designed to store things under my bed. It is the perfect size and keeps my dough safe from cats, dogs and other critters. ***A sharp serrated knife works well. ****An inverted cookie tray works in a pinch.