This is a delicious artisan-style crispy bread made with commercial yeast. This bread is so simple, and great for when you have forgotten to feed your sourdough starter. I love this bread so much; it’s a recipe I could make blindfolded now and it would still turn out just as yummy.
❤️ Why You’ll Love Artisan Bread
The simplicity of this bread is something to be admired. You put together the dough the night before, and then first thing the next morning you could have fresh bread. I actually just recently made this bread after coming home from the hospital with my littlest. After days of either takeout food or hospital food, I was craving a home-cooked meal – specifically, soup and bread. But when we got home that night, my sourdough starter was unfed, and even if it was ready and bubbly, I just simply did not have the energy for the stretch and folds. But I whipped this dough together, slept like a rock, and the next morning was ready for that fresh bread smell to fill our home. And that’s exactly what this bread feels like; it feels like home.
🍲 Ingredients
All-Purpose Flour – The simplest of bread, made with the simplest of ingredients. I find that even if a home isn’t often baked in, you can still find a bag of all-purpose flour in the pantry.
Water – warm, filtered water.
Yeast – Active Dry Yeast that doesn’t need to be activated first in order to make the bread rise.
Salt – Never, ever forget the salt in a bread recipe, salt is so important for flavor and gluten structure.
Honey – The honey is just a flavor balancer in this bread but can easily be left out entirely.
👩🍳 How to Make Crusty Artisan Bread
In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, salt and yeast. Mix together the water and honey and slowly pour into your flour bowl. Combine everything together until there are no dry bits of flour, and a cohesive dough forms. (You’re looking for a stiff but shaggy dough. If it’s too sticky, add some flour; if it’s too dry, add a bit of water. Use the recipe as your guide and do your best to achieve the right consistency)
Cover with plastic wrap or a bowl cover and let it rest on the counter for 8-12 hours until it has doubled in size.
When the dough is ready, turn it over onto a lightly floured workspace and shape into a ball.
Cover with a tea towel and let rest for 1 hour.
Preheat your Dutch oven to 425 degrees. Place your dough onto parchment paper and transfer it into your hot Dutch oven. Bake with the lid on for 35 minutes, remove the lid and bake for 10-15 minutes until the top is golden brown. Let cool for 20 minutes and enjoy!
🪄 Baker Schedule Options
Option 1- Dough Assembly: 10pm. Overnight rest: 10pm – 8am. Shaping and second rest: 8am – 9am. Baked and ready to eat by 10am.
Option 2– Dough Assembly: 7am. Resting: 7am – 3pm. Shaping and second rest: 3pm – 4pm. Baked and ready to eat by 5pm.
🗒 Variations
Adding honey and oats to this loaf is an easy and great way to elevate the flavor.
If you wanted to make this a special bread that’s a bit sweeter, add in 1 cup of chocolate chips.
- Honey Oat Artisan Bread
- Chocolate Chip Artisan Bread
🗒 Best Served With
- A bowl of soup
- Cold cuts and made into a sandwich
- Soft butter and a drizzle of honey
👝 How to Store Leftovers
Fresh bread isn’t meant to stay fresh forever, it is best to store the leftover bread in a paper bag and into a cabinet or bread box for 3- 5 days; or if you sliced the whole loaf and didn’t eat it, throw the extra slices into a Ziplock bag and put it in the freezer until you’re ready for more bread again.
🤔 Common Questions
Absolutely! The honey isn’t a make or bread factor in this recipe, it’s just for a more well-rounded flavor.
Yes! You can substitute all-purpose flour for bread flour, or if you wanted to add a little bit of a rustic flavor, you can take away a 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour and substitute it for whole-wheat flour.
Artisan Bread
Equipment
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ¾ cups warm water
- 1 TBS honey
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together your flour, salt and yeast.
- Mix together the water and honey and slowly pour into your flour bowl.
- Combine everything together until there are no dry bits of flour, and a cohesive dough forms.
- (Your looking for a stiff but shaggy dough. If it’s too sticky, add some flour; if it’s too dry, add a bit of water. Use the recipe as your guide and do your best to achieve the right consistency)
- Cover with plastic wrap or a bowl cover and let it rest on the counter for 8-12 hours until it has doubled in size.
- When the dough is ready, turn it over onto a lightly floured workspace and shape into a ball. Cover and let rest for 1 hour.
- Preheat your Dutch oven to 425 degrees. Place your dough onto parchment paper and transfer it into your hot Dutch oven. Bake with the lid on for 35 minutes, remove the lid and bake for 10-15 minutes until the top is golden brown.
- Let cool for 20 minutes and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Love this recipe!!
Do you think it could be baked in a loaf pan??
I don’t think it would rise in a loaf pan without the steam. Let us know if you try it though. 😊