Dutch Oven Artisan Bread

Variations of this recipe have appeared all over the internet in recent years. I personally love Artisan bread. It is my favorite, but buying it is expensive and possibly not as healthy. I never imagined I could make my own and that it would taste so good! Cooking it in a dutch oven imitates using a steam oven which I am assuming you do not have unless you are the owner of a bakery.

My husband would prefer if I made a fresh batch of this bread every day. Unfortunately, I do not have my act together enough to make it every single day! But I have made it often

You need to plan ahead when you are going to make this because of the raising time. It needs to raise at least 12 hours, preferably about 18 hours! So you might have to do some calculating in order to ensure you are going to be actually baking it when it is most convenient for you.

This makes a delicious, simple, rustic bread. The crust is hard while inside it is airy and soft. It is beautiful and so incredibly yummy.

You can use just white flour but why when wheat is so much better for you and so much more flavorful? I started out by using two cups white to 1 cup wheat, then kept increasing the amount of wheat with every batch. The best results seem to be either half and half or 1 cup white and 2 cups wheat.

I will walk you through what you do, complete with pictures!

There are 4 ingredients. That's it!

Dutch Oven Artisan Bread

3 c flour

1 5/8 c water (room temperature)

1/4 tsp yeast

1 tsp salt

Combine the dry ingredients in a large glass or metal bowl, then pour in the water and mix together well with your hand. Seriously. This shouldn't take more than about 30 seconds. This is a no knead bread and the dough will be quite sticky.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in your pantry. Somewhere away from light is better than just on the counter. Let it sit undisturbed for 12- 18 hours.

You will know your bread is done raising when it has raised significantly. It will look wet and very bubbly.

Remove the dough from the bowl and work in a small amount of flour-just enough to work with- the dough will still be pretty sticky. Shape into a round loaf-it doesn't have to be pretty. The less you handle the dough, the better. Place on a floured surface, then toss some flour on top of the dough and cover with plastic. Let it rest for about 20-30 minutes.

The dough will have expanded. Fold dough into the center from the top, bottom, and sides. Place it on a smooth cloth (like a cloth napkin, not terry cloth or something that the dough will catch on) with corn meal or bran. Shake a small amount on top too and cover with a second smooth cloth.

After it raises for about 90 minutes, preheat your oven with the dutch oven inside to 450. After 30 minutes, carefully and quickly throw the dough into the hot pan. Place the heated dutch oven lid on top. Cook for about 45 minutes, then remove lid and cook for 30 more minutes.

Try to refrain from cutting into the bread immediately. Rather give it a few minutes to cool.

This may seem like a lot of work but it really isn't. Truly. The times on all of this are flexible. I have had to rush it or leave things longer due to the craziness of my life and it still turns out great!

This is delicious with just butter or you can use it for sandwiches or bruschetta-whatever! One of my favorite ways to eat it is to dip it into olive oil with some salt, pepper, garlic, and basil. Yum!