If ever there was an easy way to bake artisan bread, this is it. I used to bake crusty round loaves of bread using a baking stone. But I decided to try a new method. The Dutch Oven method. Turns out, my bright red enameled cast iron dutch oven can do more than sit pretty on my stove! It’s a super easy way to bake oven fresh bread.
This bread recipe = so easy. Just 3 ingredients. Well, 4 if you count the water. The finished product is a thick-crusted on the outside, soft on the inside bread. It’s a great bread to serve with Italian pasta. Or just do what we do and butter a slice to eat all by itself!
I like to mix the ingredients up the night before so the bread dough can rise in the refrigerator while we sleep. Then, I can wake up in the morning and it’s all ready to bake.
Dutch Oven Bread Recipe
Ingredients:
- 3 cups unbleached white flour
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1.5 cups warm water
Directions:
- Mix flour, yeast and salt in a medium sized bowl with a tight fitting lid. (If you don’t have a lid, cover bowl with plastic wrap). Add the warm water and stir until the dough is mixed well. The dough will be very sticky, but that is okay. Cover the bowl and set in the refrigerator for 12-18 hours.
- When you are ready to bake, take the bowl out of the refrigerator and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place your Dutch oven and its lid into the oven while it preheats and allow it to heat for 30 minutes. In the meantime, take the dough from the bowl and gently shape it into a round loaf on a heavily floured surface. Then let the dough rest until the oven is ready.
- Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven and gently place the dough inside. Cover with the lid, return to the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Open the oven, remove the lid and return the pot to the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until the loaf is richly browned. Once it’s done, put the loaf on a Good Cook cooling rack and allow it to cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting.
Click for a printable copy of this easy Dutch Oven Bread Recipe.
I am part of the Good Cook blogger program, and am so excited to share the news that another Good Cook blogger has recently released her very own cookbook! If you love bread, you should take a look at Make Ahead Bread: 100 Recipes for Make-it-When-You-Want-It Yeast Breads by Donna Currie.
Free Bread Loaf Pan Offer!
If you pre-order a copy of Donna’s book on Amazon by February 28, 2-14. Good Cook will send you a free bread loaf pan when you fill out this form. That’s one free loaf pan per cookbook!
You can also receive 25% off your GoodCook.com purchase with promo code: BAKEBREAD
Rosie says
That bread looks amazing! I’ve seen some recipes that use a Dutch oven, but I didn’t realize this is how they come out – wow!
Vanessa says
Wow, this is awesome! It looks like such an easy way to make yummy bread…
Trish F says
Wow this is an amazing tip with using a dutch oven. I haven’t made any yeast bread in years and actually I haven’t had a piece of bread in 2 solid years because of a candida infection but recently I found out that I could have sourdough bread because it doesn’t have the yeast in it and the sourdough eats up most of the gluten and sugars, so with lots of study I realized that if I wanted to make a nice round crusty artisan loaf I would have to invest in not 1 but 2 pizza stones. Now that I see your post, I’m going to try my dutch oven. Thanks for the tip!!!
Nicole says
Trish, I think this could be it! Definitely try the Dutch Oven method. It gave me a nice crusty loaf, possibly even better than with my pizza stones. I think it would be PERFECT for a sourdough bread recipe. I love sourdough. I hope it works so you can enjoy home-baked bread again! Let me know how yours turns out. I may have to try it, now, too!
Donna Currie says
I love baking bread in a Dutch oven – this looks lovely. Thanks so much for helping to promote my book, too!
Nicole says
You are welcome! I’m so excited for you and your new bread book. Congratulations!
lisette says
Delicious!!! Thank you so much for sharing!
lisette says
Great recipe! I was a little surprised because I’m Dutch, and I have such a pan (I think) but I’ve never heard of this!
I’m definately going to try this, in fact the dough is resting as I type. Cant wait to try it tomorrow!
Thanks!
By the way; I’ve used spelt flour in my bread since I’m trying to cut down on wead.
Small Footprints says
Oh this looks like a great idea! And what a beautiful loaf of bread … I can practically smell (and taste) it now!
Stoic Kitty says
I need to get a dutch oven and try out this recipe. Thanks >’.'<