Last updated on October 16th, 2025
This foolproof, no-knead everyday artisan bread recipe is a favourite of novice and advanced bakers alike. A yeast bread, it doesn’t require a starter and results in a golden, crisp crust and a light airy crumb. If you’re a bread beginner, this recipe is filled with information and tips to help you along the way 🍞🍞🍞
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Review:
“THIS.IS.AMAZING. Made it this morning, baked this evening and wow what an easy yet delicious recipe. Never cold proofed a yeast bread before but it’s brilliant. Thanks so much for the recipe!” –Becky
This post will show you how to make the simplest artisan bread. Made with just 4 ingredients, it requires just 20 minutes of hands-on prep time and is such a great alternative to more labour-intensive artisan bread recipes. A simple two-day process that makes shaping and scoring super easy, too. Also super easy to fit into just about any schedule!
This simple recipe, as well as my other artisan bread recipes, are for those either intimidated by sourdough bread making or who just want a simpler method for making delicious artisan bread at home. With minimal effort, this approach produces a rich, flavourful loaf every time.
If you’re a bread baking beginner, this recipe, as well as this Simple Focaccia Bread, are the recipes I suggest making first. Another great recipe for beginners is this Soft & Sweet Irish Soda Bread or these Easy Small Batch Ciabatta Rolls, both of which produce amazing results with very little effort.
This post is divided into 8 sections:
- What is Artisan Bread?
- Equipment
- How to Make Everyday Artisan Bread in 5 Steps
- How this Artisan Bread Recipe Differs from Others
- My #1 Artisan Bread Making Tip
- Troubleshooting Over-Proofed Dough and What You Can Do With It (Don’t throw it away!)
- More Artisan Bread Recipes to Make
- Artisan Bread Baking Schedule
What is Artisan Bread?
Unlike mass-produced commercial loaves, artisan bread is handmade bread made in small batches using traditional methods and high-quality ingredients. For the most part, homemade artisan bread recipes produce a denser, chewy loaf with a more hydrated, open crumb. They are often identified by their deliciously rustic, crunchy crust.
Homemade artisan breads contain no artificial additives, and therefore have a shorter shelf life than commercial varieties. Storage for longer than a day or two is best achieved by slicing and freezing any unused portions.
Sourdough is artisan bread, but not all artisan breads are sourdough
Homemade artisan breads are typically made with just 4 key ingredients—flour, water, yeast and salt. They rely on yeast—a single-celled living organism that transforms sugar and starch into carbon dioxide and alcohol through fermentation—for leavening. Yeast is a pre-packaged leavening agent.
Sourdough recipes, however, rely on a starter—a culture of wild yeast and bacteria—for leavening instead. Starters are made by combining flour and water and allowing it to ferment over time. While also living organisms, starters require advance preparation and ongoing maintenance to survive.
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this Everyday Artisan Bread
- Bread or all-purpose flour
- Water
- Active dry yeast
- Kosher or fine sea salt
Ideally, you will also have:
- Digital scale
- Dough scraper
- Parchment paper
- Razor blade or very sharp knife
- Dutch oven such as this one or this one
Why you will achieve your best results using a Dutch oven
For home bakers, baking bread in a preheated Dutch oven most closely replicates the oven steam effect generated by professional ovens. It produces a crusty, artisan-style loaf just like the ones you see in bakeries.
Preheating the Dutch oven and covering your loaf at the start of baking is key to moisture retention. It’s the steam that’s generated in a Dutch oven or a similar covered baking vessel that transforms the dough.
The result is a richly coloured, bakery-style crust and a higher loaf with good volume (oven spring).
Baking artisan breads uncovered on a baking sheet, for example, without any form of cover, tenting or added moisture will produce a very different result than what you see in the recipe images.
What is the best Dutch oven for artisan breads?
Lodge Cast Iron and Le Creuset are two well-known, good quality brands and what I use to bake my breads. The minimum size requirement in my recipes is 3-Qt/3-Litre. As a general rule, the larger the Dutch oven, the more your dough will spread out. Your loaves will be a little wider and not quite as tall, and the tear (similar to an “ear” in sourdough bakes) will be less pronounced.
TIP: When shopping for a Dutch oven look for options that are heatproof to 500ºF (260ºC)—including the metal knobs (so they don’t melt).
How to make Everyday Artisan Bread in 5 steps
- Mix the dough.
- Cover and let it rise until it has doubled in size.
- Shape your dough and dust with flour.
- Cover and proof the dough in the fridge overnight or for as long as 48 hours.
- Turn dough out onto parchment, reshape if needed, score and bake.
How this artisan bread recipe differs from others
Unlike most artisan bread recipes—including previous versions of my own—this recipe calls for a long cold proof.
My #1 artisan bread making tip
Knowing your optimal rise time and cold proofing the dough in the refrigerator will vastly improve your loaves.
Putting the dough in the fridge once it has completed its first rise and been shaped has been a game changer. The added step of building in an overnight cold proof makes for even better bread.
Here’s why:
The benefits of cold proofing bread dough
- Better browning.
- Improved structure due to strengthened gluten formation.
- Bubblier, softer, chewier crusts.
- A more complex, richly flavoured loaf.
- More flexibility in terms of when to bake—it makes scheduling easy!
- It makes scoring your loaf a lot easier.
The added step of cold proofing the dough results in a much lighter, open and airy crumb with the added benefit of reducing the risk of over-fermentation.
The longer the cold proof, the better the result. Whether you choose to bake your loaf after an 8-hour cold proof or a 24-hour cold proof, once you remove it from the fridge all you have to do is reshape it if needed, score it, then bake. There’s no need for a second proof.
Troubleshooting over-proofed dough
While we have established that cold proofing will slow down the fermentation process, you may still discover that your dough is over-proofed for a few reasons. Here are three ways you can adjust your method if your dough is overly sticky, loose or spreads out when baking, depending on your circumstances:
- If the dough is overly hydrated, add a bit more flour and a couple of extra folds during shaping to form a stronger, more tightly shaped loaf.
- Adjust your schedule. Mix the dough later in the day so it goes into the fridge later and for a shorter period overnight. Alternatively, if the temperature in your home is too warm, try reducing the first rise time, then shape the dough and begin the cold proof earlier.
- Temperature settings in refrigerators can vary. Most refrigerators are typically set to maintain an interior temperature between 33°F and 40°F (0°C and 4.5°C). If your fridge runs warm, try turning down the temperature a degree or two if settings allow.
What to do with over-proofed bread dough
Don’t throw it away! If your dough is over-proofed, you can always change course and bake it in a loaf pan (sandwich bread) or in a cake pan with olive oil (focaccia). The sides of the pan will provide sufficient structure to ensure a good result.
My favourite thing to do with over-proofed dough? Deflate it and roll it into a ball or two, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge for a future pizza night!
5 More artisan bread recipes to try
Rosemary & Roasted Garlic Artisan Bread
Jalapeño Cheddar Artisan Bread
Green Olive & Rosemary Artisan Bread
Baking schedule
Making this Everyday Artisan Bread is a two-day process where the bread is mixed and prepared on day one, cold proofed in the fridge overnight, then baked on day two.
I love the convenience of this type of schedule. The dough is mixed together and set aside to rise on the first day, then left in the fridge until the next day when it can be baked in the morning, afternoon or even in the evening.
This is what it looks like:
Friday morning: Mix dough, cover and let rise.
Friday afternoon or evening: Shape dough, cover and put it in the fridge.
Saturday or Sunday morning: Remove dough from the fridge, reshape if needed, score it and bake!
If you make this recipe, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see!
And of course, feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews. This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you!
Everyday Artisan Bread
Ingredients
- 1½ cups water room temperature (at or near 70°F/21°C)
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 3 cups bread or all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon kosher or fine sea salt
Instructions
- Sprinkle the yeast over the water and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. In a large bowl, whisk together flour and salt and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Add water and yeast to the bowl then use a rubber spatula to mix it together just until combined. The dough will look a little sticky and stringy and there should still be a little flour around the edges of the bowl.
- Cover and let rise somewhere warm (see note below) until it has doubled in size, about 8-10 hours.
- Once the dough has doubled in volume, use your hands (or a dough scraper if you have one) to pull the dough out onto a floured surface. With floured hands, gently fold the dough into itself several times until a soft, flour-covered ball is formed. Seam side up, lift and place it into a flour dusted proofing bowl. Dust with flour, cover and refrigerate overnight. You can even leave it for as long as 48 hours at this point if you’re not able to bake it right away.
- When you're ready to bake your bread, preheat oven to 450ºF (232ºC) with your Dutch oven inside the oven.
- Uncover then invert the bowl to turn the dough out onto parchment paper seam side down. If needed, gently turn it with your hands and nudge it into the shape of a loaf. Score the top with a razor blade or the tip of a sharp knife with a design of your choosing. This will allow steam to escape while it’s baking.
- Once the oven is preheated, remove the Dutch oven from the oven and transfer the dough, still on the parchment, into the Dutch oven. Cover and bake for 30 minutes, then remove the cover and bake for 15-20 minutes more. Your bread will be done once the top is browned, and it sounds hollow when you tap the top.
- Using parchment edges, lift bread from Dutch oven and transfer it to a wire cooling rack to let cool for up to an hour before slicing.
Made this recipe with whole wheat flour, not quite as open crumb instagram aesthetic on the looks (which I expected since the bran and complex sugars of whole wheat would make it act differently), but absolutely delicious bread as an outcome, chewy crust, bouncy inside and create for eating with something soupy!
Wonderful! Thank you so much Alexandra, I really appreciate your trying the recipe and sharing your review! K
Hi Kerri-
Quick question, I just mixed the ingredients together and I would like to bake in about eight hours. I didn’t realize this recipe called for next day baking. Will the bread still be OK if I bake after an eight hour rise?
Hi Cara! Yes, as long as it has risen well it will work. Try to do a minimum 1-2-hour cold proof if you can for an even better result. Hope you love the recipe! K
Hi there! Making this for the first time tonight 🙂 if we wanted to add flavors like garlic and rosemary, would that change the recipe measurements?
Hi there! Not at all. You can also try my recipe for Rosemary & Roasted Garlic Artisan Bread, just do a quick search using the search tool! K
This is the first time I made bread and this recipe came out perfectly. However, it’s a huge loaf, so I was curious if I halved the dough to make two loaves, would I have to change the baking time? If so, by how much?
Hi Amy! I really appreciate you trying the recipe and sharing your review! To divide into two smaller loaves, I recommend reducing bake temp to 425º then bake covered for 20 minutes. Uncover and start checking for doneness after an additional 10 minutes using the tips provided in the notes. Thanks again! K
My question/comment is in the opposite direction. I have an 11 inch proofing basket that calls for a recipe that uses 7-8 cups of flour (according to the label), haven’t been able to find one yet. So can I double this recipe?
Hi Frances! Try doubling the recipe to bake two loaves. Let them proof together and then bake them separately. Thank you! K
I have been baking your artisan bread recipe and really love the simplicity of the recipe and the wonderful bread it makes. I’ve gotten hooked on making bread this way. Recently tried the cranberry, walnut adaptation and it’s wonderful too! Thank for your recipes. I hope to try some of the others at your website.
Thank you so much Pat! It makes me so happy to hear when my recipes are enjoyed, let’s keep baking together! K
THIS.IS.AMAZING. Made this, this morning baked this evening and wow what an easy yet delicious recipe. Never cold proofed a yeast bread before but it’s brilliant. Thanks so much for the recipe.
That makes me so happy to hear, thank you so much Becky! K
This recipe is easy to make and you can start it one morning, leave it for over 24 hours before you go back to it. The second rise needn’t be rushed — I baked mine hours after I shaped it!
It’s a wonderful recipe!!
Hi Florence! I’m so pleased you enjoyed it, thank you so much for sharing your review! K
I made this bread initially with all purpose flour and it turned out well — the easiest bread I have ever made! Yesterday, I mixed up a whole wheat loaf (2 cups of organic whole wheat flour and 1 cup of all purpose flour). The initial proof was 24 hours and then I proofed the loaf in a thick glass casserole for 5 or 6 hours at room temperature. I baked it uncovered at 450 and it’s the best whole wheat loaf I have ever tasted!
Thank you so much Florence! I love to hear when bakers make my bread recipes their own, don’t forget to leave a review! K
Can I use a 4qt pot or I stick w/a 3qt? Haven’t got my pot yet!
Hi Cindy! Yes, the 3-quart/3 L reference is the minimum. A 4Qt will definitely work! K
Hi- I have baked this loaf a few times now, using bread flour and following recipe as is, in a cast iron dutch oven, and very happy with the results, texture, crust, flavor and all. Only negative both times has been a particularly tough bottom crust, compared to other recipes baked in same pan. Any thoughts as to why? Hoping to keep using your recipe, along with some of your variations. Thanks.
Hi Mary! Do you have an oven thermometer? If there is a discrepancy, that will tell you whether you need to reduce oven temperature to compensate. If you don’t have one, I recommend reducing the bake time by 5 minutes. You can also try moving the Dutch oven to a higher rack in the oven if space allows, and don’t forget to heat the Dutch oven in the oven during preheating. Lastly, if your oven runs hot, you can always double up the parchment to add a little extra insulation. Keep me posted! K
Hi I am wondering if I could leave the dough for 24 hours? I don’t see a time when I’d be able to make it and get to the dough after only 8 or 10 hours. I work too much!
Hi Zaya! The baking schedule in the post is designed for just that. I think if you take another look at it you will be able to find a time that works for you. You can also always adjust the cold proof a little to accommodate your schedule if needed. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can help with! K
All I want to know is, how do you get your bread to rise so much? My artisan bread ends up only slightly thicker than a pancake.
Hi Patrick! My recipes are foolproof with plenty of tips to help you along the way. Hope you find something you like! K
Hi Kerry! How would I incorporate an active starter into this recipe for sourdough? I think it would be fantastic.
Thank you for this recipe!
Hi Anthony! Bearing in mind that the consistency of your starter can affect the texture of your dough, in most instances you can substitute ½ cup starter for the yeast then reduce water by ¼ cup and flour by ½ cup to compensate. Thank you so much for the positive feedback, happy baking! K
I’m new to making bread and haven’t had the best luck, until now. This recipe is fantastic! It’s absolutely perfect! I added a bit of honey to the water but really no need to alter this recipe at all. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much Jeff, I really appreciate you trying this recipe and sharing your review! K
Can I use 2.25 qt covered dutch oven to bake this? Or reduce recipe?
Hi Sara! There are two ways you can approach this. One option is to reduce all ingredients by 30% to accommodate a smaller vessel. A simpler alternative is to divide the dough into two smaller loaves after the first rise when you shape them, then bake them separately. You shouldn’t need to adjust bake time or temperature, but because some ovens run hotter than others, start checking for doneness at the 40-minute mark. Hope you enjoy! K
Can I reduce the salt in this recipe?
Hi April! It’s really up to you. All my bread recipes sit at about 1.5-2% salt content which is far less than most commercial varieties. Reducing or leaving out the salt entirely will produce a different result, as any modifications can impact all of colour, taste, texture and appearance. Please let me know if there’s anything else I can help with! K
Great recipe! My bread turned out perfectly!
Thank you so much Kristen! I really appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad it was a winner! ?
Hi Kerry,
I made this bread, and added a bit of rosemary and cheddar cheese to it…came out delicious! I used instant yeast, though, and had to end up adding a bunch of flour to be able to shape the bread into a ball after that first rising. It was still quite wet. I used the 1 1/2 cups of water as the recipe called for, and wondered if that was too much liquid to use when substituting instant yeast…? Saying that, it baked up beautifully and was amazing…but if I could reduce the water a bit, that might help! Please let me know what you think! Thanks!
Hi Cathy! The rule of thumb when baking with instant yeast is to add it directly to the flour mixture, then whisk the dry ingredients together before adding the water. That should work without any additional modifications. I’m pleased you enjoyed the recipe, let me know if there’s anything else I can help with! K
hello! i was wondering if a four quart dutch oven could be used for this recipe?
Definitely!
I jumped in to ask..I only have a 7 qt dutch oven, is that ok?
Yes, that will work!
Can I just double the recipe for two loaves? Great recipe!
Hi Anthony! Yes, double everything then divide the dough after the first rise when you shape the loaves. Hope you enjoy! K