Everyday Artisan Bread
This foolproof, no-knead recipe is mostly hands-off and such a great alternative to more labour-intensive artisan bread recipes. A yeast bread, it doesn’t require a starter and results in a golden, crisp crust and a light airy crumb! NOTE: This recipe was first posted September 14, 2020. It has been updated to include an additional step in which the dough is cold proofed in the refrigerator prior to baking.
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 for a minimum of 1 hour or as long as 24 hours. 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 a Dutch oven or covered baking vessel 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.
Notes
Rise time and temperature: An ambient rise temperature somewhere between ~70º-75º/20º-23ºC is ideal but even high 60's/18º-19ºC should work if the dough is kept away from drafts. You will know your loaf is ready to bake when it has doubled in size, and this can take a minimum of 2-3 hours or as long as a full day. With a little experimentation, you will find the time frame that works best for you.
Scoring: Scoring is the process of using a lame, razor blade or sharp knife to score/slash the top of your loaf before baking. Bread dough expands when first placed in the oven (an effect known as “oven spring”) and scoring controls this expansion by allowing steam to escape. While entirely optional, without scoring the steam will find its own weak point and burst through the crust as it hardens. The advantage of scoring, therefore, is to guide the expansion of the dough to maintain the shape of your loaf and achieve optimal oven spring. When scoring your loaf, aim to cut between 1/4" and 1/2" deep. There is no need to press hard, but the cut does need to be deep enough that it won’t fill back in when baking.
Allow to cool before slicing: You can slice your bread right away if it will be consumed immediately. Letting it cool for at least 60 minutes, however, will allow the internal cooking process to complete and seal in moisture to prevent your bread from drying out too quickly.
Storage: This bread will store well in a plastic bag or airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days and in the refrigerator for up to a week. Sliced bread will freeze well for up to 3 months.