I cannot resist warm, crusty bread. Pass the butter or the Quince Marmalade! Bread is my weakness, so I must confess that I don’t make this recipe as often as I want to. That being said, it is the easiest bread recipe I have found. The results are amazing and you’ll have enough dough to produce several loaves.
This recipe can be found in The New Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking
If you love baking bread be sure to grab a copy of this book. This dough can make several plain loaves or can be used to make other types of bread.
To test if your bread has risen enough, stick your finger in the dough and see if the dough returns to its original form. If the dough creates a dent that lasts over 30 seconds, the bread is ready to be baked.
Crusty Bread
Equipment
- 1 Container 4 quarts
Ingredients
- 3 cups water lukewarm
- 1 1/2 Tbsp dry yeast
- 1/2 Tbsp coarse salt
- 6 1/2 cups unbleached four
Instructions
- Pour the lukewarm water into a large container
- Add in yeast and coarse salt; giving it a quick whisk
- Add the flour
- Knead all of the ingredients until well combined
- If the dough is dry, add a small amount of water
- Cover and set in a warm place for approximately 2 hours
- Afterwards, place the container in the fridge overnight (Optional)
To Bake Bread
- Cut approximately 1 pound of dough from the container
- Form into a ball or baguette-style loaf
- Let it sit to rise for 20 minutes.
- Before placing in oven brush dough with water and score the top.
- While the loaf is rising, heat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Prepare the oven by placing a baking sheet or pizza stone in the middle rack and a broiler pan in the bottom.
- When the oven is at the right temperature place loaf on the heated sheet and pour a cup of water into the broiler pan.
- Bake the loaf for 25 to 30 minutes.
Notes
I recommend baking the loaves after it has risen for over two hours and then freezing the loaves, rather than storing the dough in your fridge until you are ready to use it. I find that the bread is airier and tastes better.
Enjoy,
Margaret
Fabulous yum 😋 thank you for your recipe looking forward to eating this 😋😁🤩😋
Thank you for your fabulous recipe 😋 yummy
Hi Don, not sure why the bottom did not crust. I didn’t do anything for mine to crust. I simply used a baking tray. Did you heat the sheet?
Followed precisely and bread came out good. One question; how do you get the bottom to crust???
Thanks for the fantastic tips! Will definitely have to use your tricks the next time I make this bread.
I have used a similar recipe for years (Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes). After many many attempts to get a really crusty crust what I finally settled on is an old fashioned cast iron Dutch Oven with a lid. Not an enameled Dutch Oven…just a plain old cast iron one. Put the Dutch Oven in your oven while it is coming to temperature, and while your dough is doing its last rise. When the oven is at temperature take the Dutch Oven out, remove the lid, and then plop the dough into the pot. Use kitchen scissors to cut a few cuts into the top of the dough. Then, as quick as possible put the lid back on and put it in the oven to bake. At about 25-30 minutes remove the lid, turn on the convection fan (if your oven has one) and bake for another 5-8 minutes to brown the top. Remove the pot from the oven and remove the bread. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Hi Margo. Hope it turns out well. Let us know.
I am making yiurCrudty Bread recipe today, it has risen two hours and is now in tge fridge for overnighter. I will give you a follow-up tomorrow, with a a photo if I can figure out how to post one!
I did make the recipe Matt. The photos are of the bread I made with this recipe and that is the correct amount of salt. It makes at least three loaves of bread.
Did you make this recipe if so how salty was it. Or please proof read first. 1.5 tablespoons of salt for 6 cups is an incredible amount