Artisan Bread

You can make bakery-style artisan bread at home! My incredibly easy recipe can rise overnight or be made the same day. Naturally egg and dairy free! Recipe includes a how-to video!

Prep time: PT25M

Cook time: PT40M

Total time: PT185M

Rating

4.94 stars (113 reviews)

Keywords

artisan bread

Ingredients

3 ½ cups bread flour (plus more if needed)
2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar (optional)
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 ½ cups warm water (115F/46C)

Cuisine

American

Steps

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, yeast, sugar, and salt.
Add warm water and stir until combined. Dough will be sticky.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise until doubled in volume, usually 2-3 hours. Alternatively, cover the dough, let it rest for 15-20 minutes, and refrigerate overnight or up to 48 hours. The next day, remove from the fridge and let it rest for 20 minutes before proceeding with the next step.
Scrape risen dough out onto a generously floured surface and form into a ball with your hands. If the dough is too sticky to handle, sprinkle a light amount of flour over the surface, adding more as needed to handle/shape the dough.
Stretch and fold: Grasp the dough at the top (think 12 o’clock, if the dough were a clock face) and stretch it over the bottom (6 o’clock). Turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat. Repeat this step two more times for a total of 4 stretch and folds. I demonstrate this in the photos above and in the video, if a visual helps!
Use your hands to form the dough into a ball again (don't be afraid to shape it, you want it to be more round than flat!), place on a large piece of parchment paper (the parchment should be large enough that you can lift it up and lower it into a Dutch oven), and lightly cover with plastic wrap.
Allow dough to rest, covered, for 30 minutes. As it rests, preheat oven to 450F (230C) and place a 4qt Dutch oven (with lid) in the center rack of your oven.
After 30 minutes, carefully remove Dutch oven from the oven. Score your bread down the middle, remove the lid off of the Dutch oven, and gently lower the parchment paper and bread into the pot. Place lid on top, and return to 450F (230C) oven.
Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, then remove lid and allow to bake for another 10 minutes. I like to check the internal temperature of my bread with an instant read thermometer to be sure it's finished baking, look for an internal temperature of 195-200F (90-93C) in the thickest part of the bread.
Remove from oven and allow to cool in Dutch oven for 10 minutes, then use the parchment paper to carefully lift the loaf from the pot and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before slicing. Do let the bread cool until no longer warm to the touch or the interior will be gummy.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 loaf
Calories: 1713 kcal
Carbohydrates: 340 g
Protein: 63 g
Fat: 9 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Sodium: 3529 mg
Sugar: 13 g
Unsaturated Fat: 5 g

Reviews

Melissa on 2026-05-04 (5 stars):
Light and fluffy, easy bread recipe. I didn’t have instant yeast and used active from the jar and it worked well!
Mary Mudido on 2026-04-27 (5 stars):
This bread is delicious and very easy to make. Can I modify the recipe to add herbs for an Italian dish?
Jeanie on 2026-04-20 (5 stars):
looked just like the picture! couldn't have turned out any better. I did add some Italian seasoning, a little pepper, a touch of rosemary and onion powder. definitely a keeper recipe!
Don on 2026-04-20 (5 stars):
I made this yesterday and it came out great! It was a fun, hassle-free process, and the crust and bread texture were perfect. My cast iron Dutch oven was 5.5 qts, so I did a double layer of parchment paper, baked covered for 25 minutes, and uncovered for 10. Thanks for a fantastic recipe!
Carolyn White on 2026-04-16 (5 stars):
Made this bread a few times now, it's saved on my best recipes. I add some grated extra strong cheddar to the stretch & folds & some on top & it comes out perfect every time 🥰
Julie A Langon on 2026-04-13 (5 stars):
I no longer buy store made bread, I bake my own. I've made this bread recipe a number of times with the addition of fresh rosemary and garlic. This recipe is a winner. Always turns out great and my family loves it. I use my Dutch oven to bake the Artisan bread, and, it comes out perfect. Thank you for this recipe.
Venus'Mom on 2026-04-13 (5 stars):
Hey there! I made a beautiful & tasty round loaf of this bread today. I am so pleased with the result! It's pillowy soft inside with that lovely light crunch outside. I waited 49 minutes to slice a piece off & wow! Great with some seeet cream butter. My house smelled like a German bakery in the early morning. I do have one question. If I wanted the outside to get a bit more brown, do I remove the cover on the Dutch oven sooner or what should I do? There's not a thing wrong with what I made today but I kinda like the slight crispy, more browned edges & bits if that made any sense? Thanks!
Bruce Orlov on 2026-04-12 (5 stars):
Making my 10th loaf today. Love this bread. Simple recipe. Everyone who tries this bread loves it. This recipe is in my regular rotation.