This homemade bread in a dutch oven, is so simple to make, that you will be making this bread every week. You will need only 4 ingredients, which are already in your pantry, so no more excuses to make fresh bread.
The simplest homemade bread in a dutch oven
Hello and welcome to all amateur bread makers and bread lovers! This recipe is for all those who loves fresh crispy bread, coming straight out of the oven. For those, who are inpatient and can’t wait for the starters (homemade yeast culture) to be ready. For those who wants to enjoy their fresh bread anytime of the day.
This homemade bread will take less than 10 minutes to prepare and doesn’t require kneading. You will just simply toss all the ingredients in the kitchen bowl, few strokes of wooden spatula to combine ingredients and then just waiting for the magic to happen.
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WHY I CALL THIS EZ (easy ) BREAD
This recipe for homemade bread in a dutch oven is actually the easiest bread I have ever baked. It is often called no-knead bread. It means you don’t have to go through kneading stages as with sourdough bread would require. Just a few caresses to the dough to shape the bread in a nice ball and that’s it!
I have been trying many recipes for bread and this one is literally the easiest ever. And this is why I also call it easy bred or EZ bread 🙂
WHY TO USE Dutch oven AND WHICH ONE TO CHOOSE
In this recipe for homemade bread, I will be using Dutch oven to bake the bread in. What is Dutch oven? You must have heard this name already at least once. Dutch oven, is any large cast iron heavy pot, covered with enamel. The use of Dutch oven is very versatile. You can use it on the stove top and/or in the oven. I am mostly using it for making homemade brad, but also soups or stews are an excellent in Dutch oven.
Most popular brands are Creuset, Lodge or Staub . I have a beautiful limited edition Staub cocotte, and I am using it for more than 3 years and it still looks like a new one. I love it because of its colour and non-stick black coating inside.
Do I have to use Dutch oven to make this bread?
Even though this recipe is adjusted and written specifically for making the bread in Dutch oven, it’s not required. But I strongly recommend Dutch oven for the best results.
You can use any type of large aluminum roasting pot with cover. Such as this aluminum/stainless steel roasting pot I am sure most of you must have one at home already. It is the one for making turkey. I would not recommend tempered glass oven proof dish, because most of them won’t support the high temperatures of the oven and you can run risk of shattering the glass dish.
If you happen to have any large pot with lid or large skillet with lid, which is suitable for oven and can support temperature of 230C/450F, then it would be also acceptable.
Why do I have to use parchment paper when making homemade bread?
Parchment paper is very important for handling the dough. You will be required to reheat the oven at high temperatures, with the Dutch oven inside. This all prior placing the dough inside the Dutch oven. So it comes very handy, to have the bread dough placed on parchment paper and securely transfer it from the kitchen counter into the Dutch oven.
It also protects the dough from burning on the bottom. So I do highly recommend to use parchment paper. Trust me, the dough is very sticky and you do not want to burn yourself, while transferring the bread dough inside the Dutch oven.
Don’t try to spray the Dutch oven with vegetable oil or any other fat. It all burns and smokes at the temperatures we will be baking the bread. And if you decide baking the bread without the parchment paper, it will most likely stick and burn on the bottom.
How long does it take to rise the dough for homemade bread?
This homemade bread in a dutch oven recipe is written to make the bread quickly. So I will try to break it down for you.
Prepare and combine these 4 ingredients: all-purpose flour, dry yeast, salt, water will take you about 10 minutes. Then the proving time is in between 2-3 hours depending on the temperature of your room. In summer my dough rises quickly and in 2 hours is ready to bake. But during winter times, I have to sometimes wait 3 – 4 hours. All depends on the temperature of the room where you are proving the dough. So if you are preparing the bread while cooking, place it close to the stove (but not on the stove)!
After the proving time, you have to shape the dough in a small ball and have to let it prove once more for 30 minutes. In the meanwhile you will be reheating oven with the Dutch oven inside. The baking time is 40 minutes with the lid and 10-15 minutes without the lid, for the crispy crust.
Water temperature will determine the time of proving
Water used for the dough must be warm, but not too warm. I do strongly suggest measuring the temperature of the water with food thermometer. The reason why is: if you use water which is not enough warm, the dough will take forever to rise. On the other hand, if you use very warm, hot or boiling water, you risk to kill the yeast and at this moment no proving will happen.
Colder water is actually not that bad, comparing it to the hot one. With killed yeast you can’t do nothing. Just to start over. But with cold water the process of rising will be slow and long. The proving time for bread with cold water is in between 10- 12 hours. Make sure the temperature is exactly as written in the recipe below.
TIPS FOR MAKE the BEST ARTISANAL BREAD
Make the bread overnight. If you wish to have fresh bread in the morning, you don’t have to wake up at 3 AM to prepare the dough. You can simply get the bread dough ready overnight. Just get the dough ready the night before and instead of warm water, you use cold water. Cold water will slow the process of yeasts to rise and the dough will take more time to prove (overnight). Leave the dough rest on the kitchen counter overnight, covered with plastic food wrap and bake it in the morning. Mmm this makes my mornings, when we can wake up to the smell of fresh bread coming from the oven.
The yeast measurement doesn’t need to be as precise as the water temperature. At this point the dough is very forgiving, if you would add a little more of instant yeast, it will rise a little more quickly, but not significantly.
VARIATIONS OF HOMEMADE BREAD
Add spices or seeds. You can add to this bread dough some seeds, such as sesame seeds, cumin or (I love) carvi seeds or sunflower seeds. Carvi seeds are very similar to cumin seeds, but are less aromatic. You may completely change the recipe with adding some brown sugar and adding raisins and cinnamon to the dough. This will make sweet bread.
Use different sort of flours. So far I have tested this recipe for rye bread flour and whole wheat bread flour. With rye bread flour, check the exact measurements, because rye flour has bigger percentage of humidity and the amount of water must be adjusted.
There are endless flavours, that you can add to this recipe (cheese, garlic, chives, french onions, olives, etc.) You might also check this YouTube video with my homemade bread recipe. At this time I have been using half size Dutch oven, so the ingredients are cut in half as well.
Products I used in this recipe.
More recipes
- Dutch oven chili con carne
- Light white fish soup
- Classic creamy leek soup
- Simple wonton soup
- Traditional beef goulash
HOMEMADE BREAD IN DUTCH OVEN
Equipment
- dutch oven 5 1/2 qt
Ingredients
- 6 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons dry instant yeast
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 3 & 1/3 cup warm water 130 ℉ / 55 ℃ precisely
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds optional
Instructions
Prepare the dough
- Combine the all-purpose flour, yeast, caraway seeds (optional) and sea salt in a large bowl. Stir in warm water and combine with wooden spatula.
First proving
- Cover the dough with food foil or clean kitchen towel and let the dough sit at the warmer spot in the kitchen or at room temperature (21-22 ℃/70 ℉) for 3 hours.
- Transfer the dough onto a clean surface, sprinkled with all-purpose flour (approx. 3 tablespoons). Sprinkle also a little bit of flour on the dough (1 tablespoon), so it won't stick to your hands. The dough will be loose and sticky, but very soft to touch. Fold the dough gently & shape in a ball. Use a dough scraper to help you to shape and lift the dough.
Second proving
- Place the dough onto a piece of parchment paper and transfer it back to the kitchen bowl. Cover with a clean kitchen towel or food foil, then let it stand on the kitchen counter for another 30 minutes.
- In the meanwhile, place the Dutch oven with the lid in the oven and preheat the oven to 450 °F (ca. 232 °C). It will take approximately 20–30 minutes for the oven to reheat. The dough will have it's time to prove for the second time.
Bake the bread
- When oven reaches 450 °F (ca. 232 °C) carefully, using oven gloves, lift the parchment paper with the dough, from the bowl and place it gently into the hot Dutch oven. Be extremely careful, as the Dutch oven is very hot!! Cover with lid and bake for 40 minutes.
- After 40 minutes of baking, remove only the lid of the Dutch oven and keep the bread in the oven for an additional 10 – 15 minutes. Keep a close eye on the bread, as temperatures of ovens may vary. Once the bread is golden brown, remove it from the oven.
Resting & serving the bread
- Lift the bread with the parchment paper from the Dutch oven and place it onto the rack to cool it down. Best is to let the bread cool for at least 1 hour. If you cut the bread straight from the oven, the bread will be too hot and sticky inside. The bread needs to rest, so the flavors can develop and the proteins and starches are still setting.
- Use a sharp, serrated knife, and with sawing motion, not to squish the bread, cut clean slices. Enjoy it with your favourite toppings!
Notes
- This recipe is adjusted to all-purpose flour, but you can mix it whatever ration you want with wheat bread flour or whole wheat flour. Both works well with this recipe. If you want to use rye flour, see the recipe here.
- The water temperature must be precise, if you want to enjoy the bread in the shortest time possible. Which is in total in between 3-4 hours, including rising the dough.
- Overnight bread method: You can also prepare this homemade bread overnight, but you must let the dough rise for 12 hours. See more notes inside the blog post.
- For the best result, use for baking Dutch oven.
- You can add different flavours to this homemade bread, such as cheese, seeds, olives, onions, chocolate, cinnamon, etc.
- How to measure the flour: (1) One cup filled with all-purpose flour weights 140 grams. For the whole recipe, it would be 6 cups = 840 grams. I always scoop the flour in the cup and cut off the excess flour with knife. Never press down the flour to fill up the cup. I use all-purpose flour from Costco in Canada, brand “Creative baker” from Arden Mills ULC. I have also baked this bread with other brands such as “Robin Hood” & “King Arthur” or “Bob’s Red mill”. Please note, that with different types of flour, the dough might be more or less thick. Also, altitude might affect the consistency of the dough. But in most cases this dough is very forgiving, so if you add a little less or more flour (1/2 cup), it should still raise & bake the proper way.
Dannii
This bread looks perfect. So light inside, but a nice crispy crust. I can’t wait to try it.
Julia
Yes, that crust is amazing! Every time I bake this bread, I have the same joy when I have baked it for the first time!
Shashi
Oh wow! What a fabulous loaf of bread! I cannot wait to try this easy recipe – thank you for it!
Julia
My pleasure Shashi:) I am so happy I can share this very simple, yet delicious homemade bread!
Anjali
Omg I had no idea it was so easy to make bread from scratch at home! Love that it’s only 4 ingredients and it turned out great!
Julia
Yes, only 4 ingredients and you can munch on your own homemade bread Anjali! You will love how easy is to make it!
Chris Collins
I never realised it was this simple to make bread in a dutch oven! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe 🙂
Julia
My pleasure Chris:) One of the easiest method for homemade bread and I have been baking it for years now and it always comes out excellent!!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
I love that you need just four ingredients for this bread – it looks so good! Definitely going to have to make my own.
Julia
You will love how easy this bread is to make Bintu! I am baking it every Sunday:)
Marty
Easy, cheap and delicious 😋.
Julia
Thank you Marty 🙂
Amanda Crane
The best Dutch oven bread EVER. My husband loves it, I have to make one every other day!
Julia
Thank you Amanda! So happy to hear that, I love this bread too, we make one per week (the double batch)!!
Renée
I just put your bread recipe in the oven. It was very easy to mix up, but what an ordeal trying to shape it. I used the required six cups of flour, but it needed a lot more! I gave up trying to make it look nice and just put it back n the dutch oven. I am usually making sour dough bread and weigh the flour so I am not sure if you use the scoop method or do you spoon the flour lightly into the measuring cup? I just can’t understand why the dough was so soupy. Any recommendations you can make will be most welcome!
Julia
Hi Renee, it’s perfectly normal for this kind of bread dough to be slightly runny or sticky (comparing to sour dough), but not soupy.
So I am hoping these suggestions will help: 1. The AP flour should be scooped and I run my finger over the cup to remove excess flour.
2. Extra tablespoons of AP flour are required for shaping the dough, because yes the dough is runny. The amount of extra flour to shape the dough might also vary by season. Usually I use 3-4 heaped tablespoons for shaping the bread dough.
I start by sprinkling the working surface with some AP flour, then place the dough in the flour and sprinkle more AP flour on top of the bread. With my hands I distribute the flour on top and sides of the bread and lightly moving the dough in circles with a help of a dough scraper.
In warmer weather the dough might be more runny, so use extra 1-2 tablespoons more. I usually go with this feeling: if the dough doesn’t stick that much to my hands anymore, when I am tucking the dough underneath, it means it’s enough of flour ( I never used more than 4 tablespoons of AP flour).
3.Also bread scraper is a huge help when shaping the dough and transfering it to the dutch oven. So yes this bread dough is sticky and different for shaping then sour dough, but the quicker result is really worth ! Hope this helps and let me know how the final bread came out 🙂 Thanks for your comment and Happy baking, Julia 🙂
Renée
Thanks Julia! That explains everything. I did not scoop the flour, I sprinkled it lightly into the measuring cups. Going now to try it again. I am also going to go by feel. I know by instinct what will stay together, and what won’t. I knew that was just to soupy, but I was trusting the recipe! I will let you know how the next batch comes out.
Renée R
Magda
Fantastic!! I made bread for the first time in my life yesterday and it came gorgeous. Thank you for sharing this convenient, for a busy mom, recipe! 🙂
Julia
Thank you Magda for the review ! Happy to hear everything went well and kuddos to you for the first time bread baker 🙂 cheers to many more breads to come !!
Sandie
I have tried numerous bread recipe but this one is the ultimate best. Comes out perfect every time. The taste is amazing. Last batch I added diced jalapeños and cheddar. My husband asks for it every week. Thanks!!
Julia
So happy to hear this positive feedback Sandie ! 🙂 It must taste divine with the jalapeños and cheddar, yum!
Sandra
I love this recipe! I’ve tried numerous artisan bread recipes and this one is the best by far. We’ve added things like cheddar and jalapeños; Italian seasonings and garlic and they’ve all turned out great. I find this recipes very forgiving if you mess up as I sometimes do. Thanks so much!!
Julia
Thank you so much, Sandra! I am happy to hear you like this bread & you took it the whole another level with different adds-on… the jalapeños and cheddar version is in my list now 🙂 Thanks for sharing and happy baking! Julia 🙂
ben croft
what weight for the flour? that would make it more accurate and simpler to make, thanks!
Julia
Hi Ben, this is an excellent question. I have measured one cup filled with all-purpose and it weights 140 grams. For the whole recipe, it would be 6 cups = 840 grams. I always scoop the flour in the cup and cut off the excess flour with knife. Never press down the flour to fill up the cup. Note: I usually use all-purpose flour from Costco in Canada, brand “Creative baker” from Arden Mills ULC. I have also baked this bread with other brands such as “Robin Hood” & “King Arthur” or “Bob’s Red mill”. Please note, that with different types of flour, the dough might be more or less thick. Also, altitude might affect the consistency of the dough. But in most cases this dough is very forgiving, so if you add little less or more flour (1/2 cup), it should still raise & bake the proper way. Hope this helps & happy baking, Julia.
Noelle
Excellent bread and very easy to make, but not enough flavor for me and my husband. I’m going to add butter and some extra salt to the dough next go around.
Julia
Hi Noelle, I am really happy you tried the homemade bread. Feel free to spice up the flavours, such as cheddar cheese, jalapeños or oregano with chopped olives. Happy baking, Julia.
Jeanne
Just got my dutch oven for Christmas so excited to try this receipe would bread flour be better or just self rising this is my first attempt at making bread
Julia
Hi Jeanne, you will love using your Dutch oven, so many uses for this great piece of cook&bakeware. Honestly, I haven’t tried using bread flour, so I can’t share any personal experience, but I would say it should work well. The bread might be a little more dense, though. I would not on the other hand recommend self-rising flour, that is more used in pastries and cakes. All-purpose flour is recommended the most for this homemade bread.
Leslee Fritz
Love this bread! Each time I’ve made this, I’ve ended up with a sticky mess — it still tastes good once baked, but should I use less water or more flour to get the dough to be a bit stiffer and easier to handle?
Julia
Hi Leslee, so happy to hear you love the bread 🙂 Yes, of course you can add a little bit more flour (let’s say 2 -3 tablespoons) for easier handling of the dough. It is possible that due to the altitude you live in or the flour you are using, it might be affecting slightly the stickiness of the dough. I would suggest either add more flour or use the overnight method with cold water (see in the notes of the recipe card). Warm water is to speed up the process of rising, and it makes the dough more sticky. Let me know if this helps. Happy baking, Julia.
Lisa J.
Found this recipe and made a loaf while making one via bread machine. This bread loaf is AMAZING! My husband loved it.
Julia
Hi Lisa, so happy to hear you love the bread recipe. Happy baking, Julia 🙂