Artisan Bread
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4 Ingredient No Fail Homemade Artisan Bread that’s easy and delicious! Perfect for those who love freshly home baked bread right out of the oven.
Super Easy Artisan Bread Recipe
This is a recipe I’ve shared with you over 10 years ago when I first started my blog, and it’s a recipe you guys love. It’s a bread recipe that’s perfect if you’re just beginning to bake, and want to try your hand at baking bread. This is the ideal bread for you to start with. It requires only 4 ingredients, and it’s incredibly easy to make.
This is very simple, no kneading required, because the mixer does all the heavy work. However, if you do not have a mixer, you can simply add the ingredients to a large bowl and mix everything with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together.
This Artisan Bread is similar to my No Knead Bread recipe which requires no kneading and no mixer, but is baked in a Dutch oven. The great news is that no Dutch Oven is required for this!
Why You’ll Love This Artisan Bread
- Perfect for Bread Beginners! It’s a simple bread recipe that requires no kneading and is made using just 4 basic pantry ingredients. Literally, just flour, salt, water, and yeast.
- Crusty and Delicious! This delicious homemade artisan bread is incredible. It comes right out of the oven golden brown, super crusty on the outside, and perfectly soft on the inside.
- Freezer Friendly! The bread keeps really well in the freezer for months. This means you can even double this artisan bread recipe so that you can have homemade bread at any time.
- Flour – You’ll need to use all-purpose flour for this recipe. You can also use bread flour because it produces a chewier bread, or whole wheat flour.
- Salt – Use as much or as little as you’d like. Just don’t skip it, without it the bread won’t have any taste at all.
- Yeast – In this recipe I call for active dry yeast which I recommend using because we really want a long and slow rise to develop our flavor. However, instant yeast can be used as well.
- Water – It’s super important to make sure your water is between 95°F-105°F as it will affect the outcome of your yeast.
The most important part of any bread recipe is the yeast which needs to be activated properly. Then for this recipe, all you have to do is make a simple dough, wait for it to rise, and then bake it into delicious artisan loaves.
Activate The Yeast
To begin, let’s activate the yeast! So mix your yeast together well with the warm water (95°F-105°F) in a medium size bowl. For the best results, it’s important that the water is within this temperature range, so you may want to test it with a digital cooking thermometer. If you’re using instant yeast, you do not need to wait for the yeast to activate.
Make The Dough
In the bowl of your mixer add all the flour, salt, then pour the yeast mixture over the flour and mix using the dough hook of your mixer, until it’s all well incorporated and the dough comes clean from the sides of the bowl. I usually do this for about 5 to 7 minutes. If you do not have a mixer, simply add all the ingredients to a large bowl and using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon mix everything together until all the flour is incorporated. The dough will seem shaggy at first but keep mixing until you don’t see anymore dry flour. The dough will be very sticky and elastic.
First Rise
Place the dough in a large bowl, cover it well with plastic wrap and poke a couple small holes in the top using toothpicks. Let the dough rise for 2 hours.
Prep The Baking Sheet
It is recommended to bake this bread on a stone, however a regular baking sheet will work just fine. Cover the baking sheet, or stone with parchment paper.
Shape The Dough
Add flour to your hands, and divide the dough in two pieces. Add more flour to your hands as necessary. Shape the dough into the desired shape for your bread and place it seam down on the baking sheet. Sprinkle some more flour on top of the loaves.
Second Rise And Prep The Oven
Let the loaves rest for another 30 minutes so that they can rise a bit. While the bread is rising you can prep the oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Before placing the bread in the oven, add a pan with a cup of water and place it in the bottom rack.
Bake The Bread
Score the top of your bread with a very sharp knife, to allow gases to escape. Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes. The water will allow for the bread to form a nice crusty top.
Make sure to allow the bread to cool before you serve it, but we all know that nothing’s better than warm bread.
How Do I Know When My Bread Is Done Baking?
Tap the bottom! Turn the bread upside down and give the bottom a firm thump with your thumb, or a knock and if it sounds hollow it’s done.
Why Is My Bread Dense?
Usually bread will be dense when there is too much flour. Keep in mind this dough will be sticky and shaggy, do not add any more flour than specified. Other factors that come into play are humidity and age of flour. Little yeast, long rise, sticky dough are keys to a good, light loaf. Also, do not over mix the dough.
Expert Tips
- Check the date on your yeast. The main reason that yeast bread doesn’t rise properly is due to expired yeast. If your yeast doesn’t foam up after the warm water has been added it means that it is dead and will not work.
- Warm water is a must. If your water is too cold or too hot the yeast may not activate correctly. The water needs to be lukewarm for the best rise.
- Don’t handle the dough. When forming the loaves, take care not to over-handle the dough and cause it to deflate.
- Use the pan of water. Do not forget to place a pan of water on the bottom rack when you preheat the oven. This helps the bread to have a crispy crust on the outside.
Storage
Artisan bread will keep at room temperature for up to 5 days in a container or bag. It also keeps really well in the freezer for up to 3 months in a sealed freezer bag or wrapped really well in plastic wrap. Then when ready to eat, just allow the bread to thaw out at room temperature for a few hours.
More Delicious Bread Recipes To Try
- Easter Bread
- Air Fryer No Knead Bread
- No Knead Bread
- Potato Bread
- Dark Rye Bread
- Rye Bread
- No Knead Honey Oat Bread
- Amish White Bread
- Easy Focaccia
- Challah Bread
- Brioche Bread Recipe
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Artisan Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups water (lukewarm )
- 1½ tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1½ tablespoon salt
- 6½ cups all-purpose flour
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Activate the yeast. In a medium bowl add the warm water, yeast and stir together. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until the yeast bubbles up. If you are using instant yeast, you do not need to wait for 10 minutes for the yeast to activate.
- Make the dough. In the bowl of your mixer add all the flour, salt, then pour the yeast mixture over the flour and mix using the dough hook of your mixer, until it's all well incorporated and the dough comes clean from the sides of the bowl. I usually do this for about 5 to 7 minutes. If you do not have a mixer, simply add all the ingredients to a large bowl and using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon mix everything together until all the flour is incorporated. The dough will seem shaggy at first but keep mixing until you don't see anymore dry flour. The dough will be very sticky and elastic.
- First rise. Place the dough in a large bowl, cover it well with plastic wrap and poke a couple small holes in the top using toothpicks. Let the dough rise for 2 hours in a warm draft free environment.
- Prep the baking sheet. It is recommended to bake this bread on a stone, however a regular baking sheet will work just fine. Cover the baking sheet, or stone with parchment paper.
- Shape the dough. Add flour to your hands, and divide the dough in two pieces. Add more flour to your hands as necessary. Shape the dough into the desired shape for your bread and place it seam down on the baking sheet. Sprinkle some more flour on top of the loaves.
- Second rise. Let the loaves rest for another 30 minutes so that they can rise a bit. Preheat oven to 450°F. Before placing the bread in the oven, add a pan with a cup of water and place it in the bottom rack.
- Bake the bread. Score the top of your bread with a very sharp knife, to allow gases to escape. Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes. The water will allow for the bread to form a nice crusty top.
- Cool and serve. Cool on a rack before serving.
Notes
- Always check the expiration date on your yeast and make sure it hasn’t expired. All your yeast products whether it’s in a jar or a package should be stamped with a “Best if Used by” date. Always make sure you check this date, even when you purchase the yeast, who knows it could have been on the shelf past its expiry date.
- To keep your yeast fresh and longer lasting, unopened yeast packages or jars should be stored in a cool or dry place such as your cupboard. However, you can also store your yeast in the fridge or freezer. If you do store it in the freezer and need to use yeast for your baking, make sure you take out the amount you need and let it sit at room temperature for at least half hour before using.
- Once your yeast package or jar has been opened, you must refrigerate the yeast or freeze it in an airtight container.
- One thing to remember about your yeast, is that it is a living organism and over time it will lose activity, even if you’ve never opened the jar or package. So if you don’t bake often, buy the smaller yeast packages rather than a big jar of yeast.
- How do I know when my bread is done baking: Tap the bottom! Turn the bread upside down and give the bottom a firm thump with your thumb, or a knock and if it sounds hollow it’s done.
- Recipe will yield 2 loaves. Nutritional information assumes 10 slices per loaf and is per slice.
- This recipes comes from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home BakingBread Baking Books).
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
