Rustic Artisan Bread (the easy way!)
Equipment
- Dutch oven or pizza stone
- Serrated knife or bread lame
- Parchment baking sheets
- Aluminum foil
- Kitchen Aid mixer and paddle attachment. (Can be mixed by hand if needed!)
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon yeast
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
Instructions
- In a Kitchen Aid mixer with a paddle attachment or a bowl and wood spoon, combine dry ingredients. Slowly add water while the mixer is on a low speed, and mix until everything is combined. If hand mixed, leave dough in the bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. If mixed in your Kitchen Aid, transfer dough to a medium mixing bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. (Do not spray with non-stick spray, it is not necessary). Allow dough to sit and rise for 4 up to 24 hours. The longer the time, the richer the sourdough-like flavor comes through. I enjoy the flavor even after 4 hours, it's so delicious!When the dough is risen, generously flour your counter top. Scrape the loose, wet dough onto a floured surface and sprinkle top with more flour. Quickly pull edges around and to the bottom of the loaf, forming a sort of ball as you tuck the edges under itself. Use extra flour to help with "stickiness". This process should only take about 10-15 seconds, you do not want to overwork the dough (we want to keep some air bubbles in the structure!). Place prepared dough onto a parchment sheet, allowing to sit a few minutes while the oven heats. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Score the top of the loaf with a serrated knife or bread lame if you'd like. This bread will not keep a design but I like to score so I can control where the bread stretches as it rises in the oven. In my opinion, the best way to bake this bread is in a dutch oven pot. I cook it with the lid on for 30 minutes, then lid off for 15 more or until golden brown. If you don't have a dutch oven pot, you can use a pizza stone. Allow the stone to preheat with the oven. Then set bread (while on parchment sheet) on the stone. You will need to tent the bread with a sheet of tin foil to avoid it getting too brown. Bake for 30 minutes and remove the tin foil for an additional 15 minutes until golden. Remove bread from the oven and set on a cooling rack. I like to cover the loaf with a lightweight flour sack towel while it cools. This helps create the most delicious and beautiful crackly texture on the crust. The bread will soften as it cools. We love to enjoy our bread warm with honey and butter. Listen for the crust to crackle when it comes out of the oven... my kids love it!This bread freezes very well in a ziplock bag.
Notes
I love making two loaves at once. I often freeze the extra loaf. If you want two loaves, don't double the recipe, simply make two single recipes in two separate bowls.