Easy Homemade Artisan Bread Recipe

Introduction

There’s nothing quite like the aroma and taste of fresh, homemade bread with a beautifully crisp crust and airy, chewy interior. This Easy Homemade Artisan Bread Recipe brings those bakery-level results to your own kitchen, all without complicated steps or special equipment. If you crave a rustic bread perfect for soups, sandwiches, or simply enjoying with olive oil, this recipe delivers outstanding flavor and texture with minimal hands-on time.

Why You’ll Love This Artisan Bread

What makes this artisan bread truly special is its simplicity—the dough requires little kneading and rises overnight with just four basic ingredients. The result is a golden, crackling crust and a delightfully open crumb structure, rivaling bread from high-end bakeries. It’s a crowd-pleaser for family dinners, holiday feasts, or as an everyday staple you’ll want to bake again and again.

The Secret to a Perfect Artisan Bread Loaf

The magic comes from a high-hydration dough and an extended, slow rise. By mixing the dough and letting it ferment overnight, the flavors deepen, and the gluten develops naturally, creating that signature airy texture. Baking in a preheated Dutch oven traps steam, giving you a shatteringly crispy crust and perfectly chewy crumb without fuss.

Shaping and Baking Artisan Bread

After its overnight rise, gently shape the dough into a round loaf—no proofing basket needed! Place it on parchment paper, score the top, then bake it inside your preheated Dutch oven (or any heavy pot with a lid). This home-oven technique unlocks bakery-quality results every time.

Serving Suggestions for Artisan Bread

This bread’s versatility shines—serve warm with herbed butter or olive oil, pair it with hearty soups, or use it for gourmet sandwiches. For a show-stopping presentation, slice and layer a cheese and charcuterie board, or toast cubes for homemade croutons.

Nutritional Information and Serving Size

This recipe yields one large round loaf, providing about 12 generous slices. Each slice typically contains approximately 110 calories, depending on slice thickness and serving style.

💡Meal Planning Tip: Save this recipe to automatically generate an organized shopping list with all ingredients sorted by store section—perfect for efficient grocery trips and meal planning.

Instructions

1. Mix the dough: In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, and yeast. Add warm water and mix with a spoon or spatula until a shaggy, sticky dough forms. Do not knead. Cover with plastic wrap or a plate.
2. Let it rise: Let the dough rest and rise at room temperature for 8–18 hours (overnight is perfect) until it has doubled in size and bubbles appear on the surface.
3. Shape the loaf: Flour your hands and a piece of parchment paper. Gently turn the sticky dough out and quickly shape it into a round loaf, tucking the edges underneath. Do not knead; handle gently.
4. Second rise while oven preheats: Lightly cover the dough with a towel and let it rest on the parchment while you preheat your oven to 450°F (230°C) with a Dutch oven (or heavy pot with lid) inside, for about 30 minutes.
5. Score and bake: Remove the hot pot from the oven. Carefully lift the dough with parchment and place it in the Dutch oven. Score the top with a sharp knife, cover, and bake for 30 minutes. Then uncover and bake for another 10–15 minutes for a deep golden crust.
6. Cool and enjoy: Remove bread from the pot and cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Weekly Meal Planning

This artisan bread recipe is a star for weekly meal prep. Save and schedule this recipe to include fresh bread with your weekly soups, stews, and lunches—CookifyAI will consolidate ingredients across all your planned meals and sort them by grocery section for ultra-efficient shopping.

Planning Benefits:

– Automatically calculates total ingredient quantities from all your planned recipes
– Sorts grocery lists by store section for speedy shopping
– Consolidates common items to prevent duplicate purchases and waste
– Streamlines your weekly meal planning and prep

Pro tip: Schedule multiple recipes for the week—CookifyAI finds overlaps (like flour or yeast) so you know exactly how much to buy. Make meal prep easier and reduce forgotten items or extra trips to the store!

Cook and Prep Times

Prep Time: 10 minutes (plus overnight rising)
Bake Time: 40–45 minutes
Total Time: About 13 hours (mostly hands-off, includes rise time)