Artisan Bread
30 Days to… 5 Keys for… 7 Steps to… I’ve never been interested in gimmicky fads. So when Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking (Amazon)
I flipped through it, tried the master recipe, and was hooked. If you have baked bread using these steps, you know how brilliant and simple it is. If baking with yeast makes you nervous, this method is a great place to start. Just think, this could be the year you finally conquer baking a loaf of yeast bread from scratch!
Here’s the basic idea: You use four ingredients: yeast, salt, water, and flour. You mix the dough by hand. You store the dough in the fridge in a big container. You bake fresh loaves as needed. The “five minutes a day” refers to the time it takes to shape the refrigerated dough into a loaf and turn on the oven. The rest of the “work” is just letting the loaf rise on the counter and bake in the oven.
I whipped out my calculator and figured that I am making 3 medium-sized loaves of high-quality bread for less than 70 cents. Total. That’s a measly 23¢ a loaf. You won’t be able to beat that price anywhere. Oh, and the smell of fresh baking bread filling your home combined with the satisfaction of knowing you baked it yourself? Priceless.
I have broken the steps into bite-sized pieces. Follow along, and you will soon be cranking out hot loaves of bread from your own oven. I promise, this is easy! What do you have to lose? Five minutes and seventy cents?
Easy Artisan Bread
Yield : 3 loaves
Recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (Amazon)
Ingredients
3 c. lukewarm water
1 1/2 T. active, dry yeast
1 1/2 T. coarse or kosher salt or 1 T. regular salt (less, if desired)
6 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (or a combo of white & whole wheat)
Visual learner? Check out the video and directions below:
First, dump all 4 ingredients into a large container. I use a 22-cup lidded Rubbermaid container for my dough. It fits neatly & easily in the fridge. The official recipe directs you to punch a small hole in your container lid (Amazon) to allow the gases from the yeast to escape. I’ve never done this and still get great results so there must be enough gaps around the lid to keep the yeast happy. If your container’s lid fits more snugly, you might need to add a small hole.
Using a wooden spoon or this amazing Danish Dough Hook, mix the ingredients until the flour is well incorporated. You don’t need to knead the dough or do anything fancy. It will be a wet, shaggy mess, and that is perfect.
Place the lid on the container and leave it in a warm place for about two hours to rise.
Are you still with me? I told you this was easy!
At the end of the rise time, your dough will magically fill the container. It will be flat on top and filled with air bubbles. At this point, you can put the lid back on and stick the container in the fridge to use later. I’d recommend using the dough within 1-3 days as the longer it stays in the fridge, the yeastier it tastes.
I usually form one loaf right away and save the rest of the dough in the refrigerator for later.
Sometimes, I form and bake all three loaves at the same time, serving one right away and wrapping two in foil and freezing them in large Ziploc bags. When I’m ready to serve the frozen ones, I pop the foil wrapped loaves straight from the freezer into a hot oven.
Follow these directions for all 3 loaves:
Use a sharp knife and well-floured hands (the dough will be wet & sticky) to stretch and cut off a ball of dough about the size of a large grapefruit or small cantaloupe. Keeping your hands floured, shape the dough into a smooth ball. I just keep working the dough around the edges and tuck it under the ball until it is smooth. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect. Any rough spots will just add to the rustic look.
Place the dough ball on a pizza peel or parchment paper dusted lightly with flour or cornmeal. I usually use a pizza peel & cornmeal because then I can slide a formed, risen loaf right onto a hot baking sheet or stone, making the crust nice and crisp.
If you’re just getting started, use parchment paper and a baking sheet. It’s easy, and your loaves will still turn out beautifully.
Let the dough rest for at least 40 minutes (I usually let loaves rest a bit longer if they start cold from the fridge). The dough will spread a bit, but it won’t rise substantially. That’s okay; it’ll do most of its rising in the oven.
While the dough is resting, crank the oven up to 450 degrees. If you have a baking stone, place that in the cold oven to preheat as well. Add a small dish of water to the lower rack to create steam in the oven. I use a stoneware pie plate or a metal cake pan.
Don’t put a cold stone or glass dish into a hot oven as they will shatter. Yep, I’ve been there, done that with both. After shattering my baking stone, I borrowed a friend’s cast iron pizza pan and loved it. That thing weighs a ton and is indestructible. It’s definitely worth the investment if you do lots of baking.
Using a serrated knife slash the loaf, about 1/4″ deep, several times across the top. If you are using a baking stone, slide the loaf onto the preheated stone. If not, simply slide the parchment paper directly onto the rack or a baking sheet. If needed, add more hot water to the dish.
Bake the bread for 30-35 minutes. This is actually the trickiest part of the whole process for me. The biggest mistake I make is taking the bread out too early, resulting in a doughy interior. The exterior should be a golden brown, and the loaf should sound hollow when tapped with your knuckle (For this and any other FAQ, go here). If you used parchment paper, you can remove the paper after 20-25 minutes to bake the bottom crust better.
The crust and crumb of this bread turns out slightly different almost every time I bake it, but it is always delicious.
Place the loaf on a baking rack to cool completely before slicing with a sharp bread knife. Store the loaf on the counter as the crust will get soft if you put it in a plastic storage bag.
This master dough recipe can be shaped in a bunch of different ways. It also makes great sandwich rolls, pizza crust, and grilled flatbread. Once you have the hang of it, start experimenting. With confidence will come creativity.
You can also check out the companion book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day for more baking inspiration.
While you’re at it, check out the amazing No-Knead Bread recipe. You’ll never buy bread at the store again!
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Thank you so much for sharing these yummy recipes! I am loving your website like crazy! Thank you once again.
thanks
This is right up my alley! So easy and so delicious! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
Is there any reason i can’t use my kitchen aid mixer with the dough hook?
I was thinking about it too. But I think it would not work
I used this recipe for my first time making bread 2 nights ago 🙂 it turned out perfect!! Used all purpose flour that I had, and active dry yeast. I will probably start making bread on a regular basis, but going to try bread flour and/or whole wheat flour, for more flavor. Question – How long does the bread last on the counter wrapped in foil if I don’t freeze it? And if I do freeze it, should I wrap it in heavy duty foil then a freezer bag? thanks!! Ps- meant to try the other recipe and found this link when I decided I needed the bread a day earlier.. was skeptical about the 2 hour rising time but, it worked!
Looks awesome, must taste like same. Thanks for sharing. George
I love this bread–and it is easy to make. Can you tell me how many carbs this bread has, however? Looking to bake a lower carb bread that does not taste like cardboard.
I just found your website today and made the bread just as you directed. It turned out perfect! Light, and delicious! My wife ate a piece with butter and could not believe the wonderful taste. I’ll be experimenting with different kinds of flour in the future. Thanks for taking the time to develop this great technique!!!
Can I double the recipe ? I never have baked bread before.
that’s the same recipe i use just slightly different quantities 🙂 tastes great and is really easy to make . thanks for the refresher.
I’m intrigued! What a simple way to do it!!
This is right up my alley! So easy and so delicious! Thanks for linking up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
How do I know if I’ve used too much flour? Should it still be sticky when putting in oven to bake? Does the surface used to knead bread make a difference (my marble top counter tends to be cool and dough sticks) – the final product was unimpressive, didn’t have that nice yeast taste – and turned hard within the day . . darn! I really want to do this right!
I have made this dough before. It is extremely sticky and is suppose to be. It is a no knead dough. But it works to make good tasting bread. You want to use a low protein flour like gold medal or pills bury AP. King Arthur flour with a higher protein content is harder to work with. All gold star ultimate is a preferred yeast for this dough. But regular yeast will do fine. You can sprinkle flour on top of the dough so it doesn’t stick horribly to your hands when transferring it from the container, but you are not going for a smooth dough at all.
I tried this today. It was a sticky, wet mess after the 2 hours of rising. No amount of flour brought it to a smooth, turnable dough. I bake cookies, cakes, and pies all of the time. I’ve made some rolls and breads before, but never had I had dough this sticky. Suggestions?
Your yeast probably went bad. I had the same thing happen to me awhile ago and my mom said the yeast probably died. I tried another batch – same thing. My mom was right. 🙂 The trick to keeping yeast alive is keeping it in the fridge…again, another tip from dear ol’ Mom.
Use oil instead of flour on your hands. Works much better. Use olive oil for a little extra flavor.
I love how easy this bread recipe is and I don’t have to plan way ahead in advance to have it with dinner! I am wondering though if I can bake it in a dutch oven (like my other favorite, but longer no-knead method you shared) or if it needs to be out on a sheet/stone? Let me know if you’ve done that method with this recipe and how it turned out, please! Thanks!
Made all 3, ate 2 and froze 1. How long do you bake the bread when it’s been frozen?
I use this recipe all the time & love it! It’s so easy.
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I’ve been on a mission to learn how to bake basic bread for the past couple of years (I’ve done the “no knead” version that’s out there – it was okay, but this recipe is more what I’m hoping to be able to make). I’ve probably made 15 loaves of bread in the past six months that have turned out to be inedible. I had all but chalked it up to Portland’s climate not being conductive to bread rising, but clearly it’s not that, since Emily lives in Portland too and her bread looks beautiful! I tried this recipe twice – the first time the dough was dry even though I used the correct amounts of water and flour. The bread came out like a brick. The second time, I halved the recipe. The dough was super wet after the two hour rise. I had to add some flour to even be able to shape it. Then it spread out a LOT when it rested so I had to sort of fold it over before putting it in the oven. It’s baking now but I don’t have much hope for it.
Here’s what I know: my yeast is always brand new, I’ve used both active dry and instant, I used a thermometor to make sure the water was the right temp, according to the yeast package, my house is super warm because it’s June, when using active dry yeast I let it “proof”….I really want to be able to make edible bread and I am determined- I will conquer this! 🙂 Maybe I should look for breadmaking lessons? Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Go to Youtube and watch some of the videos there on bread making/baking – that’s the best place to take a baking class*
Another good way to allow the dough to rise if your kitchen isn’t warm enough is to sit it in the oven & turn the oven light on…..you just have to remember to NOT preheat the oven with the dough rising in there! (Been there done that………..definately not the preferred method!).