Very Easy Yeast Bread

Very Easy Yeast Bread recipe – Artisan, NO KNEAD crusty bread

This is a phenomenal bread recipe. The best, EASY yeast bread you will ever make. Beginners love how simple it is while bread connoisseurs appreciate the Artisan bread qualities – the thick crispy crust and chewy crumb with big fat holes like sourdough!

This is a no knead, 3 minutes active effort, very forgiving recipe.

After trying this recipe, you will probably be “bread independent” on your boat forever!

Here’s why it’s so easy:

  • No kneading, no electric or other mixer
  • 3 minutes active effort – you won’t even get your hands dirty
  • Dutch oven (cast iron pot) ideal but not necessary
  • Incredibly forgiving dough, with rise times ranging from 2 hours to 3 days (yes, really, you choose what works for you)
  • Easy yet no compromise on quality of bread

What you need to make this homemade bread recipe

Here’s what you need to make homemade bread from scratch – yeast, flour, salt and water. Yep, really, that’s it!

  • Yeast – I use Active dry yeast, but Rapid Rise or Instant Yeast which does not need to be dissolved in water also works. The bread comes out the same!
  • Best flour for homemade bread – use bread flour if you can. Bread flour has more protein in it than normal flour which means more gluten, and this makes the dough more elastic and yields a fluffier yet chewy texture inside the bread, as well as creating the big holes like sourdough bread. However, this bread is still spectacular made with normal flour too!

How to make the easiest homemade bread – Artisan style!

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 cups (450g) flour (bread or plain/all purpose)
  • 2 tsp active dry yeast 
  • 2 tsp cooking / kosher salt , NOT table salt
  • 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) very warm tap water , NOT boiling or super hot (ie up to 55°C/130°F)

Dough shaping

  • 1 1/2 tbsp flour (for dusting)

Instructions

  • Yeast: Dissolve yeast in warm water.
  • Mix Dough: Mix flour and salt in a large bowl. Add water, then use the handle of a wooden spoon to mix until all the flour is incorporated. Dough will be wet and sloppy – not kneadable, but not runny like cake batter. Adjust with more water or flour if needed for right consistency
  • Rise: Cover with cling wrap or plate, leave on counter for 2 – 3 hours until it doubles in volume, it’s wobbly like jelly and the top is bubbly. If after 1 hour it doesn’t seem to be rising, move it somewhere warmer.
  • Optional – refrigerate for flavor development: At this stage, you can either bake immediately or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
  • Take chill out of refrigerated dough – if you refrigerated dough per above, leave the bowl on the counter for 45 – 60 minutes while the oven is preheating. Cold dough does not rise as well.
  • Preheat oven: – Put dutch oven in oven with lid on (26cm/10″ or larger). Preheat to 230°C/450°F 30 minutes prior to baking.
  • Shape dough: Sprinkle work surface with 1 tbsp flour, scrape dough out of bowl. Sprinkle top with 1/2 tbsp flour.
  • Using a dough scraper or anything of similar shape (cake server, large knife, spatula), fold the sides inwards (about 6 folds) to roughly form a roundish shape. Don’t be too meticulous here – you’re about to deform it, it’s more about deflating the bubbles in the dough and forming a shape you can move.
  • Transfer to paper: Slide a large piece of parchment/baking paper (not wax paper) next to the dough, then flip the dough upside down onto the paper (ie seam side down, smooth side up). Slide/push it towards the middle, then reshape it into a round(ish) shape. Don’t get too hung up about shape. In fact, lopsided = more ridges = more crunchy bits!
  • Dough in pot: Remove piping hot dutch oven from oven. Use paper to place dough into pot, place lid on.
  • If you don’t have a dutch oven, simply preheat the oven as above, but place a bowl of water into the oven in an ovenproof dish. Slide the parchment paper with the dough onto an oven dish and bake for a total time of 40-45 minutes.
  • Bake 30 minutes covered, then 12 minutes uncovered or until deep golden and crispy.
  • Cool on rack for 10 minutes before slicing.

The whole process with tips to make it work

1. Make wet sticky dough

Mix together the flour, salt and yeast, then add warm water and mix. The “dough” will be very wet and sloppy, not kneadable at all – this is what you want!

2. Rise! 

Cover with cling wrap then place it in a warm place (25 – 30°C / 77 – 86°F) for 2 hours. The dough will increase in volume by double or more, the surface will become bubbly, and the dough will be wobbly, like jelly.

OPTIONAL – develop flavor: Once dough has risen, you can bake immediately. OR, for better flavor, refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours, up to 3 days. Time = better flavor development.

Bread in photos and video were baked immediately. I usually make this dough in the morning, refrigerate all day then bake in the evening. Or make the dough in the evening, refrigerate overnight and bake fresh in the morning! (10 – 12 hours in fridge). Beauty of this bread is that you can bake anytime!

No dutch oven? No problem! Just bake it on a tray – see the recipe notes.

3. Preheat oven & pot

30 minutes before dough has risen, or while refrigerated dough is coming to room temperature, place dutch oven (cast iron pot) in the oven to preheat at 230°C/450°F.

Hot oven + hot pot = bread rising boost!

4. Scrape dough out

Scrape dough out of bowl onto floured work surface. It will be wet and sticky and that’s exactly what you want – because we will not be kneading it! In fact, you won’t even touch it with your hand.

PRO TIP: Dough handling and shaping technique devised to minimize addition of flour. Less flour = wetter dough = bigger air pockets, fluffier bread and moister.

5. Shape the dough very roughly

Use a dough scraper or anything of similar shape (spatula, cake server, or large knife) to fold the sides in so it roughly resembles a round disc.

Don’t get too hung up on the shaping – you’ll deform it in the next step!! This step is mainly to deflate the dough.

6. FLIP dough upside down onto paper

Slide a large piece of baking / parchment paper next to the dough, then flip it upside down onto the paper using the scraper so the seams from the step above are face down, and you have the smooth side up.

Slide/push the dough into the center, then briefly reshape it into a round or slightly oval shape.

Do not get too hung up on a neat shape – this bread is supposed to be rustic! Besides, scruffier shape = more awesome crispy ridges

7. Prepare to bake!

Remove very hot pot from oven, then use paper to pick up the dough and put it in the pot, and put the lid on.

See recipe notes for no dutch oven method.

8. Bake!

Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on (this creates a steamer effect, allowing the bread to rise while it cooks before crust sets), then 12 minutes with the lid off to brown and crisp up the crust. The surface will crack – and you want this, for extra crispy ridges!! And it looks authentic, just like the Artisan bread you buy at bakeries. 😇

Cool for 10 minutes before slicing. This is important – to let the center of the bread finish cooking (if you slice too early, it will seem a bit doughy. Patience was never my greatest virtue, so I learnt this first hand!)

Remember – you can make this bread recipe WITHOUT a dutch oven!

Why this bread recipe works – and TIPS!

  • Loose, sticky dough = easier to rise than firmer dough.
  • No kneading = rough dough, but because the dough is so soft, it puffs up enough to “smooth out” the roughness.
  • Super forgiving dough – too stiff, add water. Too wet, add flour. Dough not rising? Move it to a warmer place. Will it take 45 minutes to rise or 5 hours…. No matter, you’re on a boat right😊? It will still work. As long as your dough is of the consistency described before, and you let it rise to double the volume, this bread recipe will work as long as the yeast is not past its expiry date!
  • Why you need a preheated dutch oven for no knead bread recipes – to create a steamy environment to give the bread a rise boost before the crust sets (which stops the bread from rising). Professional bakeries are equipped with steam ovens – the cast iron pot is the home method!
  • Don’t have a dutch oven? No problem! Recreate the steamy environment by placing hot water in a pan in the oven, and bake the bread on a tray.
  • Big holes in the crumb – loose dough from less flour, high oven temp and preheated pot allows the yeast to give the bread a great rise boost, creating big air pockets. Also the use of bread flour rather than normal flour helps – you get less large holes using normal flour.
  • Bake immediately if it’s a bread emergency….
  • …but you’ll be rewarded with tastier bread if you leave the dough 8+ hours in the fridge! I normally make dough first thing in the morning (it takes 3 minutes!) then bake that night. Or make dough at night and bake in the morning. (~12 hrs in fridge for both scenarios)
  • Why refrigerating the dough creates a better tasting bread – because the fridge slows down the fermentation of the yeast (i.e. dough stops rising, if it kept rising it would kill the rising power of the yeast), allowing the enzymes in the yeast to do their work, transforming starch into sugar which creates a more flavorful bread. So, we let the dough rise first, then refrigerate it.

All the ways to eat this bread!

Everything you do with bread you buy, you can do with this bread. It truly has the structure of bakery bread, so there are no limits!

Eat it fresh out of the oven, slathered with butter. Make sandwiches, toast it, mop plates clean, dunk it in soups and stews. Make bruschetta, garlic bread, grilled cheese or CHEESY garlic bread!

I hope you enjoy this crusty bread recipe as much as I do. This really is one of those exceptional recipes that you’ll make once and treasure forever!

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