Easy Dutch Oven Bread!

I love making this Easy Dutch Oven Bread during the winter to go with soups! It has a perfectly crusty outside and a soft, airy center.

Ingredients

• 1½ C. warm water, not too hot
• 1 pkt. active dry yeast, or 2¼ tsp.
• ½ Tbsp. salt
• 3¼ C. all purpose flour

How to make Dutch Oven Bread

1. In a large bowl, whisk together warm water (it’s important that the water isn’t too hot), yeast, and salt until yeast is fully dissolved. Add the flour all at once and stir together until it starts to form a sticky dough. It will be messy and sticky. Don’t worry about over-mixing, just make sure everything is equally wet.
2. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place for at least 2-3 hours, the longer the better. A longer rise time creates a better flavor and makes those beautiful airy holes in the bread.
3. About 30-minutes before you’re ready to bake the bread, place your dutch oven (with the lid on) in the oven and preheat to 450℉. Once your oven is preheated, leave your dutch oven inside the oven for another 20 minutes. This will get your dutch oven nice and hot and will be what creates the crust on the outside of the bread.
4. Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Use a silicone spatula to “shape” the dough as best you can, then use a sharp knife to cut a few slits in the top of the loaf.
5. CAREFULLY, remove the preheated dutch oven, take off the lid, and transfer the loaf (including the parchment paper) to the dutch oven. Replace the lid and carefully put the entire thing back into the oven. Bake for approximately 35 minutes, then take the lid off and bake another 5-10 minutes or until the loaf gets a nice golden brown color to it.

Here’s a link for my Dutch Oven!

If you don’t have a dutch oven, here’s a very similar, simple bread!

Homemade Artisan Bread!