Homemade Artisan Bread!

This Homemade Artisan Bread is so easy to throw together, fail-proof, and is made with pantry staples! You don’t need a dutch oven, you don’t need a loaf pan, and you don’t even have to touch the sticky dough with your hands! There’s so many good ways to use it, too!

Ingredients

• 3 C. warm water
• 1 pkt. (2¼ tsp.) active dry yeast
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 6 C. all purpose flour
• 3 tsp. salt

Directions

1. In a large bowl or stand mixer, combine warm water, yeast, and sugar and whisk together until the yeast is dissolved. Let sit for 5 minutes until bubbly.
2. Mix in the flour and salt. The dough will be sticky but it should’t stick to your hands. If it’s too sticky, add a little more flour. Cover loosely with a towel and let rise for 1-3 hours. This is where this bread is fail proof! Let it rise for longer than 3 hours, or for as little as 30 minutes and it will come out just as good every time!
3. Preheat oven to 450℉. Place a baking pan with 2 inches of water in it on the bottom rack of your oven. This creates the steam that makes the beautiful crust on the bread.
4. Lightly flour a cookie sheet and divide the dough into two equal sized balls. I usually just cut the dough in half right in the bowl and then dump it out right onto my cookie sheet. Use a silicone spatula to round out the dough balls a little if needed. Use a sharp knife to cut an “X” on the top of each loaf.
5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the bread has a good golden color to it. Open the oven as little as possible during the baking time so the steam stays in!
6. Slice and serve Homemade Artisan Bread when it’s still warm! It goes great with soup (like The Best Broccoli Cheese Soup!), pasta, as grilled cheese, or just warm with butter and honey! You seriously can’t go wrong with this bread!