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Homemade Artisan Bread Recipe

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3.9 from 2 reviews

  • Author: Sara
  • Total Time: 4 hours 25 minutes (including resting and rising times, excluding optional refrigeration time)
  • Yield: 2 loaves (2 servings each, approximately 4 servings total depending on slice size)
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

This Homemade Artisan Bread recipe guides you through creating crusty, golden loaves with a chewy interior. Using simple ingredients and a no-knead method, the dough undergoes a long fermentation for enhanced flavor and texture, resulting in bakery-quality bread made right in your kitchen.

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients

  • 3 and 1/4 cups (about 430g) bread flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and pan
  • 2 teaspoons (about 6g) instant yeast
  • 2 teaspoons (about 9g) coarse salt

Wet Ingredients

  • 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) water, close to room temperature (about 70°F / 21°C)

Optional

  • Cornmeal for dusting pan

Instructions

  1. Mixing Dry Ingredients: In a large ungreased mixing bowl, whisk together the bread flour, instant yeast, and coarse salt to evenly combine these dry ingredients.
  2. Adding Water and Forming Dough: Pour in the room temperature water and gently mix with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon until a shaggy, sticky dough forms, ensuring all flour is moistened. Use your hands if needed to bring the dough together into a rough ball in the bowl.
  3. First Rise: Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and leave at room temperature for 2-3 hours until the dough nearly doubles, sticks to the bowl sides, and becomes bubbly.
  4. Cold Fermentation (Optional but Recommended): For best flavor and texture, refrigerate the covered dough for 12 hours to 3 days. The dough will puff and may deflate slightly after two days, which is normal.
  5. Shaping the Loaves: Lightly dust a large nonstick baking sheet with flour or cornmeal. Turn the cold dough onto a floured surface, cut into two halves, and reshape each into a long loaf about 9×3 inches. Place them on the baking sheet 3 inches apart, cover loosely, and let rest for 45 minutes.
  6. Preheating Oven: While the loaves rest, preheat your oven to 475°F (246°C).
  7. Scoring the Bread: Use a very sharp knife, bread lame, or kitchen shears to make three 1/2-inch deep slashes on top of each loaf to allow for expansion during baking. If the dough has flattened, gently reshape with floured hands.
  8. Creating Steam in Oven (Optional): Place a shallow metal or cast iron pan on the bottom rack of the oven. When ready to bake, pour 3-4 cups boiling water into this pan to generate steam, which helps produce a crispier crust. Quickly place the bread on the center rack and close the oven to trap steam.
  9. Baking: Bake the loaves 20-25 minutes until golden brown. Check doneness by tapping the crust—it should sound hollow. For precision, the internal temperature should be 195°F (90°C).
  10. Cooling and Storage: Remove bread from oven and cool at least 20 minutes before slicing. Store leftovers loosely covered at room temperature up to 5 days, or refrigerated up to 1 week.

Notes

  • Coarse salt is recommended for better flavor; kosher salt can be used but adjust quantity accordingly.
  • Resting dough in the refrigerator for 12 hours to 3 days improves flavor and texture significantly.
  • Use a sharp blade for scoring to prevent dough tearing.
  • Adding steam into the oven during baking enhances crust crispness but is optional.
  • Letting bread cool before slicing prevents gummy texture.
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: Western

Find it online: https://saraflavors.com/homemade-artisan-bread-recipe/