I am so obsessed with bread. I love making it and I LOVE eating it. When I found this recipe I could not get enough of it. 5 years later and I am still in love with it. I make it on a regular basis and I’m still obsessed with it.
It is so easy to make but it still takes a lot of time for the rising part. If I want to have it for dinner I usually have to start it by 1pm or 2pm the latest.
I figured that since it is so easy, then the kids could make it. Here is how:
Mix the water and yeast together, let it sit for about 5 minutes. Add the flour and the salt and mix it with a heavy duty spoon. Make sure you mix it in a large bowl because it will grow a lot. After you have mixed it, it will look like this. It’s lumpy and ugly but it doesn’t even matter.
Cover it with plastic and let it sit for 2-3 hours. It will look like this. It’s still lumpy and ugly, but again, it doesn’t matter.
I add some flour on top and form it into a ball. You don’t want to handle it too much because it gets even more sticky. I place it on some aluminum foil that I have sprinkled with semolina. If you don’t have it, you can use cornmeal or even just flour.
Sprinkle some flour on top and put it on top of the bread because it gets sticky. Let that ball sit and rise for about 20 minutes or until it has doubled in size.
While the bread is rising, put a pizza stone in the oven and put another metal pan on the bottom rack. Turn the oven on to 450 degrees. You want the pizza stone and the pan on the bottom to heat up with the oven and be hot when you put the bread on it.
Once the oven is ready and the bread has doubled in size, use a sharp knife to score it on top. That just means that you cut some slices on the top to make it look pretty. Cut quickly and make sure the knife is sharp.
Place it directly on the pizza stone with the foil.
Pour 1 cup of water in the pan on the bottom and close the oven quickly. It will create steam in there which is how the bread gets so crusty.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Take out of the oven and let it cool down. I love warm bread so sometimes we eat it hot because we are so impatient. It is better if you let it cool down though.
Crusty Artisan Bread
1 ½ cups warm water
2 tsp instant yeast
3 cups + 2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp. Kosher salt
You will also need:
Baking/Pizza Stone
Small metal pan to hold water in the oven
Semolina or cornmeal (not super necessary)
1-Make sure you have all your ingredients.
2-Clean your work area.
3-Measure out 1 ½ cups warm water and pour it in a large mixing bowl.
4-Dump 2 tsp yeast in the water and mix it with a whisk.
5-Let it sit for about 5 minutes so the yeast can dissolve.
6-Measure the flour by adding flour into the cup by spoonfuls so that it stays nice and fluffy. When it’s full and overflowing, use the flat part of a knife and pretend like you are cutting in on the top, then scrape it off so it is level with the top of the measuring cup. Dump the flour into the bowl with the water and the flour.
7-Measure the salt and put it over the flour in the bowl. Once it’s measured, give it a little stir in the flour.
8-Mix everything together. It can be lumpy.
9-Put plastic wrap over the bowl and let it sit for 2-3 hours.
10-While you wait, clean you the mess.
11-After the 2-3 hours has passed, take the plastic wrap off the dough and sprinkle it with some flour.
12-Lay out a piece of aluminum foil and sprinkle some semolina, cornmeal or just some flour on the bottom.
13-Using a bowl scraper or a spatula, start scraping the dough away from the sides of the bowl. Wrap the dough around to the bottom of the ball of dough to create a smooth surface on the top.Place it on the aluminum foil.
14-Sprinkle more flour on top of the bread so it doesn’t stick to the plastic wrap then cover it with the plastic wrap.
15-Place the pizza stone in the oven on a middle rack and place a metal pan underneath it.
16-Turn the oven on the 450 degrees.
17-As soon as the dough has doubled in size remove the plastic wrap and *WITH THE HELP OF AN ADULT, score the top of the bread with a sharp knife.
18-*WITH THE HELP OF AN ADULT, once the oven is preheated to 450 degrees you can place the dough with the foil, on top of the pizza stone.
18-*WITH THE HELP OF AN ADULT, pour a cup of cold water on the empty pan underneath the bread and close the oven quickly so it will trap the steam in the oven.
19-Set the timer for 30 minutes.
20-Clean up your mess.
21-Once the 30 minutes is up, *WITH THE HELP OF AN ADULT remove the bread from the oven. You can take it out with just the foil and leave the pizza stone in the oven because it is really heavy and hot.
22-Let it cool down for at least 30 minutes.
23-Eat, Share, Enjoy!
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Very similar to the Dutch Oven bread I make. However, I let mine raise over night and bake it in a preheated dutch oven. It is so easy and so delicious! Also, mine uses less yeast. I’ll have to try yours when I want it sooner! They even look just alike.
This dough can sit in the fridge for up to 2 days after the 2-3 hour rising. It usually doesn’t make it that far though. We bake and eat! Yum. I do want to try the Dutch Oven bread. They are very similar.
The aluminum foil is genius! We use a similar recipe (5 minute bread) but mine always deflates when I transfer it to the oven. Keep the half-pints cooking cuz!
I know about the deflating, that’s why I do the foil now. It always tastes good though and that’s what matters.
I have a similar recipe that sits overnight but I am not that patient! I can’t wait to try yours for dinner tonight. Usually I use a 2 quart glass casserole dish with a lid and put it in the oven to get hot before. The lid traps the steam and makes a beautiful crust. I never have a problem with it falling before…interesting..