Dutch oven bread is an easy, no-knead dough that yields a beautiful artisan crust, with only 4 ingredients, and no kneading required. Baking bread in a Dutch oven has never been easier!
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Why this recipe works
If you're intimidated by bread baking, then baking bread in a Dutch oven is your new best friend.
It's presentation is impressive, which makes it great for sopping up browned butter from beautiful a pasta dish, or simply as a centerpiece along with 2-minute homemade butter.
- It's such a hands-off process that you don't actually have to touch the dough with your hands one single time!
- No kneading required, no messy floured workspace.
- It's only 4 ingredients.
- It only needs one rise.
Ingredients
Preheat
Preheat the oven and the Dutch oven. Set the oven to 450 degrees (Fahrenheit) with the Dutch oven and lid in the oven, so that it may also heat up.
If your Dutch oven is not non stick, drop a piece of parchment paper inside to avoid sticking.
Make the dough
Step 1: Add all the ingredients to a large mixing bowl (below, left). I use instant yeast for this recipe, because it's the easiest, and goes right into the bowl as it is, along with all of the other ingredients.
Step 2: Mix the ingredients up with a wooden spoon (below, right).
The dough will seem like a shaggy thick batter at first, but continue to stir until it comes together (below, left).
Step 3: Once you can see the dough is sticking together, and pulling away from the sides of the bowl, scrape it down towards the bottom of the bowl to make one uniform "blob" (below, right).
Let rise
The next step after the dough is formed, is to allow the dough to rise.
Step 4: Cover loosely, with plastic wrap or a light towel.
Let the covered dough rise in warm, non drafty place until doubled in size (below). This usually takes an hour, but can take up to 2 hours if it's chilly or drafty in your house.
Transfer dough
Once the oven and Dutch oven are preheated, and the dough is finished rising, it must be carefully transferred to the preheated Dutch oven.
Step 5: Scrape the dough mass out of the bowl and into the hot Dutch oven, using your wooden spoon or a rubber spatula.
Try not to disturb it too much as it slides out; just let it roll out over itself into the Dutch oven (see below).
Once it's in there, leave it be. Don't try to situate it, you can deflate it.
Some of the most irregular shaped bread loaves have also been some of the prettiest. (Bread loaves are like snowflakes, no two are alike!)
Bake the bread
Step 6: Once the dough is nestled into the Dutch oven, carefully place the hot lid over the dough and bake it for 30 minutes in the 450 degree Fahrenheit oven.
Step 7: Remove the lid after 30 minutes of baking. The crust will be pale in color and the loaf par-baked as shown below.
Step 8: Return the bread to the oven to finish baking, without the lid, for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before removing from the Dutch oven.
Expert Tips and FAQ's:
- The dough is very loose and sticky. Stir it together with a spoon, and scrape it into a pile and let it rise in the same bowl.
- Use between a 5 quart and 7.5 quart for this recipe.
- If you place parchment paper inside the Dutch oven, then you can easily lift out the finished bread.
- Setting the dough in a warm, non drafty area, and covering it will help it to rise more quickly, on average about 1 hour.
- Use a deep bowl, rather than a shallow one to give the dough plenty of room to rise.
A Dutch oven is a lidded pot made of cast iron that can be used in the oven to braise, bake, or stew foods. It can be enameled or not enameled, although enameled tend to be more costly.
In a pinch, you can use an oven safe stock pot with a tight fitting lid (oven safe), or cover it with another pan or baking sheet.
A minimum of 5 quart, up to a 7.5 quart oven provides ample room for steaming, and plenty of room for the dough to fully rise and bake.
Serving
Serve this gorgeous, easy to make, no-knead bread with some of these recipes:
If you tried this recipe, leave a rating using the stars in the recipe card, or leave a comment below!
Recipe
Dutch Oven Bread
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 4 ¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2 ½ tsp instant yeast
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Preheat oven and Dutch oven and lid in the oven to 450 degrees. If Dutch oven is not non-stick, line it with parchment paper.
- Add flour, salt, sugar, instant yeast and water to a large bowl. (See notes for using active dry yeast.)
- Combine all ingredients in a large, deep bowl with a wooden spoon. If necessary, add another tablespoon or two of flour.
- Once the dough starts to form a loose ball, scrape the edges of the bowl down toward the bottom.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap or light towel.
- Put in a warm, non-drafty location and allow to rise until doubled in size (about 60 minutes).
- Scrape the dough carefully into the Dutch oven, letting it fold out over itself, trying not to deflate it.
- Place the lid over the dough and pot.
- Bake for 30 minutes, remove lid and bake another 15 minutes until crust is golden brown.
- Let cool slightly before carefully removing from Dutch oven and slicing.
Notes
- The dough is very loose and sticky. Stir it together with a spoon, and scrape it into a pile and let it rise in the same bowl.
- Use between a 5 quart and 7.5 quart Dutch oven for this recipe.
- If you place parchment paper inside the Dutch oven, then you can easily lift out the finished bread.
- Setting the dough in a warm, non drafty area, and covering it will help it to rise more quickly, on average about 1 hour.
- Use a deep bowl, rather than a shallow one to give the dough plenty of room to rise.
- Instant yeast is preferred.
- If using active dry yeast, dissolve it in the 2 cups of water that the recipe calls for at a lukewarm temperature (110 degrees F).
- The dough will seem very loose and sticky, that's why it's cooked in a Dutch oven. If it seems to loose, add 1-2 tablespoons of water but not more.
david corn says
yummy
David Winn says
Yum!
Erin says
Thanks David!
Haley says
Another goodie!
Erin says
Thanks Haley, glad you like it!
Nanette Tettaton says
Best recipes available !
Erin says
Nanette, thank you!