Even if you’ve never made homemade bread or worked with yeast before, this homemade crusty artisan bread is for you. It’s the perfect beginner recipe because it only requires 4 ingredients without any special pans or mixer, there’s no kneading or complicated shaping involved, and 95% of the work is hands-off. Bread masters will appreciate this recipe too because it delivers with delicious flavor, a slightly crisp and mega chewy crust, and those signature soft holes inside like ciabatta or French bread.
Bread Beginners—Start Here
Have you ever wanted to master homemade bread? Real, crusty, chewy, delicious bakery-style loaves that taste incredible with dips, soups, sauces, and comforting dinners? This is where you start. This artisan bread recipe is for beginners, but even bread masters will appreciate its flavor and ease. It’s so fresh, so flavorful, and so surprisingly easy because it basically makes itself.
You only need 4 ingredients without any special pans or mixer, there’s no kneading, no poolish or dough starter required, and you can add herbs, cheeses, and spices to make a variety of bread flavors.
This base recipe will soon be on repeat in your kitchen. After you realize how easy it is to make real homemade bread, you’ll find any excuse to bake a loaf. You can even turn it into garlic bread and homemade croutons.
What is Homemade Artisan Bread?
When it comes to bread, the term “artisan” doesn’t mean 1 particular thing. But, generally, artisan bread is homemade, fresh, crusty, and deliciously rustic-looking. An artisan is a skilled worker, one who works with their hands. But ironically, there isn’t much “work” involved with this recipe.
Why You’ll Love This Bread Recipe
- Easier than you ever imagined
- Soft + flavorful
- Chewy, slightly crisp crust
- Shape however you want
- No special pans, poolish, or dough starter required
- Only 4 ingredients
- You decide the length of time it rests
Like sandwich bread, whole wheat bread, focaccia, homemade English muffins, seeded oat bread, and homemade bagels—the process is surprisingly easy. If you’re new to yeast, reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
Only 4 Ingredients
The crustier and chewier the bread, the less fat in the dough—also known as a “lean dough.” We’re using a lean dough for our artisan loaf today. (If you’re curious, a “rich dough” is a soft bread dough with the presence of fat, such as butter and eggs—the kind we need for overnight cinnamon rolls, sweet potato dinner rolls, brioche, and honey butter rolls.) Without fat, we’re left with the basics.
- Bread Flour: While you can use all-purpose flour in this recipe, I strongly recommend using bread flour. Just like when we make olive bread, pizza bread, and asiago-crusted skillet bread, bread flour produces a stronger, chewier bread and that makes a big difference in a recipe with only 3 other ingredients.
- Instant Yeast: Instant yeast is key in this recipe. While you can use active dry if that’s all you have, any quick rise or instant yeast will produce flavorful results in less time. I use more yeast in this recipe compared to my cranberry nut no-knead bread and no-knead jalapeño cheddar bread. Why? Those doughs rest and rise at room temperature. However, for more flavor and just as much rise, I use more yeast and let this dough rest in the refrigerator. (Cool air slows the fermentation process.)
- Salt: You can’t make good bread without salt and for best flavor, I recommend a coarse salt, such as coarse sea salt. I find the bread’s flavor lacking with regular table salt.
- Water: I normally encourage you to use warm liquid with yeast because warm liquid helps the yeast work faster. However, use cool or room temperature water here. Not freezing cold, not super warm—cool to touch. 70°F (21°C) is great, but the exact temperature doesn’t matter as long as it’s not hot or warm. The cooler the water, the longer the dough takes to rise and, usually, the better the bread’s flavor. (This is important since there are so little ingredients to add substantial flavor!) We use the same cool water method for no knead honey oat bread.
- Optional Cornmeal: Dusting the pan with cornmeal adds a pop of flavor and a little crunch to the bottom crust. This is completely optional. If you have it, use it. If you don’t have it, don’t worry about it.
You can also add herbs and seasonings such as garlic, rosemary, dill, chopped onion, jalapeño, shredded cheese, chopped nuts, dried cranberries, etc. My no yeast bread is the quick bread alternative here—you can add flavors to that loaf, too!
Baker’s Tip: Avoid adding too much flour to the dough as you work with it. The stickier it is—and the longer it sits in the refrigerator—the more likely you’ll have those big airy pockets of air in the crumb.
How to Make Homemade Artisan Bread in 5 Steps
- Mix the dough ingredients together. At first the dough will seem very dry and shaggy and you’ll question if it will even come together. But it will. Use a spatula at first, then switch to your hands to ensure all of the flour is moistened. The dough is actually a little sticky after it’s thoroughly mixed.
- Let it rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours. Cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature for about 2-3 hours until doubled in size.
- Use right away or refrigerate. After 2-3 hours, you can immediately continue with the next step. However, for ideal flavor and texture, I strongly recommend letting the dough sit in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours and up to 3 days. Yes, 3 full days! I usually only let it rest for about 18 hours. During this crucial step, the cold air slows the fermentation process and adds so much flavor and texture. So, you can bake bread in 2-3 hours or in 3 days. The longer it sits, the better it tastes. 🙂
- Shape into 2 loaves or 1 boule. Rest as oven preheats. You can shape the bread into a round loaf (boule) or two longer loaves. I usually make two longer loaves side-by-side on a flat baking sheet, about 9×3 inches each. Preheat the oven to a very hot 475°F (246°C). The extremely hot air will immediately set the crust so the bread rises up instead of spreading all over. Score the loaves on top right before baking. Scoring also helps control the bread’s expansion. To help ensure a crispier crust, after the oven preheats, pour boiling water into a metal or cast iron baking pan on the bottom oven rack. Immediately place the baking sheet inside and shut the oven door to trap the steam. The steam will help create that coveted crisp crust.
- Bake until golden brown, about 20-25 minutes. Gently tap the loaves because if they sound hollow, they’re done.
Look at those deliciously soft holes inside! Reminds me of ciabatta or a French baguette, both of which can be a little more complicated to make.
Serve Artisan Bread With
- Slather with homemade honey butter or cinnamon butter
- Slice and dunk in crab dip, beer cheese dip, garlic & bacon spinach dip, or even homemade Italian dressing
- Serve alongside slow cooker chicken chili or pumpkin chili
- As a dunker for homemade tomato soup, creamy cauliflower potato soup, minestrone soup, creamy chicken noodle soup, crab soup, or slow cooker creamy chicken & corn soup
- With a big bowl of mac & cheese or spaghetti with slow cooker turkey meatballs
- Use for my goat cheese & honey crostini
- It’s the perfect starch in breakfast casserole or baked apple cider French toast
- Use it to make homemade garlic bread or homemade croutons
- With anything because homemade bread is everything’s best friend
Homemade Artisan Bread Recipe
- Prep Time: 4 hours
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours, 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 8-inch loaves
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Even if you’ve never made homemade bread or worked with yeast before, this homemade artisan bread is for you. Watch the video tutorial below and review the recipe instructions and recipe notes prior to beginning. If you’re new to working with yeast, reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
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 (see note)
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) water, close to room temperature at about 70°F (21°C)
- optional: cornmeal for dusting pan
Instructions
- In a large ungreased mixing bowl, whisk the flour, yeast, and salt together. Pour in the water and gently mix together with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon. The dough will seem dry and shaggy, but keep working it until all the flour is moistened. If needed, use your hands (as I do in the video tutorial below) to work the dough ingredients together. The dough will be sticky. Shape into a ball in the bowl as best you can.
- Keeping the dough in the bowl, cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and set on the counter at room temperature (honestly any normal room temperature is fine!). Allow to rise for 2-3 hours. The dough will just about double in size, stick to the sides of the bowl, and have a lot of air bubbles.
- You can continue with step 4 immediately, but for absolute best flavor and texture, I strongly recommend letting this risen dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours and up to 3 days. Place covered dough in the refrigerator for 12 hours – 3 days. I usually let it rest in the refrigerator for about 18 hours. The dough will puff up during this time, but may begin to deflate after 2 days. That’s fine and normal—nothing to worry about.
- Lightly dust a large nonstick baking sheet (with or without rims and make sure it’s nonstick) with flour and/or cornmeal. Turn the cold dough out onto a floured work surface. Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut dough in half. Some air bubbles will deflate as you work with it. Place dough halves on prepared baking sheet. Using floured hands, shape into 2 long loaves about 9×3 inches each (doesn’t have to be exact) about 3 inches apart. Loosely cover and allow to rest for 45 minutes. You will bake the dough on this prepared baking sheet.
- During this 45 minutes, preheat the oven to 475°F (246°C).
- When ready to bake, using a very sharp knife or bread lame (some even use kitchen shears), score the bread loaves with 3 slashes, about 1/2 inch deep. (“Score” = shallow cut.) If the shaped loaves flattened out during the 45 minutes, use floured hands to narrow them out along the sides again.
- Optional for a slightly crispier crust: After the oven is preheated and bread is scored, place a shallow metal or cast iron baking pan or skillet (I usually use a metal 9×13-inch baking pan) on the bottom oven rack. Carefully and quickly pour 3-4 cups of boiling water into it. Place the scored dough/baking pan on a higher rack and quickly shut the oven, trapping the steam inside. The steam helps create a crispier crust.
- Place the shaped and scored dough (on the flour/cornmeal dusted pan) in the preheated oven on the center rack. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Gently tap the loaves—if they sound hollow, the bread is done. For a more accurate test of doneness, the bread is done when an instant read thermometer inserted in the center reads 195°F (90°C).
- Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing and serving. Store leftovers loosely covered at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The dough can sit in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, so this is a wonderful recipe to begin ahead of time. You can also bake the bread, allow it to cool, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving. You can also freeze the dough. Complete the recipe through step 3. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-friendly container. To bake, allow dough to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, or for 2-3 hours at room temperature. Continue with step 4 and the rest of the recipe instructions.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Silicone Spatula or Wooden Spoon | Baking Sheets | 2-cup Measuring Cup | Bread Lame | Instant Read Thermometer
- Flour: For absolute best flavor and chewy texture, I strongly recommend using bread flour. You can use a 1:1 substitution of all-purpose flour in a pinch with no other changes to the recipe. I recommend avoiding whole wheat flour in this dough. If necessary, use half bread flour and half whole wheat flour. The bread will taste dense.
- Yeast: You can use instant or active dry yeast, but I highly recommend an instant (aka “rapid rise” or “quick rise” yeast). The bread will rise faster. I usually use Platinum yeast by Red Star, which is an instant yeast. 2 teaspoons is a little less than 1 standard packet. If using active dry yeast, there are no changes needed to the recipe. The rise time in step 2 may take longer.
- Salt: Use a coarse salt, such as coarse sea salt, in this bread. I find the flavor slightly lacking when using regular table fine salt. If you only have fine salt, reduce to 1 and 1/2 teaspoons.
- Water: Use cool water. 70°F (21°C) is great, but the exact temperature doesn’t matter as long as it’s not hot or warm.
- Round Loaf: If you want to shape the dough into a boule (round loaf) simply shape into a round ball instead of 2 loaves in step 4. Baking instructions are the same, but the loaf will take a few extra minutes in the oven. If you want to bake the boule in a dutch oven, see next note.
- Using a Dutch Oven: Follow this dough recipe through step 3, then follow the simple shaping/baking instructions (steps 2-5) in my Cranberry Nut No Knead Bread recipe including using the parchment paper. If your parchment paper can’t withstand heat this high, you can either lower the oven temperature and bake the bread for longer or grease the Dutch oven instead.
- Using a pizza stone: If you want to bake your bread loaves on a pizza stone, place pizza stone in the preheating oven. In step 8, place the shaped and scored dough on your preheated pizza stone. If the bottom of the shaped dough is pretty sticky, dust the hot pizza stone with some extra cornmeal. Bake as directed.
- No Nonstick Pan: If you don’t have a nonstick baking sheet, line it with parchment paper instead. Coat with a dusting of flour and/or cornmeal before placing the dough on top. Parchment paper can burn, so it’s best to check the box to see how much heat yours can tolerate. Lower your oven heat if necessary and bake the bread for longer until golden brown and when gently tapped, sound hollow.
- Flavor ideas: Before pouring in the water in step 1, add any of the following ingredients/combination of ingredients to the dry ingredients in the bowl: 4 cloves minced garlic + 3 Tablespoons chopped rosemary, 3 Tablespoons your favorite fresh herb (chopped), 1 cup your favorite shredded cheese, a diced jalapeño, 3/4 – 1 cup dried cranberries and/or chopped nuts, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, etc.
- Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
- Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour & Red Star Yeast, similar method originally from Jim Lahey.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 slices
- Calories: 136
- Sugar: 0.1 g
- Sodium: 389.8 mg
- Fat: 0.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 27.2 g
- Protein: 4.7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Reader Comments and Reviews
Delicious bread, my picky kids who swear by sandwich bread loved this!!! This will be a staple. Thank you.
Delicious bread, my picky kids who swear by sandwich bread loved this!!! This will be a staple.
I made this bread and it was SO easy and delicious!! It tasted like I bought it at the bakery 🙂
Question! I really want to make pepperoni rolls (the cinnamon roll up style ones) and feel like this would be a good dough for them, given how crispy it gets. Do you think this would work well for it or there’s another dough that would work better? (I have made, and often make, your pizza dough recipe, but I still feel like this may be better for the rolls)
Thanks for all your delicious recipes!!
Hi Jessi, glad you love this bread! I recommend my pepperoni pizza rolls. You can’t roll out this wet and flimsy dough.
Thank you. This is a delicious recipe. My bread didn’t come out as beautiful dark as yours and was more golden tan. Left in oven for 25- almost 30 min. Do you think I could have left it in the oven a little longer without ruining it? Thanks, totally newb here!
Hi Sally
I made the Artisan bread recipe today and it turned out fabulous. I’ve never attempted bread before but your video gave me so much confidence. I didn’t have bread flour so used all purpose, followed all of the instructions exactly, and it smelled, looked and tasted every bit as good as I hoped it would.
My family loved it. Thank you so much!! Stay well!
This is a super simple recipe and it turned out amazing! Great video, too! Thanks so much!
This just came out of my oven and it is amazing!!!! First time I ever baked homemade bread. Followed the recipe exactly, and we are at high altitude. Beautiful to look at and delicious to eat!! Thank you.
Dear Sally,
Your recipe sounded so attractive, and bread looked so delicious that I definitely wanted to try it. Unfortunately, my bread turned out…barely edible. Not even close to that beautiful golden color, and hard as a brick! It seems like my bread didn’t rise while baking in the oven.
I’d like to figure out what went wrong? I followed the recipe to the details, used bread flour and Fleischmann’s instant yeast, kept in refrigerator for 2 days, everything looked fine up to the last step, but when I took my bread out of the oven…well, it was disappointing.
The only difference was that I used 465F oven instead of 475F. Do you think that was my major mistake? I’d like to try again.
Thank you!
Hi Egle! I wonder if the yeast fell inactive somewhere during this process? Was the yeast expired or near expiration date? You could also try adjusting your oven settings, too. The temperature difference isn’t an issue, but you can try lowering the oven rack on which you bake the loaf/loaves. (Increase the bake time as a result of lowering the oven rack and temperature, too.)
another 5 star bread. it’s a whole lot like the french bread i have been baking but better. the extra 50 degrees of heat really make a difference. i baked both loaves yesterday and took the first and cut it in two. split one half and made french bread pizza. came out great! took the other half of that loaf tonight and made garlic bread. again, fantastic. thanx for bringing these recipes for artisan loaves, the rosemary loaf and the cinnamon raisin loaf taught me that artisan breads can be the best thing since sliced bre … uh, never mind, there’s absolutely no way store bought will be served in my house.
Can rolls be made from this recipe?
You can make smaller loaves/rolls, yes. Bake time will depend on the size you make them. Bake until the crust is golden brown and when you tap the loaves– they will sound hollow when done.
So quick , easy and yummy. Followed the recipe as written. I’m going to make this again and leave the dough in fridge overnight. How long should the dough be out of the fridge before baking?
I used this recipe to make my first loaf bread ever! I did make some modifications: I used the steaming pan trick, which made the crust delightfully crispy, but I also baked it on a baking steel, lowering the temp to 425 and baking close to 45 minutes. The loaf came out perfectly.
While the flavor and texture were outstanding, using the measurements listed (I did everything by weight) made the dough almost unworkably sticky. For the life of me, I couldn’t get the damn thing to stay in a ball because the dough would just cling to whatever it touched. So my loaf went into the oven and came out kind of misshapen. Next time I make this, I’ll try a 3:2 ratio of flour to water by weight and see if that makes if more workable. But the most important part is that the bread is REALLY good! Just a couple of tweaks required. Thanks for making bread baking seem way less intimidating!
I have tried this recipe 2 times and had the same thoughts that there may be too much water and it is way too sticky to form. The second time I tried to form it on a well floured bakers couche but this requires transferring it to a baking pan or parchment and even this quick transfer results in an odd shape (which I dont really mind). I still like the recipe and just think beginners should should just be aware of how sticky this is and not disappointed with the form. The Dutch oven option could help as the wet dough will take the shape of the pot.
I made it tonight, and this left it only 30 min in refrigerator. The bread was amazing! Crispy and tasty. And so easy. Next time I will try to make it early and leave in the refrigerator longer to see the difference. But I loved it as is too, for those in a hurry.
Thank you!
Thank you, first time bread making for me and it was perfection! I can’t believe it. Specially during this times! I am so happy, because I love bread and not really wanting to go to the grocery store this days.
Fantastic! I tried it twice and I love it thank you!
I totally forgot to do the second rise (Oops), so mine was just the slightest bit tight/dough-y, but STILL tasted great! Will definitely make this again.
My dough after rising for over hours seemed runny. I kneaded in some flour and I am letting it rest for the 40 minutes. Did I ruin it by adding flour?
I don’t recommend kneading this dough. Best to continue with the recipe and add the flour when it’s time to shape it after refrigeration.
OH MY! I was looking for a good bread recipe since we are shut in with CoVid-19 on a rampage. I haven’t made bread in over 30 years. This is the EASIEST and MOST DELICIOUS bread I have ever had! It’s so easy, I may never buy bread again. Why would I??? I left the dough in the refrigerator about 19 hours after it rose to double and the favor and texture are perfect! Crispy crust and all. I Followed the recipe exactly except I used all purpose flour instead of bread flour (having trouble finding it in Cali these days) and it was still SO GOOD.
I just put my second batch to rise, this time I added fresh basil and sundried tomatoes. Can’t wait to see how this one turns out!
Thank you so much for this super easy but delicious recipe!
OMG – thanks SO MUCH for this recipe. I did it, love it, will make repeatedly! ❤️
I was thinking of adding sesame or poppy seeds before baking. Should I be adding egg wash beforehand or is this idea not good for this type of loaf?
Thanks,
Irene
An egg wash, brush of milk, or brush of melted butter will do the trick to help them stick.
Wow, just wow! In the last month I’ve watched every available episode of the great British bake off and figured bread was untouchable. This recipe is as simple as it seems and I just ate my first slice of MY homemade bread. It’s delicious and I’m feeling a bit like Paul Hollywood! I made the boule and the extra time is very necessary. Delicious!!
I think there might be too much water to flour in this recipe. It literally taking me 40+ minutes to get this dough to properly get the window pane effect. This is the second time I’ve made this recipe so I’m no expert, but with the aggressive kneading and sweating I’m doing, I think it shouldn’t be taking this long still an amazing way to start making bread!
Hi Haley! This dough does not require kneading. Bring the dough together with your hands or a rubber spatula/wooden spoon. It will be wet and shaggy looking. Once the ingredients are combined, cover it and continue with step 2.
I tried this recipe today and I’m amazed of how great this bread tastes and looks. I put it in the refrigerator for 24 hours before baking it and placed a tray with boiling water on the lower rack of the oven. It came out super crispy on the outside and perfectly chewy inside. First time I’ve ever made bread in my life and now I feel like I’m a professional baker! My mom and my mother in law have already asked for the recipe. Thank you, Sally!
Awesome recipe!! I’m a first-time bread maker and decided to give it a try..given our current lockdown situation. It was so easy and hassle-free, I think I might not ever go back to buying bread! Thank you!
We tried this bread today! What a treat…we live in Canada (Niagara Region) and have been isolating for 2 weeks now. I’ve been making things I’ve never tried and this is fantastic!! Thank you for such a yummy recipe. Be well…
I made this today, it came out great! Crusty outside (I used cornmeal on the pan) and soft on the inside, delicious all over! I am wondering what you mean by storing leftovers “loosely covered”; in what, and covered with what?
I never comment on things like this….but today…..I NEED to tell you how wonderful this was. March 29, 2020…..we are ‘shelter in place’ and bread is not only difficult to come by but it means a trip to the grocery store (we are in a high risk category). I’ve done a couple of loaves of ‘crock pot’ bread. Better than nothing, but not what I was so hungry for. This is simple and delicious. I can’t thank you enough for the recipe and video…..it is now my ‘go to’ bread recipe and I’m not sure I will ever buy bread again, even when this whole thing is over and done. Oh yes….hubby sends thanks also!!
I love this bread. It was my first time ever baking a bread. I also made your hotcross buns yesterday. Thank you for the recipes. My question is my bread did not have the lovely holes in as your pictures show. I had it in the fridge for 17 hours and steam baked it. Where did I go wrong?
My dough was not at all sticky, it was really dry and dense. After a night in the fridge it was hard as a rock. I double checked all of my ingredient amounts so I’m not sure where it went wrong, but this recipe (frustratingly) did not work for me despite how easy it should be
Can’t wait to try this, my oven only goes to 225 degrees Celsius? What are my options? Thank you x
You can bake it at that temperature, but it will just need a little longer in the oven.