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
Did you grind the coarse salt before using it?
Hi Saijal, we do not.
Thank you!
This is perfect recipe! Just like artisan bread and easy to make
I’m assuming I can use unbleached bread flour in place of regular bread flour. Is that correct?
Hi Mary, that should be fine.
If I were to make one large loaf would the time in the oven change?
Hi Jen, see recipe Notes for details on making one round loaf. Baking instructions are the same, but the loaf will take a few extra minutes in the oven.
Could I bake this recipe into one loaf, say 15″-16″ long, and about 4″ wide? I don’t see why not, just looking for your opinion. Thanks. Love your recipes, I made 5 of your Christmas cookie recipes, and all were a huge hit with the family at Christmas.
Can’t see why not, Mike! So glad you’re enjoying our recipes.
I was looking for a basic tasty bread that I could make in an RV with just a bowl and small oven, this recipe has become my go to! Just tonight I baked yet another batch but I had added 2tbsp of ground Italian seasoning with the dry ingredients, let it sit for a day and a half in the fridge, mixed it once after rising and baked. It was fantastic!! There’s almost always a bowl of this dough in my fridge now. Such delicious easy bread. Sometimes I’ll even sprinkle some garlic powder on top just before baking.
I did it! I followed the recipe exactly as written, letting the bread rise overnight in the fridge before baking as directed. I was a little nervous about the parchment paper at 475°F, but it didn’t burn and worked perfectly! The bread turned out amazing—the texture was spot on, and the crunchy crust was absolutely perfect. Next up: tackling the January baking challenge with ciabatta bread. Can’t wait!
Long process I made them but no big Hole’s but rolls are eatable
I started making this recipe when the pandemic started. I use 2 cups bread flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour. I leave the rest the same. Everybody loves it. We have not bought bread since 2020. I just do this. It freezes perfectly. I slice it and freeze it on aluminum foil and then straight to the oven in the aluminum foil to reheat eat. Just as fresh as the first day
I currently have my dough rising on the counter to put into the fridge overnight. I have a Miele Combi Steam Oven with a bread program. Would I be best to choose the baguette setting to cook these loaves?
Hi Vera! We don’t have any experience with that oven, but would guess a baguette setting would be close.
Thank you for your response. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Does anyone have a gluten free bread flour they can recommend? Would love to make this
The 4 ingredient artisan bread was so easy to make! My only issue was the dough kept flattening out and I tried many times to reshape. What did I do wrong?
Hi Jennifer! This is normal, just try to handle the dough as little as possible while handling/shaping or you’ll lose the air bubbles. Work gently with floured hands, it doesn’t have to be perfect!
I was wondering if using active yeast would make a difference in the rising of the dough
Hi Dawn! The dough will take longer to rise if using active yeast instead of instant.
Made this yesterday with your creamy chicken noodle soup and it was a huge hit! Can I add to it after its rise, before baking? Divide it, add (say cranberry/raisins), shape, bake? Thanks for making me a better baker
Very easy and the salt is as definitely a great touch!
This was my first time and the recipe nailed it!
As a new bread baking enthusiast where do I go from here? What’s the next challenge I can take on!
Hi Jake, we’d recommend our sandwich bread next – let us know if you try!
I can’t believe I made bread! So exciting. I didn’t let the dough rest after the initial rise, nor did I notice that I was supposed to be using a nonstick pan, and it still turned out great! Light but still with nice chew and the crust was wonderful. Can’t wait to try again with some resting time in the fridge and parchment paper on the baking sheet!
Can I knead the dough using my kitchen stand mixer and for how long? Thank you.
Hi Micheline, this dough should not be kneaded.
Made this yesterday as written and it turned out well! I rested it in the fridge ~5h before baking because I forgot to make it the night before. The flavor was nice. This bread is a bit denser, but I think I will experiment with it a little to see if I can tweak that a bit to get a crumb I like. Such a great entry to breadmaking – thanks Sally!
This is a go to recipe for me, but I am now swapping half the water for lager beer (if I have it) per ATK – really amps up the flavor if there isn’t time for a refrigerator rest. Love your recipes – they always work thanks to your good testing.
I’m a 39yo bachelor living alone in the city and I am so excited how well this turned out I had to send everyone pics
I love this recipe! So easy to make. My go to bread all the time
Are you able to use a bread pan to bake these?
Hi Vern, there is a little too much dough for a standard size (9×5 inches) loaf pan, so you could try dividing the dough in half and using 2 loaf pans. The edges should still crisp up and the bake time may vary. Let us know how it turns out!
If a Polish guy from N.J. can make it, it’s easy!
Really nice bread!
Thank you Sally
Question. Can I bake these in my Henry Emile red pot or my Henry Emile three loaf baguette pan? They are both ceramic.
Hi Mary, absolutely. For a round boule, in the pot, the bake time will be a few minutes longer.
Unfortunately I messed this up, it seems like. The dough deflated a lot after I took it out of the oven and it spread laterally more than I’d like. But the second issue was 100% user error, which is that I didn’t score deeply enough, I guess so the bread bloated in the oven and got quite misshappen. It still tastes okay, but I definitely need to try making it again. Any tips for a novice scorer?
Hi Hazel, we recommend scoring with a very sharp knife or bread lame. Kitchen shears are helpful if you don’t have either. The bread lame we use is linked in the post! The video tutorial might also be helpful to review for shaping. The loaves don’t really rise after the shaping step – maybe a little. They might be spreading if the dough is particularly sticky or it’s particularly warm in the kitchen. Hope this helps for next time! Thank you so much for giving this bread a try.
hi, i love this recipe! i’ve done at least once a week. im curious, could this recipe be done with whole wheat bread flour?
Hi Shey, We don’t recommend using whole wheat flour or whole wheat bread flour because it will result in a very dense loaf.
You should add videos so it can be easier to understand
Hi Rukaiya, You can find the video for this bread directly under the recipe instructions. Hope it helps!
i made this recipe and it came out looking amazing and was really easy but the inside crumb was a little dense and no ciabatta-like holes it was more similar to sandwich bread. still delicious but wondering is there anything that i couldve done to have a butter crumb inside?
Hi Nada, every loaf will turn out differently, some with more holes than others. Make sure to handle the dough very carefully to prevent compressing the air bubbles. Be sure to also spoon and level your flour (or use a kitchen scale) to ensure it’s not over measured, which can make the bread dry and a bit tough. Hope this helps for next time!
This is my go to weekly bread. It’s so easy and people are dang impressed when I serve it. I haven’t bought bread is a month.
I used Bob’s Red Mil Unbleached Enriched Artisan Bread Flour and everything bagel seasoning in my dough mix. I’m in Denver (high altitude) followed the recipe exactly (with the cast iron pan of boiling water in the oven). I thought my bread was ready after about a 23min bake, but it turned out to be a tiny bit underbaked. It’s still so delicious and I plan to make this often!