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
Really awesome recipe. Tried it for the first time and it turned out phenomenally. Tried it for a second time yesterday and still very pleased.
Some notes:
-If you’re lazy like me, you can put the mixed ingredients in the fridge directly. And then before baking, take it out of the fridge, shape it on the baking sheet, and let it rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours. (Of course, make sure to cover the dough both times)
-When covering the shaped dough, you can prevent the dough from sticking to the plastic/foil wrap by draping some wet paper towels on the dough first. Or sprinkle some flour on top.
Overall, very simple and elegant recipe for this bread-baking beginner. Thanks, Sally!
Another hit, Sally! My family and I thoroughly enjoyed this bread and I love how easy it is to make. I made the loaves on my first batch and now have a boule in the dutch oven. Can’t wait to see how it turns out. Thanks again for all that you do! BTW, my daughters think you need to have your own restaurant! 🙂
This bread was so easy and delicious. I let it rest for about 20 hours in the fridge. Moist and chewy inside, nice crispy crust. The only question I have is how sticky the dough should be when trying to shape it. No amount of flour on my hands kept me from sticking to the dough. It also stuck to my sheet pan a bit after baking. I didn’t have any corn meal so I only used flour on the pan. In any case, it came out fine and an entire loaf disappeared along side a big pot of mussels. Great for dipping in the broth! Thanks Sally!
Made this bread over the weekend and all I can say is nothing is left! My husband and son just loved it! I didn’t have rosemary so I just added Italian season to the bread and it was amazing. Very easy to make and I will be making this again!
This bread was awesome! I made one plain and one roasted garlic/rosemary loaf. Mine came out a little dense, but I think it may have just needed a few more minutes in the oven. I am excited to try other flavor combinations and improving my skills 🙂 Thanks Sally!
So very easy to make. I had my dough rest in the fridge for about 18 hours. Delicious. Thank you Sally.
We make this in a Dutch oven and love it.
Great recipe, great instructions, so easy to make. I add 2 tsp garlic powder and 2 tsp Italian herbs and it was delicious!
Hi Sally, thank you for this recipe and all the detailed tips. It turned out great! And my family loved the bread. Am so proud of my very beautiful loaves of bread.
This recipe was so easy. I loved being able to just start it the day before and forget about it until the next day. It tastes delicious and I can’t wait to try some more flavor combinations with it.
My whole family enjoyed this delicious and simple bread! Definitely a keeper! I will make double next time because we gobbled it right up! Thanks for the amazing recipe!
This recipe is super easy and so delicious!! My family absolutely loved it and kept coming back for more Adding this to my collection of go to’s! Thank you Sally!
Made bread for the first ever time yesterday. I was so nervous that it wouldnt come out properly esp as im the first person to make bread in my family but it came out perfect. Everyone loved it and it got finished so quickly. Will definately be making this again!
Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!
My husband and I are first time bread bakers. The recipe was easy to follow and the pictures and video were helpful. We added a little Italian seasoning and garlic powder. It turned out wonderful and the kitchen smelled amazing while it was baking. We’re enjoy it with dipping oil and spices.
I have a tried and true bread recipe from my grandma that I use for everything. I decided to try this recipe, and am in LOVE! It is simple, quick to mix up, versatile, and so yummy!! I made two batches to see how the extra time in the fridge would affect the taste and texture. It is delicious either way!! We all loved it!
HI! I made this bread for the second time this weekend… last weekend was good, but not as good as all your pictures, so I gave another try (plus, bread and jam breakfast all week!!). I baked it exactly like the 1st time, putting boiling water underneath and some flour on the baking sheet below the bread, but this time it completely got “stuck” to the baking sheet 🙁 also, it became darker. Any suggestion why?
Hi Chiara, are you using a different baking sheet than from the 1st time? Make sure you generously coat the pan with flour and/or cornmeal. I prefer using a generous amount of both.
This bread is amazing. So simple and so good. With some butter and jam
On my previous attempts, I used parchment paper on the baking pans, and removed it for the last 4-5 minutes of baking time. I did this because I was afraid the dough would stick to the pan and the bottom would become too dark.
Please comment on the pros and cons of parchment paper. Thank you.
Hi Kannan, parchment paper is helpful to create a nonstick surface if your pan isn’t nonstick or if you don’t use flour/cornmeal. No cons except that parchment paper can burn, so it’s best to check the box to see how much heat each brand can tolerate.
I made it, yay! My first baked bread, ever! I first was hesitated since I use an old school oven that is commonly used in Indonesian households (which is not commonly used for baking breads). But apparently it worked. This recipe is awesome. Thank you!
One thing, though. After the 45 min rest, my bread (I put it in a flat, no-rim pan) spreaded a bit instead of rose up. Should I use a pan with rim instead to make sure it rises up next time?
And can this bread made into a sweet version in any way, Sally? I found this a bit salty (I used table salt), but it was great to be paired with a coconut-milk-based soup.
Hi Diar! Feel free to play around with the recipe and add sweeter additions. You can try adding a little sugar. I suggest my cranberry nut bread, too. No need to use a rimmed baking sheet, but make sure your baking sheet is large enough so the loaves don’t spill over the sides. Use floured hands to re-shape before baking if they spread too much.
I made it a few days ago and I love it! It’s really easy and quick and the flavour is sooo good! I’m gonna start making it every week! Thanks, Sally!
This bread came out great. I made the two loaves, debated refrigerating one, then ultimately decided to keep both of these out. It was so easy to do I figured I could just easily make another batch.
I only let it rise for 2.5 hours. It came out great but it definitely doesn’t have the pockets and airiness that it appears to have in your photos. The next time I’ll definitely let it rise in the refrigerator for longer.
Good stuff.
I usually hate making bread because it takes forever and I can’t seem to get yeast to rise correctly. This recipe made two perfect little loaves of bread even after I forgot about it and left it on the counter for over 4 hours. I will definitely be making it again.
I love this recipe! I was afraid the crust would be hard (husband hates hard bread!) but this bread is so soft and just perfect!! Already made it multiple times just this month.
This is a fantastic recipe for cranking out some fresh loaves without a lot of fuss. My only recommendation is that if you do refrigerate overnight, let your shaped loaves proof a bit at room temp before baking. You’ll get less oven spring but bigger CO2 pockets in the crumb.
I followed the recipe directly the first time including the overnight fridge rest. Great bread. My second try will include a touch of sour dough sponge (Bahrain strain) I have laying around…yearning to be included. Thanks Sally!!! – Dan, Noblesville, IN
I’ve been baking bread for a while with my sourdough starter and these techniques took it all to another level. The weekly artisan loaf that I made tonight has made the entire house smell heavenly. And I’m having a heckuva time keeping my husband from slicing into this beautiful loaf…he’s so cute! Thanks for making all of my baking more fun and delicious, Sally!
Easy to make and tastes great! Will add in some herbs next time and dip the bread in oil for a snack. Thanks for the recipe!
This recipe was so good and so easy! My family really enjoyed it. Will definitely be making this again.
Extremely easy and very yummy. My kiddo kept asking for more. I had to stop myself from eating the whole loaf. My husband told me i better start another batch tonight because it was so good. I really loved the texture of the inside and the nice crunch on the outside. This is going to definitely be a recipe i use often.
So glad I decided to make this yesterday and baked it today . The smell of this baking in the oven on such a cold day was intoxicating. I was just thrilled that the bread turned out so good even though there are so few ingredients and it didn’t need to be kneaded ( winning!!). I am going to make this again this weekend probably with the everything bagel seasoning. Thank you so very much for this recipe Sally
Wonderful and super tasty! This is a staple recipe that I’ll return to again and again!
Chewy and dense. I probably should have let it rest longer to get more flavor.