dutch oven bread easy and delicious step by step recipe
This dutch oven bread easy and delicious step by step recipe shows you how to make bakery style bread at home with very simple ingredients. A heavy Dutch oven gives the loaf a golden crisp crust while the inside stays soft and airy. The method is perfect for beginners because most of the work is just waiting for the dough to rise. Serve this dutch oven bread with soup salad or pasta for a cozy family meal or slice it for sandwiches and toasted snacks during the week.
Equipment
- Dutch oven with a tight fitting lid medium size around four to six quarts
- Large mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon or sturdy spatula
- Measuring cups and measuring spoons or a kitchen scale
- Parchment paper cut into a square or circle large enough to line the pot
- Clean kitchen towel
- Wire cooling rack or a board for cooling the loaf
- Oven mitts for handling the hot pot
Ingredients
These amounts make one medium round loaf of dutch oven bread.
- Three cups bread flour or all purpose flour about three hundred sixty grams
- One and one half cups warm water about three hundred sixty milliliters the water should feel slightly warm to the touch
- One and one quarter teaspoons instant yeast or active dry yeast
- One and one half teaspoons fine sea salt or kosher salt
- One tablespoon olive oil or neutral vegetable oil for greasing the bowl and parchment
Optional flavor additions
- One or two teaspoons sugar or honey for a slightly richer flavor
- One tablespoon extra virgin olive oil mixed into the dough for a softer crumb
- One or two teaspoons dried herbs such as rosemary thyme or oregano
- One half cup grated hard cheese such as parmesan folded into the dough after the first rise
- One quarter to one half cup mixed seeds such as sesame seeds flax seeds or sunflower seeds sprinkled on top before baking
Healthier and special diet ideas
- Replace one cup of white flour with whole wheat flour for more fiber and a nutty flavor
- Use a gluten free bread flour blend in the same total amount for gluten free dutch oven bread and handle the softer dough gently with parchment support
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl combine the flour and salt. Stir well so the salt is evenly spread through the flour.
- In a smaller bowl mix the warm water and yeast. If you use sugar or honey add it now. Stir until the yeast dissolves and let it rest for a few minutes until the liquid looks slightly cloudy.
- Pour the yeast mixture into the bowl with flour. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir until all the flour is moistened and you have a rough sticky dough. It is fine if the dough looks shaggy and uneven.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl and gather the dough into a loose ball. Drizzle a little oil around the edges so the dough does not stick too hard as it rises. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel or a loose lid.
- Let the dough rest at room temperature for about two hours or until it has doubled in size and the surface shows many small bubbles. In a cooler room it may need a little longer. This slow rise builds flavor for your dutch oven bread.
- Lightly flour a clean work surface. Use a spatula to gently ease the dough out of the bowl onto the flour. Try not to tear it so you keep as much air inside as possible.
- With floured hands lift one edge of the dough and fold it toward the center. Turn the dough and repeat this folding from several sides until it begins to form a rough ball.
- Flip the dough so the smoother side faces up. Use your hands to gently tuck the underside of the ball while you rotate it. This tightens the surface and gives the loaf a round shape that will rise well in the oven.
- Place the shaped dough on a piece of parchment paper. Lightly flour the top and cover it with a towel. Let it rest for about thirty to forty five minutes for a second short rise while you preheat the oven and Dutch oven.
- Place your empty Dutch oven with the lid on in the oven on a rack in the lower middle position. Heat the oven to four hundred fifty degrees Fahrenheit or about two hundred thirty degrees Celsius. Allow the pot to heat for at least thirty minutes so it becomes very hot.
- When the dough has puffed and the pot is fully heated carefully remove the Dutch oven using oven mitts and set it on a heat safe surface. Lift the dough by holding the edges of the parchment paper and gently lower it into the hot pot.
- If you wish you may lightly score the top of the dough with a sharp knife to guide how it opens. Work quickly so the pot does not lose too much heat. Cover the Dutch oven with the lid and place it back in the hot oven.
- Bake the dutch oven bread covered for about thirty minutes. The steam inside the pot will help the loaf rise and create a thin crackling crust.
- After thirty minutes remove the lid and continue baking for ten to fifteen minutes more until the crust is deep golden brown. The bread should sound hollow when you tap the bottom.
- Carefully lift the finished loaf out of the Dutch oven using the edges of the parchment. Place it on a wire rack or board to cool. Let the bread cool for at least thirty minutes before slicing so the interior can set and extra steam can escape.
- Slice with a serrated bread knife and serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy your homemade dutch oven bread with butter olive oil soup salad or any favorite meal.
Notes
This dutch oven bread recipe is flexible and works well for many occasions. For a deeper flavor mix the dough the night before and let it rise in the refrigerator. The next day allow the dough to warm at room temperature then shape it and continue with the second rise and baking steps.
To protect the bottom crust from burning in very hot ovens you can place a baking sheet on the rack below the Dutch oven. This gentle shield reduces direct heat on the base of the loaf.
For more flavor ideas you can point readers to other recipes on your site such as tomato soup roasted vegetable trays or slow cooked stews that match perfectly with warm slices of dutch oven bread. For helpful external resources you can also link from your main article text to a trusted baking education site that explains different flour types or to the care guide from the brand that made your Dutch oven.