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 recipe is where you start. This artisan bread 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.
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
- 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
Homemade Artisan Bread Video Tutorial
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 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, bread flour produces a stronger, chewier bread and that makes a big difference in 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 the 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 2 longer loaves side-by-side on a flat baking sheet, about 9×3 inches each. Score with a sharp knife or bread lame. 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. To help ensure a crispier crust, after the oven pre-heats—pour boiling water into a metal or cast iron baking pan/dish on the bottom oven rack. Immediately place the dough inside and shut the oven door to trap the steam. The steam will help create that coveted crisp crust. If you have a dutch oven, shape the dough into 1 round loaf, and bake it inside the dutch oven with the lid on.
- 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
- Slice and dunk in crab dip, beer cheese dip, or roasted garlic bacon spinach dip
- Serve alongside slow cooker chicken chili or pumpkin chili
- As a dunker for minestrone soup, creamy chicken noodle soup, or crab soup
- With a big bowl of mac & cheese
- Use for my goat cheese & honey crostini
- It’s the perfect starch in breakfast casserole
- With anything because homemade bread is everything’s best friend
See Your Homemade Artisan Bread!
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge! Feel free to email or share your recipe photos with us on social media. 🙂
PrintHomemade 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 un-greased 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 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Store leftovers loosely covered at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
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 in the refrigerator and allow to come to 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 a bit 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.
I christened my new Dutch oven with this bread recipe tonight, and it came out perfect! I should have made two boules…no leftovers! Looking forward to experimenting with different flavors. Yum!
Delicious and so so easy!
SHAZAM!!!… I can bake a wonderful loaf of bread! Thanks Sally. My yeast confidence is on the rise (pun intended)!
This bread, oh my heart! Not only did I love it, but my husband and kiddos did too. Pleasing a 2 and 4 year old isn’t always easy (unless it’s chocolate), but they kept begging for more bread! After quickly finishing the first loaf, I cut everyone off so we’d still have some for dinner tomorrow. Another amazing recipe from Sally. Stop what you’re doing and make this bread!
Just made this recipe, adding in dried cranberries and nuts. My dough was quite wet and sticky. After the 3 hour rise at room temperature, it sat in the fridge for 28 hours. My loaves were hard to shape due to the stickiness and spread a bit during the 45 minute rest period. After 25 minutes in the oven, it was beautifully brown on top, so I removed it from the oven but soon realized after the 5 minute cooling period that the bottoms were still quite pale (It did sound hollow from the top after removal from the oven). My slices weren’t as round or high as pictured, but the steam bath did produce a crusty top and happily, despite the pale bottoms, the bread was cooked. It had a great flavor with a chewy, soft middle that soaked the butter beautifully . I will try this recipe again, but maybe hold back on a few tablespoons of the water so the dough won’t be so wet- hopefully that will remedy the pale bottoms as well.
Just made the artisan bread and it turned out great. I love that you can make it ahead of time and pop in the fridge. I only had all purpose flour so I’m going to make it again with bread flour and try to make a design with my cuts on the top. Thanks for a great recipe.
My first challenge and it was yummy!
This recipe is easy and so delicious! I made one recipe with fresh rosemary and garlic and another one plain. My family loved both loaves and I was thrilled to try a new recipe!
Hi Sally,
I just send you a photo of my freshly baked loaves to your email address.
I am very pleased with the entire process….very easy technique, beautiful loaves
good texture and perfect for numerous uses…so delicious!!
I used a baking stone and I used the steam method for a more crisp crust.
This technique is so easy you really don’t need a recipe after the first couple of times
making it by recipe. Thank you so much!
barbara
This year, because I love to cook and bake, I made a commitment to myself that as long as I think I will eat the recipe, I will participate in each challenge. Then I saw that we were starting off with bread.
I tried another bread recipe (not one of Sally’s!) years ago, and it was a disaster. It convinced me that I couldn’t make bread. I feel like I’m a pretty good baker, so this made me sad.
Well, no more. I make awesome bread, all thanks to this recipe. It has convinced me that I need to buy bread flour and stop buying bread. I used all purpose flour with this batch, so I can’t wait to taste the difference. I baked one loaf immediately and put the other in the fridge to decide for myself if I need to plan a few days in advance.
Thanks for a great start to the new year!
I did it! First time ever making bread, except for that 1 unfortunate bread machine shenanigan years ago. So easy, even with really sticky dough! Thank you, dear Sally, for a great bread making/baking experience!
Super easy bread recipe with the perfect crust! I used about 3-4 tbsp less water since my dough was pretty sticky. And if you have the patience definitely let it sit overnight. I actually make my bread in the evening when I’m planning on letting it rise overnight so I’m not being tempted to make it the same day
I am so afraid of baking with yeast but OMG this is the best, easiest bread I’ve ever made. Any beginner or amateur baker should try this recipe!
Love love love this bread!! It really is super easy. Definitely a great beginner recipe. The dough was super sticky and next time I will add a bit more flour in the dough, while shaping and on the baking sheet. I used the recommended 2 tsp coarse sea salt, but found the baked bread to be too salty for my taste, so I will cut the salt in half next time. And there will definitely be a next time. I’m thinking Jalapeno Cheddar or Cinnamon Raisin sounds amazing! Can’t wait to make more.
I made the dough for this on Friday morning, let it rise for three hours at room temperature and then let it rest in the fridge until Sunday afternoon when I shaped, scored and baked it. As it was my first time trying this recipe I didn’t add anything other than the four listed ingredients so I could really taste the bread’s own flavor. And I’m glad I did! The flavor was incredible!
After stirring all the ingredients together, my dough was still a lot more wet than the dough in the video, so I added a bit more flour because otherwise I wouldn’t even be able to handle it. When shaping it was still pretty sticky but as long as I kept flouring my work surface and hands thoroughly it worked out. I’m glad I did shape it like a boule though, instead of just kind of laying it on the baking sheet in a shape without any kind of tension in the dough, because otherwise I think my bread would have been pretty flat due to all the moisture.
Next time I’m going to add some garlic powder and Italian herbs. Thanks for another great recipe, Sally!
This bread turned out great! Since I live at high altitude in Colorado I made some adjustments to the recipe: more flour, less yeast, more water. I was expecting it not to turn out well with so many adjustments but I was happily surprised with the results!
Just made this with the pizza stone method and I am beyond thrilled at how it came out! I opted for plain for the first go but I will definitely be making more of these this week and every week to come! I am always buying bread like this at the store to dip into the fancy oil and vinegar with dinners and I am so excited I can now make my own always!
Hi Sally! I made the first mix of dough and it’s currently sitting in my fridge to rest for 3 days. Do I need to let it come to room temp before I shape it prior to the 45 minute rise or can I go ahead and shape it right out of the fridge and then let it rise for the 45 minutes?
Hi Claire! No need to let it come to room temperature after the refrigeration time. Easier to work with cold dough anyway!
Has anyone tried to make this recipe with the weights rather than volume measurements?
My bread was very loose, very wet.
I think it was the water. 1.5 cups of water (12 FL Oz) is 345 mls of water!! Not 360 mls.
Trying it again tomorrow. Husband thought it was amazing with the additional water and no 12 hours rest.
Is using a mixer detrimental to this process ? I just purchased a larger mixer for Christmas and would like to use this recipe. I also was able to finally purchase platinum yeast.
Hi Cheryl! It’s not detrimental, but it could over-mix the dough. I find it’s best to just make this dough by hand in a large mixer bowl. A lot of my other yeast bread recipes require a mixer though, where you can even knead the dough with the mixer too.
This was such an easy recipe! I have only made pizza dough with yeast and was very surprised when it said to use cool water .. but I followed the recipe and it turned out awesome. The only thing different I did was let the bread dough rise on the counter for about 5-6 hours since we were not home. I was worried this would change it, but I put it in the refrigerator overnight, used the boiled water pan as directed and perfect crusty bread! I used a serrated steak knife with a little flour in it and it scored the dough fine. No more buying artisan bread for me!
Hi Sally….thanks for such a great challenge. QUESTION: how do you get such a beautiful
shine and dark color with these loaves. Thank you.
For the shine, keep that dough sticky. For the dark color, bake until golden brown. Keep it in the oven for a few extra minutes if desired OR raise the oven rack! 🙂
Easy recipe for someone intimidated by bread! I added fresh rosemary and garlic as recommended. The flavor and texture were great – I could’ve baked for a bit longer but that’s an easy fix. Looking forward to making again with new flavor combos and mastering the scoring technique 🙂
Could you divide the dough into 4 small loaves?
You can, yes! Bake time will be similar, even a couple minutes shorter.
I love all your recipes but this is a first for me branching out of cookies and cakes. My dough didn’t quite rise like the picture and it was impossible to score. I’m worried I used too much yeast. The packet said 2 1/4 tsp, but it didn’t measure out to that in my measuring spoon. Do I trust the packet is right? Or do you have to measure yeast like everything else?
Hi Catherine! Make sure you only use 2 teaspoons of yeast in this dough recipe. Doughs can be difficult to score. Have you thought about purchasing a lame? They’re fairly inexpensive. Some even use kitchen shears to score, too!
Gone before I could serve it for lunch!
Sally, I’m so excited! I’ve never made bread in my life and this was so easy. I added the steaming water underneath but I forgot to score the bread before it baked. (It was still so good!) My family loved it and want this recipe on repeat.
Thanks so much!
This was an easy and delicious recipe! Didn’t come out the same as the pictures but will try again. It tasted great and my mom and son liked it. I served it with your delicious honey butter recipe! Thanks Sally!
Love this recipe! The bread is absolutely delicious and it’s so easy!
Delicious! We’re having this with seafood gumbo. Thank you, Sally
This recipe is amazing and so easy! My hubby (who swears he can’t bake) actually made it by himself for dinner tonight and it is delicious! Thanks Sally!