Name: Rustic Artisan Bread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 170 min
Ingredients: 3 cups flour; 1 tbsp sugar; 2 tsp quick rise yeast (You can use traditional yeast as well.); 1.5 tsp sea salt or course salt; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1.5 - 2 cups warm water

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Delicious, homemade rustic artisan bread that is SO EASY to make, anyone can do it – you’ll have a beautiful, freshly baked loaf – and your home smelling scrumptious – in just a few short hours!

Have you ever wanted to make your own homemade bread? If you’re like me, having a freshly baked loaf of crusty on the outside, chewy on the inside, mouthwatering homemade bread in the kitchen is pure happiness. I love to bake and in the past year or so, I’ve been experimenting with many different, simple homemade bread recipes. Through trial and error, I’ve come up with this incredibly delicious, rustic artisan bread recipe that will become a staple in your baking arsenal from now on, I promise. You will not believe how simple it is to make, how quickly you can have your home filled with that irresistible, freshly baked bread aroma. Everyone will be asking when the bread will be ready! The best part is, all you need are basic ingredients and a few hours and you will have your very own rustic artisan bread right in your own kitchen. Trust me, if you love homemade bread but don’t have a lot of time to make it, or you’ve never made bread before, this rustic artisan bread recipe is for you. It’s that simple to make, anyone can do it!

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There is really nothing quite like the smell of delicious, homemade fresh bread baking in the oven. It’s such a comforting feeling when that aroma fills our home. Our family loves it when they see me assembling the ingredients for my dough, because they know exactly what is about to happen in the next few hours.

Warm, crusty bread is so delicious, slathered in soft, salted butter – I also love it topped with some raspberry jam on there too…so yummy! Dip it into olive oil and balsamic vinegar, or into any stew or soup – our cream of vegetable soup, makes the perfect pairing. It’s delicious with our pasta bolognese – comfort food at it’s finest.

WHAT IS RUSTIC ARTISAN BREAD?

Think homemade, simple, all natural. This is what comes to mind for me when I think of rustic artisan bread. Slightly crusty on the outside, chewy on the inside and rustic, even imperfect in shape – a beautiful handmade, fresh-baked creation that is thoughtfully and lovingly made!

WHAT KIND OF FLOUR DO YOU USE FOR RUSTIC HOMEMADE BREAD?

I’ve tried different types of flour for this recipe, all of which give delicious results and are somewhat similar for the most part. From bread flour, to all-purpose flour to Italian fine 00 flour (for pizza or focaccia), any one of these will give you scrumptious rustic artisan bread.

I do find when using all-purpose flour, you need more water, vs. the other flours, I would use less – trust me, I’ve used 2 cups of water with bread flour and it was a total disaster! If the dough feels too dry, you can add a little more water as you mix.

Bread flour and Italian flour have a higher protein content, which means it has more gluten, these will give you slightly chewier results. All purpose flour gives you absolutely delicious bread as well, I actually prefer the results. I use whichever one I have handy in my pantry, they all make scrumptious bread that you can’t stop eating.

PANTRY TIP

Homemade bread makes the perfect hostess gift! Bake it in the morning and wrap it in a beautiful tea towel for your host or hostess – you’ll be their favorite guest!

DO YOU NEED A DUTCH OVEN TO MAKE ARTISAN BREAD?

A dutch oven is used to bake this rustic artisan bread, as it helps to create steam inside the pot. This keeps the temperature very hot inside the dutch oven to help the dough rise and it gives you that crispy crust and perfect crumb texture inside.

If you don’t have a dutch oven, you can simply use a baking sheet for your bread, and a baking dish filled with water on the rack underneath to create steam in the oven as your bread is baking. I personally haven’t tried this method, but it is very commonly used and is supposed to yield excellent results.

WHAT DOES OLIVE OIL ADD TO BREAD DOUGH?

The addition of olive oil in your bread dough helps to give this rustic artisan bread a deliciously soft, chewy crumb texture and is so delicious.

I’ve seen many recipes without oil – which you can leave out of this recipe if you like – but I find it adds to the overall flavor and texture of the loaf. The added oil on top of the dough in this recipe is totally optional – you can leave it out if you want an extra crunchy crust!

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH LEFTOVER BREAD?

I like to keep any leftover bread on a covered cake plate. It usually keeps it pretty well for a few days – if it even lasts that long!

If you don’t finish your loaf the day you make it, this rustic artisan bread is perfect the next day or two, to use for grilled cheese (or any grilled sandwich), or you can cut it up and dip it into our savory cheese fondue.

Use it for breakfast – make toast with your favorite topping, or grilled in a pan to french toast perfection. Try it with french onion soup, or cut it up and make your own homemade croutons. The possibilities are endless!

HOW TO MAKE RUSTIC ARTISAN BREAD

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the warm water and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mix everything well with a silicone spatula, scraping the sides of the bowl – your dough will be shaggy (this means sticky). **IMPORTANT**As I mentioned above, if you’re using all-purpose flour, I find more water is needed. With bread or Italian flour, you need less water. Whichever one you do use, start with 1.5 cups of water and adjust as you mix, working up to 2 cups if needed.
Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the dough (this is optional) – my image below has slightly more, I don’t actually measure when I make it. Cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel. Let rise in a warm spot. I like to use the oven with the light turned on.
After about 2 hours, when the dough has doubled in size (it will have lots of holes in it), remove the plastic wrap and scrape the dough onto a floured work surface. The dough is very wet, sloppy and sticky!
Place the dutch oven in the oven and turn on to 450 degrees. Tear a piece of parchment and place it next to your work surface. Using your spatula or a scraper, fold the dough in half, onto itself. Continue to fold each side going all the way around the dough, shaping as you go, until you get a rough ball shape – about 4 or 5 times.
Transfer the dough to the paper. If you need to reshape it into a ball, that is fine. There are no rules! I’ve made this bread in my oval dutch oven with a more oval shape. Anything goes, this dough is very forgiving!
When the oven is ready, carefully remove your pot and the lid. Grabbing the corners of the paper, lift the dough and place into the pot. Cover your pot and put in the oven. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes for deliciously crusty bread and golden color.
Remove from the oven and transfer (using the paper) to a cooling rack. Let it rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing. Top it with anything – salted butter on warm, crusty bread is heavenly!

SHOP KITCHEN TOOLS

THE BREAD MAKING PROCESS STEP BY STEP

ingredients for bread — Ingredients – flour, yeast, sugar, salt, water and oil.

mixed, shaggy bread dough — Ingredients – flour, yeast, sugar, salt, water and oil.

These photos are a good reference to use when making your rustic artisan bread. Your dough might look a little different than this when you’re folding and shaping – don’t worry! You really can’t mess this recipe up.

Although the dough is very easy to manipulate, it is messy! I like to use surgical gloves to handle the dough while I’m working. The scraper is great for cleanup too.

Folder bread dough — Dough folded onto itself