Dutch Oven Bread
Crusty on the outside, soft and pillowy on the inside, this No Knead Dutch Oven Bread requires just 4 ingredients! Simple, easy, and irresistible when served warm with salted butter!
Servings: 8 servings
Equipment
- 5 to 7 quart-sized dutch oven
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour , spooned and leveled (plus more for dusting)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoons instant dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cups water (temperature should be between 100-110 degrees F)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast. Add the water and stir to combine to form a shaggy, wet dough. (Make sure you mix it in well, so there is no leftover flour on the bottom of the bowl.)
- Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 12-18 hours in a draft free area.
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place a 5 to 7 quart dutch oven with the top on into the oven and let it heat up for 30 minutes.
- Once the dutch oven has been preheated, lightly dust a large piece of parchment paper with flour on a flat work surface. Place the dough in the center of the paper and lightly dust the top with more flour. As best you can, form it into a ball or at least a round formation (see note below.)
- Using the parchment paper to help, carefully lower the dough into the body of the dutch oven. Cover with the top and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes until golden brown. The bread should sound hollow when tapped.
- Take the bread out of the dutch oven and remove the paper. Place on a wire rack to cool completely before cutting.
- Slice and slather with butter, if desired.
Notes
What size dutch oven for bread? You'll want a round dutch oven between 5 and 7 quarts. Smaller dutch ovens won't provide enough room for the dough while larger ones can result in the dough spreading to become more a flat bread versus the thick loaf you ideally want from this recipe.
Preheat the dutch oven. You not only want to preheat the oven for dutch oven bread, but the dutch oven itself should also be preheated for 30 minutes before placing the dough inside of it. Don't skip this step.
Don't worry too much about shaping it into a ball. The dough is EXTREMELY WET, which makes it pretty much impossible to form into a ball. Just do the best you can. The bottom of the dutch oven will help form the bread into its round shape, so don't be too concerned if it looks funny going in.
How to tell when the bread is done. The outside of the bread should be golden brown and the bread should sound hollow when tapped. If it doesn't, continue baking for a few more minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 171kcal · Carbohydrates: 36g · Protein: 5g · Fat: 1g · Saturated Fat: 1g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g · Monounsaturated Fat: 1g · Sodium: 439mg · Potassium: 50mg · Fiber: 1g · Sugar: 1g · Calcium: 9mg · Iron: 2mg