This post contains affiliate links. When you purchase through our links, we may earn a commission.
Believe the hype about Dutch oven bread! It is real and it’s easy. Just mix flour, yeast and water and let the magic happen. No kneading, no hard work!
For another easy bread recipe, check out my No Knead Farmhouse Bread.
It’s a well known truth that nothing warms up a house as much as the smell of fresh bread. It is the perfect antidote to a miserable day or a rough week.
It’s a shame that bread had a reputation for not being worth the effort. Anyone who has bitten into a warm, home fresh loaf knows that’s not true. Fortunately we have recipes like this to make it amazingly easy!
I’m fond of this recipe not only because I like the bread it makes but because it was my gateway into bread making. It convinced me that the time to make a loaf was time well spent. I’ve now explored many other bread recipes over the years.
I gave it a try because I wanted bakery fresh bread without having to leave my house. The kind of loaf that springs back when you gently push on it instead of collapsing, with chewy crust and loads of flavour.
Making the bread
I tested out a couple of recipes including the famous Dutch oven bread recipe and a skillet bread recipe before making a version of my own with a crust I could be proud of.
For my version of This is an affiliate link.Dutch oven bread, I’ve combined the two methods to create one all my own. It’s become the bread we go to so often at home because it gives great results in a short amount of time.
I also changed the original recipe by adding more salt and reducing the amount of flour. I also increased the oven temperature from 350F to 500F.
The bread we got as a result of that experiment was mind blowing. I overheard my kids talking later which brought a smile to my face, “That’s the best bread she’s made!”
Pillowy soft but quite substantial with a thick crust, just the way… aha aha… I like it! The bread was so delicious I would happily make it my dinner, nothing else required.
Dukkah spice mix
Even so, a good dip is still appreciated. My kids are all about bread and butter. I, on the other hand, love my bread dipped in extra virgin olive oil with a bit of balsamic vinegar.
Or dukkah spice, an aromatic Egyptian side dish consisting of a mixture of herbs, nuts and spices.
You can buy it in grocery stores like I did but it’s much tastier if you make your own. I used already made mix and wanted to open up the flavours a bit more.
So I put a handful in my mortar and took a pestle to it until I could smell the warm and aromatic mixture filling the room.
The dip is as simple as could be. Just pour some good quality extra virgin olive oil in a small plate, sprinkle with some sea salt and dukkah spice. Then dip and dip and dip some more.
More bread recipes
Dutch Oven Bread
Equipment
- This is an affiliate link.Cast iron Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 1 package/ 7 gr- active dry yeast
- 2 cups/500ml lukewarm water
- 3/4 tbsp sea salt
- 4 cups/480g bread flour I used Canadian flour)
For the dip
- This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- sea salt
- dukkah spice
Instructions
- Mix warm water and yeast in a small bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine flour and salt. Add the water and yeast mixture to the flour and mix until the dough comes together with a hook attachment or by hand. Cover with a tea towel and let it rise for one hour in a warm place.
- After one hour preheat the oven to 500F/260C with the dutch oven, including the lid, in it.
- Remove the dough on a floured surface and shape it into a ball by tucking the corners in like an envelope. Put it on a tea towel (or parchment paper, seen notes) seam side down, sprinkle with more four and cover with another tea towel and let it rise for 30 minutes.
- Take the dutch oven out. It would have been warming in the oven for 30 minutes by then and will be blazing hot. Carefully lift your dough and put it in the dutch oven, cover with the lid and bake for 20 minutes. Take the lid off and bake for additional 10 minutes.
- Let it cool which will also allow the crust to develop. Before serving, pour some olive oil in a shallow plate and sprinkle with some sea salt and dukkah spice.
Notes
- You can place your shaped dough on a piece of parchment paper, then pick it up by the opposite side of the paper and lower it into the Dutch Oven.
- Full disclosure: I don’t use parchment paper and my bread never sticks to the Dutch Oven.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I tried and looks wonderful!
And tastes wonderful too!
It really does! I just love how quick it is! 🙂
This may be a dumb question. .. But when you put the dough into the Dutch oven, do you put the Dutch oven back into the oven? At 500 degrees?
Hi Susan, yes you do. 🙂
Just wondering if I can put all the ingredients into my bread maker?
Audrey, I haven’t tried so I can’t tell you for sure. The key to success of this bread is baking it at a very high temperature in a dutch oven which makes it even hotter. I think you can bake it in a bread maker but it will produce a much denser loaf.
Oh boy this bread is amazing! How long and what setting do you use if mixing in a stand mixer? It never stayed in on the hook like I’ve seen other dough do, it just spread right back out in the bowl when I turned the mixer off and after the hour rise and folding it like an envelope it still seemed like throwing goo into a a hot Dutch oven. It still turned out nice but can’t help thinking I did something wrong?
Hi Megan, you might be overthinking it a bit. It’s meant to be an easy bread recipe and if it turned out nice, why change anything?
Are you using English cups or American?
These are American cups, English people use scales and measure in weights for baking.
This recipe looks amazing and I want to try it but I don’t have a “dutch oven”. Can I bake the bread in the oven at 500° or will it be at a different temperature if I do this?
Janell, you can use any type of casserole dish with a lid like Pyrex to bake this bread but you do need a lid for the temperature to rise even more and allow this bread to rise quickly. It also creates steam, which is needed for the formation of the “chewy” crust.
This may sound like a dumb question, but i want to make sure. For the flour: is it bread flour or is it regular white flour? I’m a newlywed and i am making this for my husband’s family tomorrow, so i like to make sure i do it properly! His family (and myself) LOVE our bread!
Thank you!!
Nicole, it’s not a dumb question but the answer depends on where you live because the flour varies quite a bit from country to country. I used Canadian all purpose flour but you can also use bread flour.
There is nothing better than homemade bread dipped in olive oil, perfectly…
I assume that the first line should read “Mix warm water..” I don’t know how to warm flour 🙂 Can’t wait to try this!
hahaha, it’s been corrected. Thank you!
Ha! That’s funny that you made bread because you didn’t want to get your hair wet! I get it. I’ve just got back to England after living in much warmer places for years. I’m happy to be back but NOT impressed with the wet, windy weather. Yuck!
Looks like you nailed the bread-making right off!
Helen, welcome back! Aren’t you feeling so blessed to enjoy this beautiful weather! lol Joking aside, it must be great to be back home.
I could easily make a meal out of this bread too, it looks wonderful!
Thank you Laura, too bad this bread doesn’t last long in our house!