Simple Artisan Bread
Soft, chewy artisan loaves ready when you are with no kneading or special equipment required.
Ingredients
- 500 grams of bread flour (about 4 cups)
- 425 ml of cool water (1 3/4 cups)
- 7 grams of instant yeast (1 envelope)
- 1 teaspoon of salt
Instructions
- Combine 500 grams of bread flour with 1 envelope of instant yeast and a teaspoon of salt into a large bowl
- Add 425ml of water and mix until a shaggy dough forms
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature for 2-3 hours
- Transfer the covered dough into the refrigerator for between 12 hours and 4 days (or continue to the next step if baking same day)
- When you are ready to bake the bread, place a metal deep baking dish on the lowest set rack in your oven, place the other rack in middle of your oven and begin preheating your oven to 450 degrees (with the empty baking pan inside)
- While the oven preheats, transfer the dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 15 minutes
- Lightly flour your hands and transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide in half with a sharp knife or pastry cutter
- Gently shape the dough into two rounds or oval shaped loaves adding flour to your hands when necessary
- Lightly flour a sheet a baking sheet and transfer the shaped loaves onto the floured baking sheet
- Cover the loaves with a light towel and let the dough rest for 30-40 minutes
- Once the bread is ready to bake, use a very sharp knife or bread lame to score 2 or 3 shallow cuts into the top of both loaves
- Right before placing the dough into the oven, add 1 cup of very hot water into the baking dish on the lowest rack of your oven
- Transfer the loaves onto the middle set rack (keeping the oven door closed as much as possible during this process) and bake the loaves in the 450 degree oven for 25-30 minutes
- The bread is fully baked when the interior temperature reaches 190 degrees and the loaves sound hollow when you tap on the under side
- Allow the loaves to rest on a cooling rack for 30 minutes before slicing