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Easy Artisan French Bread

Delicious moist and chewy inside, with a crispy crust makes this bread a showstopper! Incredibly simple recipe using only 3 ingredients, but the most important addition is time.
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Prep Time 5 hours
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 5 hours 25 minutes
Cuisine French
Servings 8 people

Equipment

  • Dutch Oven (or a baking sheet - see notes below)

Ingredients
  

  • 6 cups bread flour (you can use all-purpose instead)
  • 1½ tbps coarse sea salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper (optional)
  • 1 ½ tbps yeast
  • 3 cups warm water

Instructions
 

  • Add the yeast to the warm water and let sit 10 minutes. In the meantime, add all other ingredients together into one big bowl.
  • Once yeast has bubbled, combine with half of the flour mixture. Mix with spatula or spoon until no large clumps remain. Add the other half of the flour and continue mixing by hand. Dough should look a little shaggy.
  • Let dough rest on the counter with a bowl over it for 2-3 hours, or until doubled in size.
  • Fold dough in on itself 4-6 times every 30 mins.
  • Once dough looks smoothed (about 2-3 hours) later. Set oven to preheat to 500° (if using baking sheet see below).

Baking Methods:

  • Method 1: Dutch Oven
    Preheat oven to 500° and allow dutch oven to heat with the lid on. Place the dough into the dutch oven and bake with the lid on for 15 mins. Remove lid and continue baking at 425° for 25-30 mins or until browned and hollow when tapped with a fork.
  • Method 2: Baking Sheet (not as foolproof, and needs extra attention based on oven)
    Preheat oven to 450° and set shaped dough onto a well floured baking sheet. Score if desired only once on the sheet. Add one cup of ice at the bottom of the oven. Bake for 25 mins. Reduce heat to 400° and continue baking for another 20-30 mins.
  • Let bread cool to room temperature before enjoying!

Notes

 
  1. You can use all-purpose flour vs. bread flour, but I haven't tried this with gluten-free. Typically you want a high amount of gluten in the flour for it to achieve the spongy texture. 
  2. The second baking method is more risky, due to individual ovens - just keep an eye out for a crispy crust that sounds hollow when tapped with a fork. Colour should be slightly burnt to the eye. 
  3. I used a rather conservative amount of salt, if you prefer a saltier bread, I would increase it to 2.5 tbsp.
Keyword artisan, baguette, baking, bread, bread loaf, chewy, crisp, crust, delicious, dutch oven, easy, home making, loaf, moist, recipe, yummy