Easy Artisan Bread Recipe (Yeast, Dutch Oven, Whole Wheat)
This incredibly easy artisan bread recipe is a simple way to get a crisp crust and tender crumb in just a few minutes of hands-on time. Made with yeast and half whole wheat flour, it comes together with minimal effort and bakes up beautifully every time. You can bake it the same day you mix it up or keep it refrigerated to use during the week. This crusty bread costs just pennies to make and literally changed the way I thought about bread – I hope it does for you, too!
✩ What readers are saying…
“This is the best and easiest bread recipe! We eat a TON of toast in this house and this makes such a nice chewy loaf with almost no effort. I tried all sorts of bread recipes looking for the “Goldilocks” loaf and this is it!” -Hannah
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This artisan bread recipe was one of the first recipes I published when An Oregon Cottage began in 2009 and it quickly became a fan favorite. Super simple, it also costs pennies to make vs. $4-$6 artisanal loaves so you can enjoy making your own artisan bread whenever you want!
I make this yeast-based easy artisan bread whenever I don’t have sourdough starter ready (and before I started making sourdough artisan, this was a weekly bake for us!). The recipe is pretty addictive, quick to mix up, and produces a bread at home that is very similar to what you might find in a bakery.
Our extended family and friends have consistently ooh’d and ahhh’d over it – it’s one of my most tried-and-true favorite recipes.
If you’ve never thought you could make a loaf of bread like you buy, this is the recipe that could change your mind. It’s the kind of homemade loaf that feels impressive but is easy enough for any day of the week.
Beyond that, looking at it from a frugal point of view, the total cost for 2 – 4 loaves is about .85 cents to $1.30 in 2025! That’s when flour is between .80 cents to $1 per pound with about .10 added for bulk yeast and salt.
TIP: Always try to buy your yeast in bulk. I’ve bought both active dry yeast and instant yeast in bulk packages and both work in this recipe. It’s SO much cheaper than the little packets – and you’re going to be making a lot of bread when you try this – believe me!
Recipe Ingredients
One of the reasons bread is so inexpensive to make and why you can save big time by making your own artisan bread (as well as an everyday, easy soft 100% whole wheat sandwich bread) is that the ingredients are basic pantry staples: flour, water, yeast and salt.
- Flour: You can make this bread using only all-purpose flour (I always choose unbleached) or regular bread flour and you will get a lighter crumb with bigger holes. However, I wanted a bread with more whole grain nutrients so I tested different ratios and came up with 3.5 cups all-purpose (or bread flour) and 3 cups regular whole wheat. Using all whole wheat works, but it results in a flatter, denser loaf. I’ve used all white whole wheat (not pastry flour) and that is better, but still not as light as including some all-purpose. Play around with the ratios that work best for your family, just keep to 6.5 cups total flour.
- Water: Use lukewarm water (about 115 degrees) which is usually the warmest water from your tap (it’s important not to use water that’s too hot, as that will kill the yeast).
- Yeast: Like I mentioned, both active dry yeast and instant yeast work in this recipe.
- Salt: The recipe is formulated for basic sea salt, not a coarser grain kosher type salt. If using a larger grain salt, you’ll need to increase the amount.
Variations
Flavor your loaf with the mix-ins of your choice, adding them at the end of step 2 after beating for 30 seconds. Here are a few ideas:
- Cranberry Walnut: 1/2 cup dried cranberries and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.
- Garlic Herb: 2-3 tablespoons minced garlic and 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs or 2 tablespoons dried herbs. Optional: add 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese.
- Cheesy Jalapeño: 1/2 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, jack, Mexican blend) and 1 diced jalapeño (or chop up 1/4 cup of pickled jalapeños or candied jalapeños).
- Seeded: 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, 1/4 cup sesame seeds, and 1/4 cup flax seeds (or seeds of your choice).
- Bagel: Shape the loaf using Everything But The Bagel Seasoning in step 6 instead of flour, pressing to help the seasoning adhere.
The Secret to The Best Artisan Bread Crust
For the best results, with the most amazing crust ever, cook the bread in a hot cast enameled iron dutch oven or regular cast iron dutch oven (like the vintage one pictured above on the right) with the lid on during the first 15 minutes.
When the steam escapes from the dough in the first minutes of baking at a high temperature, it hits the sides and creates it’s own steam. Basically, as close to a bakery oven as we can get at home!
- This 6-quart enameled cast iron pot by Lodge is popular and similar to what I use – my exact pot you see above is the older version of this 5.5-quart pot by Tramontina, which is a little cheaper (though recommended by Cooks Illustrated).
- You can use any size pot from 4 quarts to 7. The smaller size may aid in creating a taller loaf since there’s less room to spread. Here’s a Lodge 5.5 quart pot and a 5-quart Crock-Pot brand pot.
Cost: Enamel Dutch ovens run between $60 and $300 (LeCruset, the Cadillac of enameled cookware) and even though I bought ours at the lower end, it’s the most I’ve ever spent on a single piece of cookware. It’s been SO worth it, since I’ve made so many loaves of bread that it’s paid for itself many times over – and I don’t have to worry about spraying the loaf, adding ice or water to the oven or anything.
Pot Temperature Limits?
I’ve had some readers worry about the temperature limits listed by manufacturers of the enameled pots. I bought my pot to make bread so I’m okay with using it that way and it’s done well. I’ve used my Tramontina pot for 10+ years at these temperatures and it’s still going strong with no flaking of the enamel at all, even though the manufacturer says 400 degrees is the max.
You have to do what you feel okay with, for sure, but these temperatures were tested in the Cook’s Illustrated kitchens with multiple enameled pots, including the inexpensive one I purchased, so I feel okay with it.
Can I make this without a Dutch oven?
Yes, if you don’t have a dutch oven, you can still bake this bread! Use a cookie sheet or baking stone and add steam by choosing one of these methods:
- Fill a broiler pan with water and place it on the bottom rack while the oven is coming up to temperature. Just be careful if you use a baking stone and water in a pan – the steam broke my stone when I tried it.
- Mist the bread with water before quickly putting it in the oven.
- Cover the loaf on a baking stone with the cover of a roasting pan for the first 15 minutes. Remove and continue baking.
- One reader said to use the inside of a slow cooker with the top tightly covered with foil, though I haven’t tested that.
Try different methods and see which you like best.
Let’s make this easy artisan bread recipe
Note: You can make this bread by hand, but I’ve always used a mixer because, well, it’s easier. This is the mixer I use.
Step 1: Add the yeast, salt and water to a bowl and mix.
Step 2: Add flour and mix on low until the flour is incorporated and then at level 2-3 until most of the dough starts cleaning the sides of the bowl, about 30 seconds to a minute. This acts as a little bit of kneading which I’ve found creates a better texture.
To mix by hand, follow the steps above with a wooden spoon and mix hard for at least a minute to replicate the machine’s light “kneading.” You could also perform some stretches and folds while the dough is rising to mimic this as well.
Step 3: Transfer it to a very large, oiled, bowl (or if you mixed by hand, just leave it in the same bowl), and cover it, but not airtight. Leave to sit on the counter 1-1/2 to 2 hours until it reaches the top of the bowl.
Step 3 TIPS: You can cover the bowl with a fabric cover like I show (I made this one, but modeled it on these), but it must have some kind of moisture barrier or the top of the dough will dry out. This one has a PLU lining, and beeswax bowl covers do a good job, as will plastic. Also, write the time on a scrap piece of paper to remind you when the time’s up!
Step 4: I hope you put it in a large bowl – it will rise all the way to the top! At this point you choose to: 1) Put the covered bowl in the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days, OR 2) Cut off a section to bake right away and put the rest in the fridge.
Step 5: Either way, about 1-1/2 hours before you want to serve the bread (the time needed for rising, baking & cooling), take the bowl out of the fridge if needed, pull the cover off and dust the top with flour (the dough will be sticky) and pull off half with a serrated knife. Start preheating a Dutch oven in a 450 degree oven (or use one of the alternatives I mentioned).
REFRIGERATION TIP: The recipe I adapted this from said you could refrigerate up to 14 days but I’ve found about a week is the longest we like the dough to sit. It becomes more sour, similar to the flavor of sourdough, as it ages and I made a loaf at day 9 once and it was too sour for us. So, I always use it within a week. If I don’t need bread, I make it anyway and freeze the loaf – it comes out perfectly!
Step 6: Round the dough in your floured hands, pulling and gathering on the bottom to create tension until it is a smooth ball, not handling it too much so you don’t loose all the air in the dough. Place the dough ball on a cookie sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper and dust the top with flour.
Step 7: When the thirty minutes is up, take a sharp, serrated knife and slash the top in any pattern you choose- just make sure to slash a good 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch deep (I use to barely cut into the top and then the dough would explode out the bottom making the dough look weird and misshapen).
TIP: The parchment is crucial to making this easy, since you will use it to transfer the dough to the hot enamel pot (or to a baking stone, etc.). ALSO – the parchment can be reused 2 to 3 times before it starts falling apart, too.
Step 8: Transfer dough to the hot dutch oven by removing the (hot!) lid and using two opposite corners of the parchment to transfer the dough to the pot. Don’t worry so much if the dough loses its shape, it will rise and look fine. Replace the lid, close the oven, and set the timer for 17 minutes.
Step 9: After the timer goes off, remove the lid and set the timer for another 17 minutes (if using a stone or cookie sheet, just set the timer for 30-35 minutes, rotating the pan if you need to in your oven for even browning). The loaf should be nicely browned (it’s okay to bake another 5 minutes if needed). Remove the loaf immediately to a wire rack using the parchment corners.
TIP: Are the bottom of your loaves browning more than you’d like and/or are hard to cut through? Place a cookie sheet on the rack below the dutch oven and it will prevent burning.
You’ll want to wait at least a half hour before cutting it, preferably an hour, otherwise it will gum the knife (if you can’t wait, however, here’s a trick to keep your slices looking nice). I also love the serrated bread knife from Rada pictured above – it’s the best I’ve ever used!
The loaf pictured above was made with half unbleached all purpose flour and half regular whole wheat which produces small, even holes and a tender crumb. Personally, I don’t like the breads with large holes – the butter runs out of them and they don’t work for sandwiches or even toast well. I’m happy to have the extra nutrients from the whole grain that comes with smaller holes.
Storage
- Room Temperature: The bread, sliced or whole, will store 2-3 days at room temperature without drying too much. I’ve been loving these beeswax-lined linen bread bags which seems to keep it better than a plain linen bag (bonus: you can freeze the bread in the beeswax-lined bags, too!).
- Refrigerate: This isn’t the most recommended method for storing bread as it tends to make it go stale faster, but in a household that doesn’t eat bread as much, we often store a few slices in the fridge for a day or two in silicone bags.
- Freeze: This bread freezes so well! To make it easiest to use, slice the bread first and freeze in silicone baggies in the amounts you’ll need. You can also freeze the loaves whole.
Reader Raves
“Started making bread at the beginning of the year, each time tweaking the recipe/process. Each time it just wasn’t the ‘master’ bread that I would like to repeat from week to week – UNTIL NOW! Thank you Jami, for making me focus on the basics with your ‘easy artisan bread’ recipe!” -Bob V.
“Making Artisan bread has been on my bucket list and until I tried your recipe, I had no success. Your recipe is soooo easy and delicious.” -Nancy
“I have tried numerous bread recipes over the years and always ended up disappointed. This one had such a nice texture and tastes so good!” -April
“Your method is so simple with amazing results that I think I can finally keep up with the bread required for a family of eight. Thanks!” -Erin
Do yourself a favor and make this easy bread recipe as soon as you can – and prepare for all the raves! Let me know how it goes by leaving a rating and review!
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Easy Artisan Bread Recipe
Equipment
- stand mixer optional
- Dutch oven
Ingredients
- 3 cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon yeast, both instant or active dry work
- 2½ teaspoon salt
- 3½ cups whole wheat flour* whole wheat white flour works great, too
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour*
Instructions
- Put the yeast and salt in a bowl and add the water.
- Add all the flour and mix until combined. Then mix at a higher speed 30 seconds to 1 minute as a quick knead (or by hand a minute, or you can choose to do a series of stretches and folds while it's rising).
- Put in a LARGE bowl and cover with plastic or other non-porous cover (not airtight). Let set at room temperature for about 1½ hours – it should double or more.
- Put in the refrigerator for up to a week or week-and-a-half, OR bake right away – cut off what you need, shape, and let sit while the Dutch oven heats.
- When ready to bake, place an enameled dutch oven, with lid, in a 450 degree oven.
- Dust the dough with flour, grab half the dough and cut it off with a serrated knife. Using well-floured hands, shape gently into a ball and place on a piece of parchment paper resting on a cookie sheet or in a small round skillet to help shape. Dust the top with more flour.
- Let sit on the counter 30 minutes if baking the day of making, 1 hour if the dough was refrigerated. Then slash the top of the loaf with a serrated knife.
- Transfer the loaf to the hot dutch oven using the edges of the parchment, replace the lid, and cook for 15 to 17 minutes.
- Remove lid and continue to cook for another 15 to 17 minutes, or until loaf is a golden brown.
- Remove to a cooling rack for 30 to 60 minutes before cutting.
Notes
- Room Temperature: The bread, sliced or whole, will store 2-3 days at room temperature without drying too much. I’ve been loving beeswax-lined linen bread bags which seems to keep it better than a plain linen bag (bonus: you can freeze the bread in the beeswax-lined bags, too!).
- Refrigerate: This isn’t the most recommended method for storing bread as it tends to make it go stale faster, but in a household that doesn’t eat bread as much, we often store a few slices in the fridge for a day or two in silicone bags.
- Freeze: This bread freezes so well! To make it easiest to use, slice the bread first and freeze in silicone baggies in the amounts you’ll need. You can also freeze the loaves whole.
- Cranberry Walnut: 1/2 cup dried cranberries and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.
- Garlic Herb: 2-3 tablespoons minced garlic and 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs or 2 tablespoons dried herbs. Optional: add 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese.
- Cheesy Jalapeño: 1/2 cup shredded cheese (cheddar, jack, Mexican blend) and 1 diced jalapeño (or chop up 1/4 cup of pickled jalapeños or candied jalapeños).
- Seeded: 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, 1/4 cup sesame seeds, and 1/4 cup flax seeds (or seeds of your choice).
- Bagel: Shape the loaf using Everything But The Bagel Seasoning in step 6 instead of flour, pressing to help the seasoning adhere.
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day by J. Hertzberg and Z. Francois and a Cook’s Illustrated story (no link available) on no-knead bread.
Your Questions Answered
Things that can withstand mixing like garlic, herbs, nuts, cheese, and seeds can be added along with the flour. More delicate additions like chopped jalapeños and dried fruit should be mixed in at the end of step 2.
Any size oven you have will work! The smaller the oven, the less room your bread will have to spread, which could be a good thing. Basically anything from 3-6 quart sizes are good.
I use the paddle mixer attachment because technically this is a no-knead bread. I found that I get a bread with slightly better crumb if I “quick knead” it for a minute with the paddle, but it’s not actually kneading it so I don’t bother to change to a dough hook.
Yes. Feel free to make this with any variety of flour you find your family likes.
I scoop and level. I do mix the flour first briefly to fluff and then scoop the measuring cup until it’s slightly overfull and then use a flat-edged knive to level.
Maybe. If your bread is rising okay, then it’s fine. If it’s not you can try adding a tablespoon or two flour and see if this helps it to clear the sides.
No, whole wheat pastry flour will not work. Pastry flour is made from soft wheat which has less protein in it, making it great for biscuits, cookies, cakes, etc. that use leavening like soda and baking powder to raise. Sourdough and yeast breads benefit from flour with higher protein counts to get the texture of a good bread, like regular flour and bread flour which both come in whole wheat versions.
Gluten free: I haven’t tried this with a gluten free flour, but I’ve heard that a 1:1 flour usually works.
Using all whole wheat flour or other whole grain flour will result in a denser loaf and won’t have the air pockets or chewier crust. But you can try it!
More Easy Bread Recipes
- Soft Homemade Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
- Super Easy French Baguettes
- Easy Sourdough Artisan Bread
- Flaky 100% Whole Wheat Flaky Biscuits
- Soft & easy 100% Whole Wheat Rolls
This recipe has been updated – it was originally published in 2009, updated in 2015 and again in 2025.
Disclosure: affiliate links in this article will earn commission based on sales, but it doesn’t change your price. Click here to read my full disclaimer and advertising disclosure.
What size dutch oven oven is appropriate?
I use a 6-qt, just because that was the size available when I bought mine at Walmart a few years ago. I also always use half the dough, making bigger loaves than the 5-minute a day book. If you make 3 or 4 smaller loaves out of a batch, a 3 or 4-qt. pot would work, too.
What size dutch oven should one use?
Linda- You may be right about the cracking- it’s been so long now I can’t remember what I did. 🙂
I’d say experiment with it- I think it should work… AND I just read about Gina’s method over at homejoys.blogspot.com where she puts a roasting pan lid over the bread to hold in the steam, similar to the enamel pot idea of my method. See what works with what you have!
I have heard that you must preheat your stone in your oven or it will crack due to the sudden temperature change. In fact, I recall reading this in an Food day article for no-knead bread. I wonder if that had something to do with your stone cracking?
I have a non-glazed Pampered Chef stoneware bowl and wonder if it would work to bake the bread it…if I preheated it. I am very excited to try this bread.
I love bread and I as a recent follower of your blog I must say that I am really enjoying it!
Yum! I will be making this ASAP! Thanks for the great recipe!
Rose- I’ve never tried stainless- the enamel is what America’s test kitchen recommended, I’m assuming because the lid is heavy and steam can’t escape so it stays in to create that good artisan crust. I don’t think it would hurt to try. 🙂 Also, I find I have much bigger crumb after the dough has time to “sour” in the fridge for 3-4 days. If you’re using regular whole wheat flour, it will make the crumb denser, too. Try the only all-purpose to see if there’s a difference. It’s a lot of trial and error to see what you like best!-Jami
Jami,
I have made this bread twice now, but I don’t have an enamel dutch oven, only stainless steel. Have you baked it in a stainless steel pot? I have baked the bread on preheated pizza stones and the crust is delicious, but I do not have the large crumb factor going. Small crumb and somewhat dense. Any suggestions?
Rose
Sorry, Anonymous, for not getting to your question earlier- no, you can bake it right away if you’d like. There’s less “sourdough-ness” and not as many bigger holes in the crumb, but still tastes great!
Does the dough need to go in the refrigerator or can it be baked after the rise?
Made this bread as my first ever attempt at bread-baking, and I love it! I made a few modifications, adding two tablespoons of sugar to the yeast and salt, and chopping up eight cloves of garlic to mix in with the dough. I also forgot it on the counter over night, so it had lot of rising/resting time, but the resulting bread was very soft on the inside, crispy on the out, and flavored wonderfully with garlic. Best garlic bread I’ve ever tasted, and much cheaper to boot! Thank you so much for the easy recipe!
Heather, I have my batch aging in my fridge right now and will update you on how it turns out…Memorial Day, probably. I LOVE to make bread!
–pogonip
I gave this a try with a slight beer and vinegar modification and was very pleased. Thanks!
Whoo-hoo, Alissa- congratulations! Glad you found it helpful.
Thank you SO much for this recipe!! I made it last night for my Hubby and friends. They couldn’t believe that I made it! (I’m a cook, not a baker) From now on, my fridge will never be void of dough.Thank you!
Shayne- I looked back through the article I had from Cook’s Illustrated that used the dutch oven for this recipe and it just says “dutch oven” and doesn’t specify enameled. However, the pictures show an enameled one and their recommended pots are enameled. So ?… I think you should go for it and if you’re happy with the results, there’s your answer. 😉
I’m really interested in trying this recipe. Do you think you can use a regular cast iron dutch oven (not the enamel kind) for this?
Thanks for the fabulous instructions on this bread. I made it yesterday for dinner last night and it was excellent. I think it will become a routine. We were buying our favorite artisan bread at Safeway for a special treat at $3.60 a loaf!!! What a savings:)
What a beautiful bread, I will have to try it! I love the idea of writing the time on the plastic wrap! Thanks for a great post!
Thanks for posting. I hope you will join me this week for Crock Pot Wednesday. Mister Linky will be up and ready for you on Tuesday. Thanks again
Very eager to try this recipe. I like that it requires minimal prep and can hang out in the fridge til needed! Also quite interested in your dutch oven trick.