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.
I found this site the other day and decided to experiment. See, I very seldom use yeast. But I made 2 batches, one fallowing your recipe, and another using sourdough starter in place of the yeast. I used 9 oz. starter and decreased the flour by 3/4 cup and decreased the water by 1/2 cup. Both doughs were extremely wet. So wet I had to add a bit of flour. (next time may not eliminate the 3/4 c. flour with the starter). After the bake, They both rose the same and they both tasted very good. I did have to cook them both about 10 minutes longer then stated as well. But all in all, I will make this often.
Glad to read this, Kathy! I do make a similar artisan bread with my sourdough starter, which I posted about here:
https://anoregoncottage.com/easy-sourdough-artisan-bread/
We love both of them. 🙂
Well, would you look at that…a sourdough recipe! Teach me to dig deeper. LOL Thank you for the link. much appreciated. I will give that a shot in a couple days or so and then get back to you on how it goes. It looks wonderful. I have such a hard time getting that crisp crackly crust no matter what I try. maybe that one will do the trick. Again, thank you!
Has anyone tried to make this bread gluten-free or have any suggestions on how to make it gluten-free? Maybe it’s not possible!
So glad I found your recipe for this I have been wanting to try baking crusty bread preferably multi grain, the closest thing I’ve come close to mastering in breads is my cinnamon rolls. I’ve been scared to bake breads and yeast rolls but after reading your recipe and comments I feel I can give it a try. I also make many baked treats for a Farmer’s Market and wonder if you know how many days this bread will stay good to eat after baking it—I know that question will be asked by others at the market besides myself. I have a Dutch oven and can’t wait to try it I’ll be going to buy my whole wheat white flour tomorrow!! Also have you experimented with adding flax seeds, or oats –any other ingredients to add more texture? Thank you 🙂
Thank you Lisa – I hope you have a good experience with this, too! I haven’t added more than garlic and herbs, but I’m sure it would be great with other things. Personally, I like this bread best the first couple of days and after that we just toast it and it’s pretty perfect again. 🙂
We are vendors at a farmer’s market and our market “neighbor” is a family friend who makes and sells artisan breads. We can’t afford to buy her bread all the time so I looked for a recipe and directions on line and found your site. I made a loaf of this this bread last night and my children thanked me over and over. I used all white bread flour and the original amts of salt and yeast for my first attempt and it was so good. As I make baked goods for the market I can only manage so many types of 25 pound bags of flour in my small home so we will be sticking with white for a while. Can’t wait to experiment with different flavors…onion dill…cheddar…olive…
With our large family I will probably mix up a double batch every other day and make two large loaves a day. 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!
So nice to hear, Erin – thanks for letting me know how it’s working for your family. 🙂
This message is for Dee– I suggest that you take a look at The Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book, by Laurel Robertson. It’s for sale on Amazon. The book has been around a long time, and has a whole lot of good recipes for whole grain breads, and (what made me particularly think of you), there are a lot of European-style, denser breads in it. Keep going– you’ll figure it out! 🙂
I was born in Germany and came to the US from Bavaria as a teenager in the mid 1950s. My brother in law had a bakery/confectionery cafe. They made sour dough bread that took 33 days to make. It was delicious. My biggest disappointment when I arrived in the US was the bread. There was only factory made white bread at the time.
I am happy that this has changed during the last 50 years.
I was ecstatic when a Walmart Super Center opened within a short driving distance from me several years ago and had ‘Sourdough just like in Bavaria’. I love Sourdough bread. My preference is a heavier doughier texture without holes.
My age and dental issues limit me to a soft crust. Tough chewy, or hard and brittle crusts are out.
When the Walmart Super Center first opened, I could get exactly that type of freshly baked bread.
Within 3 weeks it became scarce. I could only find some early, first thing in the morning on certain days. After another 6 weeks it disappeared totally.
I found other higher end food stores that had the exact bread I preferred, but within several months it was replace with ‘Twice baked’ bread branded as ‘Fresh baked’. No one admits this, but this type of bread (also rolls) arrives pre-baked without a perceptible crust at the stores. The stores then ‘bake’ it, instead of just warming it. This twice baked bread make for a brittle thick crust, which not only kills the bread eating experience, but also my sore gums.
I have recently purchased a 6 quart professional ‘Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer’ with the intend of making my own ‘Dense, heavy texture, sourdough bread (without holes or minimum holes in the bread).
Is it possible for you to post recipe adjustments which would result in the type of bread I and maybe other seniors prefer?
And is it possible to to make it instantly without the 3 day wait but retaining the slightly sour taste?
That’s the first time I’ve been asked that, Dee! Most people are looking for a light, airy and hole-y texture. 🙂 I think your solution to make your own is a great one. Yes, you can make this bread immediately, but it won’t taste sour – and if fact only has the slightest sour taste after sitting in the fridge awhile. I do have a sourdough artisan bread recipe (check the recipe index) that uses a starter. With most of these breads, you can create a softer crust by just baking regularly on a cookie sheet (no enamel pot, spraying water or anything) and a trick I use for softer sandwich bread is to wrap the loaf in a towel as it’s cooling, which may work for this bread, too. And you can pretty much make any bread more dense by using less water. 🙂 Have fun experimenting!
Thank You Jamie.
Where I said:”They made sour dough bread that took 33 days to make”, I meant 3 days. I noticed my typo right after posting, but found no way to edit.
I should also have mentioned that they used to let the dough rise and then kneaded it down again to remove air bubbles. They did this cycle once a day for each of 3 days. It was explained to that this was done to get all air bubbles out to make denser bread.
Having accepted this reasoning as logical, I had been searching for an automatic machine which would compress the dough inside a cavity, to remove the air bubbles.
Questions:
1. Does this explanation for deleting air bubbles in the dough sound reasonable to you?
It was after all over 65 years ago. I do however remember many details back to even 72 years ago when I was 1 1/2 years old.
2. If any of your readers have ever heard of this or similar air removal process, can someone verify and confirm?
3. If there is such a machine that compress/kneads bread dough could someone point it out?
🙂 Thanks in advance
I’m excited to try this recipe, but I don’t have a dutch oven. I’ve heard that you can just fill your broiler pan with water and place it on the bottom rack for steam purposes. Has anyone tried that method before? It seem like it should work, going to give it a try. Thanks so much for the recipe 🙂
Sure, Melissa – I used to do it that way, it’s just easier with the dutch oven to get the good crust. You can also mist the bread with water before putting it in the oven. Just be careful if you use a baking stone and water in a pan – the steam broke my stone when I tried it. I think it was too close to it, so leave a space between the pan of water and your stone. 🙂
You can also use the inside of a slow cooker and cover the top tightly with foil
kathleen
Wow, really? I had no idea you could do that – thanks for the tip, Kathleen!
I stumbled upon your recipe and plan to try it soon. I also have the Walmart enamel cast iron pot, and wonder if you’ve had issues with the knob melting in the oven when baking at 450? I heard that it would melt, so I removed my knob and plugged the hole with foil, but it’s a pain to remove the lid that way. I’d rather just replace the old knob. Just wondering. Thanks for a great recipe and clear directions!
I’ve not had a problem, Jen, and I’ve been using it now for a couple of years on a regular basis. I did know that they didn’t recommend it, but that’s what I bought it for, so I went ahead and used it like I needed. Hope it does okay for you – that would be hard to lift the heavy, hot lid without the knob!
Hi! I have been wanting to try your artisan bread recipe but am a bit confused. In your update you said that you used 2 C whole wheat and 4 1/2 C white but in the actual recipe the old measurements are in parenthesis for the flours and the new measurements for salt and yeast are in the parenthesis. Is this correct? I want to try making the bread but want to make sure I understand correctly. I would appreciate any clarification. Thanks!
When I updated the salt and yeast measurements – the new are in the parentheses – I also updated the flours to reflect how I made it then with more equal WW to Unbleached measurements. Feel free to make this with any variety of flour you find your family likes – all unbleached, the 4 to 2 1/2-c. measurement or the 3 to 3 1/2-c. – it won’t matter. The loaf is lightest with all unbleached, obviously, and my family has become okay with adding more WW, but some may not like the heavier crumb it creates. Play around with it and see what your family likes. But do use the lower amounts of yeast and salt, ’cause I think it’s better for us and the initial dough doesn’t rise as crazily. 🙂
Thank you so much for the additional info Jami! I am ready to go mix up some bread! I discovered your site this summer when I was looking for a recipe for individual berry cobblers. I made 65 for my son’s wedding rehearsal dinner and they were a huge hit! I’ve been following you ever since and want to say “thank you” and I love your ideas and recipes. Carlye in Central Oregon
Whoa, 65? You sound like an amazing mom! 🙂
What size enamel pot do you use? Does it have to be enamel or can it be cast iron only?
I love your site and pictures!
Hi Debbie! The pot pictured is a 6-quart enameled cast iron pot. It doesn’t need to be that big, though – a 4 or 5 qt. would work as well. I’ve read of others who use a plain cast iron, so it should probably work!
This was my first time making bread. I was so excited when it rose on the counter, but then when I put it in the fridge it shrunk back down again. Is that normal? It barely rose at all when I baked the first loaf. Yummy, but dense. I made a small loaf so I have three more chances, I think maybe I didn’t bake it long enough.
It does shrink a bit in the fridge, but should rise again at room temp – try leaving it on the counter longer and see if that helps, Dorothy.
I made one recipe into two pizzas. I pre-baked them for five minutes at 450 and then 20 minutes at 350 w/ toppings on. I recommend poking holes throughout the dough to avoid huge bubbles developing. this made for a thick crusted pizza.
and i used all ww flour.
I just tried making this bread. I decided to let it “age” for 3 days in the fridge, so as to keep it from being too sour, but it’s still pretty strong tasting. Is that normal? My family isn’t used to sourdough, though, so maybe it’s just us. Also, it had a really small crumb and was pretty dense, but I’m guessing that’s from the higher percentage of whole wheat flour I used (I used 4.5 cups whole wheat and 2 cups white flour, so inverted from your original recipe). Anyways, I’ll keep playing with it. Bread can be so complicated! Especially when I’m trying to make it as high in whole wheat as possible.
Yes, I’ve found the more WW flour you add, the more dense the bread. Keeping the dough as “wet” as possible helps create interior holes as well. If you don’t want too much of a sour taste, bake the bread on the first or second day. It gets more ‘sour-y’ the longer it sits in the fridge. And, yes, keep trying different ways to make a loaf your whole family likes. 🙂
This bread looks delicious! I prefer to make my own bread when I can…I like the idea of adding some cheddar and jalapeno into the mix 🙂
This is so good. I also love to add white chocolate chips with craisins, or some chopped garlic with some chopped jalepenos. Yummy, any way.
This looks amazing! I would like to try the recipe and wonder if I can bake the bread in an enamel turkey roaster?
Not sure how that would work, Christine, but a friend of mine bakes artisan bread on a pizza stone and covers it the first 15 min. with a roasting pan cover. Would that work for you?
This looks easier than the Book instructions. Can’t wait to try the dutch oven method. Thank you for this post.
I’m making this now…in rising stage…I’ll be using an unfinished terra cotta pan which I ‘seasoned’ for 24 hours (this is done for first time use) and then prepped with vegetable oil so I could use it tonight to bake the bread . I smell the sourdough aroma as it rises.
This was super easy and good. My son asked, “Why haven’t you done this before?” I made mine in a large Walmart enamel dutch oven which I bough specifically for this. LOVE <3
I just made this recipe–easy and quite tasty. I cut the recipe in half and immediately baked a loaf and served with freshly made basil butter. YUM!!. I will wait a few days to make the other loaf so I get that sourdough taste. Thank you for a great recipe!