Easy Authentic Artisan Bread

Of all the things I’ve cooked, making bread that turns out just as you’d imagined – with a burnished, crunchy crust & chewy interior, has to be the most rewarding. Easy Authentic Artisan Bread delivers on not only the texture & yeasty flavor but it’s simple to make – much simpler than you’d imagined.

Equipment you’ll need to make the bread: a small saucepan, measuring spoons, dry & wet cup measures, 5 quart cast iron Dutch oven, timer, oven, spatular, wooden spoon (optional), bendy pastry scraper, a large & medium bowl & a good serrated knife.

There’s merely five ingredients that make Easy Artisan Bread: purified water (don’t use tap), yeast, honey, flour & salt. (I also use a little baking spray for the bowl to prevent the dough sticking.) The water is warmed, yeast & honey are then added to a combined flour (preferably unbleached) & salt mixture, stirred then left to do its thing for 18 hours. I used both regular unbleached all-purpose flour & bread flour at different times I’ve made this & honestly, I couldn’t tell a difference. Try it with regular unbleached flour first, that’s probably what’s in your cupboard.

After 18 hours, the dough is then folded over on itself about six times using a spatular or a bendable pastry scraper like the one in the pic. You can get these from any kitchen supply store or online. A few folds & then the dough is left to rise again for two hours before carefully being escorted into a preheated Dutch oven & left to bake for an hour.

This recipe makes one loaf. Often I will make two, separately, but at the same time because it’s no more trouble to make two than one. That’s how easy this recipe is. Time wise, this bread takes almost 24 hours to from start to finish but with so little effort from you & great rewards. I’ve made lots of different artisan breads, most arriving at more or less the same result, but what I love about this particular recipe is the ease it takes to make. I found this particular recipe in this lovely cookery book: The Cottage Kitchen by Marte Marie Forsberg. There’s some beautiful images & rustic recipes in the book plus stories of the author’s adventures moving from her homeland, Norway to England.

Make this in a round or oval shaped cast iron Dutch oven. The round is lovely when you’ve guests over as look-what-I-created centerpiece. The oval shape is better for sandwiches as you’re greeted with more evenly sized slices. It is important to have a good serrated knife as that wonderfully crunchy crust is a little tricky to cut. I wrap portion sizes in plastic wrap & freeze. This bread has no preservatives unlike most factory made breads that have a lot of salt & additives to retain their freshness.

Try as I may, I can’t seem to give up bread – something a low carb diet demands. A slice of homemade bread a day or once in awhile isn’t going to be detrimental to your health (unless you’re allergic) or the reason why you can’t lose weight. Now eating the whole loaf might but people around the world live on bread & they’re not fat – the difference is they make it themselves. If you can rid your diet of processed, factory-made foods you will feel better. And if you’re a bread-lover, then baking a loaf of bread is a good place to start. When you turn out that first loaf on a wire rack & hear how crunchy it is, you’ll be so chuffed. And, after a little patience grasshopper, when it’s cooled & you can finally steal a slice, then you’ll understand the smugness that comes from baking good bread. Chat to you soon. Toodles, Lovoni xo

PIN IT

Homemade 3-ingredient flatbread for something a little faster.