Nothing beats a nice crusty bread. This Dutch Oven bread recipe is easy to make and results in a beautiful crusted loaf every time.
A shatteringly thin crust and a super light and stretchy interior is the bread most beloved by my family. This crusty bread delivers on all of it. The simple ingredients mixed with a short autolyze (just a fancy word for making a slurry of flour and water, then a quick rest), gives the bread the beautiful interior texture.
Check out a few more of my favorite bread recipes:
- A classic banana bread with pecans
- Tender and flaky homemade biscuits
- Raspberry swirl bread from do-it-all dough
What’s The Secret of Crusty Bread?
By baking the dough in a preheated Dutch oven, you’ll get the most exquisitely thin crust on your bread. No need to add water for steam, since the lidded pot traps the dough’s moisture inside, creating the perfect environment for a shiny, delicate, crisp crust that shatters when you slice it.
Another important tip — allow your bread to cool all the way before slicing in. I know it’s hard to wait, but be patient for at least an hour, perhaps even longer.
Dutch Oven Bread Video Tutorial
Crusty Bread Ingredients and Tips
- Platinum Yeast by Red Star: I found that the dough enhancers in this yeast help the rise and give the dough better stretch, but you can use any granulated yeast.
- King Arthur All Purpose Flour: You can use any AP flour, but different brands may have different protein content, which could affect the texture.
- Let The Dough Rise: Follow the instructions below for rise times. This recipe is simple, but you want to make sure the dough rises enough!
- Halve the Recipe: You can use a 4 qt Dutch Oven and cut the recipe in half.
Dutch Ovens
The Sublime Dutch Oven is super lightweight and because of its new ceramic technology it retains and conducts heat even better than cast iron or stainless steel. Not only does it bake gorgeous bread, but it is also perfect for cooking the soup I served along with it. We all need a pot that can go from high temperatures for frying to a gentle, low simmer on the stovetop, can be baked at high temperatures in the oven, and is elegant enough to serve at the table. Sublime can be used on direct flame, stovetop – gas, electric or glass, charcoal or gas BBQ grills, in the oven, microwave, and is dishwasher safe. That’s a game changer!
You can also use a Bread Cloche, which works very well and doubles as a place to store your delicious crusty bread.
How to Serve Dutch Oven Bread
I served this crusty bread with a delicious, bright lentil soup! Everything from sauteeing the onions to simmering the stock was flawless. The Dutch oven conducts heat so evenly that you never have to worry about hot spots that may burn or stick while you’re cooking. The Dutch Oven is so beautiful I used it to cook and then brought it straight to the table to serve the soup. You’ll find the recipe at Eat Something Vegan. I used the 7.5-quart Sublime Dutch Oven, but it will also fit in the 6-quart. One of the best qualities of the Sublime is that it is dishwasher safe, which sets it apart from my cast iron and metal pots.
Video
Ingredients
- 500 g flour I used King Arthur all-purpose flour
- 375 g water room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp yeast I used Platinum Yeast by Red Star*, but any granulated instant yeast will work.
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp kosher salt
Instructions
- Using a spoon mix 125g flour and 100g water in the bowl of a stand mixer and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
- Add the remaining flour, salt, water, yeast, and honey to the flour/water mixture and knead with the dough hook attachment on medium-high speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
- Reach into the bowl with a plastic bowl scraper and stretch the sides of the dough up and over the center of the dough, it may take about 5 or 6 times to move all the way around the bowl, creating a loose ball. Cover the bowl and allow to rest for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Turn the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Pull the dough into an oval with the short end closest to you. Fold the top end of the dough into the middle. Stretch the bottom end of the dough out to the sides, to create a rough triangle shape, then fold those two stretched points into the center. Flip the dough over, so the smooth side is now up and scoot the bottom of the dough in a circular motion on the counter to create a tight ball.
- Dust a proofing basket** with flour and put the dough ball, smooth side down into the basket. Cover with plastic and allow to rest about 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 475°F. On a rack in the middle of the oven, heat a 6-quart Sublime Dutch Oven*** for about 20 minutes before baking.
- Invert the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper. Score the dough: Using a knife or Lame, score the top of the dough with ½-inch-deep slashes. This helps the loaf rise and gives it is nice shape.
- Using the parchment as a sling, gently drop the dough into the preheated pot, cover and bake for about 35 covered. Remove the cover and continue baking for 10 minutes or until the bread is deeply caramel brown.
- Carefully remove from the Sublime Dutch Oven using a spatula to help lift it out and cool to room temperature before cutting.
Rate and Review!
- If you've made this recipe, please leave a rating and review! I love to hear how you've adapted my recipes to your own tastes, so please share how it went for you. It helps other people find my recipes. Thank you!
What size proofing basket should be used.
Thank you,
Mary
Hi Mary, Zoë uses an 8-inch proofing basket. Cheers!
Thank you from all of us who found baking bread long and arduous. Being able to to bake from refrigerated dough that lasts two weeks has delighted my family everyone that tastes it. The sense of accomplishment when you see, smell and taste the bread is so rewarding. I’ve passed on this recipe to everyone who is interested or intimidated with baking.
Hi Linda, we are so thrilled to hear you enjoy the recipe so much. Thank you for leaving a rating and review!
I made two batches of this today! One just regular, the other I added 1tbs vegetable oil, and about 1-1.5tsp extra honey and made a brown sugar cinnamon loaf per my daughters request haha they turned out DELICIOUS!
This was a great bread recipe and it came out super. I think watching the video of Zoe making it, over and over, really helped me, a novice bread baker. I think shaping the dough might have been a bit confusing without watching the video, but that may be just me. The only snag I ran into was scoring the bread. Even with the lame, it still dragged a bit. Can’t wait to actually make this again and also the sourdough. Thanks for challenging me Zoe and getting me out of my comfort zone!
On a whim, I made this for the Crusty Bread Challenges and I’m so glad I did.
The day I made it, was the same day it all disappeared. I have bread lovers in my household.
My family sliced it up for sandwich bread and loved it.
I’ve made several loaves and it freezes nicely too, with just as much flavor after thawing.
The interior is soft and slightly chewy, (just they way I like it), and the exterior has a wonderful crunch and texture.
I struggle a bit with my scoring but I’m excited to keep practicing that.
Also, I experimented a bit with textured/lace cloths during the proofing process to create a lovely stencil pattern on the finished bake which made for a fun presentation.
Forgot to mention the sourdough loaf! Another lovely loaf! Glad to have the recipe!
I’ve always been intimidated by the thought of making bread and I’m so proud of myself for creating this Sublime Crusty glorious golden goodness! Zoe, your recipe, instructions, and detailed video made me feel confident that I could do this and I did! My dutch oven was larger than the one called for, but Stephani answered my question about baking vessels very quickly and assured me that mine would work. Seriously, you guys are the best. Because my dutch oven was 7.25, I think my loaf is more squat but it still looks amazing to me. I also didn’t score deep enough so I didn’t get the lovely craggy design, but again, I am so chuffed with my results. Thank you thank you thank you for sharing your awesome knowledge, skills, and recipes helping us achieve carb nirvana, lol. I’m already planning to make another loaf tomorrow! Happy baking everyone!
Hi Allison! We are so happy you enjoyed the recipe and are already excited to make it again. Cheers!
I have baked all of our bread for the past 6ish years, usually sourdough. It was nice to bake a loaf that could be finished in a day and have it be a lovely loaf! The family loved it. This is definitely going to be worked into my repertoire for when I would like a lovely loaf of bread that takes an afternoon! Many thanks for this recipe!
I made this Crusty Bread Recipe for the Bread Challenge this month. The recipe was very easy to follow. I felt the crumb of the bread was quite open but still seemed moist and dense at the same time, if that makes sense. I could definitely taste the sweetness from the honey and it made me realize I prefer my breads to be on the more savory side.
Thanks for another fun challenge, Zoe!
I made the sourdough starter and sourdough as part of the baking challenge. It definitely was a challenge – but a great one. I ended up now with a bubbly, friendly starter that I am so excited to have and even my very first loaf, maybe not gorgeous was totally and utterly delicious. And very simple!! Thank you I feel like I have been given a gift!!
I had never added honey to bread before but I love it. We’re having HOT DRY weather right now so I had to add more water and I think I added a little too much because bread was almost like pancake batter 😉 but I worked more flour in until it was manageable. Really happy that it’s totally edible ;-). First time I had scored the top and was surprised it came out as good as it did. Will certainly be baking more in the future.
Easy, beautiful and delicious – bread. Easy to make, beautiful to look at and delicious to eat – bread
Amazing and easy to make. We needed some bread for open faced leftover thanksgiving sandwiches and this did the trick. Of course we didn’t let the bread cool because we used it right away, but 100% plan on using this recipe to bake a good amount ahead of time and use throughout the week.
I have always struggled with dough recipes even though I love the idea of regularly making homemade bread in my kitchen. This recipe was a hit and I actually felt confident in completing it! Will be making again.
I needed to switch the honey out for sugar so it worked for my family. However, it was yummy and had nice flavor and texture
Zoe’s process is so great……not at all fiddly like some recipes I’ve tried!
Hi! I really want to make this bread and enter the competition, but my dutch oven is 7.25 quarts. Any suggestions on alternative baking vessels or can I use the 7.25 quart? Thank you in advance for your help.
Hi Allison! As long as the dough fits inside of it, it doesn’t matter how large the vessel is. Happy baking!
Woot! Thank you for the fast response!
Hi! I really want to make this bread and enter the competition, but my dutch oven is 7.25 quarts. Any suggestions on alternative baking vessels or can I use the 7.25 quart? Thank you in advance for your help.
Hi again, Stephan! Can I still enter tomorrow the 15th or was today the last day?
So, if I’m proofing the 2nd time in parchment paper, is it going to change my result if I DONT remove it from the paper, and just grab it and place it in my preheated dutch oven?
Hi Mary, you can absolutely place it right on the parchment paper into your Dutch oven. I do it all the time and it works great! You can remove the parchment paper when you take the lid off for the second half of the baking time.
HI ZOE ,
I love making sourdough and I was so happy to have a new recipe to try out.
My expectations were really exceeded, at first I found the dough more sticky then I am used to.
I stuck with your steps and the bake and results are stunning!!
so much fun to bake with you
I’ve been wanting to try my hand at sourdough bread so the challenge was just the encouragement I needed. The recipe was super easy to follow and being able to ask Zoe questions helped a lot. My first attempt was a fail but after some adjustments I was able to get a loaf. A little flat but I’m going to keep working at it. I found sourdough is a journey in patience and feel. Next time I know what to expect and adjust as needed
Hi Judy! So glad we can be on this journey together. We’re thrilled you’re enjoying the process — and the bread. Cheers!
Getting ready to make the crusty bread recipe challenge and I have two questions:
1. Recipe states that you use King Arthur AP flour and I’m wondering why it’s not bread flour or Gold Medal AP (which is what you usually use).
2. I have a very unreliable gas oven (it shuts off when reaching temp and then turns on again when cooled down) Very frustrating. Have you ever had to bake in this type of oven and if so, any suggestions on baking the bread in it?
This recipe turned out so good. Crusty on the outside, soft on the inside.
This bread never fails! I always keep a double batch in my fridge. It’s so delicious and way easier than sourdough . I have the book and everything I’ve baked from it is perfection. Zoe has made me love Baking. I love her show and love her recipes. Try this. I swear you will never stop baking it.
This bread recipe is awesome! So easy to make and so delicious! I don’t have a stand mixer yet- instead I used a danish dough whisk to mix the dough- it worked perfectly! Excited to make this again!
I made the bread without any issues, until after the final proof. I took it out of the proofing basket and the bread spread everywhere. It would not hold its shape at all. The only change that I made to the recipe was that I used Red Star active yeast instead of instant. I added 1/4 tsp of sugar to activate it. That should not have made the bread have this issue. Any ideas?
Hi Terri, thanks for letting us know. In order to help, Zoë has a few questions. Let us know and we’ll do our best to help you get a great loaf!
1. What type of flour (brand) are you using?
2. Are you using weights or measuring cups?
3. Were you able to get it into a pretty tight ball before putting it in the basket?
4. How long did it rest in the basket?
This was so much fun to make! It made a truly amazing and LARGE boule of bread! I used brown sugar instead of honey. I do not have a proofing basket, so I just placed the dough on a floured piece of parchment paper. I don’t have a lame or a razor blade, so I tried my clean hobby knife. UGH—I need to invest in at least a razer blade! I also do not have a dutch oven, so I just placed it on a hot, preheated stone and added a cup of water into a preheated cast iron pan. 35 minutes later, it was totally brown/black—perhaps my oven is too hot, or it really needed to be in a dutch oven or a bread cloche?—so I didn’t bake for the additional 10 minutes.
It was so crusty, the shattered pieces covered my counter top when slicing it! I just wish it wasn’t so brown. The inside was pillowy soft with a lot of holes, not sure if it is supposed to be like that. Anyway, my husband LOVES it and that’s what counts, right??!!!
A great bread recipe for a rustic, crusty loaf. Start it before breakfast and you can serve it with lunch.
I don’t have a standing mixer. Crazy I know! lol! Can I just knead instead of using the paddle you mention?
Hi Jennifer,
Absolutely, it will be great! It’s a sticky dough, so you may end up wanting to do it with a wooden spoon if it starts to stick to your hands too much.
Cheers, Zoë
Excellent and quick recipe. I made this for our Nertz group last week and everybody thought it was sourdough, but I told them, no, it was just a crusty bread recipe. I’d post a photo, but it won’t let me.
Great, easy bread. Lives up to its Crusty name!