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!
Needed a simple recipe to augment a simple twice baked spaghetti diner for the family and grandchild. This was perfect, thank you.
I never in a million years would have thought that I could make bread this amazingly good! I recently got a stand mixer and am just learning how to make bread. Thank you Zoe, for showing me how to handle dough and for this fantastic recipe! Made it with a turkey cabbage soup and cannot move now because I ate wayyy too much!
I have been making this crusty loaf for a year or two now and it is delicious every time. Easy instructions especially with the video. My oven runs a bit hot so I check the loaf at about 25 minutes then bake another 5 minutes with the lid off and internal temperature is 195-200. This is the most requested bread in my house – thanks, Zoe!
Yay! We’re so thrilled your family enjoys it!
Two niggly questions: I don’t have a plastic bowl scraper? Any suggestions? Likewise, no banneton; alternatives? I’m thinking this might be a fun project for this weekend!
This bread is absolutely fantastic. .My first attempt as a novice bread baker was successful and I’ve been obsessed ever since.
We’re thrilled to hear you’re enjoying the recipe!
I follow the recipe and let it develop in the refrigerator overnight. I form it when it’s cold because it’s easer to work with. I use King Arthur a mix of bread and wheat with some malt powder. The end result is flavorful.
Love this so much!! My family and friends beg for this now. I’m just wondering if I can refrigerate the dough at any point, because I want to double the recipe and then bake each one separately. When I tried this, the second loaf rose too much.
Finally – a crusty bread that pairs immaculately with my Dutch oven! As described, the crust is thin with a light and soft interior. Miraculous!
I omitted the honey and salt for personal preference. Salted butter and sweet jam take the taste into the final lap for a well rounded bread experience. LOVE! Thank you Zoe 🙂
Thank you so much for this easy and versatile bread recipe! I’ve made it four times already and each time, it turned out perfectly- thin, crisp crust and soft crumb. I’ve added fresh rosemary to it to make crusty rosemary bread, which smelled so good and tasted delicious! I just finished making cheese bread using this recipe by adding Asiago cheese and freshly ground peppercorns. Another winner!!!
I made this yesterday and turned out pretty good for first time making a boule and use banneton. I bought a 9 inch banneton on Amazon and seemed fine for this recipe. What size did Zoe use in her video?
If I proofed in an oval basket or brotform how do you bake it?
I do t have a wooden board but wondering if I just did on my quartz counter for the dough working if it would do as well as it looks for Zoe on her board?
Thanks!
My very first attempt making this bread and using a banneton proofing basket. I was a bit nervous but I watched your video quite a few times. I can for sure improved on the last part pulling the dough with the bottom of palm. I also don’t have a wooden board but used a X-Large Wilton pastry mat. Might have worked better on my quartz countertop. So, just took out of oven and crossing my fingers tastes good and I made it correctly. I also think I might have put too much rice flour in the proofing basket but of course it did come out easily so that was good.
I am going to try this bread tomorrow. I just received my two banneton baskets (with few supplies that come with them). They are rattan and I rinsed the round one before planning to use so time to dry. I noticed a little odd smell after rinsing. I guess this is normal?
Also, I received an oval basket so could this dough from your recipe be placed in the oval instead of the round?
Thank you!
Hi! Yes, both shapes will work as long as they fit in the Dutch oven. The smell is just the natural smell of the grass when it gets wet. Happy baking!
Great recipe, one of my bakes I added a tsp of red wine vinegar just to give it a little sourdough flavor.
I made this bread yesterday on a cold snowy Canadian winter day to have with soup. It was easy to put together and the results were amazing! Such great flavour and texture. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for a great recipe!
The bread turned out amazing!!! Right before I put it in the dutch oven. I drizzled honey on mine and then sprinkled sesame seeds on. The crust is crunchy and the inside is so soft! Thank you so much!
As a bread baking novice–at the age of 71–I decided that this recipe looked doable. I watched the video as I was baking & I felt like Zoe was holding my hand along the way. As Paul Hollywood would say (in my dreams!), ‘Good bake!’ It didn’t rise as much as I would’ve like but that might be ‘user error’. The crumb was good & it ‘thumped’ when I tapped the bottom. And the most important part? It tasted delicious with soft, salted butter! I’m ready for my next bread-baking experience! Bring on the sourdough!
Looking forward to fresh bread! I did not have parchment paper rated for 475 so I just popped it in my dutch oven
Which brand of parchment paper has that high of a temperature rating? So far I haven’t found one. Thank you for your help!!
Hi Sue,
None of the parchment will say that it is rated that high, but I have baked with almost every brand at 500-550 degree. The paper will get darker as it bakes but is safe.
Thanks, Zoë
2 questions:
1. Do I need to make any adjustments if I add some stoneground WW flour.
2. Can I do an overnight rise in the frig?
Hi Fran,
If you replace more than 1/2 cup (about 70g) stoneground flour, you will need to adjust the water. The amount of extra water will also depend on the flour and how finely ground it is.
You can do the second rise in the refrigerator.
Enjoy! Zoë
I have been watching how to make bread videos since the pandemic and this one is the best by far!! Very clear explanations and very accessible for those of us with lots to learn about making bread. One question – would you have a recommendation for someone who is looking for a bread recipe that has open crumb but is NOT sour dough…thank you very much
Hi Lucille,
A couple of things to consider for achieving an open crumb is to have a slightly higher hydration (this makes the dough a little more challenging to work with) and a longer rise time, so using less yeast can be the trick.
Thanks, Zoë
Awesome every time. I live at high altitude, 4750 feet, so my bread recipes always rise faster than recipe times. If a recipe suggests 1 hour, I have learned that 45 minutes usually does the trick.
I would like to know how you are using grams for the liquids in your recipe. grams are for dry measurement liters for wet.
Hi Paulette,
Both grams and ML are considered acceptable forms of measurement for liquids. In most professional kitchens the recipes are done in weights only, so they can be easily be scaled and no measuring cups to clean. Since everything has a weight, it is a more efficient way to work.
Thanks, Zoë
I have used the enriched dough for caramel rolls and they were wonderful! However, nothing prepared me for the thrill of pulling my wonderful loaf of sublime crusty bread out of my new dutch oven and hearing it “sing”. Wow!! Haven’t tasted it yet (have to let it cool), but I know it’s going to be awesome!
Oh my, this bread is amazing! The recipe is simple and straightforward, and there are great directions for what to do. This is going to be in my regular rotation now!
This is definitely my go-to recipe whenever I get the craving for bread – have made it many times and it is always perfect! Wondering if you could advise how to add things like seeds, nuts or dried fruit… I’m sure it will require some adjustments but have no idea what those might be – thanks!
Hi Samantha,
You can add about a cup of any add-ins to the dough as you are mixing. Or you can fold them into already made dough by rolling out the dough, spreading the ingredients over the top and rolling it back up into a log, then form the ball and proceed.
Enjoy! Zoë
finally i can say i made an amazing loaf!!! it was soft with and chewy and crusty and delicious! I trusted the process! i just used a stainless steel bowl lined with a cotton cloth instead of the proof basket. I am overjoyed and cant wait to make it again….maybe tomorrow!