Dutch Oven Bread
If you are a lover of homemade bread you are going to fall head over heels for this super fluffy Dutch Oven Bread!
Fresh, warm, and fluffy Dutch Oven Bread is so simple to make you may never buy store-bought loaves again! Made with four simple ingredients, this delicious bread will disappear almost as fast as you can slice it!
THE BEST BREAD IS HOMEMADE BREAD
There is just something indescribable about biting into a freshly baked piece of bread. Baking bread in a dutch oven is super easy and the result is perfect every time!
Once you slice up your easy Dutch Oven Bread, use it to make these yummy Patty Melt or Pizza Grilled Cheese recipes!
OTHER RECIPES TO SERVE WITH DUTCH OVEN BREAD
- Spinach Artichoke Pull Apart Dip – Start with this amazing Dutch Oven Bread recipe and turn it into the perfect pull apart appetizer for the holidays or any get together!
- Pizza Pull Apart Bread – This pull apart appetizer is perfect for game days and is extra delicious when you use fresh baked bread!
INGREDIENTS
Dough: You will need all-purpose flour, salt, and active yeast from the pantry. Combine these ingredients with lukewarm water to start this quick Dutch Oven Bread dough. You can also use whole wheat flour, but this will require you to add a bit more water as well.
HOW TO MAKE BREAD IN A DUTCH OVEN
STEP ONE: To a large mixing bowl, add flour, salt, yeast, and water. Use a kneading hook attachment either on a stand mixer or a hand mixer and knead the ingredients for 10-12 minutes to activate the gluten.
STEP TWO: Remove the kneading hook and cover the dough. Allow it to rise for 60-90 minutes until the dough has doubled in size.
STEP THREE: Preheat the oven to 460 degrees F with the dutch oven inside. Prepare a piece of parchment paper large enough to line the inside of the dutch oven. On a flour-dusted surface, fold the dough over from all sides to the middle using a dough scraper. Now move the dough carefully onto the parchment paper.
STEP FOUR: Once the oven has reached 460 degrees F, carefully remove the dutch oven. Remove the lid and carefully place the parchment paper with the dough on it into the dutch oven. Place the lid back onto the dutch oven and lower the temperature in the oven to 430 degrees F before placing it back inside. Bake the Dutch Oven Bread for 30 minutes with the lid on and an addition 10-15 minutes with the lid removed. Remove the finished loaf from the dutch oven and let it cool prior to slicing.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS
- This dough is very sticky. If you find it too hard to work with, you can add a little extra flour but be careful not to add too much. The sticky texture is because of the high water content which translates to fluffy, moist bread once it has baked. Too much added flour will start to dry the dough out.
- If you are experienced with dutch ovens you can opt to not use parchment paper when baking the Dutch Oven Bread. Because of the high heat of the dutch oven, the bread will not stick. The parchment paper simply makes it a little easier to navigate using this extremely hot cookware.
- Taking the lid off of the Dutch oven during the last 15 minutes of cooking will give the bread a gorgeous golden brown color on top.
- This bread will keep for 3-4 days on the counter wrapped in a kitchen towel.
CAN YOU FREEZE DUTCH OVEN BREAD
You can definitely freeze this bread! Simply cut the baked bread into slices and tightly wrap the bread prior to placing it in the freezer. You can take out slices and heat them up in the toaster as needed.
WHAT SIZE DUTCH OVEN SHOULD I USE?
Most standard dutch ovens are usually around 5 to 7 quarts, but they can range all the way up to 12 quarts. If you have a bigger dutch oven, simply use 1.5 times the recipe amount to make enough dough to fill your dutch oven. You can never really have too much fresh bread!
OTHER HOMEMADE BREAD RECIPES
- Slow Cooker Cinnamon Apple Bread
- Homemade Cheese Bread
- Banana Zucchini Bread
- Pumpkin Banana Bread
- Pineapple Bread
Dutch Oven Bread
Ingredients
- 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups lukewarm water
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Instructions
- Pour the flour, salt, yeast, and water into the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached. Knead for 10-12 minutes to activate the gluten. (see note)
- Remove the kneading hook, cover the dough, and let it rise for 60-90 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Preheat your oven to 460 degrees F with the dutch oven pot in the oven. Then cut a sheet of parchment paper large enough to fit into the pot and come all the way up and over the sides.
- Add some flour to a work surface. Transfer dough from the bowl to the work surface. Then fold the dough over from the side to the middle with a dough scraper, repeat on all sides. (see note)
- Move the dough carefully onto the center of the parchment paper.
- Carefully remove the dutch oven from your oven (it's hot!)/ Take off the lid and carefully place the dough with the parchment paper into the pot.
- Put the lid on the pot and lower the oven temperature to 430 degrees F. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the bread is golden brown on top
- Remove the pot from the oven and use the parchment paper to help lift the bread out of the dutch oven. Let cool to before slicing.
Notes
- You can also mix this dough in a mixing bowl, and then turn out the dough onto a floured surface and knead it by hand.
- The dough is pretty sticky. Feel free to add some more flour if it sticks too much, but please don’t overdo it. The dough is supposed to be sticky and have a high water content. This will make the bread fluffy and stay fresh longer.
My loaf was beautiful but very heavy and dense. Do you know what I did wrong? The recipe was very easy. Bread has never ever worked out for me.