Dutch Oven Bread

Easy Dutch oven bread with a crisp, golden crust and soft, chewy center. This simple no-knead recipe makes a beautiful artisan-style loaf with very little hands-on work.

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Keyword How Do I make No-Knead Bread Recipe, How To Make No-Knead Bread Recipe, No-Knead Bread, No-Knead Bread Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 55

Resting Time 19 30

Total Time 20 45

Servings bread

Calories 1428kcal

Author Kathleen

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon instant or rapid rise-yeast
3/4 cup water, at room temperature
1/2 cup beer (the secret ingredient!!)
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour (3 cups), salt (1 1/2 teaspoons), and yeast (1/4 teaspoon).
In a 4-cup liquid measuring cup, mix water (3/4 cup), beer (1/2 cup), and vinegar (1 tablespoon).
Gently fold the liquid mixture into the flour mixture, making sure to scrape down to the bottom of the bowl to get all the flour incorporated, until there is no dry flour and a dough begins to form.
Cover the bowl completely with plastic wrap and allow it to sit out at room temperature for 18 hours.
Very lightly flour the counter and turn out dough. Fold the dough over a couple of times in flour. Pull the edges of the dough into the middle.
Spread a 18x12 inch piece of parchment paper out on the counter and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer the shaped dough to the center of parchment. Carefully transfer to a Dutch oven (parchment will hang over edges of Dutch oven). Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise until dough has doubled in size, about 1 1/2-2 hours.
Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Remove plastic wrap. With a sharp knife, make two 5-inch slashes, 1/4 inch deep, on the top of the dough to make a cross.
Preheat oven to 425ºF (218ºC).
Place the lid on the Dutch oven, and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid and bake 25-30 minutes or until an instant thermometer reads 205-210 degrees, and the crust is nicely golden brown.
Remove the bread from the Dutch oven, discard parchment, and allow bread to cool completely on a wire rack, about 3 hours.

Notes

Don’t add too much flour. This dough should be sticky—adding too much flour will make the bread dense instead of light and airy.
Preheat your Dutch oven if you want extra crust. A hot Dutch oven gives you even better oven spring and a crispier crust.
Check internal temperature. Bread is done at 205–210°F—this ensures the inside is fully baked without being gummy.
Let it cool fully. Cutting too early traps steam inside and can ruin the texture.

Nutrition