Easy Artisan Bread
This Easy Artisan Bread is a simple 4 ingredient no-knead bread. No sugar too. A lovely crusty bread with a soft flavorful crumb.
Servings: 4 medium sized loaves
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 4 cups bread flour
- 1 tbsp salt
- 3/4 tbsp instant dry yeast
Wet ingredient
- 2 cups warm water @ ~40-41C
Butter Glaze
- 1-2 tbsp salted butter melted
- Black and white sesame seeds
Instructions
- Mix the flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the warm water (~40C to 41C) and stir to combine until the flour mixture forms a dough ball. Do not knead.
- Once the dough ball is formed, leave in a warm place to proof until double in size. (I usually proof mine in the oven (switched off).
- In the meantime, line a baking tray with parchment and sprinkle the parchment with some flour as this is a sticky dough.
- Once the proofing is complete (usually ~ 2 hours), divide the dough into 4 equal portions and gently fold and shape into med-sized loaves on the baking tray. Set aside for a 2nd proof ～ 40 minutes.
- Once the 2nd proof is complete, the dough loaves are ready to bake. Brush generously with melted butter and sprinkle on the sesame. Cut two to three slits on each loaf so that the sesame seeds will break nicely along the slits as the bread rises.
- Preheat oven to 220C and just before baking, place a tray of water at the lowest rack of the oven. This will create steam which will help the loaves to rise beautifully.
- Bake at 220C for 15 minutes, and thereafter at 200C for another 15 minutes or until golden.
- Remove the bread from the oven to cool. Enjoy.
Video
Notes
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#1 Yeast needs warmth to ferment and bloom.
Using warm water wakes up the yeast and start the fermentation process which then causes the dough to rise. However, one would do well to note that yeast is a fussy chap ... too cold and it continues to sleep, too hot and the little bugger get killed off before it can even activate. So the best temperature is ~ 40-41C for yeast to start blooming.
If a thermometer is not available - just test the water using the back of the hand. If it doesn’t have the bite of hot water, it should be suitably warm for the yeast.
#2 Want a bread with greater flavour?
Use less yeast. For greater flavour, I prefer to use proportionally less yeast and to let the dough proof for a longer time to achieve the same rise. The bread has a less yeasty taste and a longer & slower proof also creates a more flavorful bread IMHO. This Easy Artisan Bread Roll uses only 3/4 tbsp dry yeast to 4 cups flour.
I used Levure Seche de Boulanger dry baker’s yeast which comes packed in 7g satchels, perfect to keep the yeast fresh.
#3 Give sufficient time for the dough to proof
Proofing is the process in which bread dough is left to rest, ferment and rise. Be patient and give it time to rest in a warm, draft-free place to proof. During this process, the yeast is activated and works through the dough to take on its rise before being baked.
This Easy Artisan Bread dough takes ~ 2 hours for the 1st rise and ~ another 40 minutes for the 2nd rise, after the dough is portioned and shaped into med-sized loaves. So give the dough sufficient ‘me time’ alone. It will be worth it.
#4 Sticky dough
Whilst there is absolutely no kneading required, this is an extremely sticky bread dough so floor your work station and parchment well to prevent it from sticking during shaping and baking.
When I first baked this Easy Artisan Bread, I did not flour the parchment before baking and the bread which rose wonderfully ended up not so beautiful after all as we had to laboriously peel off the parchment that was stuck to its bottom. You get the picture ..... so don’t skip this step, flour well and it won’t become a sticky issue.
#5 Shhhsssss, steam is the secret ...
This Easy Artisan Bread is rustically crusty on the outside with a flavourful soft crumb. And how does one get this wonderful crackling outer crust? Steam is the key.
This Easy Artisan Bread is baked with a tray of water to add steam. Steam allows the yeast to work further in the dough. In a hot oven, the moisture keeps the outside moist and gelatinous. As a result, the bread rises more easily and is not constrained by a dried out outer crust.
This process is also known as the oven spring. This oven spring keeps the surface of the loaf moist and gives the bread an extra volume boost, letting it expand more easily. Adding steam also allows the bread to form a nice crisp rustic crust. If you want to learn more about the science of the oven spring, check out this informative article this informative food explainer article from slate.com
#6 Make ahead and storage
This Easy Artisan Bread is without preservative and tastes best on the day of baking. I usually make 2 loaves with half the dough and store the remaining in the refrigerator for other days. The dough keeps well chilled in the fridge for 3-4 days. Shape it into loaves and let it proof again just before baking. This way, you will always have beautiful and freshly baked bread, all ready to serve.