Easy Dutch Oven Rustic Bread
No kneading or rising needed! This Easy Dutch Oven Rustic Bread is your answer! Delicious home baked bread in less than 2 hours!
This is an Easy No Knead Bread
You want to know why this is the best homemade bread recipe? Well, for one, it’s delicious. That really could be the only reason…but in addition to it being delicious, you don’t have to knead it! Your mixer does all of the hard work for you.
Why Make Bread at Home?
When we found out about hubby’s chronic kidney disease, one of the main things our doctor stated was that there were certain things he should avoid in order to assist his remaining kidney with processing.
Some were very obvious foods that are high in potassium like bananas, oranges, milk and dried fruits. He was quite happy to know that this list also included spinach and mushrooms.
What’s In Store Bought Bread?
There are also things that are not so obvious like many foods that contain what I call “”trites” and “‘phates.”
Nitrates, phosphates, etc. Other ingredients like calcium propionate (prevents mold for longer shelf life), monoglycerides (improves texture and again lengthens shelf life), calcium sulfate (food additive to stabilize and firm up foods), and a whole list of other strange ingredients.
Surprisingly, MANY store bought breads contains many of these things on the no-no list. Even some breads you would consider “healthier options” – which we all know by now is completely ambiguous.
Making Bread at Home Saves Money!
I found ONE brand of bread in my local grocery store that didn’t contain ANY of these harmful-to-him ingredients. But it was expensive.
It was painful to pay more than $5 for a loaf of bread. I was happy to buy it knowing it was good for him…except for the time that they ran out…and I needed bread.
No-Rise Bread
I’ve made lots of bread at home, but it’s so time consuming. The thought of mixing, kneading, rising and flour everywhere (yes, I’m a messy cook) just made me kind of avoid it.
When I couldn’t find the bread I had been buying, I pulled up good old Pinterest and I saw an easy version of no-knead bread so I clicked it and promptly made it. It was good, but it wasn’t anything exciting.
So I started looking at different recipes, trying different techniques on my own and ones that friends suggested (I do admit my house has smelled pretty amazing for the past couple of weeks…) and I finally came up with the best version to date.
5 Ingredients Bread Recipe
This Easy Dutch Oven Rustic Bread has only 5 ingredient and has now become a staple in our home; I try to make a loaf every week.
We often didn’t finish a loaf and ended up throwing some away every week. Then I’d buy more. A cycle of buying and tossing.
Obviously, it got very expensive and I felt very wasteful. My Easy Dutch Oven Rustic Bread can be made for WAY less than buying it!
If for some reason you don’t eat it all (not usually a problem anymore), you don’t have to feel as guilty if it needs to be tossed.
How Long Will Fresh Bread Stay Fresh?
My bread stays fresh for a full week – even without all of those crazy ingredients found in store-bought bread!
After it’s done baking, just let it cool completely, then place it in a gallon bag. Store in the cupboard where it’s cool and dark.
If you aren’t able to use it up right away, I suggest slicing and freezing it.
It will keep for up to 3 months in a freezer bag. When you want to enjoy some, just pull a few slices out and toast them up.
Or just place them on a paper towel to thaw for about 10 minutes and it’s ready to go.
What size Dutch Oven should I use?
My Dutch Oven is on the smaller side at 4qt. This makes a difference in the baking rise you’ll get when it’s cooking. If you have a larger Dutch Oven, your bread may not rise as much.
This will not make a difference in the flavor of your bread – it may just be a little flatter.
Make your own Easy Dutch Oven Rustic Bread!
Easy Dutch Oven Rustic Bread
No kneading or rising needed! My Easy Dutch Oven Rustic Bread is your answer! Delicious home baked bread in less than 2 hours!
Ingredients
- 2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
- 2 Tbsp Honey
- 2 cups Lukewarm Water, about 110 degrees or just a little bit warm to the touch
- 4.5 cups All Purpose Flour, I use organic but it's not necessary
- 1 Tbsp Kosher Salt
Instructions
Making the dough
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, add yeast, honey and water. Stir a bit to make sure that the honey begins to dissolve.
- Let sit for 10 minutes until beginning to foam. NOTE: if your mix does not foam, it's possible your water was too hot or too cold and you may want to start again.
- In a separate bowl, add the flour and salt and mix.
- Once the yeast is ready, add the dough attachment to your mixer.
- Use a 1 cup measuring scoop, begin adding the flour mix to the mixer on low speed. Continue this, letting the flour get incorporated each time before adding more.
- You may need to scrape the sides of the mixer with a rubber spatula.
- The mix will be sticky, it's okay!
- After you have added all of the flour and the mix is beginning to come together, add some speed to the mixer, low to medium speed is fine. On my Kitchen Aid mixer, I started at 2 and then went to 4.
- Let the mixer knead your dough until it turns into a ball. This could take up to 10 minutes but it will happen. You'll begin to notice that the dough stops sticking to the sides of the bowl...the magic is happening!
- Once the dough ball is formed, stop, remove the hook, then cover the mixing bowl with plastic and let your dough rest for 30-40 minutes in a draft free area of your kitchen. During this time, it will rise.
Baking the bread
- After 20 minutes have passed, place your Dutch Oven (uncovered) in the oven and preheat to 400.
- Carefully remove the Dutch Oven from the oven and spray with non-stick spray.
- Remove the plastic from the dough, and flour the top of the dough (it will have risen a bit, this is good!)
- Now you're going to transfer the dough to the preheated Dutch Oven. The easiest way I have found to do this is to flip the mixer bowl quickly onto the top of the Dutch Oven and let the dough fall in.
- Sprinkle a little bit of flour onto the top of the dough. Cover the Dutch Oven and place in the oven.
- I have found that adding a little baking dish with water to the oven while the bread is baking helps to give a nice crust.
- Bake the bread covered for 30 minutes.
- Remove the lid from the Dutch Oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until it begins to brown.
- Carefully remove the Dutch Oven from the oven and let the bread cool for at least 20 minutes before removing it to cool completely.
- Your bread is done! At this time you should stand back to ooh and ahh over it's loveliness and also to give yourself a pat on the back because you just made homemade bread with only 5 ingredients and your house smells amazing.
- SLICE AND ENJOY!
Notes
It may look like a lot of steps, but I have included information you will notice as you're making the bread. In truth, the dough came together in 15 minutes (5 minutes prep, 10 minutes mixing). The entire process took 2 hours including prep, rise and baking; dramatically less time than a typical bread recipe which can take up to 2 days or more. I promise you'll be glad you made this!
Nutrition Information
Yield 14 Serving Size 1 gramsAmount Per Serving Calories 157Total Fat 0gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 501mgCarbohydrates 33gFiber 1gSugar 3gProtein 4g
Nutrition calculation is offered as a courtesy and no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. The data provided are a product of online nutrition calculators and should be considered an estimate only. I am not a registered dietician nor a certified nutritionist. For more accurate information, or if you have dietary restrictions, please consult a trusted professional. A Healthy Makeover strongly supports Intuitive Eating, body trust, and Health at Every Size.
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17 Comments
Pauls
I made this bread today, super easy. But I did have to add a bit more flour. First time I have used my Pampered Chef Dutch oven for bread. Beautiful loaf. Thank you for sharing. Definitely will make again
Paula
Helen
Would doubling the recipe work for a 6 qt dutch oven?
Becky
can an ovenproof ceramic w. lid be used? don’t have a dutch oven
Suzanne
What size Dutch oven do you use? Mine is a 6 qt and the bread has been relatively flat all 3 times I’ve made this. My yeast is new and always blooms nicely.
Christi
I was wondering the same thing. I wonder if I can double the recipe. My Dutch oven is 5.5 quart
Jenn
Hi Christi! Thank you for your great question – yes, the Dutch Oven size will make a bit of a difference in terms of baking rise. My Dutch Oven is on the smaller side, 4QT. I have updated this information in the post/instructions. The taste will still be delicious, though!
Jenn
Hi Suzanne! Thank you for your great question – yes the Dutch Oven size will make a bit of a difference in terms of baking rise. My Dutch Oven is on the smaller side, 4QT. I have updated this information in the post/instructions. The taste will still be delicious, though!
Vanessa
Hi, I want to make this bread but I’m unsure of your measurements, you call for 2T of yeast, do you mean 2 teaspoons! As on the front page the recipe stipulates 2 tablespoons which seems excessive. Thank you in advance.
Jenn
Hi Vanessa! It is 2 teaspoons, I’ve updated the recipe for clarification – good luck and let me know how it turns out!
Lynnette
I was wondering about the bake time. 30 minutes in a 400 degree oven sounds a bit excessive. And the n another 15 minutes without the lid? I bake my bread at 365 for 15-20 minutes and it browns well. I would think in the cast iron Dutch oven it would burn especially the bottom.
Are you watching to see if it has risen during this time and removing it early?
April
Have you ever made smaller/dinner rolls using this? I used bread flour to make my loaf yesterday and it was even better!
Jenn
Hi April! I haven’t made rolls but I will have to try that!
April
Being a newbie to bread making, this has been easy, enjoyable and delicious!
Jenn
Hi April! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you for stopping by!
Krysten@freshfitkitchen
Jenn this bread is absolutely amazing !!!!! I replaced half the flour called for with King Arthur whole wheat flour and I can say it worked perfectly. I say the brand name because that’s the only wheat flour I’ve used that doesn’t turned baked goods into hockey pucks. 😉 Thank you for an amazing recipe !
Jenn
I’m so so glad you enjoyed the recipe! I will have to try to WWF sometime! Thanks, friend!
Susi Wolff
Is the nutrition correct on this?? 501 mg sodium is certainly not good on renal diet?
My email is: susidawn1@verizon.net.
Just made the recipe and it’s gorgeous