Easy Dutch Oven Bread

This Easy Dutch Oven Bread is crusty on the outside, and so soft on the inside. It has a little bit of an Italian flair with the added spices and garlic flavors and it's the perfect dipping bread for dinner.

It's one of those recipes that I come back to over and over. Partly because it's so easy to make and partly because of how perfectly it turns out every time.

Now I know yeast can be a turn-off in a recipe to some people. I get it. It can be a temperamental ingredient. But believe me when I tell you that you can't mess this recipe up! If you follow the easy instructions, it will rise every time, and you will feel like a pro at bread baking!

One of the great things about this easy dutch oven bread is that you don't need to babysit it, do a 2nd rise, or knead the dough (hallelujah!). There is a slight downside though. You have to make the dough in advance. Don't let that hold you back though. I promise it's worth it. Plus you get to smell the dough rising on your counter all day long! I usually make it either the night before or early in the morning and have it ready for dinner.

There are a lot of recipes out there for "dutch oven bread," and they all have 3 cups of flour. I've tried to bring this recipe down to 3 cups and, unless you use a teeny tiny dutch oven, your bread will just spread in the bottom of the pan and not rise up the sides. So I know this seems like a lot of flour but I promise you, it's worth it. Even with this much flour, I still only use a 3.5 quart oval dutch oven. You can actually use any oven-proof pot that has a lid.

I hope you enjoy this easy dutch oven bread and make it again and again!

Easy Dutch Oven Bread

Coco and Ash

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Ingredients

  

• 6 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning (You can leave this out if you'd like plain bread)
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 3 cups warm water (lukewarm from the faucet is fine)

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients except the warm water. Stir to combine
• Add the warm water and mix together until a dough forms. The dough will be sticky.
  
• Cover the bowl and allow to rise for at least 12 hours and no more than 24 hours.
  
• When you are ready to bake the bread, place your dutch oven pot and lid in the oven and pre-heat the pot and the oven at the same time to 450 degrees.
  
• While the oven is heating, sprinkle some flour on a board or counter and spill out the dough onto the flour. Sprinkle the top of the dough ball with a little bit of flour as well to keep your hands from sticking to it.
  
• The dough will be very soft so do your best to form it into a circle
  
• Once the pot and oven are heated, remove the pot from the oven and gently place the dough into the heated pot. (It doesn't need to be perfect as the dough will take the shape of the pot)
  
• Using oven mitts (and I say this because I've forgotten before OUCH), place the lid back on the pot and put the pot back into the oven.
  
• Cook for 30 minutes covered.
  
• After the 30 minutes, uncover the pot, and cook for another 15 minutes until the top is golden and crispy.
  
• Let cool until it's safe to touch before slicing.
  

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