There is so much beauty to be found in simplicity. As far as food and daily rituals go, there may be nothing quite so simple and satisfying as making a fresh loaf of bread. You mix flour, water, salt, and yeast in their proper proportions, let your dough rise at its own natural pace, work it with your hands once ready, and toss it into the oven.

There are many configurations of the process, but bread making at its very core is very simple, if time consuming. It has been practiced for thousands of years: by people rich and poor, from all corners and cultures of the world. Yet to the novice baker, learning how to make your own bread at home might not seem so readily accessible.

No Need to Knead: Dutch Oven Artisanal Bread

Lehman's

Ingredients

3 c. all-purpose or bread flour (plus additional flour for dusting your surface & dough)
1/2 tsp. dry active yeast
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. warm water
1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Combine flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl, add 1½ cups of warm water, and hand mix until you have a rough, sticky mass of dough.
Drizzle olive oil down the sides of the bowl and cover.
Let rise at least 9 hours at warm room temperature.
Preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit with Dutch oven inside.
Liberally flour your work surface and lay out your dough.
Stretch one corner toward yourself and fold it over onto the rest of the dough. Perform this fold on each side of the dough, rotating after each.
Once finished, flip the dough so your folds are now on the bottom side.
Cup your hands around the side of the dough furthest from you, and pull it toward yourself in a manner that “tightens” the dough.
Rotate and repeat until the dough shapes into a nice, even ball.
Once the oven is preheated, take out the Dutch oven and remove the lid.
Flip the dough over into it, seam side up.
Cover with the lid and bake for 25 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for another 5 minutes until the loaf is a rich, golden-brown color.
Cool for 30 minutes.