This is the simplest and most flavorful no-knead bread you could ever want! Just stir up the ingredients, let it rise and rise and rise, throw it in a Dutch oven, and there you go. Add in some fresh rosemary and sea salt and it takes it to another level.
There’s such beautiful science that goes into baking – I mean, it’s close to magic when you basically combine flour, water, and yeast different ways and get bread or biscuits or pie crust or pizza dough depending on the quantities and maybe one different ingredient. But the biggest ingredients for baking usually seem to be patience, precision, and time, which are all in short supply around here.
But then I saw recipes for Dutch Oven bread popping up all over the place. I love a good no knead bread, but you just roll this into a ball and throw it in a Dutch Oven and let the oven do all the work, and it’s as easy as you get!
Mix your ingredients together, leave it on the counter covered by a towel and let it rise – seemingly forever, optimally 12 hours – and then throw it in a heated Dutch Oven and throw it in the oven and you’ve got beautifully delicious baked bread that makes your whole house smell wonderful! No stress – and not much mess!
My dad got me this Staub Dutch Oven nine years ago, when Scott and I first moved in together in New York, and I use the heck out of it. It’s the perfect thing for braising a roast, cooking a chili, brewing up broth, and, it turns out, baking bread in!
For this recipe, all you need is some all-purpose flour, water, yeast, sea salt, and, of course, rosemary. You can use fresh or dried rosemary depending on what you have – but I just started my kitchen window herb garden for the window and I’ve got a ton of fresh rosemary I’m putting to use.
Because this bread should rise for a while, I like to either mix it and start it rising right before we go to bed or get up and do it first thing in the morning, depending on whether I want to serve it up with lunch or dinner. Since it feels like we’ve almost always got some soup, stew, or chili going these days, this bread is always a welcome addition – with its golden slightly salty crust and soft interior, it goes great with all of these!
Let’s see just how simple this is to make!
[lt_recipe name=”Rosemary Dutch Oven Bread” summary=”This is the simplest and most flavorful no-knead bread you could ever want! Just stir up the ingredients, let it rise and rise and rise, throw it in a Dutch oven, and there you go. Add in some fresh rosemary and sea salt and it takes it to another level.” servings=”8″ total_time=”1H” print=”yes” image=”https://homefrontcooking.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Rosemary-Dutch-Oven-Bread-1586-1024×683.jpg” ingredients=”3 cups all purpose flour;1 tsp sea salt with more for sprinkling;1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast;1 1/2 cups water, room temperature;3/4 cup fresh rosemary, chopped” ]In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sea salt, yeast, and fresh rosemary. Mix in the water and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined.;Form gently into a ball in the bowl. Cover the bowl, and allow to rise in a warm place (on your countertop works) for up to 12 hours.;Heat your oven to 450F. While the oven is heating up, place the Dutch Oven in the oven to heat it up as well. Work carefully with the Dutch Oven, as it will be very hot to the touch.;Remove the dough from the bowl and form into a ball. Place carefully in the bottom of the Dutch Oven, sprinkle very lightly with a little sea salt, and cover with the lid, again carefully because the Dutch Oven will be hot.;Return the Dutch Oven to the oven, covered, and bake for 30 minutes at 450F. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake an additional 15-20 minutes, or until the crust of the bread is a nice golden brown.;Remove the Dutch Oven from the oven and allow to cool before you try to remove the bread. Then turn the bread out onto your cutting board, cut, and serve![/lt_recipe]
To me, the sea salt makes this bread. It’s just enough salt for great seasoning, and because it’s a little chunkier and gives you more of that salt ping with each taste than regular salt, you can use a lot less for a perfectly seasoned bread.
Serve up with your favorite soup, or just serve up by itself with some butter or some olive oil and Balsamic vinegar for dipping!
Happy Friday!
