How to Make a Homemade Artisan Country Loaf Bread Recipe
Published January 4, 2018. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Bread should be light and fluffy on the inside with a beautiful hard crust on the outside. Learn How to Make a Homemade Artisan Country Loaf Bread Recipe!
Thanks again guys for stopping into BillyParisi.com to check out all of my recipes and videos, and on tap for today is this How to Make a Homemade Artisan Country Loaf Bread Recipe. It is to this day the best loaf of bread I have ever made. As I get more comfortable with baking homemade bread, each recipe just seems to get better and better. While the measurements are incredibly important, I’ll talk more on this later, technique and time are just as important if not more important. Regardless, I’ve been LOVING baking homemade bread just like this artisan country loaf recipe and I can’t see myself slowing down any time soon. Once you get your first really good loaf of homemade bread then it just pushes you to keep exploring and trying new things. Can you tell I’m excited about baking homemade bread yet lol?
I made homemade bread a little bit throughout my food years since culinary school and to be honest I was a hack. In fact, I feel like I was a food hack with a lot of things but now I’ve got some more patience and am generally more interested in the creativity and creation of food than I’ve ever been before. I had a solid culinary education but to be honest my “on-the-job training” wasn’t all that awesome so most of my creativity had to come from myself. It’s not that I didn’t work with amazing chefs, I did, it’s just that they were much better chefs from a management and classical standpoint and didn’t put as much emphasis on pushing the envelope in the creativity department. I only tell you this because we never even made homemade bread when I was working at all those restaurants back in the day, we got it brought in. It’s simple things like making homemade bread, that can make all the difference in the world.
I’ve been doing some reading lately and I have to say that the best book for homemade bread making techniques is Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast. It’s incredibly informative about how to go about each step in the bread making process and honestly, it’s foolproof. It’s pretty much exactly what you would learn in a baking class in culinary school, except for when to add the yeast into the flour, salt, and water. Regardless it’s a fantastic book for making bread if you are interested in getting into this fun cooking hobby.
There are so many countries out there that have people who still make bread every single day. To me, baking homemade bread is a dying art form and while it does take time, there is nothing more satisfying than making it especially from something so simple. Bread, when done right, is loaded with all of the minerals and vitamins you need to sustain life. While I cheated a bit with this artisan country loaf bread recipe, the most traditional way would have been using a starter instead of yeast. However, most people who are just everyday cooks aren’t going to take the time and money it takes to feed a starter once a day so yeast is much more practical.
How to Make Homemade Artisan Bread
To make this homemade bread recipe you are looking at about 5 hours. I think I said 3 hours and 45 minutes in the video but that’s really more dedicated to the resting and proofing time and not the actual folding and forming time. If you do this recipe you need to start in the morning so maybe the weekend is best. You are also going to get your hands dirty, so don’t even worry about breaking out the gigantic wooden spoon or spatula. It’s important to use your hands so you can feel the dough come together. You can’t do that with a spatula or spoon, you need to be touching it at all times so make sure there are no lumps.
Lastly, I want to talk about measuring for bread. It is super important so if you are serious about this then I recommend investing in a metric scale. Measuring in grams is as precise as it gets and you just can’t get that with ounces or measuring spoons or cups, so pick up a metric scale. Homemade bread baking is a science and if you aren’t right on then you aren’t going to get the final product you need. Guys, I hope you enjoyed the video as well as inspiring you to get out there and bake some fresh homemade bread, there’s nothing like it!
Video
How to Make a Homemade Artisan Country Loaf Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 560 grams of 00 bread flour
- 190 grams of whole wheat flour
- 600 grams of water at 98° to 100°
- 17 grams of Kosher salt
- 3 grams of active yeast
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine with your hands the flours and water until completely mixed together. Let rest for 10 minutes.
- Next, sprinkle the salt and yeast overtop and mix it into the dough by pinching, stretching and folding the dough over for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Cover and rest the dough in a warm dark place for 15 to 20 minutes before folding the dough over for 2 minutes.
- Cover and rest for 45 to 60 minutes and then fold the dough over for 2 minutes. The dough may need a few more folds if the gluten is not strengthening.
- Cover and rest for 2 hours or until it has tripled in size.
- Dust a clean surface with flour and place the dough onto it. Sprinkle the top with flour and fold the dough over in thirds 3 to 4 times and then begin to mold the dough into a ball by cupping around the dough into the bottom.
- Place the dough into a floured Benetton and cover and rest for 60 minutes.
- In the meantime, place a small Dutch oven pot into the oven on 475° for at least 30 minutes.
- Flip the dough right into the hot Dutch oven pot, cover it and return it to the oven and bake for 30 minutes
- Let cool for 20 to 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Nutrition
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I’ve made this bread for almost two years and it’s perfect. Is it OK to cut the salt back by half, or at all? Doc says I need to cut my salt intake quite a bit. Thanks Billy!
Yes feel free to cut back on the salt, no problem.
Just made the bread. Hardest thing is waiting 30 minutes for it to cool!
Made this twice. Both were excellent. First time the bottom burned though. Second time I put a sheet of aluminum foil on the underneath rack just below the Dutch oven. Worked like a charm! Didn’t burn or stick! Also instead of a banetton I just used a mixing bowl lined with plastic wrap which I sprayed with a bit of oil.
Hi Billy
Can I use Malt powder in addition to the dry instant yeast in both the poolish recipe and the the main dough ingredients cos i find that it gets my dough a lot more bubbly and active.
Thanks
you could
Can I make the recipe using only 00 flour? Does it affect the result too much if I don’t use the other flour?
You can use bread flour.
I assume you are using active dry yeast, correct? Also what is the conversion if you don’t have kosher salt?
active yeast yes. Back of the salt by 25%.
Changes for high altitude?
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
I make this every Saturday now . My family loves it! Only issue I have is the bottom crust gets a little to crusty. Is that a stone in your over you are setting the Dutch oven on? I’m wondering if I use something underneath my Dutch Oven would that work? Thanks love ALL your recipes!!
I enjoyed making this bread. Very tasty. But why don’t you score the bread before baking? Thank you!
preference
Thank you!
MJB
Can I use fast acting instant yeast in same amounts with this recipe?
P.S. I just love all your recipes!
yes
Can this be made with gluten free flour?
No, unfortunately. To-date, gluten-free flour will not produce the same results when yeast is involved.
Very, VERY good bread!
This was amazing… the instructions are right on point and the loaf comes out perfect, exactly like the photos. Has the perfect amount of chew in the crust. Thank you for sharing your talents with us!
Hello, i noticed that this dough has a tight crumb. Is it possible to make it proof longer, say overnight in the refrigerator to develop more air pockets?
For sure you could.
Hi Billy, I’m super keen to try this recipe, but don’t own a dutch oven or any oven-safe pot large enough to hold this… Is there any alternative for baking it in the oven?
pot with a lid?
Absolutely love the recipes I’ve tried so far. Having said that, you should know, if you don’t already, your personality sells first!
I’d watch you even if I never made a thing. You just seem to be a nice somebody!!! And there’s just not enough “nice somebodies”!!!
Tried this today, and my family LOVED it. Super crusty on the outside, wonderful soft and doughy on the inside, great taste, perfect to serve with a hot bowl of soup like we did tonight. I don’t have a Dutch oven, so I used a large oven-safe saucepan, and the results were great. I’ve never been a good baker, bc I hate to be precise, but this recipe was easy enough that even I could follow it. My only complaint is that the recipe says it makes 4 servings, whereas I’d estimate its makes 8-10 servings. I almost doubled the recipe – so glad I didn’t!
Discovered this recipe and just love this bread. My daughter can never wait it to cool down completely to start eating. My mother though is allergic to gluten. Do you have a good recipe for a tasfull traditional bread, but gluten free? Thanks for your help.
I’m really excited to try this RIGHT NOW. I was just wondering why you add the water before the salt and yeast? It seems like it’d be easier to combine before the water. Does the salt kill the yeast?
don’t steer from the recipe!
If you want to double the amount do you use the same exact ingredients x2? If you wanted to add rosemary or garlic ect.. how much would you add for flavor? Thanks!
You could double it but I would split the dough and not do all the processes with 1 big dough. Add the extra stuff during the last fold and make sure it’s incorporated so take an extra minute or 2 to fold in.