This is such a versatile and simple recipe that can make SO many different variations! And, the dough can last for up to two weeks when stored in an air tight container in the refrigerator. The dough recipe was originally introduced to me by my mother-in-law, Denise, who graciously gave me this cookbook,
Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois.
I love it! I use this recipe on a regular basis. Later, it became known to us as, Bucket Bread – thanks to Annie! She uses a gallon ice cream container with a lid for bread making and storage, and now I do too. The bucket makes the process so simple and easy. And did I mention, this recipe requires no kneading? And you can use the same bucket for mixing and for rising and for storing! Yeah!
So many friends have asked for this recipe over the years. It is made with basic ingredients and makes 4 Boules- or approximately (4) 1 pound grapefruit- sized balls. I use this for pizza dough, bread (such as baguettes or ciabattas), and caramel rolls – just to name a few.
Variations to this recipe include: Herb bread – adding herbs such as rosemary and thyme (approx. 1 t. dried thyme and 1/2 t. dried rosemary) to the water mixture. Whole wheat bread can be made by substituting some of the all purpose flour for whole wheat flour.
You can read more about the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day approach on the authors’ website.
One of our favorite ways to use this recipe is in caramel pecan rolls. You can get the directions here.
- 3 c. lukewarm water
- 1½ T. granulated yeast
- 1½ T. kosher or coarse salt
- 6½ c. unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose white flour
- Warm the water slightly, and pour into bucket container (or mixing container).
- Then add yeast and salt to the water. Don't worry about getting it all to dissolve.
- Mix in the flour - add all of the flour at once. Mix with a wooden spoon. Don't knead! You're finished with everything once it is uniformly moist.
- Allow to rise at room temp - approximately 2 hours - or up to as many as 5 hours. Cover with lid that fits well, but is not airtight. Refrigerate.
- One pound (grapefruit size portion) Boule dough for Baguette. Pizza peel: whole wheat flour
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with baking stone.
- Now you can use the dough at this point, I typically refrigerate then use because it is easier to work with.
- When ready to use dough, sprinkle the surface of refrigerated dough with flour. Pull up and cut off 1-pound piece of dough. Gently and quickly stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating as you go. Elongate and form into a cylinder 2 inches in diameter.
- Let the dough rest on the pizza peel (which can be whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, or cornmeal depending on what type of bread you are making), about 20 minutes. Then quickly transfer to pizza stone. Add 1 cup water into broiler tray (or shallow baking tray) on bottom shelf of oven.
- Bake until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch.
- Allow to cool completely.
- *Cooking time and temp will vary for other bread types
I use this recipe and love it. Have you ever cooked it in a crock pot? You don’t even have to wait for it to rise to put it in the crock pot and cook it. My favorite way to cook bread – – even if I get a late start!
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2012/05/29/crock-pot-bread-baking-fast-bread-in-a-slow-cooker
No- great tip!! Thanks! Gonna try this soon! Thanks for reading, friend!
I made this bread last weekend. Divided the full recipe in half and had one good-sized Boule. Preheated my Dutch Oven well (about half hour–lid and DO). Baked the Boule covered for 30 minutes, tested internal temp of bread and it was done–over 200 deg. F. It turned out beautifully. I did roll bread dough Boule in Quinoa seeds first before second rise.
Great! I am so glad it turned out well for you! Thanks for mentioning the quinoa seeds – great idea!
I absolutely love homemade yeast bread, but my problem with making it is that I just don’t have the patience for all the kneading. So you know, I really must try this method. Do you think this would work with something like coconut or almond flour for a low carb bread?
Hi Penney!
Great to hear from you! Thanks for your comment. We love homemade bread, too! Regarding your question about substituting the all purpose flour for almond or coconut flour – this is something I have not tried before. The all purpose flour works because of its medium protein content and because of its unbleached quality, so I would check on those first. You could possibly try mixing a ratio of 1:2 or 1:3 with the all purpose and the almond or coconut – it might be a more subtle result. Thanks, Molly
I cook this bread in a cast iron pot. I allow the pot to heat up to 450 degrees, then add the loaf of dough, place the lid on the pot and put it back into the oven. Bake it at 450 degrees for 30 minutes with lid, then another 15 – 20 minutes without lid. The crust you get is unbelievable and you don’t have to worry about steaming your oven.
Thanks for your comment, Dagmar. We’ll have to give that a try, and makes this recipe even more simple!
Do I use instant yeast or active dry yeast?
I use active dry yeast.
I wonder – How long could you keep this refrigerated and still have yeast potency? My 4th is 4mo, and time to make bread is in short supply lately – and the big kids are going through it so fast! I love the thought of making up a big batch every couple days and having dough ready to rock in the fridge!
Hi Tami-
I understand what you mean about time being in short supply! I make 1 or 2 batches and leave them in the fridge for up to ten days. I also have made the dough, and after it did the 2-5 hour rise at room temperature, popped it into the freezer. Works great! Thanks for reading our blog!