How to Make Homemade Bread

Step 1

Basic No-Knead Bread

Step 2

Mix flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. 

Step 3

Make a well in the flour mixture and add lukewarm water.

Step 4

Mix with a wooden spoon for up to a minute, until the dough becomes too sticky to be pancake batter but too runny to be playdough. 

Step 5

Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and set it in a nice warm place in your house. After about 6 – 8 hours, the dough should have doubled in size. 

Step 6

Either lightly flour a piece of parchment paper or use a silicone mat and slide the dough onto it. 

Step 7

Punch down the dough and gently fold it a couple times.

Step 8

Form it into a ball (sprinkle some flour on your hands if it’s too sticky) and cover with a towel.

Step 9

Let rise for another 1-½ hours. 

Step 10

Start preheating the oven about 30 minutes before the dough is ready. Line the Dutch oven with parchment paper and place it (with the lid on) in the oven (on the middle rack) while preheating. 

Step 11

When the oven lets you know it has reached 425℉, take the really, really hot Dutch oven out. 

Step 12

Place the dough into the Dutch oven, put the lid back on, and then put it back in the oven.

Step 13

Thirty minutes later, remove the lid and let it bake for another 20 minutes or until it’s nicely browned. 

Step 14

Let cool completely on a rack and enjoy!

Step 15

Extra Steps for Garlic and Herb Bread

Step 16

First, follow steps 1 through 4 as above in the Basic No-Knead Bread Instructions.

Step 17

Toward the end of the first dough rise, grab a whole head of garlic and rub in your hands to remove the excess papery skins.

Step 18

Chop off the top to expose the cloves and tightly wrap in aluminum foil. 

Step 19

Roast in the oven at 400ºF for about 30 minutes. 

Step 20

After the garlic has cooled off, remove the tender garlic cloves from the bulb and roughly chop them.

Step 21

After the first dough rise, either lightly flour a piece of parchment paper or use a silicone mat and slide the dough onto it. 

Step 22

Punch down the dough, add the garlic, oregano, and rosemary on top, and gently fold it into the dough a couple of times. 

Step 23

Follow steps 7, 8, 9, & 10 as above in the Basic No-Knead Bread Instructions.

Step 24

Thirty minutes later, remove the lid, drizzle the loaf with the olive oil and sprinkle with the Maldon salt.

Step 25

Bake for another 20 minutes or until it’s nicely browned. 

Step 26

Let cool completely on a rack and enjoy!