Easy French Country Bread Recipe | Beginner Artisan Bread Recipe

bread flour

🥗Healthier: whole wheat flour

💰Cheaper: all-purpose flour

Whole wheat flour adds fiber and nutrients.

sourdough starter

🥗Healthier: commercial yeast

💰Cheaper: none

Commercial yeast is easier to find and quicker to use.

honey

🥗Healthier: agave syrup

💰Cheaper: sugar

Agave syrup is a lower glycemic index sweetener.

Start the night before by mixing 6 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon of yeast, and 1.5 teaspoons of salt in a large bowl.

Stir the mixture with a fork until everything is combined and looks shaggy.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm spot for 12 to 18 hours to ferment.

The next morning, uncover the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.

Flour your work surface and use a dough scraper to press the dough into a slight rectangle.

Fold the dough over a few times and turn it over onto its back.

Place the dough on parchment paper for its final rise, which will take 2 hours.

After 45 minutes of the final rise, turn your oven to its highest setting and place a Dutch oven inside to preheat.

After the dough has risen for 2 hours, carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven.

Transfer the dough with the parchment paper into the Dutch oven.

Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, check the loaf; if it's golden brown, remove the lid and bake for a few more minutes until done.

To check if the bread is done, knock on it; it should sound hollow.

Let the bread rest for a while before cutting into it.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens