Easy Dutch Oven Bread Recipe (2024)

Making Dutch Oven Bread is surprisingly easy – no kneading required! All you need are a few pantry staples and a mixing bowl to make a bakery-quality bread. This one is done in less than 3 hours and most of that is just rising time. That’s my kind of bread!

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Nothing beats a fresh crusty loaf of homemade Dutch Oven Bread. This bread truly tastes like it came from a fancy bakery and still tastes delicious on day 2 – an unusual feat for quick and easy bread! The texture of this bread also makes it perfect to use for sandwich recipes like our Chicken Bacon Avocado Club or even for a Reuben Sandwich.

What goes into Dutch Oven Bread?

The beauty of this quick dutch oven bread is that most of the ingredients are pantry staples. All you need is bread flour, honey, salt, and yeast – adding seeds to the mix creates a beautiful loaf with minimal effort. My parents were mighty impressed with this dutch oven bread and kept raving about it, which is a really big deal because Mom literally makes the best bread ever!

Why Should You Bake Bread in a Dutch Oven?

Baking bread in a dutch oven creates a beautiful crust and is so easy. The dutch oven traps steam that allows the bread to rise more fully before forming the crusty exterior. There’s something really fun about lifting the lid and seeing a perfectly formed golden loaf inside! The best dutch oven for bread is a 5 ½ quart Enameled Cast-Iron Dutch Oven.

How Do You Measure Bread Flour?

No-knead Dutch Oven Bread should be sticky when you set it to rise – which may tempt you to add too much flour. When you measure the bread flour, spoon it into your measuring cup, then level with the back of a knife. If you have more questions about measuring be sure to watch my measuring ingredients tutorial.

Can I Substitute the Seeds?

The seeds in this No-Knead Bread make it taste like an artisan dutch oven bread. They enhance the flavor and add the perfect crunch to complement the soft and spongy center of the loaf. If you don’t have all of the seeds on hand, you can substitute and make it a 3-seed bread or omit the seeds altogether and it will still be a delicious loaf.

Pro Tip: Toasted seeds will have the best flavor. To toast the seeds, put them in a dry skillet over medium heat, tossing often until they are golden and fragrant.

How to Make Dutch Oven Bread:

Prep: Line a work surface with parchment paper and trim corners from the paper to create a round-ish shape to fit better in the dutch oven. Sprinkle the center 9″ of parchment with 1 Tbsp cornmeal, semolina or flour and set aside. Note: Using cornmeal or semolina creates a nice crunch to the crust.

1. In a large bowl, combine the warm water, honey, and salt. Stir until honey has dissolved then sprinkle top with the yeast. Let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the flour and all of the seeds. Use a spatula to mix until it comes together and seeds are well incorporated (no kneading required). The dough will be very sticky. Cover bowl with lid or plastic wrap and let rest at room temp (70˚F) for 2 hours or until tripled in volume.

3. Sprinkle dough with flour and use a spatula to fold the dough in half then fold in half again.
4. Sprinkle generously again with flour and with well-floured hands, lift up the dough and form a ball in your hands. Place dough in the center of your parchment folded side down. If desired – sprinkle the top with extra sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Let rise uncovered at room temp for 40 minutes.

5. Place the empty dutch oven and lid inside the oven and preheat the oven to 450˚F. Once preheated and bread is ready to bake, remove dutch oven and place on the stove. Be careful not to touch the dutch oven or lid without oven mitts because it will be blazing hot. Transfer the parchment paper with bread dough into your HOT dutch oven. Cover with the hot lid and bake at 450˚F for 30 minutes.
6. Remove hot lid and bake another 2- 5 minutes until the top is golden brown. Use the parchment paper to lift the bread out of the dutch oven and cool on a wire rack until nearly room temperature before slicing.

Helpful Tips for Perfect Dutch Oven Bread:

• When the bread is out of the oven, put the empty dutch oven back in the oven to cool down as it will be blazing hot to the touch. My dad lifted the lid to see what was inside before I could warn him – Ouch!!
• No dutch oven? No problem! Follow the baking instructions in our Original No-Knead Bread recipe.
• NEVER slice into hot bread or it will release steam and become gummy. Dutch oven bread will taste best if you let it rest and cool.

More Delicious Homemade Bread Recipes

If you love this Dutch Oven Bread, be sure to also try our:

• Crusty French Bread
• No-Knead Artisan Bread
• Soft Dinner Rolls
• Moist Banana Nut Bread