Homemade rustic bread

Making bread is surprisingly super easy! You can make this in either a loaf form or a round. Add in your favorite additional ingredients to play around with the flavor - garlic, herbs, olives, etc.

INGREDIENTS

3 1/4 cups bread flour

2 tsp salt

2 tsp instant yeast

2 cups warm water

INSTRUCTIONS

Whisk dry ingredients together then add warm water (should start to bubble slightly as you add it to the flour mixture). Use a wooden spoon to fold all ingredients together.

Use your hands to form a ball in the same bowl, cover for 3-4 hours to rise at room temperature/on the counter. You can bake it or you can put in the fridge to continue to rise overnight. The longer you let it rise, the more airy pockets you’ll get in your bread.

Lightly flour your surface and gently transfer your dough and form into a neat ball (doesn’t require kneading more than a few times). Cut a couple lines in the top with a serrated knife or razor blade, this allows steam to escape while baking.

To bake: preheat oven to 400 and cook in a Dutch oven (covered pan should work) lined with parchment paper for 30 min then uncover and bake for another 30 min til the top is a dark golden color. Tip: tap the top and it should sound hollow if ready.