Have you ever dreamed of making artisan bread? Well I have an easy artisan, multigrain, no-knead bread recipe for you! Just as many no-knead bread recipes have been inspired by the original NY Times article with Jim Lahey, so has this one, although I add several whole grains and seeds to it.
No-knead bread has changed the landscape of baking bread since you literally don’t have to knead the dough. Time and fermentation does the job for you! Then once the dough is proofed, a heavy, cast iron dutch oven with a lid mimics a traditional brick oven and traps the moisture in, creating that beautiful crispy crust that we’ve come to enjoy so much.
Almost nothing else satisfies the taste buds and nose like the aroma of fresh-baked bread. I think after that piping hot loaf of crispy goodness comes out of the oven, the smell of this homemade bread turns a house into a home and people always take notice.
I’ve made several variations on this recipe depending on what mood I’m in, but most of the time I make a loaf that resembles this one using whole grains to make it a little healthier. You can use just regular unbleached all-purpose flour but I try to make a mix of half and half with whole wheat. If you go too far on the whole wheat, the loaf does seem to get a little heavier so you’ll have to experiment with what you like.
This recipe has served me well during Thanksgiving or potlucks when I sliced the whole thing into bite-sized cubes great for dipping into hummus or gravy. I’ve also cubed this smaller, baked it on a baking sheet, and made great homemade breadcrumbs to be used in stuffing. I’m sure you’ll find many more ways to use this bread as it can also be used for sandwiches, bu if you want to make sandwich bread, try using experimenting with a loaf pan to get the right shape.
I use a 3 1/2 quart enameled dutch oven for this recipe to get the shape that I like. Traditionally, most people use a 5 quart but I find this slightly too large since I want a taller loaf. I also use what I’ve heard called the 1-2-3-4 recipe which helps you memorize the ingredients as all the numbers fit into the recipe.
I hope you enjoy the recipe and let me know how it goes in the comments section!
Artisan Multigrain No-Knead Bread
Makes 1 loaf of bread
This bread goes a long way on satisfaction and is great with making sandwiches and using as a dipper into hummus or gravy. Once you’re done baking, the aroma of fresh-baked bread will turn your house into a home. This bread stays fresh for about 2 days and gets hard quickly since there is no preservatives so be sure to bake as often as needed.
Equipment:
1 3-5 qt. enameled cast iron dutch oven (I use 3.5)
Mixing bowl (for mixing & proofing)
Plastic bag or towel (to cover the dough)
Ingredients:
3 cups flour (I use 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose, 1 1/2 cups whole wheat)
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp bread yeast
1 1/2 cups water, unchlorinated
Optional:
1 cup grains or seeds (optional, use any combinations – I use 1/4 cup barley, 1/4 cup sunflower seeds, 1/8 cup oats, 1/8 cup flaxseed, 1/8 cup quinoa, 1/8 cup millet)
1/2 cup or more extra water (if adding grains or seeds)
In a mixing bowl, mix all dry ingredients.
Add the water and stir until combined. The dough should be sticky and un-kneadable. If you can knead it, add more water until it’s sticky. Don’t forget to use unchlorinated water so the chlorine doesn’t kill the yeast!
When I combined all of these, the dough was just slightly too dry, so I had to add more water to make sure it was sticky like shown below.
Too dry:
Just right:
Cover the bowl with a plastic bag or towel and set in a somewhat warm area to rise for about 18 hours (it can be slightly earlier). My house is 72 degrees so the counter works for me. An easy way to calculate the end time is think ahead 12 hours, then add 6.
After the first rise, uncover and the dough will look high and bubbly. Slightly wet the counter and put a square of plastic wrap (this makes it stick to the counter), and flour this also.
Flour a spatula, scrape sides of dough in bowl and turn out onto the counter, onto the plastic wrap.
Flour the dough surface, sides, and your hands. Gently fold the dough once top-down, bottom-up, then side and side to fold in on itself. If this isn’t perfect, don’t worry about it. You’re just making a ball.
Lightly flour again, cover with a towel, and allow to rise for another 1 1/2 hours.
10 minutes before the dough is done rising, start preheating your oven to 450 degrees with the cast iron dutch oven & lid inside.
Once preheated, take out dutch oven, flour it lightly, and flip the dough into the center of the dutch oven. Put lid on and bake for 30 minutes at 450 degrees.
After 30 minutes, remove lid and bake for another 8-10 minutes at 450 degrees to brown the top.
Once done baking, remove from oven, remove from dutch oven (or it will burn) and put bread on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes or so.
Slice and enjoy! I store it in a paper bag for up to 2 days and if the bread gets hard, cut into cubes and bake in the oven to use as breadcrumbs.
This is a loaf that I made only a few days later that was half unbleached flour, half whole wheat flour with only 1/4 cup of flaxseed added. Notice that it’s a little fluffier than when you add a lot more grains & seeds to it.
I hope you enjoy this recipe and let me know how it goes in the comment section below!
