Homemade Bread Recipe

This recipe is from Half-baked Harvest’s Super Simple Cookbook – No Knead Bread and Pizza Dough!

When we were at my lakehouse we made a homemade bread every single night! I promise you that homemade bread is 1000x better then anything you will buy from the store and it is surprisingly easy!! It takes about 3 hours (or more if you decide to let the dough rest longer) but it’s so nice to have going at home while we are all cozying in. It also makes for a fun activity with the kids! Here is what you’ll need:

Homemade No-Knead Bread Recipe

3 cups of all purpose flour, plus more as needs (see note* below)
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 12oz beer (we use a pilsner)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
parchment paper
1-quart cast iron dutch oven

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, yeast and salt. Add the beer and olive oil and mix with a wooden spoon until combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature until doubled in size, at least two hours.

When ready to bake, place a 6-quart cast iron dutch oven or heavy pot on a rack positioned in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Once it reaches temperature, let the Dutch oven warm for 30 minutes.
Turn the dough out onto a generously floured work surface. Using your hands, form the dough into a ball and place it on a large piece of parchment paper.
Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven and place the dough with the parchment paper in the center of it. Transfer the pot back to the oven, cover, and bake for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the lid and continue baking until the bread is a deep golden brown, about 15 minutes more.
Carefully lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a rack to cool completely, about 2 hours. (Don’t slice into the bread right out of the oven—you want to let it continue to cook as it cools).

*to get the right consistency in your dough, start with your base amount of flour, then add more as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is smooth but not dry. It’s better to have a dough that’s on the slightly sticky side than a dough that’s too dry! The dough should be a bit loose; it should not feel dense or heavy.