No-Knead Crispy Crust Artisan Bread
Mise en Place / Ingredients[5]
- 3.5 cups (500g) High-protein unbleached bread flour (King Arthur Bread Flour)
- 0.25 cup Extra bread flour, for dusting work surface and loaf
- 1.5 cups (350ml) Lukewarm water
- 1 tsp (3g) Instant dry baker's yeast (SAF Instant)
- 1.5 tsp (9g) Fine sea salt
🛒 US Supermarket Brand Guide
12.7% protein creates open airy alveoli without kneading. • 📍 Flour/baking aisle.
Cooking Sequence & Checkpoints
Mix flour, yeast, salt, and water with a spatula until shaggy dough forms. Cover and ferment 2 hours.
✓ Checkpoint: Bubbly dough doubled in size.
Perform 4 stretch-and-folds. Shape into a round boule on parchment paper. Rest 30 minutes.
✓ Checkpoint: Taut round dough ball.
Preheat Dutch oven with lid inside oven to 450°F (230°C).
✓ Checkpoint: Smoking hot cast iron.
Score dough top deeply. Transfer with parchment into the 450°F (230°C) Dutch oven, bake covered for 25 minutes, then remove lid and bake uncovered at 425°F (220°C) for the final 15 minutes until deeply golden crisp.
✓ Checkpoint: Crispy crust that crackles loudly.
🔬 Why It Works:
Steam Trap Baking: Baking inside a preheated Dutch oven traps escaping moisture, allowing optimal oven spring before crust hardens.
⚠️ Troubleshooting:
Crust is chewy not crisp: Bake uncovered for the final 15 minutes at 425°F to set crispness.