Baking bread takes time. It’s not all that hard to do, you just need to take your time when you decide to bake a loaf of bread. I typically bake up a sourdough loaf of bread when I’m not adding any flavorings to the loaf. Sourdough doesn’t need anything added to it to taste delicious! But when I want to make a flavored loaf of bread I use my tried and true, no-knead, basic yeast dough recipe for consistently spectacular results. Just add your favorite spices, herbs and seasonings for truly unique and flavorful loaves of bread with a minimum of fuss. The sweet flavor profile of this loaf makes it the perfect loaf for breakfast or as a late night snack. It’s delicious slathered with some soft butter or top toasted slices with cream cheese for some of the tastiest toast you will ever enjoy.
Yeast doughs don’t require feeding or maintaining a starter which can be a challenge with our hectic, busy lives.
Craving something savory? Swap out the sweet ingredients; cinnamon, brown sugar, nutmeg and raisins for Cheddar & Scallions for a delectable savory No-Knead, Cheddar, Scallion Artisanal Loaf.
Or add fresh rosemary and freshly minced garlic to the loaf to make this delectable No-Knead, Rosemary, Garlic Artisanal Boule.
Add sharp cheddar and diced jalapeño for a spicy Jalapeño Cheddar loaf. Add freshly minced garlic and grated Parmesan cheese for an Italian flavor profile. The flavor combinations you can create are only limited by your imagination.
If I had one item I would recommend you purchase to ensure you get consistently good results for baking bread, is to purchase an instant read thermometer. When you add yeast to warm water you want it hot enough to activate it but not so hot that you kill it. Ideally, for best results you want the temperature of the water between 105 and 110 degrees F.
Add yeast to warm water and stir to combine. Allow yeast to bloom, about 5-10 minutes. It should start to get bubbly and frothy like the picture below.
While the yeast proofs, place the dry ingredients; 3 cups flour, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon Kosher salt in a large mixing bowl.
Stir dry ingredients together to combine.
Add the proofed yeast water to the dry ingredients in the bowl.
I get a lot of questions about what kind of yeast is the best yeast to use. There are basically four types of yeast that can be used for bread; active dry yeast, instant dry yeast, fast-acting instant yeast, and bread machine yeast. Instant and fast acting yeast can be added directly to your flour mixture and active dry yeast requires proofing. I prefer to proof yeast before I add it to the flour so that I know the yeast I am using is still active and good, so I use active dry yeast. It would be a sad day if you left the dough to rise and came back after a few hours and nothing had happened. When you proof the yeast you will know in just a few minutes if it’s still active and good to use.
Stir everything together until you have a shaggy, sticky dough.
If your’e planning on baking a lot of bread I recommend purchasing a Danish Dough whisk. It makes stirring together sticky dough a snap. You can certainly use a wooden spoon but once you use a Danish Dough whisk you’ll never go back to a spoon again.
Cover the bowl with a dish towel and allow the dough to rise for 3-4 hours.
TIP: Place covered bowl in your oven and turn just the light on. This creates the perfect warm cozy environment that will get the yeast really going.
After 3-4 hours, dough should almost triple in volume, and look like this.
Once the dough has at least doubled, ideally, tripled in size, place an empty Dutch oven pot in the oven and preheat the oven to 450℉.
You will need a large enameled cast iron pot, typically called a Dutch oven, with a lid to make this bread. It creates the perfect environment so that your loaf of bread develops that chewy, crunchy crust with a soft fluffy interior. If you don’t have one, ask your friends if they have one that you can borrow. You don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars for a good quality Dutch oven pot. I picked up an off brand for only $45 at Homegoods. You might even find one for less at a Thrift Store. But you do need one in order to make this loaf.
Lightly flour your work surface.
Transfer the dough from the bowl onto the floured surface. Dough will be sticky, so be sure to flour your hands well.
Gently stretch dough out into a square shape. Use a gentle touch and try not to overwork the dough.
Time to add some more cinnamon and sweetness!
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon brown sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and some freshly grated nutmeg onto the dough in an even layer.
Top with ½ the raisins.
Fold corners of the dough into the center.
Gently stretch dough out into a square shape again.
Top with the remaining 1 tablespoon brown sugar, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, and the remaining raisins.
Fold the corners into the center and start to form dough into a ball shape.
Turn dough over and cup the dough with your floured hands and gently form it into a ball, stretching the dough from the top, center, out towards the edges and underneath. Turn the dough slightly in a circular motion each time you stretch the dough as you form it.
Once you have a smooth ball formed, transfer the ball of dough onto a sheet of parchment paper. Allow the loaf to rest for 30-45 minutes while Dutch oven is preheating in the oven.
Once oven is hot, use a sharp knife to score an ⅛ inch deep “X” onto the top of the loaf.
Carefully remove hot Dutch oven from the oven. Grab the four corners of the parchment paper and lower the loaf into the hot Dutch oven pot.
Cover pot with the lid. Bake loaf covered for 30 minutes.
Removed lid and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. The time will vary depending on how hot your oven bakes, so keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t burn. The longer it bakes the crunchier the crust will become.
Loaf is done when it sounds hollow when tapped and the crust is a rich, deep, golden brown.
Use the four corners of the parchment paper to carefully remove the loaf from the Dutch oven pot and place it on a rack to cool.
Cool the loaf completely, at least 1 hour, before slicing into it.
This bread is a delicious loaf that’s perfect for breakfast with your morning cup of coffee. Slather a slice with some softened butter or place a slice in your toaster and top it with some cream cheese for a really tasty morning treat. A huge shout out to my girlfriend Ashleigh for providing the inspiration for this tasty loaf of bread! Be sure to give this one a try, you are going to love it! Even if you are new to bread baking, this easy technique will produce excellent results for you. I promise! The more you bake bread, the better and better you will get, and the loaves you bake will get tastier and tastier. Honestly, there are few things in life that bring as much satisfaction as pulling a freshly baked loaf of bread that you made out of the oven. Happy baking!!!
No-Knead, Cinnamon Raisin Artisanal Bread
Equipment
- instant read thermometer recommended
- Danish dough whisk, recommended
- Dutch oven pot with lid
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 1½ cups warm water
- 1½ tsp yeast
- 3 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
For the loaf:
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- freshly grated nutmeg
- ¾ cup raisins
Instructions
- Add yeast to warm water and stir to combine.
- Allow yeast to bloom, about 5 minutes.
- Stir together flour, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the yeast water to the dry ingredients.
- Stir together until you have a shaggy dough.
- Cover bowl with a towel and allow dough to rise for 3-4 hours, or until dough triples in volume.
- Place an empty Dutch oven pot in the oven and preheat to 450℉.
- Lightly flour your work surface and transfer the dough from the bowl onto the floured surface. Dough will be sticky, so be sure to flour your hands well.
- Pat dough out into a square shape. Use a gentle touch and try not to overwork the dough.
- Sprinkle ½ teaspoon cinnamon, some freshly grated nutmeg, and 1 tablespoon brown sugar onto the dough in an even layer.
- Top with ½ the raisins.
- Fold corners of the dough into the center.
- Gently flatten dough out into a square.
- Top with the remaining ½ teaspoon cinnamon, 1 tablespoon brown sugar and the remaining raisins.
- Fold the corners into the center and start to form dough into a ball shape.
- Cup the dough with your floured hands and gently form dough into a ball, stretching the dough from the center out towards the edges and underneath.
- Once you have a smooth ball formed, transfer the ball of dough onto a sheet of parchment paper.
- Allow ball of dough to rest for 30-45 minutes while Dutch oven is preheating in the oven.
- Once oven is hot, use a sharp knife to score an ⅛ inch deep "X" into the top of the loaf.
- Carefully remove hot Dutch oven from the oven. Grab the four corners of the parchment paper and carefully lower the dough into the hot Dutch oven pot. Cover with the lid.
- Bake covered for 30 minutes.
- Removed lid and bake for an additional 10-20 minutes. The longer it bakes the crunchier the crust will become.
- Loaf is done when it sounds hollow when tapped and the crust is a rich, deep, golden brown.
- Use the four corners of the parchment paper to carefully remove the loaf from the Dutch oven pot and place it on a rack to cool.
- Cool the loaf completely, at least 1 hour, before slicing into it.
Notes
Did You Make This?
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Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”
John 6:35
Remember…Jesus ❤️’s you!