By food contributor Brittany

There are very few things better than a freshly baked loaf of bread. This recipe is the easiest, and believe me I’ve had my fair share of bread making, the easiest bread to make.  I decided to twist things up a bit and make 3 different loaves based on the same recipe.  I decided to go with Cheddar Dill, perfect for sandwiches, Cinnamon Raisin, delicious for breakfast, and the traditional and always my favorite Crusty White bread that goes hand in hand with creamy butter and drizzled honey. All this requires is a Dutch oven or an oven safe bowl with a lid.

 

Keep reading for the recipe…Crusty No-Knead Bread

recipe from Just A Pinch

makes 1 loaf

3 cups of bread flour (all-purpose can work well too)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water

Dutch oven (I used 5.5 qt) or oven-safe large bowl with a lid

Cheddar Dill Additions

3-4 tbsp. freshly diced dill

1 1/4 c. grated cheddar cheese

1 tbsp. minced onion (the dry seasoning)

a handful of sunflower & pumpkin seeds

1/2 c. sour cream ( this will replace the 1/2 water, so for this bread you will only be adding in 1 cup of warm water)

Cinnamon Raisin Additions

5 tsp. cinnamon

3 tbsp. sugar (you can add more for sweeter bread)

1 cup of raisins

Directions:

1. In a large bowl whisk together the dry ingredients. If you’re adding any additional ingredients add them in with the flour before adding any liquid. Add the warm water and mix together with a wooden spoon until it forms a shaggy dough. Don’t overwork the dough and don’t worry about it looking pretty!

2. Cover the bowl with a lid, plastic wrap, or towel and place in a warm non-drafted area.  Let it sit at room temperature for 12-24 hours, don’t disturb it and let it do its magic!

3. After the dough is bubbly and at least doubled in size preheat the over to 450ºF. Place your Dutch oven uncovered into the oven and let it preheat for 30 minutes.

4. While your Dutch oven heats remove your dough from the bowl and turn onto a well-floured surface.  With floured hands work dough into a ball and let it sit for 30 minutes covered with plastic wrap.

5. Carefully remove the Dutch oven and place the dough in the middle and place lid on top and put it back into the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Carefully the remove the lid and let the bread continue to bake for 10 minutes to get golden brown.

6. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool on a rack. The dough needs to sit and cool, so even though it’s so hard to wait, it’s important!