Oma's Artisan Bread Recipe ~ Bauernbrot

Yum

Unbelievable artisan bread recipe that's so simple that ANYONE can make it! What's really amazing is how this tastes like the fresh Brötchen we'd get at the bakery in Germany. Wonderful crispy, thick crust. A real Bauernbrot! Chewy crumb that's so perfect for butter and jam. Wunderbar!

You'll enjoy your "German" bread! It's a hearty, rustic loaf that's so easy to make and to alter to your own tastes. 

Oma's Artisan Bread Recipe ... made easier!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour
• 1½  tsp active dry yeast 
• 1½ cups warm water
• 1 tsp salt
• extra flour for dusting

Instructions:

• Mix the first four ingredients together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon or use your hands. The dough will be sticky and look a mess!
• Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let the bowl sit on the counter (at room temperature) for at least 12 hours and up to 18 hours. The dough will rise and the top will be bubbly and sticky.
• Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit inside of dutch oven. Place paper on counter and sprinkle lightly with flour.
• Lightly sprinkle flour on counter. Gently put the dough on it. Sprinkle a bit of flour on top and fold the dough over on itself twice, shaping it into an elongated ball.
• Gently place onto parchment paper. Cover with a large bowl that doesn't touch the dough (see photo below).
• Preheat the oven to 450° F and put your dutch oven (see below) into the oven to heat for about 30 minutes.
• Remove preheated dutch oven and, using oven mitts (see note below), gently lift parchment paper with dough  into it and cover with lid. Be careful ... use oven mitts! Return to oven.
• Bake at 450° F for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue baking for another 15 minutes or until bread is golden brown.
• Remove to a rack and let cool for about 1 hour before slicing.

Really! It's that simple. That's why it's part of these German recipes. It's that good! REALLY! It's also the no knead bread that is all the rage over the internet. You'll see this everywhere ... but mine's just a bit different and easier. 

A bit of this and a bit of that ...

1. This is a very easy bread to play around with. Try half whole wheat flour. Sprinkle with sesame seeds just before baking. Add some grated cheese. Add some herbs. Sprinkle with cornmeal.
2. Using all-purpose white flour will give a slightly more chewy crust and sour-dough flavor than using white bread flour. 
3. Use 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) for your bread.

The original recipe calls for letting the dough rise on flour-sprinkled counter, covered with plastic wrap or kitchen towel. Then, to transfer it to the dutch oven, one needed to remove the plastic wrap or towel (which often stuck to it) and then gently lift the dough and drop it into the dutch oven. Often, it would stick to the fingers or roll off awkwardly. 

Now, I just put the dough onto the parchment paper first and let it rise covered with a large plastic bowl. Then, using an oven mitt in one hand to lift it, and I place it into the dutch oven, the whole thing becomes so much easier and safer.

Note: Don't have a large plastic bowl? Then use loosely placed plastic wrap over the dough.

Here's the original video of the original baking of this artisan bread ...

Making Greek yogurt and have some whey?

You see, I started to make Greek yogurt (and you can turn it into QUARK) and was throwing away the whey that was a by-product. That is, until I came across this dutch oven bread, the artisan bread recipe, that's so popular. Yes, you can make this with water as normal.

But if you're like me, and have some leftover whey and my vegan friends aren't coming, the bread will be absolutely, unbelievably wonderful.

It really tastes like a sourdough-type of bread! Wunderbar!

The original recipe for this no knead artisan bread seems to come from Jim Lahey from Sullivan Street Bakery and was printed in the NY Times in 2006. Since then, this is pinned all over ... with slight variations.

Do give this a try. You won't be disappointed.

Another No Knead Bread?

Looking for a really healthy, really really healthy bread? Here's one I created many, many years ago. It has all the goodness you can incorporate. All the seeds and grains you like. It's a sour-dough recipe ... and does take a bit of time ... but this is also so worth it. 

More German Bread Recipes

*  *  *  *  *

Want nutritional information for a recipe? Copy and paste the ingredient list and the number of servings into Calorie Count. It will give you an approximate calculation.

---

PIN this ...

---