Dutch Oven Herb Bread
A rustic loaf of bread flavored with fresh herbs and baked in a dutch oven. Crisp on the outside, soft and tender on the inside.
This is one of the first bread recipes I learned to master way back in the early days of this site. Back then baking with yeast terrified me! But I found inspiration for this bread from both Joy the Baker and the Pioneer Woman and felt brave enough to give it a try. And it was such a success that I’ve baked it many, many times over the years. I’m also over my fear now, and bread is one of my favorite things to bake, especially during the fall and winter.
I love how simple this bread is— just bread flour, water, yeast, butter, salt and fresh herbs. It comes together easily and has the best flavor and texture. It’s baked in a heavy cast iron pot to trap the moisture and give the bread a crispy exterior. The outside has such a pleasing crunch, while the inside is soft and tender.
baking tip:What is bread flour?
Bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour, which helps with gluten development and makes it ideal for yeast bread baking. Breads baked with bread flour will rise higher and tend to have a chewier and more elastic texture.
However, while there may be a difference in the final baked bread depending on the recipe, you can substitute all-purpose flour for bread flour in most cases.
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Dutch Oven Rustic Herb Loaf
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm water (250 ml)
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 envelope)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (113 grams)
- 1 heaping tablespoon fresh herbs , chopped (I used rosemary, thyme, and sage)
- 2 teaspoons coarse salt , plus more for sprinkling
- 3 - 4 cups bread flour (567 grams)
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Combine warm water and yeast and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and add fresh herbs. Let cool slightly.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine 2 cups of the bread flour and salt. Add the yeast mixture and butter mixture and mix until dough comes together. Add remaining flour 1/4 cup at a time until dough clears the bowl and is just slightly sticky to the touch.
- Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes with an electric mixer and dough hook. You may also knead by hand, it will just take longer.
- Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a cast iron dutch oven with parchment paper or grease with olive oil.
- Punch down the dough and knead a few times by hand. Reshape and place in the prepared dutch oven. Use a sharp knife to cut a fairly deep "x" into the dough. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with coarse salt and more herbs.
- Cover and let rise an additional 30 minutes.
- Bake for 30 minutes with the lid of the dutch oven on. Remove the lid and bake for an additional 15-30 minutes until loaf is browned. Let cool completely before slicing.
- You can substitute all-purpose flour for the bread flour if you'd like, but I highly recommend using bread flour if possible. It yields a lighter texture.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published November 2012.
26 Comments on “Dutch Oven Herb Bread”
Wow, the 2nd crockpot/dutch oven bread recipe in a day. I’ve avoided a bread maker because it’s my weakness! This looks too easy not to make, and too delicious!
This loaf sounds awesome!
This looks delicious, but, alas, I do not own a cast iron dutch oven. Can you please recommend an alternate baking pan? Thanks so much!
Hi Jocelyn, you can bake it on a regular sheet pan instead, you just won’t have that crispy crust.
That is one of the prettiest loaves of bread I’ve ever seen. I have to try this!
Wow, I’ve never thought to bake bread in a dutch oven, but what a great idea! And your bread came out beautifully!
Goodness, what a beautiful sight! Clearly you’ve no need to be bread-shy. I have a collection of Martha Stewart and Lodge cast iron and I LOVE them all. We just did a deep dish pizza in my big skillet on Sunday and it was phenomenal. It would be fun to be rich enough to afford Staub or Le C, but alas…
I’ve dutch ovened loaves of bread on parchment before but never heard of the olive oil method. Bread is my very favorite baking thing so you bet I’ll be giving this one a shot soon. Congratulations on your gorgeous loaf and your gorgeous new dutch oven!
What a beautiful loaf of bread! I think I’ll make one for myself.
Looks incredible! Now I just have to get a dutch oven…
I have made this bread twice and each time it came out perfectly. Thank you for the recipe!
So glad you liked it! That reminds me that I need to bake this recipe again.
Sorry…I’m not real clear about this. Do I need to preheat my dutch oven in the oven to before adding bread?
Nope, no need!
I always fail at making those nice little slices on top. Do you make the incisions before placing in the pot? Or after the 30 mins?
What size Dutch oven do you use?
I have used both a 6 and 8 quart.
I have just made this recipe exactly according to directions and after 45 minutes it hasn’t risen at all! Can you tell me why?
Thanks,
Addie
I don’t have a stand mixer. Can I mix by hand or use an electric hand mixer?
You can definitely mix by hand!
I just made this bread for the third time. This time, I replaced the butter with 1/2 cup of olive oil. WOW! Really good. Thanks for the recipe.
On my 3rd loaf, I tried substituting EVOO in place of the butter. Very tasty variation. Thanks for the recipie.
Can I replace the active dry with rapid rise yeast? If so what other else’s should I do to my bread?
I believe you can replace with no problem. I often use Red Star Yeast’s “Quick Rise” yeast and make no other changes besides shortening the first rise time to about 30ish minutes. I hope this helps!
This bread is really good and easy to make. It’s a touch salty for my taste, so I’ll reduce the amount next time. I’ll definitely make it again, though.
This has been the best bread I’ve made! Thank you so much for the recipe. My husband couldn’t stop talking about how flavorful it was.
Can you freeze this ?