1 DOUGH 3 LOAVES | The Easiest (Actually Good) Bread You Can Make

In this video I'll show you how to make three versions of easy rustic bread using one simple dough. Take your pick! All of these loaves are beginner friendly and with a few small variations on shaping and baking, you're left with a rustic, crusty, bread worthy of your dinner table. No mixer or sourdough starter required.

Will you be baking this bread? Don't forget to take pics and tag me on Instagram @Brian_Lagerstrom

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INGREDIENTS:
****TO MY FRIENDS IN EUROPE/UK: The all purpose flour that i typically use is King Arthur which is about 11.7% protein. Your All Purpose flour may be different than what's available in the US. If in doubt, choose a flour that has between 11-12% protein and you should be in good shape!

ALSO if you have never made bread before, this dough is 78% hydration and will be slightly sicky. Use 75 less grams water in the final dough and it will be much easier to handle.

PREFERMENT (POOLISH)

150g or ROUGHLY 1 C. AP FLOUR
150g or ROUGHLY 2/3C. WATER (ROOM TEMP)
1 small pinch YEAST
- let the poolish ripen on counter 4-24 hours, preferably at least 16

DOUGH
280g or 1 1/4C.WATER (98F)
2g or 1/2 TSP YEAST
ALL OF THE POOLISH
350g or 2 1/4 C. AP FLOUR
50g or ROUGHLY 1/3 C. WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR
10g or roughly 1.5 TSP KOSHER SALT

BAKING TIMES/ TEMPS
METHOD 1: 525 the whole time for 14-18 minutes (spray loaf for steam)
METHOD 2- Preheat Dutch Oven at 500 for 30-40 minutes, bake at 500 covered for 12min and 485 uncovered for additional 8-12 depending on oven and desired color.
METHOD 3: Preheat Dutch Oven at 485-500 for 30-40 minutes, bake at 485 covered for 18 minutes, and 485 uncovered for additional 25-30 depending on oven and desired color.

**MY GEAR**

**DISCLAIMER: Some links in this description may be affiliate links. If you buy any of these products using these links I'll receive a small commission at no added cost to you. All links are to products that I actually use or recommend. Thank you in advance for your support!

#beginnerbread #easybreadrecipe #bread

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[Myke_Lemons]

I had a to chuckle a little bit at 2:16 when you explained that your hand kneeding technique was designed to mimic the high-end bakery machines. It was funny because those machines were designed to mimic old fashioned hand kneeding techniques.

[Joseph]

Rustic Bread (This may help someone, just cut, paste and print it).

INGREDIENTS POOLISH
1. 150g or roughly 1 cup of flour
2. 150g or roughly 2/3cup of water (room temp)
3. 1 small pinch yeast
- LET THE POOLISH RIPEN ON COUNTER 4-24 HOURS, PREFERABLY AT LEAST 16


INGREDIANTS DOUGH
1. 280g or 1 1/4 cup of water (98f)
2. 2g or 1/2 tsp yeast
3. all of the poolish
4. 350g or 2 1/4 c. all purpose flour
5. 50g or roughly 1/3 c. whole wheat flour
6. 10g or roughly 1.5 tsp kosher salt
Mix all together with a big spoon until you can’t use the spoon anymore then wet your hands and squeeze the dough through your hands for about 2 minutes moving the bowl round and round as you go. All you are doing is combining the ingredients. The dough strength will come later in the folding process. Keep your hands wet. When finished cover with a plastic wrap and let it stand for 30 minutes.

Wet your hands now for the tuck and fold. Reach in and pull the dough over itself. Pull it up until it is about to break. Do these nine or ten times. Then do the slap and fold six or seven times You are trying to make the dough into a nice tight round ball. After another 30 minutes repeat the folding as mentioned above. This will make the dough nice and strong.
Wrap the bowl in plastic and leave to ferment for one more hour. After that hour the dough should look bubbly and alive and really buoyant.

(This is the “Big Dog”) Now shape the loaf by pulling and tucking three or four times. Then create tension by rotating and pulling the loaf across the board. Then grab opposing sides and do a criss-cross tuck repeating three or four times then flip it over. Then create tension again by pulling and turning the dough across the board.
Leave on the counter in a large bowel lined with a floured kitchen cloth for 30-50 minutes to rise.

Bake on method 3 below (if you want the “Big Dog”). Or 1 or 2 if you want to divide the dough.

BAKING TIMES/ TEMPS
METHOD 1: 525 the whole time for 14-18 minutes (spray loaf for steam)
METHOD 2- Preheat Dutch Oven at 500 for 30-40 minutes, bake at 500 covered for 12min and 485 uncovered for additional 8-12 depending on oven and desired colour.
METHOD 3: Preheat Dutch Oven at 485-500 for 30-40 minutes, bake at 485 covered for 18 minutes, and 485 uncovered for additional 25-30 depending on oven and desired colour.

[magni]

Very interesting to watch someone explain WHY they do things and how it affects the outcome, instead of "just do this", "follow my steps". It shows you really understand your craft.

[NN-zgbz]

I have no dutch oven and cannot afford one, so i popped the bready into an ordinary pot(or pan, or whatever it's called) with lid. Worked like a charm.

[patak]

I came across this video about 3 weeks ago and for some reason it really resonated with me. I made bread tonight for the first time for my parents, and even went method 3. After half an hour of waiting we had to dig in. This bread brought a tear to my dads eyes. He said it reminded him of the bread his dad would make 60 years ago in Herzegovina. This is the first recepie I'll ever keep; it will have a special place in my heart forever. Thank you.

[craigbrown]

This is a very good video. Straight and to the point with no 2-3 minute bullshit session at the start, no usage of uncommon gadgets, and no overly complicated techniques that only serve as a way for the host to show off. Bravo, good sir.

[BrianLagerstrom]

Hey all, i forgot to mention this in the video, but i recommend sprinkling semolina or cornmeal into the bottom of your dutch oven before putting the loaf in! You see me do it in the video right before the shaped loaf goes into the dutchie in method 3. Also, if you're following this recipe, be sure your ap flour is around 11.7% protein.

[nachosisterwife]

“Everybody deserves this.” That’s so good and kind!

[AlexQuest]

I'm gonna be using this video a lot, so here are some time stamps (and notes for myself, so they're probably too detailed):

PREPARING THE DOUGH (all three methods):
0:00 - Intro
0:58 - Preferment (poolish)
1:34 - The rest of the dough
1:55 - Mixing the dough
30 minute rest/fermentation
2:41 - First gluten development
30 minute rest/fermentation
4:08 - repeat gluten development
60 minute rest/fermentation

METHOD 1: EASIEST
5:04 - Flip out, form two loaves, spray and pray/bake

METHOD 2: +15 % DIFFICULTY, +50 % FLAVOR.
5:04 - 5:40 - flip out and form two loaves, then go to
6:19 - Cover and preheat Dutch oven to 525 F / 275 C
30-40 minute proof
6:35 - Score and bake @ 500 F / 260 C for 12 minutes
6:59 - Remove lid and bake @ 485 F / 250 C for 12-15 minutes

METHOD 3: BIG DOG
7:57 - Shaping + proof w/ proofing basket
8:57 - Proof w/out proofing basket
Proof and preheat Dutch oven @ 500 F / 260 C for 30-40 minutes (see 9:15 for size/look).
9:36 - Flip into hot Dutch oven and score
Bake @ 485 F / 250 C for 18 minutes w/ lid (remember to turn it for even baking)
Bake @ 485 F / 250 C for 25-35 minutes w/out lid - needs to be dark (see 10:15 for look) (remember to turn it).

END:
10:33 - Comparing tastes
11:50 - Ending message

[cldavis]

"A simple easy Rustic Bread is just a Core tenet of a good life" I could not agree more with this statement.

[richgeorge]

Many thanks Brian. I’ve been using your ‘ big dog’ technique. A few top tips for those in the UK:
1. Whist ‘All Purpose Flour” translates as ‘Plain Flour” in the UK according to Google, what this really means for this recipe is “Bread Flour”. If you try with plain flour, you’ll get a block of concrete as there is not sufficient Gluten in our plain flour.
2. When Brian suggests a wet hand, you’ll need to wet your hand more frequently than once. The dough is really sticky so I stand by the sink for the ‘stretch and fold’ parts and wet / flick my hand probably 6 times.
3. The stretch and tuck parts are really important to building the strength of the loaf and they are techniques worth practicing. If you find that your final loaf is more of a disc than a ball, then it’s probably an indicator that the dough wasn’t strong enough - as Brian notes, this is a wet dough so either use slightly less water or really tune those dough stretches and tucks.

The end result is fantastic and everything Brian describes. My loaves rarely last the day with my family!

Cheers and thanks again

Rich

[ichibanmanekineko]

100% the best rustic bread recipe.

Method 3 works like a charm every time and delivers absolutely outstanding crust.

Thank you Brian for bringing this joy to so many people!!!!

[joannasheldon]

If folks don't have a proofing basket, a better alternative to the bowl is a colander, which replicates the proofing basket's capacity to allow humidity to escape.

[Bshell]

I made 2 loaves of this bread today. It was my first time making this, or any other bread. I went with the last method. This bread turned out AMAZING!! Probably the best bread I’ve ever had! I plan on making this again next week with your beef stew recipe. This was a great tutorial & easy to follow, even for a first timer like me!

[andymilne]

Ive been making my own bread for 20 years now, just for fun. Never used a 'poolish' before or even heard of it for that matter. This is one of the best bakes I have ever done. Went straight for the Big Dog even though my flour was a bit low in protein and I don't have a Dutch Oven (improvised with a thick-bottomed stainless steel casserole). The bread didn't rise as much as yours and the dough was a bit wetter and slacker, but the finished result was still pretty incredible. The crust is really something else! Cannot wait to do another loaf with slightly stronger flour and using an actual Dutch oven. Can't recommend this highly enough. Thanks for posting this video.

[ac-attackaircraft]

First time ever making bread, jerry rigged a Dutch oven out a 7 quart pot and a 12” pizza pan, used a medium bowl and a tea cloth soaked in flour as a bread proofing basket, did the massive boule recipe immediately and I’m really happy with the result! I can’t believe that actual bread has a soft and creamy interior and an actual crust! My only reference point was the sliced bread at that point, this is a total gamechanger, thank you

[DevDuck]

I had never baked bread before I found your channel last week and decided to give loaf #2 a try today. Turned out perfectly, I'm super stoked. Going for the BIG DOG next! Keep up the great work, I'm learning a ton.

[sashakay]

I started making your Poolish bread back when the pandemic started....and now, July 2021, I am still making it 2 x a week. As a women who gave birth to an amazing chef daughter, I did not like anything which even hinted at baking, cooking or even turning on an oven! I LOVE the process of making this bread - I actually feel as if I am relating to the dough. it has inspired me to try more recipes and now my daughter "coaches" me (she lives in Provence). Thank you so much for opening up a door for me to venture into! Life continues to unfold in amazing ways. I dont know whether its because I am right at sea level, but I added 15 g of gluten flour which made a huge difference in lightness.

[bobfognozzle]

The ‚longer lasting bread‘ statement is not entirely correct...I made one and it was gone in 4 hours.

[anthonygillette]

I’ve got the preferment sitting from 9 AM to 9 AM tomorrow. Picking up my first Dutch oven in the morning. Gonna do the big boi. Seriously I’ve only been working with Dough for a week and a half now, thanks to your videos. And the stuff I’m learning I never thought I could do myself. Thank you, seriously fresh bread has been life changing so far