Here is a simple step-by-step recipe that is sure to wow your guests at any dinner party or satisfy the most insatiable craving for homemade bread you have EVER had! Trust me when I say, when you make your very own loaf, you won’t want to stop at just one! You will be a bread making aficianado before you know it! Follow my recipe below and watch my step by step video to guide you through this easy process! By this afternoon, your house will smell like rich homemade bread and your meals will be next level with this fantastic recipe!
finished loaf of artisan bread
Recipe AND Video Below:
We made a quick artisan bread loaf using only four (4) ingredients! No kneading! No mess! Easy step by step tutorial to help you achieve the greatest results proving that you don’t need to exhaust yourself to make fancy, delicious bread!!
Easy to Bake 4-ingredient, no-knead artisan bread
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp quick rise instant yeast
2 tsp kosher or cooking salt
1 1/2 cups warm water (Not hot! Luke warm 130*F or 55*C)
(You will need parchment paper)
Mix all ingredients in one bowl. Dough will be sticky. Let sit for 1-3 hours until dough doubles in size. (A perfect time to work on your crochet projects!) Preheat oven to 450*F (232*C) and set empty cast iron Dutch oven inside with lid on while oven preheats. Heat empty Dutch oven for 30 minutes. NOTE: This bread dough can be kept in refrigerator for up to three days and made later. The time in the fridge can even enhance flavor!
While oven/Dutch oven preheats, sprinkle a little flour on clean surface. Roll your dough onto floured surface and fold each ‘side’ into itself. I do 6-8 folds until dough forms nice round ball. Place dough on parchment paper and transfer dough ball into clean bowl. Using sifter, sprinkle a small amount of flour onto dough ball top surface. Using a lame or sharp knife cut design onto top. Let sit for duration of time it takes to preheat oven and heat up Dutch oven.
a slice down the middle, fresh from the oven!
AFTER 20-30 minutes, using oven mitts, remove HOT Dutch oven from preheated oven and carefully remove lid. Your cast iron pot is going to be EXTREMELY hot!! Use caution. Place parchment with dough ball into the hot pan and replace lid. Place back in oven and bake with LID ON for 30 minutes. AFTER 30 MINUTES, Remove the lid from your Dutch oven pot and bake bread uncovered for an additional 15 minutes or until you have a nice and toasty brown crust! Guaranteed your house will smell amazing! Carefully remove bread from pan and let cool for 10-15 minutes on cooling rack. Slice and serve! It tastes incredible with fresh butter melting on warm bread!! Mmm mmm mmm!!! Be sure to share with us how your finished loaves turn out!!!
a beautiful slice of warm, fresh made bread slathered in butter!
Since everyone here knows Nadia so well, and is familiar with her and her craft, Fuad and I wanted to introduce ourselves to this audience. We hope to get to know you more, as well as opening our home and hearts to you, as we take some new direction with YARNutopia.
We are Nadia’s parents, Fuad and Shannon. We are the behind-the-scenes operation team of YARNutopia. As we prepare to take this platform to new places, we thought it would be a great time to share more about ourselves beyond what has popped up from time to time.
Getting To Know Us
Fuad and I have been married for 35 years. We have three wonderful adult children; two of whom are married. We have three grandchildren. We are also foster parents to three teen girls. Fuad and I have been licensed foster parents for just over two years and are trained in Level 4 Trauma-Informed Foster Care.
Outside of family, we love to explore nature, travel across the globe, and even find adventure right in our own back yard. We live in a rural community in North Central Wisconsin and love this area tremendously. It is full of an abundance of nature and wildlife; much of which we hope to explore more with you here.
Our hobbies include photography, videography, woodworking (visit our Etsy shop HERE), jewelry making, cooking, baking, home projects, DIY, decorating, and so much more! We ARE BUSY and hope to show some of these activities to you. In our spare time, Fuad loves to tinker on cars, film and photograph wildlife(you can find our other YouTube channel HERE), and I love to read and write – when life quiets down enough to pull out a good book. Be on the lookout for some book reviews as well! When I read a fantastic novel, I want to tell the world!
Not so long ago, I used to work in leasing and together we ran a portrait studio, Image By Fuad. Now we are busy with home and family, as well as running our small businesses. We also stay VERY active as a treatment foster home to teens. We have a lot of experiences to bring to the table. We are so glad you are along for the ride!
So join us as we begin this new adventure here on YARNutopia. Keep coming back each week to see what we have going on in our world and we guarantee that you will love what we have in store!
Like most of America, and the world, I am staying home as ordered by our state officials. It is such an unusual and unprecedented time and everyday things are changing. Our situation is so fluid meaning what we hear on the news in the morning, can completely change by the evening. I don’t know about many of you, but this unsettled world has me feeling so anxious and nervous. It also puts me on high alert because, as a person with a severely compromised immune system and a long history of health issues including asthma, I am fearful of everything I am learning about this illness.
Presently, I take immuno-suppressant medications that keeps my chronic disease under control, but severely taxes my system leaving me little to fight off infection or illness. I fall into that segment of society who are at high-risk of danger if I come into contact with anything going around.
Plans Change
I have not left my house for over 3 weeks. I don’t know if you recall through my recent posts and videos, but Nate and I had a trip to Colorado planned for our second anniversary and Nate’s golden birthday. (He turned 30 on March 30th) We were going in early March to Denver. Everything was booked, ski-hill passes were purchased, airfare and lodging reserved and paid for, sightseeing plans and a special anniversary/dinner was in the works. Nasir was going to Grammy and Grampy’s house for the week. We were so excited.
As more and more news broke out, it became apparent that we would have to cancel our vacation. I called my doctors and they advised me NOT to travel. They had insisted that in my condition and with little to no immune system to fight, going into an airport or on a plane was too dangerous at this time. Was I sad and disheartened to cancel all our plans? Absolutely. However, I trust my doctor, and if my doctor issues a grave warning like she did, there is no way I would go against her recommendations. I have been through too much in my life not to heed her warnings.
Everything Is Canceled
So, we, like many of you, decided to retract and cancel all our plans and reservations and stay home. Glued to the TV and internet we watched everything unfold in real-time. Rapidly changing, constantly fluid and more frightening by the moment, we stayed in and were gripped by what was happening in the world and right here at home. I needed to walk away from the screens and try to salvage what I could of our “vacation” by re-inventing a plan to enjoy our anniversary and Nate’s birthday. And we did. We kept Nasir home and the three of us did a “stay-cation” in our living room. We binged Netflix shows, took a few countryside drives, walked a trail or two in isolated places, we cooked a nice dinner on our two celebrations and WE STAYED INDOORS. My extent of “leaving the house” is going into my backyard.
Our Options
Nate is fortunate to have several weeks of vacation and PTO (Paid time off) that he is using up from his “essential” job. He works in a plant that has numerous employees, and from all indications, we felt that his going to work at this time was not wise because of community spread and he was able to use up his vacation to stay home so far. On the advice of my doctors, they suggest he take time off and stay home indefinitely, as to not bring anything home with him that puts me or Nas at risk.
It has been extremely stressful to work through the decisions of him returning to work versus staying home if he is able. Like many people, this serious crisis is forcing our hand to make hard choices to protect our family and none of the choices are easy. He stays home, we cut off our main income for the indefinite future. If he goes to work, then he risks exposure and bringing “it” home in a household that deals with an individual with little to no immune system to fight off any of this. I can’t tell you how scared or anxious I have been!!! I know I am not alone in saying this. ALL of us are scared.
We will find a way
As we navigate through the uncertainties and worries of this ever changing situation and confide in our doctors and families, we have been able to come up with Plan A, Plan B, and Plan C. Each one comes with its own set of concerns and heartaches. Do we take no pay? Can we survive on just my income? (I have exhausted myself looking into options –FFCRA-the Families First Act or Paycheck Protection-none of which apply to us) Do we send Nate to work? Should Nas and I stay with my parents and be apart from Nate for an indefinite duration?
We, are faced with life-altering decisions while we press ahead into the unknown. At least we have what we need. At least we can manage through each plan despite the difficulties of each choice. At least we have support. I remind myself all the time of the blessings I have before me and focus upon those. Many are not so fortunate, and it hits me over and over to imagine the unimaginable. We will work this out. No matter what sacrifice we make, it is small in comparison to so many others. No matter what, we all have had to work through so many rough spots of this situation and it’s not easy.
Moving forward
As we move forward, sometimes slowly, sometimes at a mad pace, the least I can do to keep myself occupied is what I do best. Crochet. So for the next weeks, months, whatever it takes, I will continue to bring you what I can of my craft. I will show up. Every day. I will bring some new projects, new patterns, light, laughter and a distraction from the craziness that is swirling around us. So, join me as we keep moving forward. Bring your hooks and your yarn, and for a few minutes a day try to focus on other things that distract us from our worries, and relax with our craft. Because in a time when so much is out of control, one thing we can be in control of us the choice to take a few moments to do something we love.
“It is how we embrace the uncertainties in our lives that leads to the great transformation of our souls.”
When we reach the end of this, and we will, I hope we can all move forward with more love, patience, and understanding of one another. The lessons we learn will be immense.
I hope you all stay healthy…
~Nadia
P.S. A huge thank you goes out to everyone in the world who are on the front lines of this insanity. ALL the helpers. ALL the essential workers. ALL the people who risk their lives so we can be home. Our gratitude knows no limit. And for the families this may reach, I hope and pray that all of you are well and safe. I am sending every bit of goodness your way.
I don’t know who needs to hear this as I hope no one is breaking these rules, but if you are one who was told to stay home, please do. Follow the guidelines of what has been mandated so that those who are unable to be home with their families can stay as safe as possible during this time.
Sending you lots of love.
Share with us how you are getting through this difficult time.
