Dutch Oven Bread Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Soy-Free

Dairy-free, egg-free, soy-free homemade bread.

No kneading, no bread machine, no mixer needed.

Just throw together a few basic ingredients, and make this in your dutch oven.

See recipe below!

 

 

Get our printable recipe sheet for this and 24 other top MAM recipes when you join membership! See recipe below.

 

If the idea of making homemade bread sounds daunting, don’t leave yet!

Kneading bread by hand is time-consuming, I know.

Bread machines are bulky, this is true.

Working with yeast can be tricky, also a fact.

But guess what, this recipe requires none of the above.

Instead, this homemade bread recipe just takes:

stirring 5 ingredients together

letting dough rise while you sleep

a pan & lid that take high heat

This homemade bread recipe is often known as Dutch Oven Bread,

because it’s usually made in a Dutch oven pot.

Although, my creative mom makes it in a cast iron Le Creuset pot with lid, shown below.

Genius, way to improvise, mom. 

I’m definitely trying this since I also have the same pot and lid.

Guess who talked her into buying hers, lol. 

The key for this Dutch oven bread is to use pots and lids that can both take up to 450 degree heat in the oven.

I love cast iron for this, especially my pretty enamel coated cast iron.

I know they are stained, but that just shows the ten years of cooking love they’ve gotten. 

 

When I shopped around for a Dutch oven to make this bread years ago,

I learned that not all Dutch oven lids can take heat that high.

If their knobs are made of plastic, that’s a no-go.

That’s how I landed on Lodge Dutch Ovens.

The lids and knobs of Lodge Dutch Ovens (affiliate) can be heated to 500 degrees!

The handles are metal, they are excellent quality and come in pretty colors…

but they cost significantly less than Le Creuset French Dutch ovens.

I ended up with two Lodge Dutch ovens, in both 3 quart and 6 quart.

This bread recipe works in both sizes.

If you just want to buy one, I recommend the 6 quart. Bigger is always better, right?

It will be big enough to make rice crispy treats, roasted chickens, and more. Recipes below. 

Lodge Dutch Ovens work fine on my flat electric stove top, too…a common question I get.

I don’t know why people think they need a gas stove for these.

I just try not to slide the pots on the stove so they don’t scratch the surface.

Lodge Dutch Ovens work in both the oven and on the stove. Yeeehaw!

If you’re like my mom and find yourself at a Le Creuset outlet store…

I’d suggest this dual purpose pot and skillet lid (affiliate), too.

It’s both a pot with a lid or a skillet.

I use it all the time!

And well, mom uses it for Dutch oven bread, lol. 

WHAT TO COOK IN A DUTCH OVEN

Roasted Chicken

Chicken Broth

Taco Soup

Chex Mix

Pan Smores

 

The first time I tried a Dutch Oven Bread recipe recommended by a friend, it turned out perfectly.

It was so easy, in fact, that I was able to make a wheat-free version for my father-in-law the next time.

And the third time, I made an oat bread version of my own that worked beautifully, too.

Now that’s our preferred recipe. 

The hardest part about this recipe is remembering to put the ingredients together 12 hours in advance.

Either mix the ingredients early in the morning and bake the bread in the evening.

Or put the ingredients together in the evening and let it rise while you sleep…bake in the morning.

You pick!

HOW TO SLICE DUTCH OVEN BREAD

Our favorite way to cut our Dutch oven bread without destroying it is with a serrated bread knife. (affiliate link)

It slices right through the crunchy top without smashing the whole loaf. 

Works great for slicing cinnamon rolls, too.

HOW TO EAT DUTCH OVEN BREAD

We have even enjoyed this allergy-friendly bread dipped in olive oil, salt, and pepper.

My brother likes to add Italian seasoning to the olive oil, salt, and pepper.

We’ve even found dairy-free Parmesan to sprinkle on top of a plate of olive oil for dipping.

My hubby likes Dutch oven bread as a sandwich bread, loaded with ham, cheese, etc.

The kids love to spread honey or jam on their slices of bread.

It’s great for lunch with peanut butter spread, a snack, or as a dinner bread with soup.

So. many. options!

HOW TO STORE DUTCH OVEN BREAD

If you want to keep the crunchy outer layer like artisan bread, just store your loaf in a towel and slice as needed.

If you want the bread to soften up like a sandwich bread, store it in an airtight container once it’s cooled.

Or cut the loaf in half and store it both ways.

Because in my family, there are different preferences. The kids like it soft while hubs and I like it crunchy.

See the easy recipe below!

OAT DUTCH OVEN BREAD RECIPE

This recipe calls for some oats or oat flour. But you can replace the oat portion with more white or wheat flour. This recipe is flexible.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups white flour + 2 tablespoons flour for surface 
1 cup oat flour (grind quick oats in blender), wheat flour, or more white flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon rapid rise yeast
1 and 1/2 cups water

PREPPING DUTCH OVEN BREAD

Mix and whisk flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl.

It will raise so make sure you’re using a large bowl with plenty of room.

Add water to the mixture and mix using a large spatula.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit 12-18 hours on the counter, not in the refrigerator.

Dough will become very wet and shaggy.

BAKING DUTCH OVEN BREAD

After your dough has sat on the counter, covered in plastic wrap, for 12 hours…

preheat oven to 450 degrees.

When the oven is 450 degrees, put the empty pot, with lid on, into the heated oven for 30 minutes.

While pot is heating, cover a cutting board with 2 tablespoons of flour.

Scrape the dough onto the floured surface and shape it into a ball with floured hands.

No kneading required.

Cover dough with a clean towel or the plastic wrap you covered it with overnight, until the pot is heated.

From this point, note your pot is extremely HOT! Use thick hot pads when handling. 

When pot is heated, remove from oven very carefully with thick hot pads. 

Remove lid carefully with hot pads. 

You can sprinkle some oats in the bottom (optional but a fun touch). 

Then drop dough into the hot pan with floured hands. It’s still sticky.

Return lid to pot with hot pad and using this hot pads place back into 450 oven for 30 minutes. 

After 30 minutes, remove the lid again with a hot pad and bake another 5-10 minutes until crusty and golden brown.

Remove pot and bread from oven with thick hot pads.

Remove bread from pot and let cool on a rack.

Hope you enjoy this basic, allergy-friendly Dutch oven bread as much as we do!

This Dutch oven bread was originally posted in January 2014.