Can You Bake Artisan Bread Without a Dutch Oven?
Yes, and it's actually better. Open baking artisan bread on a Baking Steel with a lava rock steam method produces a crispier crust, better oven spring, and a golden bottom that a Dutch oven can't match. This 24-hour recipe takes just 20 minutes of hands-on time.
lBy Andris Lagsdin · Founder of Baking Steel · Inventor of the original steel for baking
This is the bread that made me realize the Baking Steel wasn't just for pizza. A crispy, crackling crust with an open, airy crumb — open baked on steel in a home oven with nothing more than flour, water, salt, and yeast.
Most artisan bread recipes tell you to use a Dutch oven. And they work. But open baking on a Baking Steel gives you something a Dutch oven can't: a massive heat source underneath the loaf that creates an incredible bottom crust while the steam does its job on top. No enclosed pot. No wrestling with a 450-degree lid. Just bread on steel, the way bakeries do it.
This recipe takes 24 hours total, but only about 20 minutes of actual hands-on time. The rest is just waiting. The dough does the work.
Ingredients
- 200g all-purpose flour
- 200g bread flour
- 60g spelt flour — adds earthiness and a rustic texture. Skip it if you can't find it, but it's worth seeking out.
- 300g water — room temperature or slightly above. Use filtered if your tap water is heavily chlorinated — chlorine can slow down your yeast.
- 20g salt
- 1.5g active dry yeast — that's about half a teaspoon. Less yeast = longer ferment = more flavor.
Don't have a scale? Our 72-Hour Pizza Dough Mix is pre-measured Central Milling organic flour, salt, and yeast — originally built for pizza, but it makes a beautiful rustic loaf too. Just add water and follow the same method.
Equipment
- Baking Steel Original
- Banneton basket (9-10 inch)
- Lava rocks in a pie pan (for steam)
- Parchment paper
- Lame or sharp knife for scoring
- Digital scale
Step-by-Step
- Mix the dough: Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Slowly add the water and mix until combined. Turn it out onto the counter and knead for 2-3 minutes — just enough to bring it together. It doesn't need to be smooth. Cover and proof at room temperature for 10-12 hours.
- Shape: After the overnight proof, the dough will be puffy and alive. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, fold it into a ball, and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- Final shape and cold proof: Fold the dough again into a tight ball. Place it seam-side up into a floured banneton basket. Cover loosely and refrigerate for 10-12 hours. The cold slows everything down and develops flavor.
- Preheat: Place your Baking Steel on the middle rack. Put a pie pan filled with lava rocks on the bottom of the oven. Preheat to 500°F for one full hour. Pull the dough out of the fridge at the same time.
- Score: Turn the dough out of the basket onto parchment paper. Using a lame or sharp knife, score the top with a confident slash. This controls where the bread opens up as it bakes.
This dough came out of the banneton looking like a disaster. I scored it anyway and threw it in. Trust the process.
- Steam and launch: Open the oven and carefully pour 1-1.5 cups of cold water onto the hot lava rocks. Immediately slide the bread (on parchment) onto the Baking Steel and close the oven. The burst of steam is what gives you that crackling crust.
- First bake: Bake for 20 minutes at 500°F with the steam. Then open the oven, remove the lava rocks, and reduce the temperature to 425°F.
- Finish: Bake for another 15-20 minutes until the crust is deep golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when you tap the bottom.
- Cool: This is the hardest part. Let the bread cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before cutting. If you cut too early, the inside will be gummy. The bread is still cooking as it cools.
What Is Open Baking?
Open baking is how professional bakeries bake bread — directly on a hot hearth with steam, without an enclosed pot or Dutch oven. The bread sits on the hot surface and the steam environment does the work of keeping the crust pliable while the loaf expands.
The problem is that home ovens don't have steam injection. That's where the lava rock method comes in. You're recreating a professional steam environment in your home oven, and the Baking Steel acts as your hearth. The result is open baked artisan bread with a crust that crackles as it cools — something a Dutch oven simply can't replicate.
Open baking also gives you freedom. You're not limited by the size or shape of a pot. Want a long batard? A round boule? Two loaves at once? You can do all of that on a Baking Steel.
Why Baking Steel Instead of a Dutch Oven?
A Dutch oven traps steam around the bread, and it works. But it also limits the size and shape of your loaf, and the bottom crust is often pale and soft. The Baking Steel gives you direct heat transfer to the bottom of the bread — the same principle that makes our pizza crusts crispy. Combined with the lava rock steam method, you get the best of both worlds: a crackling top crust and a firm, golden bottom.
Plus, you're not wrestling a 450-degree cast iron pot in and out of the oven. Safer, easier, better results.
The Lava Rock Steam Hack
Professional bakeries inject steam into their ovens. Home ovens don't do this. The lava rock method is the simplest workaround: lava rocks absorb heat for an hour at 500°F, then when you pour cold water on them, they release a massive burst of steam instantly. That steam is what gives artisan bread its signature blistered, crackling crust. Without it, your bread will look and taste like a dinner roll.
Can You Make Bread with a Pizza Dough Mix?
Absolutely. Our 72-Hour Pizza Dough Mix is Central Milling organic flour, salt, and yeast — pre-measured in one bag. It was built for pizza, but the same dough makes an incredible rustic loaf when you shape it into a boule and bake it on a steel. Just add water, follow the same mixing and proofing method above, and you've got artisan bread without measuring a single ingredient.
Tips for Success
Weigh your ingredients. Bread baking is about ratios. A cup of flour can vary by 20% depending on how you scoop it. A $15 digital scale changes everything.
Don't skip the cold proof. The overnight fridge proof isn't just for scheduling convenience. Cold fermentation develops flavor complexity that a room-temperature rise can't match. It also makes the dough easier to handle and score.
Trust the steam. When you pour water on those lava rocks, the oven will look like a sauna. That's exactly what you want. Close the door fast and let it work.
Listen to your bread. When it's done, the crust will actually crackle as it cools. That sound means you nailed it.
Shop the Baking Steel Original | Get the 72-Hour Pizza Dough Mix
About Andris
I'm Andris Lagsdin, and I invented the Baking Steel in 2012 after reading one line in Modernist Cuisine: "Steel conducts heat better than stone." My family had run Stoughton Steel for over 50 years, so I grabbed a slab from my dad's shop and tested it. That first pizza told me everything. In 2026, I launched the 72-Hour Pizza Dough Mix — the same recipe, in a bag. Just add water. Today, tens of thousands of home cooks use Baking Steel to make legendary pizza and bread from regular home ovens. Read more about my story.
