Welcome to Bon Appétit Bake Club, a community of curious bakers. Each month senior test kitchen editors Jesse Szewczyk and Shilpa Uskokovic share a must-make recipe and dive deep on why it works. Come bake and learn with us—ask questions, share pics, listen to our podcast, and lots more here. And don't forget to join the Bake Club Group chat over on Substack.
An impressive loaf of homemade bread, crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside, doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. Let this no-knead loaf, which comes together within the span of just a few hours, be your proof. Loaded with chunks of cheddar cheese and a handful of fresh jalapeños, this bread requires zero kneading and instant yeast to help it along its rise. Baking the loaf in two stages in a preheated Dutch oven with the lid on mimics the intense, steamy heat of a professional bread oven, resulting in an exceptionally crusty exterior with a deep, dark brown hue: Keep the lid on for the first 35 minutes or so to set the crust, then remove the lid to deepen the bread’s color for the last hour of baking. While your bread might look done after only half the recommended baking time, going the full time creates a delightfully crisp crust that shatters when you cut into it; so be fearless and take your bread to the limits (bien cuit, or well done in French, as the professionals would call it).
And a word of wisdom for anyone who bakes this loaf: While it might be tempting to slice into your fresh, warm-from-the-oven loaf, resist. Slicing into a too hot loaf will cause the interior to dry out significantly, letting out all of the precious steam that would otherwise keep it moist. A cooling time of at least one hour is imperative here.