Step 1

Heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Step 2

Trim the top off the head of garlic to expose the cloves inside.

Step 3

Place garlic in a small lidded baking dish.

Step 4

Drizzle garlic with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

Step 5

Cover garlic and roast for 30-45 minutes or until cloves are soft and lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool before adding to bread dough.

Step 6

Combine yeast, honey, and warm water in a large mixing bowl (you can also use a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook!) Let the yeast proof for about 5 minutes until the mixture is foamy.

Step 7

Add salt, rosemary, and roasted garlic to the bowl.

Step 8

Add flour to bowl a bit at a time and stir with a wooden spoon or stiff spatula until all flour is incorporated and ingredients have just come together to form a slightly shaggy dough.

Step 9

Drizzle dough with olive oil and turn the dough over to coat all sides. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise on the counter for about 1 hour or until dough has doubled in size.

Step 10

When dough has doubled in size, lightly flour a large cutting board.

Step 11

Tip the dough out of the bowl and onto the cutting board. DON’T PUNCH THE DOUGH DOWN! We want to preserve all those nice air bubbles.

Step 12

Pull each corner of the dough into the center of the loaf one at a time as if you’re folding an envelope. Repeat this process 4-5 times until dough feels relatively stiff, then flip the dough over and lightly twist while pulling it towards you across the cutting board until you have a nice round loaf. (Watch our Easy Crusty French Bread video to see how we do this!)

Step 13

Flour a proofing basket or a small mixing bowl and place your loaf into it seam-side down. Cover with a clean tea towel and let rise for 30 minutes.

Step 14

While your bread does its final rise, place an empty Dutch oven into your oven and heat to 450 degrees F.

Step 15

When the oven is hot, you’re ready to go! Use oven mitts to pull the Dutch oven out and remove the lid.

Step 16

Tip your bread dough gently out of the proofing basket back onto your floured cutting board. The seam side should face UP this time – that’s what gives it a nice crackly look on top! You can tip the bread onto a piece of parchment paper here to make it easier to lift the bread in and out of your Dutch oven if you like.

Step 17

VERY CAREFULLY (no burning yourself!) place the bread seam side up into your hot Dutch oven.

Step 18

Put your oven mitts back on, place the lid onto your Dutch oven, and slide the whole thing back into your hot oven.

Step 19

Cook bread for 30 minutes.

Step 20

After 30 minutes, remove the lid from your Dutch oven. The bread should be crusty and lightly browned. Continue cooking, uncovered, for 10-20 minutes more until the bread has deepened in color and you have a beautiful browned crust.

Step 21

When the bread is done, use oven mitts to pull the pot out of your oven.

Step 22

Use a long spatula to lift the bread out of the Dutch oven and onto a cooling rack. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting into it.

Step 23

Slice, slather with butter, and enjoy!