Who wants to spend hours making bread? All that punching, kneading, waiting is way too much work. Enter this sourdough artisan bread recipe. Four ingredients? Check. Let mother nature do its thing? Check! Delicious? The other half calls it “the best bread I’ve ever made.”

The bread recipe is sprinkled lovingly around the Internet with small variations (see here, here, and here) but I’ll save you from scrolling seven miles down the webpage to get it.

Artisan Sourdough Bread for Lazy People Recipe

Ingredients

3 cups flour

2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp active dry yeast

1.5 cups lukewarm water

Tools

Big ol’ mixing bowl

Dutch oven or something similar

Measuring devices

Do It

Put all the dry ingredients together. Add water. Fold carefully until barely mixed. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest someplace warm 8-24 hours. Longer the better.

Preheat oven 450F. Sprinkle flour on countertop. Turn the frothing blob out onto flour. Carefully shape into a round shape. Don’t pull a Michael Jackson and beat it. Those air bubbles are precious.

Let it sit 30 minutes-1 hour.

Put it in the Dutch oven, lid on. Bake 30 minutes, then remove the lid. Bake another 7-15 minutes until you’re happy with the color and it’s not soft.

Why You Should Make This

Let’s sum the why up in one word: easy. I whipped together a sourdough loaf  during lunch break the day before St. Patrick’s Day. The yeast had a fiesta all afternoon and morning while I crossed by eyes staring at the computer screen. A few hours before dinner I balled it up (5 minutes) while the oven heated, and kept on working while it turned into a steamy, golden-crusted ball of deliciousness.

I’ve made versions with and without whole wheat flour (less rise), done it with a cold oven and a pre-heated oven, 12 hours versus 24 hours. This artisan sourdough bread recipe is seriously adaptable.

My variation? I always make it the day before I want it, and I add the yeast to the lukewarm water before dumping it into the flour. In cold months I stick the clear bowl in the sun where the yeast go crazy, earning them some overnight chill time in the fridge. Just remember to remove in the morning to speed the party back up.