Much like the rest of the country, when Covid first hit, I got to baking. That was back when I lived in a sticks and bricks house. Since moving to an RV, I haven’t baked much other than an occasional pie. But, one morning, I woke up and really wanted good crusty artisan bread. I also have been trying to cook more with my two little helpers – my twin daughters Brighton and Daisy. But could I make Artisan Bread in an RV? In this blog, the twins and I take on the challenge to see if it is possible to bake Artisan Bread from scratch with no bread machine in an RV.

Even if you’ve never made homemade bread or worked with yeast before, this homemade crusty artisan bread is for you. It’s the perfect beginner recipe because it only requires four ingredients without any special pans or mixers. There’s little kneading or no complicated shaping, and 95% of the work is hands-off – or very hands-on if you bake with little helpers 😜.

Baking Artisan Bread in an RV

Cooking in an RV is like cooking in your home in a more consolidated space. However, baking in an RV presents challenges, specifically with using an RV oven. RV ovens tend not to keep even heat distribution, and Artisan bread needs a very hot oven. We will discuss a few tips and tricks for baking in an RV.

Cooking with the twins in an RV with a questionable oven means I needed a simple recipe. Yet I wanted to make a bread that was crusty, chewy, delicious bakery-style loaves that taste incredible with slathered in butter, soups, and comforting dinners.

What is Homemade Artisan Bread?

The term “artisan” is homemade, fresh, crusty, and deliciously rustic-looking when it comes to bread. In addition, an artisan is a skilled worker who works with their hands. While this recipe doesn’t require a lot of hands-on kneading, the twins still managed to get their hands in the dough!

Why You’ll Love This Bread

This recipe is where you start. This artisan bread is for beginners, but even bread masters will appreciate its flavor and ease. It’s so fresh, flavorful, and surprisingly easy because (unless you have extra little hands!) it basically makes itself.

• Easier than you ever imagined
• Soft + flavorful
• Chewy, slightly crisp crust
• Shape however you want
• No special pans, poolish, or dough starter required
• Only 4 ingredients
• You decide the length of time it rests

Only 4 Ingredients

Crustier and chewier bread – also known as a “lean dough,” require little to no fat in the dough. We’re using a lean dough for our artisan loaf today. (Is there a “rich dough,” you ask? Yes! We made these overnight cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. “Rich dough” is a soft bread dough with fat, such as butter and eggs.)

Ingredients

• 3 and 1/4 cups bread flour (spoon & leveled), plus more for hands and pan
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast (or a packet)
• 2 and 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt 
• 1 and 1/2 cups cool water
• optional: cornmeal for dusting pan

1. Bread Flour: While you we used all-purpose flour in this recipe as that is all I had on hand, I recommend using bread flour. Bread flour produces a stronger, chewier bread and since this recipe has so few ingridents, quality really counts!
2. Instant Yeast: Instant yeast is key in this recipe. While you can use active dry if that’s all you have, any quick rise or instant yeast will produce flavorful results in less time.
3. Salt: You can’t make good bread without salt and for best flavor, I recommend a fancier salt like coarse sea salt or grinded salt. The girls kept trying to taste the salt thinking it was sugar.
4. Water: Other bread recipes encourage the use warm liquid with yeast because warm liquid helps the yeast work faster. However, use cool or room temperature water here. The cooler the water, the longer the dough takes to rise and, usually, the better the bread’s flavor.
5. Optional Cornmeal: Dusting the pan with cornmeal adds a pop of flavor and a little crunch to the bottom crust. This is completely optional. If you have it, use it. If you don’t have it, don’t worry about it.

You can also add herbs and seasonings such as everything bagel seasoning, red pepper, chopped onion, herbs, jalapeño, shredded cheese, chopped nuts, dried fruit, etc.

How to Make Homemade Artisan Bread in 6 Steps

Making the Dough

1. Mix the dough ingredients together.  In a large un-greased mixing bowl, whisk the flour, yeast, and salt together. Pour in the cool water and gently mix together with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. The dough will seem dry but keep working it until all the flour is moistened. If needed, use your hands to work the dough ingredients together. The dough will be sticky. Shape into a ball in the bowl as best you can. It took all my will power to let the girls play with the dough – such messy little hands!
2. Let it rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours. Cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap set on the counter at room temperature . Allow to rise for 2-3 hours. The dough will just about double in size, stick to the sides of the bowl, and have a lot of air bubbles.
3. Use right away or refrigerate. After 2-3 hours, you can immediately continue with the next step. However, for ideal flavor and texture, it is recommend letting the dough sit in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours and up to 3 days. During this crucial step, the cold air slows the fermentation process and adds so much flavor and texture. So, you can bake bread in 2-3 hours or in 3 days. Since we love flavor, I put it in the fridge and let it sit for a couple of days – meaning I forgot about it!!

Baking the Bread

1. Shape into a loaf. Rest as oven preheats. You can shape the bread into a round loaf (boule) or two long loaves. We made a round boule as I prefer the size of slices. Then, score loaf with a sharp knife to get the pretty divet when it bakes. Next, preheat the RV oven to a very hot 475°F. (Our oven only goes up to 475°F and Max, but I recommend when baking in the RV to add another 25°.) We set our temp to the Max. The extremely hot air will immediately set the crust so the bread rises up instead of spreading all over.
2. Give your bread a steam bath. Next, to help ensure a crispier crust, after the oven pre-heats– pour boiling water into a sheet pan on the bottom oven rack. Immediately place the dough inside and shut the oven door to trap the steam. The steam will help create that coveted crisp crust. Do not let any little helpers open the door for a peak!
3. Bake until golden brown. The original recipe said this would only take about 20-25 minutes. LIARS! We found in our RV oven, I needed to nearly douple it for 45 minuts. This is the fun part of baking in an RV. You need to have a good gut feel and look often towards the time. I used a pizza stone to bake my loaf on as this helps distrube heat, but I find I still have to move or roate my items for a more even bake. Once golden brown, gently tap the loaf. It should sound hollow when done.

Now comes time for the fun part. After a brief cooling period of 5-10 minutes, slice your bread with a sharp bread knife. Look at those deliciously soft holes inside! Looks like french bread or sourdough bread. I like mine slathered with butter!

Resources Artisan Bread

• Recipe adapted for the RV from a similar method from Sally’s Baking Addition.
• If you want your own Artisan Bread board, check out BrightMedley.
• 🍽 Bright Dais Ahead featured kitchen products.

Take Artisan Bread RV Baking Challenge

We hope our experience baking in our RV has inspired you to be more daring in your RV kitchen. Making homemade bread doesn’t have to be reserved for big kitchens. After learning a few tricks about RV ovens, you too can produce bakery-quality Artisan Bread. And if you have little helpers, let them join you baking as these baking memories lead to many Bright Dais Ahead.

Other posts to check out

Check out other blog posts about our experiences:

• RADRUNNER POWER UTILITY E-BIKES – ONE YEAR REVIEW AND OWNERSHIP
• RV STATE STICKER MAPS – BRAGGING RIGHTS AND THE RULES
• WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A BOONDOCKERS WELCOME HOST?
• A GLAMPER’S GUIDE TO AN EASY BATTLE BORN LITHIUM BATTERIES UPGRADE
• RV PERFORMANCE UPGRADES – BIG DECISION TO MAKE
• RV HOME TOUR – A LOOK INSIDE AND OUT