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Learn how to make Banquet Boule Bread, a rustic, golden loaf perfect for serving a holiday crowd. Soft, flavorful, and ideal for festive gatherings.

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Serving a crowd during the holidays can be stressful, but homemade bread doesn’t have to be. Banquet boule bread is one of my favorite ways to keep things simple while still making something beautiful for the table. This holiday boule bread recipe gives you a rustic, round loaf that’s golden on the outside, soft and tender on the inside, and perfect for slicing and sharing at any gathering.

Over the years, I’ve leaned on this as my go-to large party bread recipe because it always feeds a crowd without adding extra stress to my kitchen. It also works perfectly as an artisan boule bread for gatherings, bringing that cozy, homemade feel to even the busiest holiday spread.

What I love most is how flexible it is—it truly becomes an easy crowd size bread recipe that you can rely on, whether you’re hosting a big family dinner or a holiday party with friends. In this guide, I’ll walk you through simple steps to bake a boule that looks as good as it tastes, ensuring your guests are wowed from the first slice.

Don’t worry, it is easier than you think, and I will show you how!

Banquet Boule Bread Recipe Tutorial

Why This Banquet Boule Bread Saves Holiday Stress

When you are on a time crunch during the holidays and expecting dinner or party guests, it can feel overwhelming trying to figure out homemade bread—especially when you’re already serving a good number of people. It’s easy to feel tempted to skip bread altogether just to save time and energy.

But I’ve taken on the challenge for you.

A Hands-Off Bread Solution for a Crowd!

This banquet boule bread recipe tutorial is designed to help you serve enough bread for your crowd without the stress. When you are already in the kitchen cooking a dozen other dishes, the last thing you need is a complicated, hands-on bread process.

That’s why I’ve made this as simple and low-effort as possible—so you can still serve warm, homemade bread without adding chaos to your holiday cooking.

What Makes This Boule So Big (and So Perfect)

This massive banquet boule bread is about one foot in diameter and baked in a large 12-inch cast iron Dutch oven. Your Dutch oven doesn’t have to be cast iron, but it does need to be at least 12 inches wide to give the dough room to rise.

I actually baked mine without the lid because it rose so beautifully above the rim, creating that tall, rustic bakery-style loaf.

Simple Dough, Big Results

For this recipe, I used my easy white bread recipe—How to Make the Best White Bread: Recipe for Beginners—and simply doubled it to create this massive loaf. Since it’s baked in a round Dutch oven, it naturally becomes a beautiful holiday boule bread recipe style loaf.

It’s rustic, golden, and perfect for slicing and sharing at any large gathering.

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No Extra Dishes (Yes, Really)

Here’s my favorite part—you won’t even need to dirty extra mixing bowls or spatulas.

Whaaat??

Since you’ll already be washing plenty of dishes from your holiday meal, I designed this to keep things simple and cleanup minimal. I even have tricks for keeping your Dutch oven clean so you’re not scrubbing for hours afterward.

This truly becomes an easy crowd size bread recipe that fits right into busy holiday cooking without adding more work to your day.

Ingredients

Dry active yeast.
Warm water.
Sugar, honey, or maple syrup.
Salt.
Flour.
Butter or oil.

Equipment

2 gallon size zip-lock bags.
1 12-inch Dutch oven.

Instructions

Add warm water, dry active yeast, sugar, honey (or maple syrup), and salt into two zip-lock bags according to the recipe. Since this is a banquet boule bread, you’ll be doubling the recipe—one batch per bag. Gently mix everything together, then let it sit and proof for about ten minutes. Leave the bags open and resting on your counter in a warm spot so the yeast can activate properly.

After about ten minutes, you’ll start to see that classic foamy rise—that’s your yeast waking up and working its magic for this holiday boule bread recipe.

Next, add the flour to each bag according to the recipe for each batch, along with melted butter or oil. Remove as much air as possible, zip the bags closed, and start kneading the dough right inside the bag for about eight to ten minutes per bag. This is what makes it such an easy crowd size bread recipe—minimal mess, maximum results.

If you’ve got little helpers around, this is the perfect step to hand off! Kids love getting involved, and it turns the whole process into a fun kitchen moment while you focus on other holiday cooking tasks. Just make sure the dough is fully mixed with no dry spots or lumps, gently squeezing and moving it down into the bottom of the bag while keeping it sealed the entire time.

The First Rise

Set the bags on your counter in a warm area to rise. The dough will poof up in the bags, filling them out nicely. You can keep a warm towel over the bags during the rising process. A warm towel may not be necessary depending on how warm your kitchen is.

You can ignore the bags while preparing and cooking your other meals for the holiday, while the dough rises. The dough inside the bags will poof out, doubling in size.

Once the dough in both bags is doubled in size and both bags are puffed up, open the bags and punch down the dough. Turn the bags inside out onto a floured surface and begin to knead both doughs together into one large, smooth dough ball. Knead for about ten minutes.

The Second Rise

You will end up with a giant smooth dough ball ready for the second rise!

Line your Dutch oven with crinkled parchment paper and place the large dough ball in the Dutch oven. Your Dutch oven will not even become dirty with the lining! This will make it easy to remove the bread from the Dutch oven after baking.

Parchment Paper Tip: Crinkling the parchment paper into a ball and then uncrinkling it helps the parchment paper line pans better and forms a better shape for the pans you use.

Cover the dough with greased plastic wrap or a clean warm damp towel to rise until doubled in size and it has filled out to the edges of the Dutch oven and risen above the rims.

Apparently, I have forgotten to snap an image of how this dough looked before baking once it was doubled in size. 🙄 I must have gotten busy in the kitchen to remember to snap that photo.

However, you can clearly see how nicely it filled out my Dutch oven with this photo after it was baked!

Baking the Banquet Boule Bread

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.

Immediately after removing it from the oven, brush the top of the loaf with butter.

Once the parchment paper edges have cooled, carefully lift the loaf out of the Dutch oven with the paper and place it on a cooling rack to completely cool.

While your massive banquet boule bread is cooling, you get to admire the size and beauty of this massive loaf while finishing your kitchen duties!

Slicing the Bread

The best thing about this bread recipe is that you can slice this loaf into one-foot-long slices and dress the slices with any toppings you desire and bake for an extra 15 to 20 minutes. You can serve these one-foot-long slices with garlic, parmesan, and shredded cheese, or do a pizza topping!

Slice the bread lengthwise, making one-foot-long slices.

I was able to slice 10 one-foot-long slices from this massive banquet boule bread. After I cut each slice in half for serving sizes, I ended up with 20 six-inch slices of bread.

You can leave them in one-foot-long slices and serve them as pizza slices!

You can then slice each slice in half into 6 inches each, making them perfect sizes for serving, and place them in a napkin-lined basket to serve to your guests. I was preparing mine with garlic bread. I still needed to add butter and cheese to these slices.

Conclusion

Baking Banquet Boule Bread is a wonderful way to bring warmth and homemade charm to your holiday table. With its crisp golden crust and soft, tender interior, this bread is perfect for sharing with a crowd. Whether served with butter, alongside soups and stews, or as part of a festive feast, your guests will appreciate the effort and flavor of a loaf made from scratch. With a few simple steps and quality ingredients, you can create a show-stopping bread that makes any holiday gathering even more memorable.

Resources: Here are some helpful resources for further information.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Banquet Boule Bread?

Banquet Boule Bread is a large, round loaf with a rustic appearance, a golden crust, and a soft, airy interior, ideal for serving multiple people.

2. How many people does one boule serve?

Depending on the size, a single boule can serve 8–12 people, making it perfect for holiday dinners or large gatherings.

3. Can I prepare the dough ahead of time?

Yes! You can prepare the dough the night before and refrigerate it. This slow fermentation enhances flavor and allows for easier holiday scheduling.

4. How should I store leftover bread?

Store leftover boule in an airtight container at room temperature for 2–3 days. For longer storage, slice and freeze in a sealed bag for up to 3 months.

Banquet Boule Bread

Bring your holiday crowd together with one massive bread loaf that serves everyone and makes your hosting responsibilities easier and less stressful. When you bring out this massive loaf to serve your guests, they will admire your baking skills! You can quickly and effortlessly prepare, bake, and serve this massive banquet boule bread for your next holiday crowd and know you will have enough bread for the party!

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Servings 20 slices