Easy No-Knead Bread
This easy No-Knead Bread loaf has a deliciously crisp crust and a soft spongy center. It’s the perfect blend of soft and chewy. With only 4 ingredients (flour, salt, yeast and water), you can make a bakery-quality, scrumptious loaf of homemade bread.
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Easy No-Knead Bread Recipe:
Dutch Oven Bread is surprisingly easy – there is no kneading required. You just need a bowl and a wooden spoon to stir the ingredients together. Let it rise on the counter overnight and it’s ready for the oven.
We love the aroma of freshly baked homemade bread in our house, like from our staple White Bread Machine Bread, our classic French Buns and of course for the sweet tooth: Cheese Sweet Rolls.
We make bread in our kitchen at least twice a week. According to my husband, this easy no-knead bread is the best for him. We made this recipe countless times because it’s so easy and needs so little attention. It bakes to perfection every time and you will fall in love with the spongy soft texture instantly.
What is the Best Flour for Bread?
Bread flour is typically recommended for bread making, but this recipe works great with either bread flour or all-purpose flour. We have tested both and we don’t see difference between the two. Both rise nicely and provide incredible results. I prefer using all-purpose flour because it’s the one I always have on hand for all the baking I do.
Ingredients for Easy Dutch Oven Bread:
The ingredient list is short and the measurements can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of this page.
- Flour – we need all-purpose flour that you all have in your pantries. No need for the fancy stuff!
- Fine salt – gives flavor and makes it extra delicious.
- Instant yeast – I use instant dry yeast as it’s my #1 yeast in the house, but you can definitely use active yeast. I tried with both, and don’t see difference.
- Warm water – it’s important to make sure your water is at room temperature, but not too hot so it doesn’t deactivate the yeast.
How to Make Easy Homemade Bread:
1. In a glass measuring cup, combine to dissolve warm water (100-110°F) and sprinkle instant dry yeast over the top. Let it sit 2-3 minutes.
2. Into a large mixing bowl, sift all-purpose flour and add salt. Whisk to combine.
3. Pour in the water mixture and use a wooden spoon to stir until all of the flour is incorporated (do not knead). The dough will be very sticky, but do not add additional flour.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rest on your counter or inside your unheated oven for 18 hours to 24 hours.
5. Place an empty dutch oven and lid inside the oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Once preheated, remove dutch oven and place on the stove. Be careful not to touch the dutch oven or lid without oven mitts because it will be very hot.
6. Meanwhile, generously dust a cutting board or work surface with flour. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the dough out (which will be very thin and sticky) onto the floured surface. With help of pastry scraper or well-floured hands, shape the dough by folding the dough in half and then fold in half again, pulling the dough together into a loose ball.
7. Sprinkle the bottom of the dutch oven with flour or cornmeal and carefully place (or drop) the dough in the center of your hot dutch oven. Cover with lid and bake for 30 minutes at 450°F. Carefully remove hot lid and bake for another 15 minutes to 20 minutes until golden brown.
8. Remove the bread from the pot (it should fall out easily) and place directly on wire rack to cool completely until it’s nearly room temperature before slicing it.
Quick Tips:
- Use warm water – between 100°F to 110°F. Avoid using hot water or it will deactivate the yeast.
- Substitute for active yeast – instant dry yeast can be replaced for active dry yeast. Use 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast in this recipe.
- Measure correctly – spoon flour into a measuring cup and level off the top with the back of a knife.
- Rising the dough – draft-free room temperature, unheated oven or turned off microwave. Avoid placing dough into hot oven to rise. Hot temperature will deactivate and ruin the yeast.
- For round, less flat bread – use a 4qt or 5 qt dutch oven so that the bread rises upwards, rather than spreading out over the entire surface of bigger pot.
- Preheat the oven and dutch oven – placing the bread into hot dutch will help form a beautiful crust.
- Flour the dutch oven – to make sure your bread doesn’t stick to the pot, sprinkle flour or cornmeal on the bottom of the preheated pot.
- Cool before slicing – always wait for hot bread to cool to room temperature before slicing. Cutting it while hot, will release too much steam and the bread will become gummy.
Do You Need Dutch Oven?
The key to making this crusty easy no-knead bread is that you need something really heavy and thick so that it holds and radiates heat well and it must have a lid. A thick glass or stoneware dish may also work, but probably not as well as cast iron dutch oven.
I used a 4 qt Martha Stewart dutch oven, which can be purchased as low as $40 on sale. You do not need to spend hundreds of dollars on single dutch oven. Martha Stewart and other brands have different sizes of dutch ovens for a lot cheaper. They all do the same job!
Do I Need to Proof the Yeast?
You do not need to proof the yeast for this bread recipe. You can just combine it with flour. However, I like to dissolve the yeast in water before combining with the flour to make sure it incorporates equally throughout the dough.
Why Did my Bread Stick to the Pot?
To prevent your bread from sticking to the pot, make sure your dutch oven is hot enough before adding the dough. Also, make sure to sprinkle some flour or cornmeal on the bottom of hot pot before adding the dough.
Alternatively, you would use parchment paper to keep bread from sticking to the pot, but I don’t do it because all the brands of parchment paper I have say 420°F maximum. I don’t want my oven or your oven to get on fire, so let’s use flour to avoid any risk.
My Bread is Too Dense:
Usually bread is too dense if there is too much flour. Keep in mind that this dough will be pretty sticky, so don’t be tempted to add more flour. Also, humidity and age of the flour could be another factor.
Follow the instructions and avoid overmixing the dough in the beginning or before baking. There is no kneading required that is why this bread is called ‘No-Knead’.
Readers Favorite Bread Recipes:
- White Bread Machine Bread – family staple bread recipe for decades
- Cheese Vatrushka – with the scrumptious cheese filling and fluffy dough
- Ukrainian Pumpkin Bread – this bread is made all-year round (Easter and Christmas are a must!)
- French Bread Buns – these are so easy and go well together with any soup
- Banana Berries Bread – moist banana bread, loaded with fresh berries
- Cherry Pizza Pie – amazing cherry and cheese topping
Easy No-Knead Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon fine salt, (for saltier, do 1 1/2 tsp)
- 1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cups warm water (100-110°F)
Instructions
- In a glass measuring cup, combine to dissolve 1 1/2 cups warm water and 1/2 tsp instant dry yeast. Let it sit 2-3 mins.
- Into a large mixing bowl, sift 3 cups all-purpose flour and add 1 tsp fine salt. Whisk to combine.
- Pour in the water mixture and use a wooden spoon to stir until all of the flour is incorporated (do not knead). The dough will be very sticky, but do not add additional flour.
- Cover the bowl with a plastic food wrap and let the dough rest on your counter or inside your unheated over for 18 hours to 24 hours.
- Place an empty dutch oven and lid inside the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F. Once preheated, remove dutch oven and place on the stove. Be careful not to touch the dutch oven or lid without oven mitts because it will be very hot.
- Meanwhile, generously dust a cutting board or work surface with flour. Using a rubber spatula, scrape the dough out (which will be very thin and sticky) onto the floured surface. With help of pastry scraper or well-floured hands, shape the dough by folding the dough in half and then fold in half again, pulling the dough together into a loose ball.
- Sprinkle the bottom of the dutch oven with flour or cornmeal and carefully place (or drop) the bread in the center of your hot dutch oven. Cover with lid and bake for 30 minutes at 450°F. Carefully remove hot lid and bake for another 15 minutes to 20 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove the bread from the pot (it should fall out easily) and place directly on wire rack to cool completely until it’s nearly room temperature before slicing it.
Notes
- Use warm water – between 100°F to 110°F. Avoid using hot water or it will deactivate the yeast.
- Substitute for active yeast – instant dry yeast can be replaced for active dry yeast. Use 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast in this recipe.
- Measure correctly – spoon flour into a measuring cup and level off the top with the back of a knife.
- Rising the dough – draft-free room temperature, unheated oven or turned off microwave. Avoid placing dough into hot oven to rise. Hot temperature will deactivate and ruin the yeast.
- For round, less flat bread – use a 4qt or 5 qt dutch oven so that the bread rises upwards, rather than spreading out over the entire surface of bigger pot.
- Preheat the oven and dutch oven – placing the bread into hot dutch will help form a beautiful crust.
- Flour the dutch oven – to make sure your bread doesn’t stick to the pot, sprinkle flour or cornmeal on the bottom of the preheated pot.
- Cool bread before slicing – always wait for hot bread to cool to room temperature before slicing. Cutting hot bread will release too much steam and the bread will become gummy.
Celine says:
Olga this is the best bread recipe I have ever made and tried. I used my Martha 6 quart enameled dutch oven and the bread rose all nice. I followed the suggestions of putting the hot lid right away to catch that bread shape. Very satisfying results.
Olga in the Kitchen says:
Thank you for sharing that with us, Celine! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe 🙂
Mia H. says:
Never made bread before. This was my first attempt and it turned out so good. Looked just like your photos. Rose beautifully and such an easy recipe. Will be making it again for sure.
Olga in the Kitchen says:
That’s awesome, Mia! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe!
Constance says:
Tastes great, and turns out excellent just like an artisan loaf with the pillowy inside and big holes (pictures posted on Pinterest pin for this recipe)!! I halved the recipe, Preheated oven 1 hour with pot in oven, baked in very small Dutch oven for 26 min covered, but a little longer than 20 min uncovered cuz I wanted the top to be more golden. Used parchment as a sling to bake the bread on in the pot. Also handled the dough extremely minimally by flipping the gently-folded Dough onto the parchment sling instead of forming a dough ball.
Olga in the Kitchen says:
Thank you for sharing that with us and the wonderful review! 🙂
Michelle says:
Can I use a stand mixer with a dough hook to combine the flour/water mixture?
Olga in the Kitchen says:
It’s best to do it by hand, as this bread does not need any kneading. It literally takes 1-3 minutes to combine/mix the dough before the rising period. The dough is very sticky and if you use mixer you will have the urge to add more flour because of the very sticky dough.
Kyla says:
Can you use sour dough starter instead of the yeast?
Olga in the Kitchen says:
Hi Kyla! I have not tried it myself, but I don’t see why not. Here’s a great resource for converting to using sourdough starter https://traditionalcookingschool.com/food-preparation/convert-recipes-to-sourdough-aw043/
Linda says:
Great bread, easy to follow, easy to make. Taste delicious.
Olga in the Kitchen says:
I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it, Linda!:)
Lynda M Ford says:
After the 18 hour rising, I turned dough onto floured surface and stretched out adding toasted coconut and cinnamon (with a bit of sugar). I did fold the dough a few times, and returned to bowl for 2nd rise (approx 1 hour). Heated the Dutch oven with top to 450 degrees and turned dough into Dutch oven. Baked with cover 30 minutes, removed top and baked for another 10 minutes.
Have also added shredded cheese and garlic powder after 1st rise. Very versatile and always delicious.!
Olga in the Kitchen says:
That’s so awesome! Thank you for sharing that with us, Lynda! That sounds so delicious, I wouldn’t mind a slice myself 🙂
Lori says:
Can you use bread flour? Or is all purpose better?
Olga in the Kitchen says:
All-purpose is my primary flour for baking, but you can definitely use bread flour here (same proportion). I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I use bread flour sometimes for my French buns and honestly don’t see any difference 🙂
Shanti says:
Thank you so much for the great recipe Olga, my husband loves it!
But I have a few more critiques than he might. Every time I’ve made it it doesn’t have as many air bubbles as in the picture and I really want to get it to be as light and fluffy as possible, I wonder what I’m doing wrong? I think it may have something to do with how I handle it when I take it out of the bowl so I’ve tried letting it rise again after I take it out, but after reading your other replies I see why that didn’t work. Any tips?
(Thanks again! Regardless, we love it!)
Olga in the Kitchen says:
Hi Shanti! This bread is more chewy and heavier than light and fluffy like the regular 2 or 3-hour bread, even if it does have so many large bubbles. For my picture in this post, if I recall correctly, I baked it after 23 hours. I noticed the closer to the 24-hour mark, the bigger the bubbles are. This would be for the all-purpose flour (whole wheat flour is a bit more dense, less bubbles). Also, when you fold, try to fold no more than 3 times (like an envelope). Any extra folding or even a bit of kneading, will only make those bubbles disappear. Letting this bread rise, will most likely NOT give you more bubbles. From experience, when you let it rise, it rises to the sides, not the top and your bread will end up more flat than round and high and usually not as fluffy looking. Therefore, I never let it rise. I hope this helps and I’m so happy to hear you and your husband enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
Crystal says:
The perfect bread recipe for my family! I was surprised how much kids loved it; they never eat bread by itself. So easy, incredible results. Thanks Olga!
Olga in the Kitchen says:
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe, Crystal! 🙂