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