This homemade no knead bread has got to be one of my favorite bread recipes. Bread in general is something I really love making and this one is at the top.
If you are a bread lover like me you have got to try this super easy to make no knead bread. The flavor is incredible and it has a wonderful outer crust and then it is soft on the inside. I love how the actual dough comes together in minutes, so there is minimal active time to make it. Then you just have to wait for the dough to be ready.
You are going to love this bread. It is so simple to make, if I can do it, you can do it. Let’s get baking!
Step 1: Gather the ingredients
In order to make this incredibly delicious no knead bread you need just 5 ingredients:
- Flour – Use bread flour or all-purpose/plain flour. Don’t use self-rising flour.
- Water – I always use filtered water, because my tap water tastes gross. Good water makes a difference!
- Salt
- Sugar – Just a tiny amount, can easily be left out.
- Yeast – You can use active dry yeast, instant yeast, or rapid-rise yeast.
Tools
- Dutch Oven – Use a cast iron or enameled cast iron one, pyrex pot and lit or ceramic pot and lid.
- Whisk
- Wooden
- Spoon
- Plastic wrap
- Parchment Paper
- Oven Mitts
- Fork
Step 2: How to make no knead bread
Being by making the dough. Heat up the water to about 105 to 115 F (37 to 44 C). Use the microwave or the stovetop to heat the water. Add in the pinch of sugar which will be a little food for the yeast. While not technically necessary, I always add it. Pour in the yeast and mix with a fork. It may seem like not very much yeast, but that is all you need.
Let the mixture sit for 5 to 10 minutes until foamy. If it doesn’t get foamy then I recommend starting again. The yeast may be old/bad or the water was too hot or not hot enough.
Add the flour to a large bowl. Pour in the salt and whisk until combined. Next, pour in the entire yeast mixture with the flour.
Stir until a dough forms and everything is mixed. The dough will be sticky and look like a mess. That is perfect, exactly how it should look.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. If the bowl is small spray the plastic wrap with cooking spray, just in case the dough touches it when it rises. Set the bowl in a warm place and allow it to rise for 12 to 18 hours. This long rising time is what develops the gluten and creates a wonderful flavor to the no knead bread dough.
Step 3: Shape the no knead bread and let it rise
After the dough has risen, it will still be tacky/sticky. Pour it out onto a floured work surface. Then shape the dough into a ball.
Place the ball of no knead bread dough into a large bowl lined with a big piece of parchment paper. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and allow the dough to rise for another hour or two.
Step 4: Bake the bread
Preheat the oven to 450 F/232 C. Place the dutch oven in the oven and let it heat up along with the oven. The dutch oven needs to be hot before putting the dough into it. I love dutch ovens. I have a Le Creuset brand dutch oven which is top of the line and pretty expensive. But you can easily get away with the Lodge brand.
Once the oven and the dutch oven are preheated, use a hot mitt and remove the dutch oven. Remove the lid, make sure to use the hot mitt the lid will be extremely hot. Then lift the dough out of the bowl by the parchment paper and place it into the hot dutch oven. Replace the lid. Put it in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the dutch oven from the oven and take the lid off, again using the oven-mitt. Place it back in the oven uncovered and allow the bread to bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until nicely browned on top. Remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for a bit.
To remove the bread from the dutch oven, grab the parchment paper and pull it out, then place it on a wire rack to cool the rest of the way. It will have a nice crispy crust on the outside and be soft on the inside. Enjoy!
How long does no knead bread last?
The bread will remain fresh for a few days if stored in a paper bag or bread box. If you store it in a plastic bag the crust will get softer quicker. Although, once the loaf cools, you can put it in a plastic bag and freeze it for a few month self-life.
Here are a few more recipes you may like:
No Knead Bread
Equipment
- Dutch Oven
- Whisk
- Wooden
- spoon
- Plastic wrap
- parchment paper
- oven mitts
- Fork
Ingredients
- 3 cups of all-purpose flour 360g
- 1 1/2 cups of water 355ml
- 1 1/2 tsp. of salt 8g
- 1/8 tsp. of sugar or a pinch less then 1 g
- 1/2 tsp. of active dry yeast or instant yeast 1.5g
Instructions
- Heat the water until it is very warm about 105 to 115 F (37 to 43 C)., Then add the sugar and the yeast and mix with a fork. Let the mixture sit for 5 to 10 minutes until the yeast gets foamy.
- Add the salt and the flour to a large bowl and whisk it well. Then add the yeast mixture to the flour. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon, until it all comes together and forms a dough. The dough will be kinda sticky and look like a mess. That is perfect! Cover it with plastic wrap and let it sit on a counter somewhere at room temperature for 12 to 18 hours. Yes, it needs that long.
- After 12 to 18 hours you will see little tiny bubbles on the top of the dough, and it will have risen quite a bit. Remove the plastic wrap and then take a bit of flour and dust your counter or table.Pour the dough onto the counter and dust the top of the dough with flour. Fold the dough onto itself a few times then shape into a ball.
- Now take a bowl and add a big piece of parchment paper to it, then dust the bottom of it with some flour. Place the dough in the bowl and then re-cover it with plastic wrap and then let the dough rise for 2 hours.
- Preheat our oven to 450 degrees F. or 232 C. Place the dutch oven in the oven and let it heat up along with the oven. It needs to be hot before putting the dough in it.
- Once the oven is preheated and the dutch oven is also hot, use oven mitts to grab the dutch oven and place it on top of your stove. Then take the lid off, be careful it is hot!! Then grab the parchment paper and carry the dough over and lower the dough into the dutch oven. Then place the lid back on top. Again, be careful the lid and dutch oven will be super hot! Now place it in the oven and bake for 30 minutes.After 30 minutes take the dutch oven out of the oven and remove the lid, then put it back in the oven and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until it gets nice and golden brown on the top. The bread is done. Allow it to cool in the pan for a few minutes.
- Remove the bread from the dutch oven by grabbing ahold of the parchment paper, then carrying it over to a rack to cool the rest of the way. The paper might break, so you may need to grab a little lower, again use oven mitts! Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Do you like this recipe? Pin it! And please give it a rating and comment down below, I really appreciate it. If you make it tag me on Instagram @inthekitchenwithmatt. Also, sign up for the newsletter so you won’t miss out on any of my new posts and recipes.
What can I substitute with the dutch oven?
Tnx
You can just bake the bread in normal loaf pans, but they won’t turn out the same as baking it in the dutch oven.