The Best Easy No Knead Bread is a simple, foolproof way to make bakery style bread at home in a dutch oven without any bread making experience or special equipment – no kneading required!
Simply mix and let rise for bakery style bread at home in no time!
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The Best No Knead Bread
I don’t know why bread making is one of those endeavors that will always intimidate me.
Baking has never quite been my thing – I am a decent baker, but I am more a toss ingredients in without making precise measurements kind of person – and I hate following rules.
Bread, however, requires a lot of rules and a specific process – which is just not the way I instinctively like to cook.
Thankfully, this easy no knead bread recipe is crazy simple, and SO easy!
This Easy No Knead Bread, however, is totally a game-changer.
Seriously – Artisan No Knead Bread – right at home in your own kitchen!
It does take a little time for things like rising, but nothing that is incredibly labor intensive, and is an incredibly easy way to make quick, delicious, and incredibly flavorful bread.
This artisan no knead bread recipe also is a simple mix by hand or spoon bread technique – no stand mixer required!
It is loosely based off the famous NY Times No Knead Bread recipe that was a massive hit – with some of my own flavors and modifications added.
While I used rosemary (one of my absolute favorite herbs ever), you can use any herbs to make this bread your own.
It’s so simple – there are so many delicious combinations you could add in!
Be sure to check out my other No Knead Bread – full of Jalapeno and Cheddar goodness!
This bread is my new favorite thing to bake on the weekends – you can even prep it the night before and let it rise.
I hope you love it as much as we do!
How To Make No Knead Bread
This bread is incredibly simple to make – if you follow the steps properly, it is as easy as mix, rise, and bake.
Since we do need to rise – and follow the steps exactly – for the best results, we recommend reading the instructions a few times before baking.
Thankfully, this recipe is pretty forgiving as long as you let the dough rise, and make sure your oven is hot enough.
How To Proof Yeast
It’s not entirely necessary, but I always “bloom” or “proof” my yeast when making this bread to make sure it’s active and going to rise.
This step is super simple, and just takes a few minutes.
Use warm water – lukewarm, so the yeast is encouraged to rise, but not too hot that it dies.
Add yeast to water and let sit for five minutes – it will foam a bit to “prove” it is active.
If your yeast doesn’t do anything, it is dead and your bread won’t rise properly, and you need to get different yeast.
How To Let No Knead Bread Rise
This process will involve three rise periods – twice in a bowl, and once wrapped in plastic.
When letting your bread rise, make sure you’ve cleaned down the sides of your bowl. Bread won’t rise as well when it sticks to dirty bits on the side of the bowl.
Cover with a damp, warm towel. Don’t let towel touch bread, and don’t let it be wet enough to drip water onto bread – but this will help bread rise.
Let bread rise in cool area free from cold drafts.
Don’t set bread on stovetop while oven preheats, this may start bread cooking.
Baking Bread in a Dutch Oven
Part of why this recipe works so well is because of the dutch oven, and the way it holds in heat and helps to evenly distribute it – almost creating a steaming effect to rise the bread as it bakes.
I’ve had a few people ask what they can use if they do not have a dutch oven. Since this bread is no-knead, it’s really relying on the heat of a very hot dutch oven to help make it light, fluffy, and airy (instead of a gummy, dense bread).
If you don’t have a dutch oven, you could try this in another heavy pot with a lid, but I really think for the texture to be perfect, it does need the extra heat.
I find it is best to line the dutch oven with parchment paper, with a little sprinkling of flour on the bottom.
Preheat the dutch oven at 450 F during the final 30 minute rise when the bread is wrapped in plastic wrap, with parchment in dutch oven.
Preheating dutch oven helps to create very hot pot so the bread can lift and rise immediately as it goes in the oven,
Step By Step No Knead Bread Instructions
This bread is simple, but the steps do need to be followed in order for the best results.
- In a small bowl, add water and stir yeast packet in (make sure water is warm, but not too hot – if it is too cold or too hot it will not bloom properly).
- Let yeast bloom for about 5 minutes – it will have a light foam on it.
- In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients with a spoon.
- Make a small well in the middle of the dry ingredients, and when yeast is proofed, slowly pour into dry ingredients.
- Mix by hand (either with your hands, or a spoon).
- The dough will turn begin to come together and pull away from the bowl.
- If the dough is too sticky, add more flour in small increments, about 1 tablespoon at a time. If the dough is too dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Once the dough has come together, cover it and let it rise until it doubles in size (about 1.5 to 2 hours).
- Uncover the dough and give it a few pokes with your finger.
- If the dough has risen correctly, it should indent under the pressure of your fingers and slowly deflate.
- Gently scoop up the dough and make sure to remove it from the sides of the bowl (you want it to fully rise again, if it is still stuck to the sides of the bowl in parts, it won’t.)
- Place back in bowl, cover, and allow the dough to continue to rise for another 1.5-2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees (230 degrees C, gas mark 8) and add dutch oven to it, (you want it to be incredibly hot).
- Punch down dough.
- Generously flour a sheet of parchment paper; transfer dough to parchment and, with floured hands, shape into a ball.
- Place dough on parchment paper and sprinkle top lightly with flour.
- Top with any extra herbs or a sprinkle of celtic sea salt.
- Top with a sheet of plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes.
- Remove Dutch oven from oven.
- Uncover dough and carefully transfer to Dutch oven, with or without parchment paper beneath (if bottom of Dutch oven is not coated with enamel, keep parchment paper beneath dough- I always use parchment paper because it is just the easiest and I never have to worry about anything sticking).
- Cover Dutch oven with lid and return to oven.
- Bake bread 45 minutes covered, then another 10 to 15 minutes uncovered until dough is baked through and golden brown on top.
- Cool slightly before slicing.
Tips to Perfect No Knead Bread and FAQs
For the best no knead bread, we’ve found a few tips and tricks to ensure success, every time.
Don’t skip preheating. Preheating the oven really is important, it helps your bread rise and get a perfect chewy, light texture.
The bread will rise twice in a bowl for an hour to an hour and a half, and once wrapped tightly in plastic, for a total of three separate periods of resting.
If your yeast doesn’t foam up, even a little bit, your water may have been too hot or too cold – or you may have had expired yeast.
Water for proofing yeast should be lukewarm – warm to the touch but not hot – so it doesn’t burn yeast and stop it from proofing, which will inhibit your rise.
We find it really does make a difference in how your bread lifts and recommend baking bread in a fully preheated dutch oven so that the bread can lift as fast as possible for a light, airy crumb and crunchy, crusty outside.
No knead bread will take about 45 minutes to bake until golden brown.
Bake no knead bread at 450 degrees F.
We recommend using an enameled dutch oven or dutch oven lined with parchment paper, or another heavy pot with tight fitting lid.
We recommend a 5 qt size.
This bread can be stored in a cool, dry, place for up to two days. I prefer storing in a paper bag instead of plastic bag or it gets too soft and chewy.
Freeze bread dough after mixing, for up to four months wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.
Let thaw naturally in the refrigerator and follow rise steps in recipe below.
Other Bread Recipes You’ll Love
If you love this easy, effortless bread, be sure to check out my other everyday easy breads like our soft buttery dinner rolls (just like parker house rolls!), our cheddar bay biscuits, Easy Fogo De Chao Brazilian Cheese Bread Copycat rolls, no knead cheddar jalapeno bread, easy peanut butter bread, and so many more:
You can find our complete bread recipe archives here.
Easy No Knead Bread Recipe
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The Best No Knead Bread Recipe
Rosemary No Knead Bread is a simple, foolproof way to make bakery style bread at home in a dutch oven without any bread making experience or special equipment - no kneading required!
Ingredients
- 600 grams flour, about 4 cups, lightly packed and leveled off
- 2 cups water, 473.18mL lukewarm
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 envelope dry active yeast, 7g, 2 1/4 teaspoons
- 1 tbsp celtic sea salt, optional, but great sprinkled on top for extra crunch.
- 2 tbsp rosemary, or any other herb combination you like (optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add water and stir yeast packet in (make sure water is warm, but not too hot - if it is too cold or too hot it will not bloom properly).
- Let yeast bloom for about 5 minutes - it will have a light foam on it.
- In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients with a spoon.
- Make a small well in the middle of the dry ingredients, and when yeast is proofed, slowly pour into dry ingredients.
- Mix by hand (either with your hands, or a spoon).
- The dough will turn begin to come together and pull away from the bowl.
- If the dough is too sticky, add more flour in small increments, about 1 tablespoon at a time. If the dough is too dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.
- Once the dough has come together, cover it and let it rise until it doubles in size (about 1.5 to 2 hours).
- Uncover the dough and give it a few pokes with your finger.
- If the dough has risen correctly, it should indent under the pressure of your fingers and slowly deflate.
- Gently scoop up the dough and make sure to remove it from the sides of the bowl (you want it to fully rise again, if it is still stuck to the sides of the bowl in parts, it won't.)
- Place back in bowl, cover, and allow the dough to continue to rise for another 1.5-2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees (230 degrees C, gas mark 8) and add dutch oven to it, (you want it to be incredibly hot).
- Punch down dough.
- Generously flour a sheet of parchment paper; transfer dough to parchment and, with floured hands, shape into a ball.
- Place dough on parchment paper and sprinkle top lightly with flour.
- Top with any extra herbs or a sprinkle of celtic sea salt.
- Top with a sheet of plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes.
- Remove Dutch oven from oven.
- Uncover dough and carefully transfer to Dutch oven, with or without parchment paper beneath (if bottom of Dutch oven is not coated with enamel, keep parchment paper beneath dough- I always use parchment paper because it is just the easiest and I never have to worry about anything sticking).
- Cover Dutch oven with lid and return to oven.
- Bake bread 45 minutes covered, then another 10 to 15 minutes uncovered until dough is baked through and golden brown on top.
- Cool slightly before slicing.
Recommended Products
As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra expense to you.
-
King Arthur All Purpose Flour 5 Lb (2.27 Kg) Unbleached -
Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast,0.25 Ounce, 3 Count
-
Norpro Grip-EZ Mixing Bowl, 3-Quart
-
If You Care Parchment Baking Paper – 70 Sq Ft Roll - Unbleached, Chlorine Free, Greaseproof, Silicone Coated – Standard Size – Fits 13 Inch Pans
-
Crock-Pot Artisan Round Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven, 7-Quart, Sapphire Blue
Nutrition Information
Yield
6Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 312Total Fat 1gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 1gCholesterol 0mgSodium 1698mgCarbohydrates 65gFiber 3gSugar 0gProtein 9g
Nutrition is automatically calculated by Nutritionix - please verify all nutrition information independently and consult with a doctor or nutritionist for any and all medical and diet advice.
Find our web story for this post here.
Luda
Hi. How tall is your dutch oven or how high does the bread rise while being baked in the oven with the lid? My dutch oven is short and wide. I’m afraid there’s not enough room for the bread to expand. Can I make it wider and flatter instead of ball shaped? Would that not work?
I really want to make it, but not sure how to proceed.
Courtney ODell
You can totally make it to shape your dutch oven – I have a 7.25 quart classic dutch oven – but making it shorter and wider won’t kill the bread 🙂
Luda
Would baking time still be the same?
Jane Ritchuk
This is absolutely amazing bread! So easy and so delish but I question the nutritional info. 2000+ calories per serving? 200+ grams of carbs? This cant be right.
Courtney ODell
Hi Jane – It isn’t right. I use a software that auto calculates nutritional info and something definitely went wrong. That is the total count for all the bread, not per serving. Software sometimes goes haywire, whoops!
Janeal Falor
So delicious and easy! A little time consuming with all the rising, but so worth it. The only problem is the salt content. One and a half tablespoons is waaaaaaay too much. I’ll be cutting that down next time I make it, but there will definitely be a next time! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Terri
I will definitely make this bread again and it was very easy! The outside is like crunchy chewy and the inside is moist and chewy with lots of air bubbles. I was surprised by how much it raised in the oven; I was skeptical when I put it in and it was only like 1/3 of the way up to the top of the pot but when it was done it had filled almost the entire pot. It’s also very pretty so it’s something I’ll make for gatherings. The 1.5 tablespoons of salt in the dough was too much for my taste, so next time I’ll probably use about 2 teaspoons. This is probably personal preference so try it and see if you like it I suppose. I did crack some salt and added some sesame seeds over the top because I love breads like that, so maybe between the salt in the bread and on top, it was too much for me. Either way, it’s a must try.
Joan
Can not wait to try this
Courtney ODell
Hope you love it!
Silke
Can I make it in the crock pot as well?
Thanks
Courtney ODell
Silke – I am still testing the recipe in the crock pot for the perfect temp. So far, I have found the slow cooker to simply not be fast enough to get a lovely rise on the bread – its all so dense. But I have high hopes for my Instant Pot, and will update if I can crack it!
Lee
What size cast iron pot? I think I will purchase one, but I noticed the sizes range from 24 oz. to 3qt. to 7 qt. Do you recommend only cast iron or does aluminun work as well? Thank you!
Courtney ODell
Lee- I’d go for a 6-7 qt so you can use it for all sorts of meals (soup, chili, whole roasted chickens, pot roast, etc) – and I think an aluminum one will work just fine!
Christine Soule Clark
I can’t wait to try this recipe! My dad used to make bread every year in the Fall. He’d open windows and the neighbors would come by hoping he’d give them some too! I do have one question. You say to take the dough out of the bowl and then put it back in again. You don’t do anything to the dough besides just poking it once? Thank you so much for sharing with us!
Courtney ODell
Yep- it’s just to deflate it so it can rise again. 🙂
Debbie
What can you use if you don’t have a dutch oven?
Courtney ODell
Any kind of heavy pot with a lid that is oven-safe – you want to have the steam help the bread rise, so a lid is pretty important.
sassygirl
hi!
has anyone tried this
with something other than all purpose
flour? i would rather use all sorts of healthier grains; all purpose is not
in my pantry.
light wheat…rye…oat…spelt…?
thnx!
chris
Great bread! Thanks for the easy recipe. I thought I messed the whole thing up every step and then it came out perfect! Do you know how I could make a sourdough version of this?
Courtney ODell
My mom has an amazing sourdough recipe that has been great for her – I have totally struck out with it so far (I am at high altitude in Colorado and am having trouble with my starter- she’s in Baltimore and doesn’t have the altitude issues.) I almost have it down – when I do, I can let you know? Because I am DYING for a version too!!! Sourdough is one of my favorite things on earth.
chris
Yes, please let me know! I am obsessed with making bread, even though I am terrible at it, and I would love to try a sourdough! I am at sea level so the altitude would not be an issue.
Claudia
when the sourdough is perfected, I would like it too. Thanks
Mary
I am not a rosemary fan, could you leave it out and still be good
Courtney ODell
Totally! You can use another herb, or nothing at all! I love rosemary so I add it, but this is a great base recipe that you can adapt to anything you love!
Nanci
I’m a bit confused. Do you let it rise twice?
Courtney ODell
yes – it does need to rise twice. The video shows one rise because two would’ve been super boring to watch 😉
Chris
Is the rosemary fresh or dried ?
Courtney ODell
I used dried – but fresh would be fantastic as well. It is a pretty adaptable recipe – so you can use any type of herb you love!
Julie
I don’t have a Dutch oven
Audrey
What temp. do you set the oven?
Sunkist
It only gives 450 degrees…hmmm…
Courtney ODell
That is the temperature to cook it at.
Analida's Ethnic Spoon
I love making my own bread. Your no knead bread with rosemary sounds so good. As a matter of fact, I just had a similar bread last night at a restaurant. I am going to try yours.