Four ingredient no knead bread doesn’t need special tools or extensive kneading for a perfect loaf of bread with a crispy golden crust.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Difficulty: Super easy! No kneading required, just mix, rest, and bake.
- Recommended tools: For the best results, bake this in a covered Dutch oven.
- Budget friendly: You’ll get bakery-worthy artisan bread for pennies using basic ingredients
- Time-Saving Tip: Let the dough rise in a warm spot to speed up fermentation slightly.
- Freezing: Wrap tightly and freeze for up to 3 months; thaw at room temperature.
4 Ingredients For No Knead Bread
- Flour: Regular all-purpose flour produces a light and fluffy loaf and is easy to work with. Bread flour has more gluten and will produce a chewier loaf.
- Yeast: Be sure you’re using instant yeast, which requires no proofing—you can add it straight to the flour. Double-check the expiration date, as expired yeast can ruin the recipe.
- Water: Warm water activates the yeast and should be about 125°F. Use a thermometer to make sure you have the right temperature.
Variations
- Add fresh or dried herbs like dill, rosemary, or sage.
- Brush the top with whisked egg or milk for that golden, bakery-style shine.
- Sprinkle sesame seeds on top for a little crunch and a nutty flavor boost!
Pro Tips for Perfect Bread
- Be sure to measure flour correctly, too much flour can make baking dense.
- Since the bread dough requires rising for an extended time, keep it in a warm place away from drafts and temperature changes (between 75°F and 78°F degrees). The top of the refrigerator can be a good spot.
How to Store Bread
- Keep leftover no-knead bread in a sealed plastic bag or container at room temperature for up to 4 days or the refrigerator for up to 6 days. It won’t retain the same crisp crust but the bread itself will be moist.
- Freeze a whole loaf or slices by wrapping them in plastic and then placing them in zippered bags for up to 6 months. Slices can be popped in the toaster still frozen.
- Leftover bread that has dried out can be used to make croutons or bread crumbs.
Did you make this No Knead Bread recipe? Please leave a comment and rating below!
No Knead Bread
Just 4 simple ingredients come together to make a crusty, artisan-style bread with a soft, fluffy inside—just like a bakery loaf!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour additional for dusting
- ½ teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
- 1 ⅓ cups warm water 105-115℉
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine flour, water, yeast, and salt, the dough will be shaggy and sticky.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature overnight, or up to 18 hours. It should have bubbles on the surface.
- Place a piece of parchment paper on your work surface and sprinkle with flour. Turn the dough onto the flour and, using floured hands, form the dough into a round ball by tucking the edges under.
- Lift the parchment paper and place into a medium bowl. Lightly cover and let rise an additional 90 minutes.
- Place a large Dutch oven or oven-safe pot with a lid into the oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Score the bread, about ⅛-inch deep 1 or 2 times.
- Carefully lift the dough into the preheated Dutch oven using the parchment.
- Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes or until golden. Let cool on a wire rack before slicing.
Notes
- Cool bread completely before storing.
- Ensure your yeast is not expired.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, or up to 6 days in the refrigerator, or up to 6 months in the freezer.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 138 | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 0.4g | Saturated Fat: 0.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 293mg | Potassium: 46mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.1g | Vitamin C: 0.002mg | Calcium: 7mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Bread, Breakfast, Sandwich, Side Dish, Snack
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Definitely a 5 star, wish I could post a picture. This bread is so awesome and EASY!! Husband loved it
I absolutely hate cooking!
I have just tried this recipe and it is fantastic! I wonder is it possible to make buns with this? and what would be cooking time please?
Thankyou
I have never tried this recipe as buns, but I would love to hear how it turns out for you!
I finally decided to try baking bread. I have never cooked any form of bread so I don’t have any knowledge about it. I have a couple of questions that would help me on my first time attempt. Please be patient with me.
Step 1: after putting four ingredients in a bowl, how long do I stir to combine the ingredients? I don’t want to overwork it.
Step 6: do I cook the loaf with parchment paper in the Dutch oven?
Any guidance would be appreciated so that I can cook this properly.
Great questions! You’ll want to stir until all of the flour is mixed in. I do cook it with the parchment paper, this keeps it from sticking and makes it easy to transfer. Let us know how it goes!
for the first time this was easy and turned out great,made it with dill. I didn’t have instant yeast so I used reg yeast and activated with sugar and warm water at about 120 degrees , turned out great..Thank you
So glad it turned out for you, Steven!
I made this and it is the first time I have made fresh bread it turned out great. To store should I slice it all or can I store whole until ready to eat. And if whole how should I wrap it
Thank you so much for all of your recipes
I would store it as a whole loaf to help keep it more moist, but I have stored it sliced too and it works well. You can store the bread in a sealed plastic bag or container at room temperature for up to 4 days or the refrigerator for up to 6 days. It won’t retain the same crisp crust but the bread itself will be moist. If freezing a whole loaf or slices, I would wrap them in plastic and then place them in zippered bags for up to 6 months.
Hi Holly, I love the simplicity of this recipe. Will white bread flour work as well as the all purpose?
I haven’t tried it with bread flour but I can’t see any reason it wouldn’t work. Let us know how it goes!
Is rapid rise yeast ok to use
Yes, that should work well in this recipe.
Really easy recipe – but the bread was actually amazing!
Your No Knead Bread recipie resulted in a simply wonderful loaf of bread… on the first try no less. The crispy crust and soft interior were amazngly delicious. Would adding, say, chopped olives to the dough affect the overall baked result?
I haven’t tried it but I think it’d work great! I’d love to hear how it goes.
Can’t wait to try all of them.
Is there a whole wheat version of this recipe?
Yes, this would work. I would recommend 50/50 all-purpost flour and whole wheat flour. Let us know how it goes!
Wow delicious and i am going to try all of them and thank you
Tebogo, I am happy to hear that you enjoyed the bread.
I only have Active Dry Yeast. How would I use this instead of the active yeast?
If using active dry yeast I would suggest 1 packet or 2 ¼ teaspoons. No other changes needed.
Had to try this with my new Paris Hilton Pink Heart enamel cast iron dutch oven. It’s in the oven right now and it looks beautiful!
Got some Irish butter to put on it once it cools a bit!
If it tastes half as good as it looks it is going to be Yummy!
Oh my gosh, I love the idea of a heart shaped Dutch oven!
What size Dutch oven do you use when you say large? 6.75 qt?
Thank you,
Diane
I usually use a 4 to 5 quart Dutch oven.
Do you have a step by step video I can follow?
On a different note, does your cookbook have desserts in them?
I do not have a step by step video of this recipe yet but will add it to my list! Yes, my cookbook does have a dessert chapter.
What if I wanted to add a sourdough starter to the dough?
I haven’t tried adding a sour dough starter to this no knead bread but I love that idea. Let us know how it goes!
is it possible to bake this without a dutch oven? How would you change the directions/recipe to do so?
Yes, you can! Place it on a parchment lined baking sheet or in a parchment lined cast iron pan, a thicker cooking vessel is better. Add a pan with a bit of hot water in the oven on the shelf below the bread and bake as directed. Let us know how it goes!
Hi! Do You Bake the bread in the parchment ?
Yes, I bake in the parchment.