This Dutch Oven No Knead Bread is the perfect way to make a delicious, crusty artisan loaf in the comfort of your own home! Best of all? It takes only FIVE MINUTES of prep, and you don’t have to ever touch the sticky dough with your hands! With a short, two-hour total rise time, you can make this for dinner tonight. Show
I’m a good cook. I mean, I’m allowed to brag about that… I’ve built a career out of it with this website. But until now, I’ve had the HARDEST time making a good homemade bread. Am I alone in this? Homemade bread has always eluded me and been a real challenge. My homemade breads have always been too flat, too dry, too hard, too annoying and sticky to work with, etc. UNTIL NOW. YOU GUYS. I finally cracked the code for homemade bread that isn’t a hassle and is so amazingly delicious, moist, with fluffy holes, and with the perfect crusty crust! You can use all-purpose flour – no need for fancy bread flour! This is the only no knead bread recipe you’ll need, and it’s great for beginner bread bakers. The Dutch oven is key for developing a perfect crusty crust and keeping the inside perfectly moist, and best of all, you don’t EVER have to touch the super sticky dough with your hands! You can let this dough rise for only 2 hours and bake it right away, OR you can keep the dough in your fridge for up to 7 days and use when you want to. Unlike other no-knead bread recipes that require 12 hours minimum rise time. Here are all the details. First of all, what is no knead bread?No knead bread is, as the name suggests, bread that can be made without kneading the dough. No need to knead. Hah! The dough is notoriously very loose and sticky, which can make it a little frustrating to work with (which is why I developed this method to not touch it at all- it takes a lot of that frustration away!). No knead bread loafs do not need a second rise time, like a traditional loaf. The bread doesn’t have enough structure to rise “up,” and instead will flatten out and fill the shape of whatever you are making (Note: you CAN do a second rise time with no knead focaccia, which is a flatter bread type.) The lack of a second rise results in two things: first, a faster overall time to make. And the second: it won’t have as many holes as a kneaded bread dough. While I love a good fluffy artisan bread with holes for days, I think the pros here outweigh the cons. The bread DOES have some good holes, it’s got a great texture, and the fact that it’s so easy and hassle free is enough to make me never want to make a kneaded artisan loaf again! How to make no knead doughYou only need water, yeast, flour, and salt for this no knead bread dough.
I like to use a silicone spatula to scrape the dough off the wooden spoon, as it will be quite sticky and loose. Letting the dough riseOnce the dough is mixed, just cover it with a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm-ish spot for two or three hours. It should double in size at least. If your house is cold, I recommend turning your oven on for a few seconds, turning it off, and placing the bowl in the warm oven with the door closed to trap the heat in. If you’re using your oven to cook something (or in the next step when you need to preheat your Dutch oven), you can leave the bowl on top of the stove- the vented heat at the top will help it rise well. You can also get some really hot water in a mug or glass measuring cup, stick it in the microwave, and place the bowl next to it. Shut the door to the microwave- this will trap the warmth and steam inside. If your house is warm, you can just leave it out. If it’s warm outside, you can leave the bowl outside. Storing the dough in your fridgeAfter the dough has risen for 2 hours, you can bake it immediately. But if you like, you can stick it in your refrigerator for up to 7 days until you’re ready to bake it! Cold dough is a little easier to handle, so that’s a pro for this. I recommend using plastic wrap or something more airtight to cover the bowl when you put it in the fridge. If you know you are making this dough days in advance, you can mix it up in a container, keep the lid on ajar while it’s rising and then seal the lid when you put it in the fridge. The taste will get funkier as time goes on- by the 7th day, the bread will taste more like sourdough. And the dough will collapse over time- don’t worry about this. Preheating the Dutch OvenYou want your Dutch oven to be good and hot for baking the bread so it gets a chance to crisp up properly on the outside. About 30 minutes to an hour before you want to bake the bread, place the Dutch Oven, with the lid on, on the center rack of your oven and turn your oven on to 450 degrees F. Once it reaches 450, keep preheating the Dutch Oven for about 20 minutes. Be very careful when handling the hot Dutch oven, as it’s very heavy and gets searing hot. Forming the loafHere’s my favorite part! This is how to make the sticky mess of a dough into a loaf without having to touch it with your hands.
At this point, before putting it in the Dutch oven, you can use a very sharp knife or clean razor blade to make a few cuts about 1/2″ deep in the top of the loaf. I did this with mine in a cross shape from end to end in both directions. This will help it rise up a little more in the oven and get some browner crustier bits. But it’s totally optional. Baking the breadOnce you have the loaf shape in the center of your parchment, open your oven door and take the lid off the Dutch oven (USING POTHOLDERS of course). Then, grab the sides of the parchment paper and transfer the loaf to the Dutch oven. Place the cover BACK ON (USING POTHOLDERS FOR THE LOVE OF GOD), and bake at 450 degrees for about 35 minutes. I know I keep yelling about potholders but too often I’ve reached absentmindedly for the lid of a Dutch oven thinking it’s going to be cool but it’s searing hot. It’s easy to make that mistake! Once the 35 minutes are up, take the lid OFF, and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until it’s golden brown. Stop for a moment, and inhale deeply. The smell of fresh-baked bread is one of the best things in the world. Finally, remove the bread by holding the parchment paper, and place on a wire rack or a cutting board to cool. You want it to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing. AND YOU’RE DONE! Congrats on your gorgeous artisan Dutch oven bread! Why does the lid to the Dutch Oven need to be on while it bakes?The key to moist bread with a perfectly crusty crust is that it needs to be baked in a humid environment. I know it seams counter-intuitive, but it really works. The lid to the Dutch oven traps the steam from the sticky dough inside, making it a perfect bread baking environment. Then, taking the lid off for the last bit of cooking helps really brown the top of the loaf without it over-drying. It’s truly a miracle to behold. And it’s why we can call it “artisan bread!” But what if I don’t have a Dutch Oven?Glad you asked. This bread is possible to make without a Dutch oven, but you won’t get the same amazingly crusty results. Don’t let that stop you- just temper your expectations a bit. You can bake the bread, on parchment paper since the dough is so sticky, on a baking sheet or, preferably, in a preheated cast iron skillet. Here’s what you can do to help make it extra tasty with a crusty crust. Create a humid environment in your oven by placing a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack while the oven preheats. When you add the bread to the oven, pour about 4 cups of water onto the preheated baking sheet. This will create steam as the cold water hits the hot metal. Close the oven door as fast as you can to trap the steam inside. Can I use another kind of flour?I used all-purpose for this crusty artisan bread, but you can use bread flour if you like. You can also use part whole wheat flour– I recommend substituting 1 cup of the AP flour with whole wheat. A 100% whole wheat loaf has not been tested, but it might work. I haven’t tried using a gluten-free flour mix for this and therefore cannot recommend it. Here’s a gluten-free artisan bread that might be helpful for you! And finally, you should never substitute a non-flour flour, such as almond flour or chickpea flour, for AP flour. Those won’t work with this bread. Can I freeze it?Yes! The bread stays good at room temperature in a plastic bag or airtight container for about 2 days, and it will get staler as time goes on. Any longer than 1-2 days, and you should freeze it. You can freeze the loaf whole if you like- you’ll just need to leave it out for about 12 hours before you can slice into it. Or, you can slice it before freezing, which enables you to take out one slice at a time for toast or sandwiches. Here are some tips for freezing:
It should stay good for 2-3 months in the freezer if stored properly. How to serve an artisan bread loafI’m a big fan of eating the bread smeared with salted butter and drizzled with honey, as pictured above. But this homemade bread would be delicious…
What to make with the stale breadIf you forget about the bread and leave it out at room temperature for more than a couple days, it may go stale. I hardly ever have this happen, as my family and I inhale the entire loaf in one sitting usually. But there are a few things you can do with the leftover stale bread! Here are my favorites:
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Check out all my homemade basic essential recipes here. I also LOVE using my Dutch oven to roast a whole chicken. Did you know commenting and rating recipes is one of the best ways you can support your favorite food bloggers? If you made this Dutch Oven No Knead Artisan Bread, please click the stars below to comment and Rate this Recipe! Dutch Oven No Knead Crusty BreadThis Dutch Oven No Knead Bread recipe comes out perfectly crusty in under 3 hours – it's easy to make homemade artisan bread with 5 minutes of prep! 4.94 from 793 votes Save this RecipeSaved!Print Pin RateCourse: Bread Cuisine: American Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 40 minutes Rising time: 2 hours Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes Servings: 8 servings Calories: 188kcal Author: Elizabeth Lindemann Equipment
Ingredients
US Customary – Metric Instructions
Notes
NutritionCalories: 188kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 437mg | Potassium: 63mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 2mg Nutrition Information DisclaimerThe provided nutrition information is my best estimate and does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools: Do you have to preheat Dutch oven for no knead bread?Most no knead bread recipes call for preheating the Dutch oven while the oven heats up. Not only do we not recommend heating an empty Dutch oven, but it can be challenging to wrangle the wet dough carefully into an extremely hot pot. But we found that preheating is really not necessary to achieve a delicious loaf.
Why is my no knead bread so dense?Why Is My Bread Dense? Usually bread will be dense when there is too much flour. Keep in mind this dough will be sticky and shaggy, do not add any more flour than specified. Other factors that come into play are humidity and age of flour.
Why is my Dutch oven bread gummy?Why is my bread so gummy? Check your oven temperature! Gummy bread usually occurs because the crust forms on the bread before the inside has reached its full volume.
Can I use bread flour instead of all purpose for no knead bread?If your favorite no knead French boule or Margherita pizza recipe uses all purpose flour and you wish for a chewier texture, feel free to substitute with bread flour.
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