No Knead Bread
Experience the ultimate comfort food with homemade No Knead Bread. This easy recipe yields a perfectly crusty loaf with a soft interior, perfect for toasting or serving with soup. Make it tonight and enjoy the delightful aroma filling your kitchen!
Equipment
- 6-quart Dutch Oven
- Parchment Paper
- Wooden Spoon
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- ¾ teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 ½ cups warm water
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, and instant yeast. Stir the dry ingredients together until they are well mixed. You want to ensure that the yeast is evenly distributed throughout the flour.
- Next, add the warm water to the dry ingredients. It’s important that the water is at the right temperature, around 105 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit. If it’s too hot, it can kill the yeast, and if it’s too cold, the dough won’t rise properly. Mix everything with a spatula or wooden spoon until it forms a sticky and shaggy dough.
- Cover the bowl with a clean towel. This helps keep the warmth in, allowing the dough to rise. Set it in a warm place and let it rise for about 8 hours. You can even leave it overnight for maximum flavor development.
- After 8 hours, uncover the dough. You’ll notice it has expanded and is bubbling. Flour your work surface lightly and turn the dough out onto it. Dust your hands with a bit of flour and gently shape the dough into a ball or loaf.
- Transfer the shaped dough onto a piece of parchment paper and cover it with a bowl or towel once more. Let it rise for an additional hour. During this time, preheat your oven to 430 degrees Fahrenheit, placing a Dutch oven inside without the lid.
- After the hour has passed and your oven is hot, carefully remove the Dutch oven. Lift the dough using the edges of the parchment paper and place it inside the Dutch oven. Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes.
- Once the first 30 minutes are up, remove the lid of the Dutch oven. This allows the bread to brown beautifully. Bake for an additional 15 minutes uncovered, until the crust is a lovely golden-brown color.
- When done, carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven. Take the bread out using the parchment paper and let it cool on a wire rack. This is key – allowing it to cool completely before slicing will help maintain its structure and texture.
- After it has cooled, slice and enjoy your freshly baked No Knead Bread! I recommend serving it warm with a bit of butter or your favorite spread.
Notes
- Use active dry yeast instead: The recipe here is for instant yeast, but you can replace it with active dry yeast by just doubling the amount. So instead of ¾ teaspoon instant yeast, use 1 ½ teaspoons of active dry yeast.
- 1 hour rise variation: Don’t have 8 hours to wait for the dough to ferment? Make the recipe as directed, but add 1 teaspoon of honey or granulated sugar to the dough. Rather than 8 hours for the initial rise, you should only need 1 hour now!
- Baking bread in a Dutch oven: Creates a hot, steamy environment that creates the most wonderful crust!
- Make sure the water is at the correct temperature: I suggest that you use a kitchen thermometer to be sure. If the water is too cold, the yeast won’t activate, and if the water is too hot, you risk killing the yeast.
- To Store: Enjoy your homemade bread as soon as possible after baking. Store it unsliced in an airtight container for up to 2 days if needed. I suggest freezing individual slices of bread if you aren’t going to eat the loaf right away. They can go from the freezer directly to the toaster.