This no knead bread is perfectly crusty on the outside, with a fluffy interior that’s just begging for some creamy butter. Try it with your dinner tonight!
If you think crusty artisan bread is only available from the bakery… get ready to think again! Â This no knead bread is made incredibly easy, and is easy to customize with add-ins for different flavor combinations!
Are you a fan of those breads from the bakery, you know, the one’s with that deliciously crunchy crust and soft, fluffy inside? Â Yep, this bread tastes just like that. Â Personally, I think it tastes even better!!
It sounds fancy and complicated, but trust me on this one, it’s not. Â In fact, there’s no kneading whatsoever!
I always thought homemade breads were complicated… involving a bunch of steps and rises. Â Granted, there are some breads like that… but this bread just isn’t one of them.
BUT SERIOUSLY… NO KNEADING??
Absolutely none! Â No stand mixer needed… just a bowl and a wooden spoon.
The night before you want to make the bread, you mix up your flour, salt, yeast and water with a big spoon. Â I like to make this a Parmesan and rosemary bread, so I also stirred in some minced rosemary and a handful of shredded Parmesan cheese.
Now just cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit out on your counter overnight and throughout the next day. Â So there is a bit of prep with this bread, in that you have to plan ahead and make it the night before. Â But that’s the only “work” there is with this bread. Â Seriously.
After it’s rested for a good 18 hours or so, flour your hands and cutting board really well. Â Turn out your dough onto your cutting board and roughly shape it into a ball. Â Drop the ball into a preheated dutch oven and bake. Â That’s it!
WHAT OTHER FLAVORS CAN I MAKE?
The sky is really the limit here! Â It’s great plain, and obviously with the parmesan and rosemary, but here are some additional flavor options!
- Cheddar cheese and crumbled cooked bacon
- Roasted garlic cloves
- Sun-dried tomatoes (diced up) and basil
- Diced olives
- Cheddar cheese and jalapeños
Look at that amazing texture! Â All those little nooks and crannies are just begging for some creamy salted butter or to be dipped in a soup/stew!
Here are some great recipes to go with this no knead bread:
- Slow Cooker Spaghetti Bolognese Sauce
- Slow Cooker Creamy White Chicken Chili
- 10 Minute Shrimp Scampi
- Slow Cooker Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
- Guinness and Coffee Irish Beef Stew
The next time you’re craving a loaf of homemade crusty bread, give this no knead bread recipe a try… I really think you’ll love it!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cups room temperature water
- 1/3 cups grated parmesan cheese
- 1 Tbsp minced fresh rosemary
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, add flour, salt, yeast, cheese and rosemary. Pour in water, use a wooden spatula to combine. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let sit on your counter for 12-18 hours (I've even done up to 24 hours).
- When ready to bake your bread, preheat oven to 450 F degrees. Add cast iron dutch oven (with the lid on) to the oven, so it preheats along with the oven itself.
- Flour your hands, counter/cutting board, and sprinkle some flour over the top of the dough itself. Remove dough from bowl and shape it into a rough ball shape. Drop ball of dough into the preheated pot, cover with lid and return to the oven.
- Bake, with the lid on, for 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake for another 15-20 minutes until golden brown and crusty.
- Bread should remove easily from the pot, so take bread out and let cool completely before slicing.
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Chef Tips
- Dough will be sticky, and unlike any traditional kneaded bread dough.
- Preheating the dutch oven is important, as it makes sure the dough doesn't stick to the bottom. Â If you want a little extra assurance, sprinkle a bit of flour or cornmeal on the bottom before adding the dough.
- I like to use a smaller dutch oven, about 3.5 qt, so the dough rises upwards and yields a higher loaf. Â Using a larger dutch oven means the dough will spread out more and won't be as high, although still just as tasty. Â It's all about how you want the bread to look.
- Make sure your yeast is not expired. Â Even if you've never opened the yeast, it can lose it's effectiveness over time. Â I like to buy smaller packets of yeast so I can use them before they go bad.
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
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Darin says
I doubled the yeast and added a little sugar to it to make it rise better. Overall, this is a fabulous recipe. I also added Italian seasoning, granulated garlic and parmesan cheese to it. It came out so good. Everybody wanted more. I don’t have a cast iron bowl to cook it in so I just put it on a flat cookie sheet with parchment paper. Formed it as best I could and it still was very nice.
Carol Tedesco says
I’m glad that I came upon your beef n barley soup recipe when I was searching for one. Yours sounded delicious and easy to make. I’ve subscribed to your recipes. I can’t wait to make the no knead artisan bread as well as the soup. Yum! Kind regards, Carol Tedesco
Jenny O. says
Delicious! I can’t wait to try it with some Asiago! I doubled the recipe for my 6 quart Dutch oven and it was perfect. Thank you so much for a bread recipe that I was actually able to bake successfully!
Rachel says
This is my very first comment on a recipe EVER- I cook all the time. But I had to comment about how much I love this bread! It turned out SO good!!! I used dried rosemary instead of fresh and some grated Romano cheese and the flavor is amazing, the crust was so golden and crusty- inside was chewy and flavorful. Thank you so much!!
Janet Hohn says
What if you don’t have a Dutch oven. What can you bake the bread in?
The Chunky Chef says
Look for the “no dutch oven?” heading in the Chef Tips right below this similar recipe, it will give you all the details 🙂 https://www.thechunkychef.com/jalapeno-cheddar-dutch-oven-bread/#wprm-recipe-container-17507
Kathy says
Have seen very similar bread recipe that bakes the bread in a 450 degree preheated 10inch cast iron skillet.
Heidi says
Can I make it in a 2.6ltr ditch oven or will I have to adjust the quantities?
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written, with the dutch oven I have (which is a bit larger than the one you’re talking about). So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain if that would work. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Martha Cassi says
I make this often. My family loves it. Today I used Everything but the bagle seasoning and just Wow.
Victoria says
This was better than best….oh wait,…I LOVED your Jalapeno/Cheddar bread as well! The crunch of the crust was to die for! Nothing better and this is my go to recipe. And the waiting time? Worth it! Especially if you make it at night and let it do its thing overnight to bake the next day. This was the perfect bread for a bean soup dish I made for dinner.
Delicious! I’m hoping to try this for my son’s girlfriend who is gluten free and adapt it. Wish me luck! Thank you for your recipes.
Dar says
Ham chowder and bread sounds wonderful, question I have is do you grease the Dutch oven when making the bread, haven’t tried anything like this but anxious to try.
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve never had to grease the dutch oven, and would worry about whatever oil you use burning in the hot oven… but if you’re worried about the bread sticking, you could always add the ball of dough to a piece of parchment paper and transfer that to the dutch oven 🙂 I use this method with my Jalapeño Cheddar Bread and have always had great results. https://www.thechunkychef.com/jalapeno-cheddar-dutch-oven-bread/#wprm-recipe-container-17507
Linda says
Great recipe! Easy and delicious. Thanks for sharing it.
Raine says
Loved your japaleno cheese bread. So did everyone who tried it.
Diane Foster says
I made the bread with just the grated parm. I felt like a pro….it was so delicious. I would likentonmakenthe cheddar and jalapeños. How much of each would I need to use? Thanks
Patty says
Should I use parchment paper or grease Dutch oven?
The Chunky Chef says
You can absolutely use parchment paper if you’d like.
V says
hi! I just made this recipe but have not baked it yet! So far it looks great, so thank you so much for sharing 🙂
I realized I only have a 5qt Dutch oven, do you think I should double the recipe or it would be okay?! Ahhhh super excited to try
The Chunky Chef says
It should be okay, just know that however wide the dutch oven is, the dough will flatten out into that. So your loaf might not be as rounded and domed, but will still taste great 🙂
Michele says
I would like to make this recipe, but I can’t eat Parmesan cheese. Can I leave it out? Or what would be a void substitute?
The Chunky Chef says
While I’ve only tested this recipe as written, and can’t say for certain, I think you could just omit the cheese 🙂 You could also try some very finely shredded mozzarella, asiago, or romano.
Michele says
Ok thank you! I just saw your reply so please disregard my repeat question.
Maureen says
Hello! =) I was wondering if there was a way that I could make this recipe, without having to preheat my dutch oove? My dutch oven instructions say not to heat it up empty! =(
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Maureen 🙂 Oh no, that’s a bummer! You can still make it, but I would follow these non-dutch oven directions (since the preheating part is important to keep the dough from sticking, as well as making a great shape). Boil about 1 1/2 cups of water.
Add to a metal or ceramic pan (I like to use my 8×8 baking pan) on the bottom rack in the oven.
Add parchment paper with dough to a baking sheet, and add to the middle oven rack.
Bake for 45-50 minutes, checking for doneness.
This mimics the steaming effect of baking the dough in a dutch oven with the lid on for the first 30 minutes (which is what causes the bread to rise so much), and also produces a great crispy crust. The dough won’t have a round shape, as the dough won’t have the sides of the dutch oven to keep it round, but it’ll still taste amazing.
Carol says
Mine does too. I added 1 & 1/2 cups of water to my mine and preheated, then emptied when it reached temp. I used parchment paper and dropped it into the dutch oven and baked. Turned out wonderful and I didn’t risk my equipment!
Lori says
I don’t have a cast iron dutch over. Is there another pot that will work for this? Thanks!
The Chunky Chef says
Hi Lori 🙂 I would follow the “no dutch oven?” tips from this recipe https://www.thechunkychef.com/jalapeno-cheddar-dutch-oven-bread/
Sienna says
Love this easy recipe. Tried it several times and it turns out perfect each time.
Wendi says
Can I use bread flour instead? Will it change the end results of the bread
Amanda says
Bread flour usually results in a chewier loaf. However I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain how it would effect this specific recipe. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!