Miracle No Knead Bread! this is SO UNBELIEVABLY GOOD and ridiculously easy to make. crusty outside, soft and chewy inside – perfect for dunking in soups!
Miracle No Knead Bread
There’s a reason we are calling this MIRACLE NO KNEAD BREAD.
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I have made this several times now and it always comes out great!! I am so nervous about cooking with yeast but this recipe is a piece of cake.
Merideth
This is a fan favorite recipe that’s part of our Fall 2022 SOS Series! View the full series.
Let me paint a picture for you. It starts with a golden and ragged-looking crusty loaf of piping hot white bread being roughly torn into chunks, steam escaping, crumbs flying everywhere across the table, and it ends with that swift swooping motion as its hot n’ chewy little self dives deep into the bowl of thick soup and delivers a bit of chewy carbs sopped with flavor to your hungry, happy mouth. Honestly. The pure bliss of this moment.
Welcome to fall, bread lovers.
I have some really good news for you today.
YOU ARE ABOUT TO MAKE BREAD LIKE A BOSS.
In This Post: Everything You Need For No Knead Bread
- Watch How to Make No Knead Bread
- The Bread for Non-Bread Makers
- Ingredients for This Bread
- Make No Knead Bread
- Variations on This No Knead Bread Recipe
- No Knead Bread: Frequently Asked Questions
Prefer To Watch Instead Of Read?
The Bread For Non-Bread Makers (SOS-Friendly!)
You are going to serve this bread with your rocked-out homemade soups and the praise will come flowing from family and friends and neighbors alike, and people are not going to be able to stop. This is your moment for Martha-Stewart-level domestic greatness within the normalcy of a regular person life, and we are going to milk it.
Please scan your brain right now for these lurking thoughts: “I don’t make bread.” “Bread baking takes too long.” “Yeast-y recipes scare me.”
Friends, let the record show that I am in your club. I am on that team. I have less than zero percent patience for bread recipes and therefore I do not make bread, at all, ever, and I only have two teeny exceptions:
- I make brioche from Artisan Bread in 5, like, three times per year, because it makes for perfect tea rings and homemade French toast bakes and cinnamon rolls and for the times that the baking diva within comes alive. Also it’s VERY EASY.
- I make this Miracle No Knead Bread, inspired from my friends, fellow bloggers, Jim Lahey, and people of the internet, and I make it a minimum of 250 times every fall and winter because it is the opposite of fancy. Which is confusing because it FEELS fancy to pull a loaf of homemade bread out of the oven, especially when it is tucked into that rustic and beautiful Laura-Ingalls-Wilder-esque red Lodge Dutch Oven (affiliate link) that we swoon over every year when the leaves start turning, but seriously – I would, and do, on a regular basis, make this bread for weeknight dinners. We don’t call this Miracle No Knead Bread for nothin’.
What Is No Knead Bread Exactly?
Well, it’s exactly as it sounds!
While many bread recipes involve a lot of kneading and proofing and rising and proofing again and Great British Bake-Off levels of stress, this one requires no kneading. The most effort you’ll put in is the quick mix you’ll do to get the flour, water, yeast, and salt combined, and the strength it takes to transfer your dutch oven into the oven (but seriously, why so heavy?).
After a hands-off overnight rest on the countertop, and quick bake, the result: perfectly crusty outsides, soft and warm insides. It is, to put it simply, heaven.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Okay, are you ready for how short of a list this is?
- all-purpose flour (bread flour can work, too!)
- salt
- instant yeast
- water (but we’re guessing you have that on hand)
That’s it! That’s literally it!
How To Make No Knead Bread
Pillowy, golden-crusted, perfectly baked homemade bread is in your future! Let’s make it happen.
- Mix. Whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. Stir in a bit of room temp water until the dough starts to form. It’ll look a little bit weird at first, just try us when we say it’ll all come together.
- Let the dough rest. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it just sit on the counter at room temp overnight. Just forget about it until morning.
- Form the dough. Remove the dough from the bowl and shape it into a ball.
- Bake. Line your Dutch oven or big oven-safe pot with parchment paper. Warm it up in the oven for a half hour or so (without the dough). Add your dough, add the lid, and bake for 30 minutes. Lift off the lid and bake for another 10ish minutes until the top gets a beautiful golden brown.
- Dunk away! Get ready to tear into this warm homemade bread and dunk and scoop it in all the things!
Variations On This No Knead Bread Recipe
Obviously we prefer this in its original, perfect form, but if you’re looking to make some changes, there are always OPTIONS.
- How to make it gluten-free: We tried this flour (affiliate link) and the results were great. A hard crust formed on the outside and the inside was soft, airy, and a teeny bit spongy – close to the real thing. Some downsides: the bread didn’t rise as much as the regular version and, of course, it didn’t have quite the same flavor.
- How to make it whole wheat: This is very similar to the original version. The texture of the dough was the same, it rose the same, and it looked the same coming out of the oven with its hard crust. The inside texture was denser with not as many air pockets. The flavor was a little bitter and texture was a bit gritty, but to be expected with whole wheat flour.
- How to add some flavor: Use whatever herbs that sound delicious to you! Mix them in the beginning to avoid kneading later.
- How to make it CHEESY: We’ve got a recipe for that! Check out our No Knead Cheese Bread.
It’s worth saying again that my motto for Pinch of Yum is RECIPES THAT REAL PEOPLE WOULD ACTUALLY MAKE. I pass all recipes that hit your eyeballs through this very practical and very important filter.
And this bread? This no knead bread that can be mixed all in one bowl with a wooden spoon in five minutes flat? This bread is on-brand. Nailed it. If you’ve never done this before, buckle up.
You’re so gonna love it in all its crispy, air-pocketed glory.
No Knead Bread: Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this if I don’t have a Dutch oven?
You will just need an oven-safe pot or pan with an oven-safe tight-fitting lid. Please check instructions on whatever you use to ensure it can be heated to 450 degrees (empty for instruction #2).
Will active dry yeast work for this bread?
Yep! Just make sure to activate the yeast first according to package instructions.
Why didn’t my bread rise?
We’d recommend using fresh yeast for this recipe. Expired yeast can lead to bread that won’t rise.
Miracle No Knead Bread
- Total Time: 18 hours 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Miracle No Knead Bread! this is SO UNBELIEVABLY GOOD and ridiculously easy to make. crusty outside, soft and chewy inside – perfect for dunking in soups!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 1/2 cups room temperature water
Instructions
- DOUGH PREP: In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, salt, and yeast together until mixed. Stir in the water until a chunky, thick dough forms. If it needs a little more water, add a few more tablespoons, just enough to get it barely wet throughout. It’s gonna look scrappy and weird and you’re going to question me on whether or not this will work, but it will. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest for 12-18 hours at room temperature. Overnight is ideal here, kids.
- PREP FOR BAKING: When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 450. Stick a 6 quart enamel coated cast iron Lodge Dutch Oven (or similar) in the oven for about 30 minutes to heat. At this point, the dough should be big and puffy and pretty loose, with little bubbles in it. Gently scrape the dough out onto a well-floured surface. (Remember: NO KNEAD.) Gently shape it into a ball with flour on the outside, set on a piece of parchment, and cover with plastic while your pan heats up.
- BAKE: Remove the plastic from the dough. Lift the dough and parchment together into the pan so the parchment lines the bottom of the hot pan (be careful not to touch the pan since it’s very hot). Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and bake another 10-15 minutes to get the exterior nice and golden brown and crispy. Voila! Done. Miracle no-knead bread, you boss you.
Equipment
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Notes
Based on comments and questions, we decided to try this recipe with both gluten-free flour and whole wheat flour! A few notes for each: 1. Gluten-Free: We tried this flour (affiliate link) and the results were great. A hard crust formed on the outside and the inside was soft, airy, and a teeny bit spongy – close to the real thing. Some downsides: the bread didn’t rise as much as the regular version and, of course, it didn’t have quite the same flavor. 2. Whole Wheat: This was very similar to the original version. The texture of the dough was the same, it rose the same, and it looked the same coming out of the oven with its hard crust. The inside texture was denser with not as many air pockets. The flavor was a little bitter and texture was a bit gritty, but to be expected with whole wheat flour.
- Prep Time: 12 hours
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: no knead bread, homemade bread, easy bread
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(👇🏼 pictured here dipped in Chicken Wild Rice Soup. cannot recommend that situation highly enough.)
You can read about ten other things I love to do with my adorable red Lodge Dutch Oven in THIS POST from years back. Yes, I am that much of a superfan.
Soup Recipes To Enjoy This Bread With
Truly there is nothing better than swooping a piece of this piping hot bread into some cozy, creamy soup. Here are our favorites:
- The Best Detox Crockpot Lentil Soup (healthy, creamy, YUM)
- Simple Homemade Tomato Soup (maybe even with our No Knead CHEESE Bread?!)
- Instant Pot Wild Rice Soup (our favorite pairing)
- Instant Pot Minestrone Soup (like a hug in a bowl)
- Basic + Awesome Broccoli Cheese Soup (cheese and bread, can’t go wrong)
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One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of easy baking recipes. Check it out!
September 28, 2022
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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Super easy, and the perfect pairing for a December soup night!
What a delicious and easy recipe! I love that it is mostly hands-off and comes together so quickly. I used half whole wheat flour and added chopped rosemary and thyme and a little garlic powder. It was the perfect side to chili on a cool day! Delicious!
Made this bread tonight and all loved it. Holiday bucket list 2023
I started making this for the 2022 holiday bucket list, and make it all the time now! Couldn’t be easier, just need rising time! Our family filled with boys eats the whole loaf fast! I’ve also tried adding different spices and it’s always amazing!
I make this bread on a regular basis and won’t be going back to any other standard bread recipes because it’s so easy and turns out perfectly every time. I even recently used a thicker whole wheat flour and it was still great. I’d imagine this would be good to make croutons with if it gets old too.
Very easy to make and tasty right out of the oven!
This was great! Super easy and delicious. The only thing I will note is that when it says to scrape the dough into a well-floured surface they mean it! I ended up needing more flour than I would have thought because the dough was very sticky! But it worked out beautifully once I added more flour to the outside.
I am not a baker or bread maker or anything like that and this was foolproof! It was also delicious!
This was easy and great! Mine was sort of large and shallow, so next time I’ll use a smaller dish to bake it in.
This bread was so easy and so good! I was so impressed and happy with the texture with how hands off it was. Will definitely be making it again.
Made the bread tonight, my yeast might have been a little old, but bread was still delish! Holiday Bucketlist 2023!
Made the bread tonight, my yeast might have been a little old, but bread was still delish! Holiday Bucketlisf 2023!
Hello I was wondering if leaving this out for up to 24 hours would be too long? Any feedback would be appreciated I love the idea of a simple bread recipe but would most likely make this the night before about 9 pm and not be able to bake until 4/5 pm the next day. Your blog is very inspiring! Thank you
I have made this before, and it was always excellent, today I made this with the substitution someone suggested in the comments of adding half a cup of Craisins, zest of one orange and juice of that orange subbed in for part of the water. It’s absolutely beautiful and I can’t wait to cut into it. I’m sure it’s going to be fantastic.
This is my go-to no-knead bread recipe. I make it every time I’m cooking up a hearty soup, stew, or ratatouille-esque dish that needs a little crusty bread action.
And it’s so easy to add extra stuff–I usually mix in some fresh or dried rosemary as well as some olive oil to give it an extra punch of flavor.
So easy. So delicious. So cheap. 10/10.
SO easy and so tasty! If you feel intimidated by bread making, this recipe will show you how simple it can be. There is no mess the night before which is brilliant and the preheated Dutch oven bakes the loaf in no time. We used whole wheat flour and it still worked like a charm. We are going to do half white half whole wheat flour next time to lighten it up a bit. Excited to have this loaf ready for some Chicken Wild Rice soup this week!
A really easy bread recipe! Tastes great.
This recipe is a staple for me. It always turns out a slightly different shape for me depending on how I do it and I found I usually have to add less water to the mix also. I also noticed it helps me to put a baking sheet under the Dutch oven to keep the bottom from getting too dark. Great to have fresh bread with soup and so easy to make!
I don’t appreciate the endless wordiness and scrolling just to find the recipe. Finding the recipe while sorting through and around pop up videos and ads was beyond annoying. Worst recipe and website around.
There’s a “jump to recipe” button under every single recipe heading which should help 😉
First time ever baking bread and this was a GREAT easy option that turned out so crusty and delicious. I didn’t have a big enough dutch oven for the whole loaf so I split it into two and baked two smaller ones (one in my small dutch oven and the other in my cast iron pan with aluminum foil over top) and they both (surprisingly) turned out great! I cut big hunks off the loaf, slathered on some butter, and dipped it into soup and it was so cozy and delicious. Will definitely be making again!
I’m not a big baker but I have bake several loaves of homemade bread. This dough was way to wet even after adding more flour. I will never use this recipe again.
I never refrigerate over night. I put warm water, t of sugar & yeast in bowl till it activates ( bubbles form, then add cup of flour ( slurry), stir let bubbles appear, add rest of flour,, stir, let rest 1 hour, rises…..by that time oven & cast iron stew pan heated & carefully lift lid, plop in dough, set timer, remove & its perfect, light yet chewy!!!!
These recipes would be much easier to understand if you simply published the actual recipe with out the confusing article , etc. beforehand. Put the notes, article , video, etc afterward so people don’t have to scroll thru all the blather & promotional rah rah to try and find the recipe,
Hi! I love this recipe & how delicious but easy it is! Usually. My last two times the dough has come out more runny than usual leading to a smaller, denser loaf. I even used less water last night & still seem to be having the same issue. I just looked at my new jar of yeast and realized that it says original. Could this be the issue? I see that your recipe says to use instant. Any help is appreciated!
Giving the benefit of the doubt – I’m sure this recipe is wonderful for American measurements. However it is TERRIBLE if you use the metric measurements provided. Dough was so horribly gloopy.
Please don’t provide instructions for metric if they are incorrect.
I just made this and measured the ingredients on a scale using grams and it came out perfect