This dutch oven bread is a simple, hands-off, no-knead recipe that only requires 5 minutes of prep and you never touch the dough! It’s the perfect recipe for beginners that are hesitant to try making their own bread. Full of homemade simplicity, this is the best bread you’ll ever make.

Homemade bread can be a little difficult to master. The dough can be difficult to work with, the loaves can end up flat, flavorless, and nothing like you’re used to.

It was definitely a process for me to learn to make bread at home and while I still have some work to do to perfect the art that is breadmaking, I’ve made a lot of progress by making very simple loaves to help me learn the process of what makes a good loaf of bread, well, good.

This simple no-knead dutch oven bread is one of those simple loaves. The active time is 5 minutes, it only requires 4 simple ingredients, one of which is water, the others are all-purpose flour, active dry yeast, and sea salt. And it always turns out into a beautiful, flavorful loaf without any real effort on my part.

No fancy equipment, no fancy ingredients or techniques. Just easy, simple artisan bread with the perfect crusty outside and savory, fluffy soft inside. Bread perfection.

The only caveat to making this loaf of bread is it requires planning ahead as it needs to rise for a long time. It does require a minimum of 12 hours of rising time. Can you rush it? Sure, but the end result is going to be a heavy, dense loaf of bread because the gluten strands have not had time to develop. If you want a light and fluffy loaf with a crusty inside, you have to give it time otherwise your bread is going to have an overly chewy texture.

What is no knead bread?

Simply put, it’s bread dough that does not require any kneading time. No-knead loaves require a long rising time and are usually very wet and sticky, which would make them a hassle to knead, to begin with.

The reason they require so much rising time is that, unlike kneaded dough, you aren’t manually helping create those gluten strands, gluten strands are what give your bread texture… the more

They need time to allow the gluten to relax. When you knead the dough, you are manually helping those gluten strands form within your bread. That helps make your bread light and fluffy. If you under-knead a traditional loaf of bread, your loaf will be denser… not as much gluten developed.

This recipe also uses the science of moisture and heat to create a beautiful, crusty loaf with a light and airy inside. You preheat your dutch oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, then you add your bread and cover the dutch oven up. This creates humidity and heat inside the dutch oven to make your bread the beautiful loaf it will become. Pretty cool, huh?

Another bonus to this recipe is it does not require a second rising time, so even though it has to rise for a day, it requires very little active time and is simply a mix and dump type of recipe.

How to Make No Knead Dutch Oven Bread

You only need all-purpose flour, sea salt, active dry yeast, and water to make this recipe!

Step 1: Make the Dough

First, in a large bowl whisk together all of the dry ingredients, 3 1/4 cups of flour, 2 1/2 teaspoons of salt, and 2 teaspoons of yeast.

Then, make a well in the center of your dry ingredients and add 1 3/4 cups very warm water to it. Stir everything together with a wooden spoon until just combined.

Step 2: Let it rise

Now, you’ll simply want to cover your bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and set the dough in a warm, undisturbed place for 12 to 24 hours to allow the dough to rise. You’ll do absolutely nothing to the dough during this time.

Step 3: Preheat

Place your dutch oven, with the lid on, in a cold oven and set it to preheat to 450°F. Once the oven reaches temperature, leave the dutch oven inside to warm for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, you can prepare your dough. Grab a piece of parchment paper and place it flat on your work surface.

You’ll want to use a dough scraper, or rubber spatula to loosen the dough from the edges of the bowl and simply plop it out onto the parchment paper.

Step 4: Bake

Carefully remove the hot dutch oven from the oven and remove the lid keeping your oven mitts on as the lid will be just as hot as the pot itself. Grab the parchment paper on the corners and carefully place the dough into the hot pot. Replace the lid and place the covered dutch oven back into the 450°F oven and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue baking the bread at 450°F for another 20 minutes.

Step 5: Cool & Slice

Carefully remove the loaf from the hot dutch oven and place it on a wire rack to cool before slicing and enjoying.

Tips for Making Dutch Oven Bread

• This dough is very wet and sticky, you don’t need to touch it or add flour. It will look mostly like a blob on the parchment after you pour it out. That’s ok, let the process do its magic.
• This recipe is super simple, don’t overcomplicate it. You just need to incorporate all of the ingredients together, then stop. Don’t over mix it. Just stir until incorporated and go find something else to do until tomorrow. You’ll thank me later. 
• Speaking of time, yes, you need to let it sit for a minimum of 12 hours and up to 24. If you don’t, your bread is likely to be very chewy. The longer it sits, the more delicious and palatable your bread will be. I like to put mine together the day before I plan to make soup or beef stew that I love serving this along side. 
• Use the parchment paper, it will make your life so much easier, no having to touch the dough and no bread sticking to the bottom of the pan.

FAQs

What does the dutch oven do for the bread?

The dutch oven creates the perfect environment for creating a nice, crusty bread that bakes evenly. Preheating it helps capture heat inside instead of trying to heat the vessel up after you’ve preheated the oven.

Baking the bread inside creates steam, which also aids in producing the crust on the outside of the loaf.

Does it matter what dutch oven I use in this recipe?

I use a large, 5-quart cast iron dutch oven. A smaller dutch oven will produce a taller loaf, while a larger 6-quart will produce a more flat loaf because the dough is going to spread out a little more in the additional space.

That said, it really doesn’t matter. You can use plain cast iron or an enameled cast iron dutch oven and get the same results as long as it has a lid and is oven safe.

Why is My Bread Flat?

The reason bread turns out flat is almost always your yeast. Yeast is a living organism, believe it or not, and it loses its reactivity after a while. Even if you never opened the jar, it expires. So always check your expiration dates. Leave it stored in a cool, dark place.

Once opened, you can store it, tightly lidded, in the refrigerator for up to 6 months. I always allow refrigerated yeast to get to room temperature before baking with it. 

Another way to kill yeast is the temperature of the water. It can be too hot (over 110°F) or too cold (under 90°F). If it’s too hot it will kill the yeast, too cold it won’t even activate it. I turn on the tap and let it run for a few moments and it is the perfect temperature to activate the yeast.

Another reason your bread could be flattish in appearance is the size of the dutch oven you use. The larger the dutch oven, the less tall your loaf will be. I use a 5-quart dutch oven with this recipe and it works fine, but if you want your loaf to be taller, use a smaller (perhaps a 3.5 or 4 quart) dutch oven instead. 

Why is my bread dense?

Not allowing adequate rising time is the number one reason for a dense, doughy bread. The next thing is adding too much flour. As mentioned, this recipe produces a very wet dough, that’s ok. Don’t get ahead of yourself thinking you need to add more flour, you don’t.

Can I use a different flour?

All-purpose flour is going to produce the best results, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use bread flour or whole wheat flour. Since those flour types will create a more dense loaf, you’ll want to add a little less. I recommend cutting the flour ratio down by about 1/4 of a cup and working from there. It will definitely take a little experimentation.

Can I add herbs or spices to flavor dutch oven bread?

Absolutely. While this bread is probably one of the most flavorful, simple bread recipes I’ve ever tasted, you can definitely modify it. I really enjoy adding a little fresh rosemary, garlic, and cheese to it and serving it with Spaghetti & Meatballs. It makes a delicious cheesy garlic bread that’s so good. If you do add anything to it, which is totally fine, let it rise for at least 18 hours because it will slow down the development of that all-important gluten.

What if I don’t have a dutch oven?

Using a dutch oven creates a nice, humid environment that helps create the crusty loaf of bread, but you can get similar results without one.

Option 1: An Oven Safe Pot and Baking Sheet

Make sure your stock pot is oven safe and you can use it instead of a dutch oven. You will not preheat this pot as it will likely burn your loaf. Just place it in the stainless pot, put a baking sheet on top and bake for 30 minutes, remove the baking sheet for the last 20 minutes just like a dutch oven.

Option 2: Cast Iron Skillets and Ice

If you have two cast iron skillets and some ice cubes, you can create a similar environment. Place two cast iron skillets in your oven while it is preheating, just like you would for the dutch oven. Put one below and one above on the racks.

Once preheated for 20 minutes at 450°F, remove the top skillet and carefully place your bread into it. Next, carefully add about 10 ice cubes to the bottom skillet. Bake just like the recipe says.

Can I bake this without using parchment paper?

You can, but it’s messier. To do this, you’ll want to coat the bottom of your dutch oven with a bit of flour. You can simply loosen the dough using a bowl scraper and dump it right into the hot dutch oven.

Other From Scratch Breads You’ll Love:

• Southern Style Skillet Cornbread
• Homemade Honey Oat Bread
• Southern Style Hush Puppies Recipe

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