This is a phenomenal bread recipe. The best, EASY yeast bread you will ever make, beginners love how simple it is while bread connoisseurs appreciate the Artisan bread qualities – the thick crispy crust and chewy crumb with big fat holes like sourdough!
No knead, 3 minutes active effort, very forgiving recipe. Make this today, then the Cheese Bread version tomorrow!
Phenomenal EASY yeast bread recipe
This is an extraordinary white bread recipe with outstanding results. While it’s easy and forgiving, making it suitable for beginners, experienced bakers will recognise and appreciate the Artisan bread characteristics – large holes in the crumb like your favourite sourdough bread with that signature chewiness, and a thick, crispy crust.
It’s a gold nugget recipe, and you may never buy bread again after trying this!
Here’s why it’s so easy:
No knead, no stand mixer
3 minutes active effort – you won’t even get your hands dirty
Dutch oven (cast iron pot) ideal but not necessary
Incredibly forgiving dough, with rise times ranging from 2 hours to 3 days (yes, really, you choose what works for you)
Easy but yet no compromise on quality of bread
What you need to make this homemade bread recipe
Here’s what you need to make homemade bread from scratch – yeast, flour, salt and water. Yep, really, that’s it!
No yeast?
Make this famous Irish Soda Bread instead, or this incredible No Yeast Sandwich bread based on the traditional Australian Damper!
Yeast – my base recipe uses Rapid Rise or Instant Yeast which does not need to be dissolved in water. But it works just as well with normal yeast (“Active Dry Yeast” or just “dry yeast”) – you just need to change the order of the steps and dissolve the yeast in water first. The bread comes out exactly the same!
Best flour for homemade bread – use bread flour if you can. Bread flour has more protein in it than normal flour which means more gluten, and this makes the dough more elastic and yields a more fluffy yet chewy texture inside the bread, as well as creating the big holes you see in the photos, like sourdough bread. However, this bread is still spectacular made with normal flour too!
How to make the world’s easiest homemade bread – Artisan style!
Here are process steps with tips, but also see the video below – super handy to see the dough consistency, and how to form the dough.
1. Make wet sticky dough
Mix together the flour, salt and yeast, then add warm water and mix. The “dough” will be very wet and sloppy, not kneadable at all – this is what you want! See video at 17 seconds for consistency.
2. Rise!
Cover with cling wrap then place it in a warm place (25 – 30°C / 77 – 86°F) for 2 hours. The dough will increase in volume by double or more, the surface will become bubbly and the dough will be wobbly, like jelly. See video at 24 seconds for consistency.
OPTIONAL – develop flavour: Once dough has risen, you can bake immediately. OR, for better flavour, refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours, up to 3 days. Time = better flavour development.
Bread in photos and video were baked immediately. I usually make this dough in the morning, refrigerate all day then bake in the evening. Or make the dough in the evening, refrigerate overnight and bake fresh in the morning! (10 – 12 hours in fridge). Beauty of this bread is that you can bake anytime!
No dutch oven? No problem! Just bake it on a tray – see the recipe notes.
3. Preheat oven & pot
30 minutes before dough has risen, or while refrigerated dough is coming to room temperature, place dutch oven (cast iron pot) in the oven to preheat at 230°C/450°F.
Hot oven + hot pot = bread rising boost!
4. Scrape dough out
Scrape dough out of bowl onto floured work surface. It will be wet and sticky and that’s exactly what you want – because we will not be kneading it! In fact, you won’t even touch it with your hand.
PRO TIP: Dough handling and shaping technique devised to minimise addition of flour. Less flour = wetter dough = bigger air pockets, fluffier bread and more moist.
5. Shape the dough very roughly
Use a dough scraper or anything of similar shape (spatula, cake server, or large knife) to fold the sides in so it roughly resembles a round disc.
Don’t get too hung up on the shaping – you’ll deform it in the next step!! This step is mainly to deflate the dough.
6. FLIP dough upside down onto paper
Slide a large piece of baking / parchment paper next to the dough, then flip it upside down onto the paper using the scraper so the seams from the step above are face down, and you have the smooth side up.
Slide/push the dough into the centre, then briefly reshape it into a round or slightly oval shape.
Do not get too hung up on a neat shape – this bread is supposed to be rustic! Besides, scruffier shape = more awesome crispy ridges
7. Prepare to bake!
Remove very hot pot from oven, then use paper to pick up the dough and put it in the pot, and put the lid on.
See recipe notes for no dutch oven method.
8. Bake!
Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on (this creates a steamer effect, allowing the bread to rise while it cooks before crust sets), then 12 minutes with the lid off to brown and crisp up the crust. The surface will crack – and you want this, for extra crispy ridges!! And it looks authentic, just like the Artisan bread you buy at bakeries. 😇
Cool for 10 minutes before slicing. This is important – to let the centre of the bread finish cooking (if you slice too early, it will seem a bit doughy. Patience was never my greatest virtue, so I learnt this first hand!)
Remember – you can make this bread recipe WITHOUT a dutch oven!
Why this bread recipe works – and TIPS!
Loose, sticky dough = easier to rise than firmer dough.
No kneading = rough dough, but because the dough is so soft, it puffs up enough to “smooth out” the roughness.
Super forgiving dough – too stiff, add water. Too wet, add flour. Dough not rising? Move it to a warmer place. Takes 45 minutes to rise or 5 hours? It will still work. As long as your dough is the same consistency as what you see in the video and you let it rise to double the volume, this bread recipe will work as long as the yeast is not past its expiry date!
Why you need a preheated dutch oven for no knead bread recipes – to create a steamy environment to give the bread a rise boost before the crust sets (which stops the bread from rising). Professional bakeries are equipped with steam ovens – the cast iron pot is the home method!
Don’t have a dutch oven? No problem! Recreate the steamy environment by placing hot water in a pan in the oven, and bake the bread on a tray.
Big holes in the crumb – loose dough from less flour, high oven temp and preheated pot allows the yeast to give the bread a great rise boost, creating big air pockets. Also the use of bread flour rather than normal flour helps – you get less large holes using normal flour.
Bake immediately if it’s a bread emergency….
…but you’ll be rewarded with tastier bread if you leave the dough 8+ hours in the fridge! I normally make dough first thing in the morning (it takes 3 minutes!) then bake that night. Or make dough at night and bake in the morning. (~12 hrs in fridge for both scenarios)
Why refrigerating the dough creates a better tasting bread – because the fridge slows down the fermentation of the yeast (ie dough stops rising, if it kept rising it would kill the rising power of the yeast), allowing the enzymes in the yeast to do their work, transforming starch into sugar which creates a more flavourful bread. So we let the dough rise first, then refrigerate it.
All the ways to eat this bread!
Everything you do with bread you buy, you can do with this bread. It truly has the structure of bakery bread, so there are no limits!
Eat it fresh out of the oven, slathered with butter. Make sandwiches, toast it, mop plates clean, dunk it in soups and stews. Make bruschetta, garlic bread, grilled cheese, CHEESY garlic bread or Cheese and Garlic CRACK Bread!
I hope you enjoy this crusty bread recipe as much as I do. This really is one of those gold nugget recipes that you’ll make once and treasure forever! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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World’s Easiest Yeast Bread recipe – Artisan, NO KNEAD
Ingredients
- 3 cups (450g) flour , bread or plain/all purpose (Note 1)
- 2 tsp instant or rapid rise yeast (Note 2 for normal / active dry yeast)
- 2 tsp cooking / kosher salt , NOT table salt (Note 3)
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) very warm tap water , NOT boiling or super hot (ie up to 55°C/130°F) (Note 4)
Dough shaping
- 1 1/2 tbsp flour , for dusting
Instructions
- Mix Dough: Mix flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add water, then use the handle of a wooden spoon to mix until all the flour is incorporated. Dough will be wet and sloppy – not kneadable, but not runny like cake batter. Adjust with more water or flour if needed for right consistency (see video at 17 sec, Note 5).
- Rise: Cover with cling wrap or plate, leave on counter for 2 – 3 hours until it doubles in volume, it’s wobbly like jelly and the top is bubbly (see video at 24 seconds). If after 1 hour it doesn’t seem to be rising, move it somewhere warmer (Note 6).
- Optional – refrigerate for flavour development (Note 9): At this stage, you can either bake immediately (move onto Step 5) or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- Take chill out of refrigerated dough – if you refrigerated dough per above, leave the bowl on the counter for 45 – 60 minutes while the oven is preheating. Cold dough does not rise as well.
- Preheat oven (Note 7) – Put dutch oven in oven with lid on (26cm/10" or larger). Preheat to 230°C/450°F (220° fan) 30 minutes prior to baking. (Note 8 for no dutch oven)
- Shape dough: Sprinkle work surface with 1 tbsp flour, scrape dough out of bowl. Sprinkle top with 1/2 tbsp flour.
- Using a dough scraper or anything of similar shape (cake server, large knife, spatula), fold the sides inwards (about 6 folds) to roughly form a roundish shape. Don’t be too meticulous here – you’re about to deform it, it’s more about deflating the bubbles in the dough and forming a shape you can move.
- Transfer to paper: Slide a large piece of parchment/baking paper (not wax paper) next to the dough, then flip the dough upside down onto the paper (ie seam side down, smooth side up). Slide/push it towards the middle, then reshape it into a round(ish) shape. Don't get too hung up about shape. In fact, lopsided = more ridges = more crunchy bits!
- Dough in pot: Remove piping hot dutch oven from oven. Use paper to place dough into pot, place lid on.
- Bake 30 minutes covered, then 12 minutes uncovered or until deep golden and crispy.
- Cool on rack for 10 minutes before slicing.
Recipe Notes:
- Fridge up to 3 days – Rise dough per recipe, then leave in bowl and refrigerate up to 3 days. Flavour gets better with time. Dough will stay bubbly for a day or two, then will deflate – that’s fine. Shape into round and place on paper per recipe, then leave for 45 – 60 minutes to take the chill out of it, then bake per recipe. Cold dough won’t rise as well.
- Bread in photos & video is 2 hr rise, immediate bake.
- Cooked bread – great fresh for 2 days, then after that, better warmed or toasted. Keep in an airtight container or ziplock bag. This stays more fresh than usual homemade bread, especially if you use bread flour.
- Freeze cooked bread for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information:
More bread recipes
Life of Dozer
Just keeping a close eye on it for me….
Good job Dozer. Here’s your treat. Look, I even buttered it for you! (PS He’s in his robe because it’s a rainy day yet I still took him to the beach!!!)
David says
Amazing recipe! So easy and so delicious!
Rod D says
Found this recipe and made the dough yesterday to surprise my bread loving wife. An emergency came up and she found out as she had to refrigerate it. Finally baked it 24 hours later. Are you kidding? Best bread I’ve ever made and now our go to. Buying flour not bread from now on.
Sam says
Great recipe! I love making bread but a lot of the recipes I use can be finicky. I wanted something easy and delicious & this is it! I even had something come up when I was proofing it on the counter so I tossed it in the fridge and baked it 48 hours later & it came out absolutely perfect.
Alasdair says
I usually make breads with a lot of kneading – I like quite a close texture. But this bread is both easy, tasty, and fast! So much so, that it’s become one of my bread go-tos. A great recipe, well described, easy to follow, and as you say very forgiving. I now need to experiment with resting and refrigeration, and with adding wholemeal flour …
Kim Moran says
You can’t go wrong with this recipe!
My dough is often still sticky and hard to shape (Steps 7 & 8) so I just place it in the Pyrex dish and it turns out perfectly every time!
Thank you, Nagi.
Abhaya says
I literally have never left a comment on a recipe before, but I feel like I need to shout from the rooftops because this is recipe is life changing.
I never tried to bake bread because I live around a lot of professional bakers and it always felt like why bother? It’s not going to be as good…. well let’s just say the professional bakers absolutely LOVE this bread. I feel so empowered. I am gluten intolerant and can’t even eat it (though of course I have tried it and it’s sooooooooooo amazingggggggggg) but I bake this just to shared with my community because it is so easy and so fun! I literally feel like this recipe changed my life, we serve 3 meals a day to our group of residents and now we never have to buy bread again! Thank you!!!
Courtney says
Just wondering if i could use half plain flour and half rye flour?
Shannon says
I use 1 cup Rye and 2 cup bread flour. Comes out perfect every time. With amazing flavor.
Dorothy K says
Made your foolproof Artisan No Knead Yeast Bread twice & everyone loved it. I am preparing the dough every two nights to ferment 1-2 days so I can always have delicious bread.
Rebekah says
Fantastic no fuss recipe! I doubled the recipe for my large family and both loaves disappeared too quickly. Nice golden and crisp on the outside, tender and flavorful on the inside. I’ll never buy another overpriced loaf of crusty bread again. This was so easy, I could make it multiple times a week. Thanks for the recipe!
Holly McIntyre says
Can I add black olives or rosemary to the bread right before I bake it? This is now my favorite bread. Thank you so much for an outstanding bread
Maryanne says
This is no-fail bread and I’m addicted. Making the cheese version this week to go with vegetable soup. Can’t wait. Even my husband is now googling “Nagi” when he wants a recipe. Nagi you are the best recipe coach.
Alison says
Can vouch for this recipe. A favourite of mine for its ease of making, taste and texture. Seems to not matter if your measurements are not quite accurate
Annie says
Very delicious and fool proof bread. I am NOT a baker but i think this is truly for anyone.
Rebecca D Andrews says
The first time I made this bread, it didn’t seem to be cooked all the way through. I increased the cook time by 10 minutes and it was too hard, for me but my husband loved it. Anyway, it is a great recipe!
Di S says
I’d love to make this bread, will it work with gluten free flour ?
morgan says
i just finished making this bread/cooling it. it is delicious! still a little denser/heavier than i was hoping, but lighter than any other recipe i’ve tried. i will say, the cooking time was different for me. after the initial 30 mins with the lid on, i noticed my dough seemed a lot lighter than the picture in the recipe. i took the lid off and let it cook the 12 minutes – way too light still. after another 10, it looked better, but still not quite the color i wanted for the finished product. so i threw the broiler on to get a quick crisp crust on it. sidenote – if using parchment paper, don’t use the broiler! i just tasted it (plain and with butter) sooo delicious. i was weary of adding too much salt so i only used 1 tsp (fine kosher) and i think i will do the 2 tsp next time. i also only had active dry yeast so i had to dissolve that first. overall, excellent recipe especially for a novice bread maker!
Midoreo Cookie says
Amazing! So easy and fool proof even for a true beginner like me. I made this bread a couple times now and it has turned out great everytime. I definitely recommend this! Thanks for sharing your recipe. I’m excited to try your other recipes too.
Kim says
Ours looked great but turned out quite dense and moist, and had a distinct yeast taste. Did I Maybe under cook it?
Stacey says
My yeast recipes always had a yeasty taste/smell. A couple of years ago I had a friend tell me to quit using those Fleshmans packets (I think that’s the brand name) and get the brick yeast at Sams Club. Oh my gosh! What a difference. Everything tastes SO much better now. You have to buy a huge amount, but it can be frozen. And I keep the rest in a jar in the frig.
Morgan says
finished rising this bread and decided to put it in the fridge to get the better tasting bread as instructed! i assume the cling wrap should remain on there? keep all as is and put into fridge, correct?
Anna-Maria Covich says
I made this for me and my husband to have with soup for dinner tonight and tomorrow. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this recipe. I followed the instructions exactly, but somehow we had none left for tomorrow and had to start a second loaf to bake tomorrow. Somehow, I don’t see this one lasting either.
I think I will I have to make more soup too.
Keri says
This made me giggle. Out loud.