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!!!)
Annie says
Love this recipe, but I have a question: my bread flour was substituted with a Laucke Crusty White Bread Mix (due to stock shortages at my local supermarket). Will this recipe still work with the bread mix??
Cristina says
OMG this bread is amazing! First time I’ve ever made bread so I thought for sure it wouldn’t turn out…boy was I wrong! I followed your instructions to the t Nagi and the result was amazing. The whole family were super impressed but I felt like I couldn’t take the credit for it as it was so easy to make! Amongst so many of your other recipes, this will become another staple. Thank u
Kathy says
Can I use semolina flour or a half and half combo?
Lisa Szabo says
Hi Nagi, Your bread recipe is awesome, It turned out exactly as you described. I added extra water as I used 2 cups 00 Flour and one cup Wholemeal Spelt Flour. I added Tandaco Dry Yeast satchets to the flour and salt and mixed well before adding the water I warmed to 50 degrees Celsius. It took about 2 hours to rise in a small room warmed by an oil filled column heater (as the rest of my home was about 20C when I made it. I was so happy to see it wobbly and filled with bubbles. I then put it in the fridge for 2hours before I baked it to serve with homemade soup. I used a dutch oven, I was so happy with how it turned out. Absolutely Yum served warm with butter melted through it. It’s a great recipe and so easy to make. Love It
Carolyn says
AWESOME bread recipe! Made is 4 nights in a row…then got curious. I had leftover sautéed squash&onions so I mashed it up and used it for part of the liquid. I used 1 cup squash (cooked) and ¾c water with 1tsp Italian seasoning, 2 tsp steak seasoning and ½tsp garlic powder and 1 cup grated sharp cheddar.
It needs to rise a little longer and cook about 5 minutes longer but it was a really good savory squash&cheese bread!
Viktorja says
That sounds delicious! Once I get the recipe right, I would like to branch out with some savory options as well.
Kris says
Fantastic recipe and any left over, I slice and freeze then make toast. Seriously makes exceptional toast, so so crunchy, with soft centre.
Heni Witika says
I boiled up some sweet potatoe and used the water to mix up a bread today. It was the most beautiful bread that I’ve ever cooked and in my lifetime I’ve made hundreds of breads.
Eric says
Recipe says to bake at 450 F. Is there some parchment paper brand that’s safe to 450? Mine (Reynolds) says it’s safe to 425. I actually had a fire in my oven one time when I used paper rated to 400 and I don’t want that to happen again.
Nagi says
Hi Eric! Because it’s inside a pot you shouldn’t have to worry about it catching on fire 🙂 I am concerned too because I’ve had paper catch on fire under my oven grill! N x
Katelyn says
My first time using this recipe I cooked it and my wax paper stuck to the bottle of the bread. Should I oil the wax paper before putting the dough on it? It turned out perfect besides that. I made two doughs. Going to fridge then 2nd batch! Please help me out with this! I want to know the trick to not make it stick to the wax paper!
Mariette says
Hi Nagi! I would appreciate knowing what size of Dutch Oven I need to bake this bread. The white one in the video appears quite big and as I have to buy one, I would like to buy the right size in diameter and depth. Looking forward to baking this bread soon.
Eric says
Thank you for the reply, Nagi.
I made the dough last night, refrigerated it overnight, and baked it this morning: Great crust, wonderful texture, and so delicious! Only thing I think I got wrong was the amount of water when mixing the dough. I followed the recipe amounts exactly but didn’t add a little bit more water, even though I thought the dough wasn’t as wet as it should be. So the air pockets weren’t as large as I had hoped for, but the bread still turned out outstanding. This will be one of my go-to recipes when I want to bake something to take to a potluck get-together… or when I just want some fresh bread for myself!
Thank you again!
Julia says
Delicious crusty bread from the easiest recipe. We will be using this bread recipe weekly!
Amy Rhoads says
I love it!!!! Can’t believe how good it turned out. Followed the recipe, but without a Dutch oven. I am a beginner to bread making and this recipe is a keeper. Thanks so much.
Kathi Rose says
I made this Wii’s gluten-free flour mix that didn’t have xanthan gum in the mix. Not sure if that’s needed? But it didn’t rise, baked it anyway & it came out hard as a rock where I could barely cut it! Had to throw it away? Any suggestions or if someone else has celiac like me & has adapted this easy bread recipe for it to be made with gluten free flour, PLEASE tell me how you did it!! Thank you so much in advance 😊
P.S. I’ve posted this 2 times but it never shows up here & I can’t figure out why??
Gillian says
Hi Kathi Rose, Here’s a recipe I always use and it comes out great: https://breadtopia.com/artisan-style-gluten-free-bread/
Em says
Hey Kathi,
Actually just tried this out tonight with ‘Simply Wize’ gluten free crusty bread flour (in the GF section at Coles).
The dough didn’t rise at all and was quite a clumpy texture … I didn’t have very high hopes but decided to try cooking it anyway and it worked perfectly! I cooked it for 30 mins with the lid on and another 30 mins with the lid off (instead of 12 mins).
Loaf is slightly smaller than when made with regular flour but other than that perfect 😁
Anne says
Do you think this recipe would work if I will use coconut flour instead of normal flour?
Gemma says
Coconut flour performs very differently to regular flour and requires a lot more liquid. I wouldn’t recommend this as a substitute.
Carolyn says
Thank you! I made this at the Lake House. I thought I had a Dutch oven up here (it’s probably here somewhere…) but couldn’t find it so I used my Crock pot liner. It was incredible! I’ve made it several times since. Insta-pot liner works as well.
Kathi Rose says
Hi
I have celiac & tried this recipe last night with one of the best GF flours mix’s King Arthur. The flour mix does not have xanthan gum in it. It didn’t rise, I did all the next steps anyway. But it turned out like a large hard rock!?? Any suggestions would be SO greatly appreciated! Thank you 😁😋
Kylie Grant says
This was truly the easiest and most delicious bread ever! Thank you Nagi!
Linda says
Can you double this recipe and after it rises and pools divide it to make teo?
Holly says
I’ve made this before measuring vs. weighing the flour and it was fantastic. I’m in the process of making it today and weighed the flour using the given weight (450g). The dough was much too dry. I believe there’s a typo because I looked it up, and a cup of flour should weigh 120g. I’ve adjusted my other ingredients proportionately and hope/assume it will turn out. LOVE your blog and use it all the time!
Julia says
This bread recipe is AMAZING!!!!
Glendale says
Got to say ditching those expensive sourdoughs and what I did was way better. Proof the bread for close to 3 days and it taste divine. Thank you so much.😃
Andrea says
Hi, made exact to recipe, looked like the video, refridgerated over night and smells a lot like beer. I took it out it was very wet, hard to shape. Think I let it rise longer than 2hrs so hoping it is ok. Don’t have a Dutch oven so used the tray and water technique. Any tips for if it comes out too wet to shape, i had to use flour more to shape it. Would it be better making it so it is dryer than the video?