Making Dutch Oven Bread is surprisingly easy – no kneading required! All you need are a few pantry staples and a mixing bowl to make a bakery-quality bread. This one is done in less than 3 hours and most of that is just rising time. That’s my kind of bread!
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Nothing beats a fresh crusty loaf of homemade Dutch Oven Bread. This bread truly tastes like it came from a fancy bakery and still tastes delicious on day 2 – an unusual feat for quick and easy bread! The texture of this bread also makes it perfect to use for sandwich recipes like our Chicken Bacon Avocado Club or even for a Reuben Sandwich.
What goes into Dutch Oven Bread?
The beauty of this quick dutch oven bread is that most of the ingredients are pantry staples. All you need is bread flour, honey, salt, and yeast – adding seeds to the mix creates a beautiful loaf with minimal effort. My parents were mighty impressed with this dutch oven bread and kept raving about it, which is a really big deal because Mom literally makes the best bread ever!
Why Should You Bake Bread in a Dutch Oven?
Baking bread in a dutch oven creates a beautiful crust and is so easy. The dutch oven traps steam that allows the bread to rise more fully before forming the crusty exterior. There’s something really fun about lifting the lid and seeing a perfectly formed golden loaf inside! The best dutch oven for bread is a 5 ½ quart Enameled Cast-Iron Dutch Oven.
How Do You Measure Bread Flour?
No-knead Dutch Oven Bread should be sticky when you set it to rise – which may tempt you to add too much flour. When you measure the bread flour, spoon it into your measuring cup, then level with the back of a knife. If you have more questions about measuring be sure to watch my measuring ingredients tutorial.
Can I Substitute the Seeds?
The seeds in this No-Knead Bread make it taste like an artisan dutch oven bread. They enhance the flavor and add the perfect crunch to complement the soft and spongy center of the loaf. If you don’t have all of the seeds on hand, you can substitute and make it a 3-seed bread or omit the seeds altogether and it will still be a delicious loaf.
Pro Tip: Toasted seeds will have the best flavor. To toast the seeds, put them in a dry skillet over medium heat, tossing often until they are golden and fragrant.
How to Make Dutch Oven Bread:
Prep: Line a work surface with parchment paper and trim corners from the paper to create a round-ish shape to fit better in the dutch oven. Sprinkle the center 9″ of parchment with 1 Tbsp cornmeal, semolina or flour and set aside. Note: Using cornmeal or semolina creates a nice crunch to the crust.
- In a large bowl, combine the warm water, honey, and salt. Stir until honey has dissolved then sprinkle top with the yeast. Let sit at room temperature for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the flour and all of the seeds. Use a spatula to mix until it comes together and seeds are well incorporated (no kneading required). The dough will be very sticky. Cover bowl with lid or plastic wrap and let rest at room temp (70˚F) for 2 hours or until tripled in volume.
- Sprinkle dough with flour and use a spatula to fold the dough in half then fold in half again.
- Sprinkle generously again with flour and with well-floured hands, lift up the dough and form a ball in your hands. Place dough in the center of your parchment folded side down. If desired – sprinkle the top with extra sunflower and pumpkin seeds. Let rise uncovered at room temp for 40 minutes.
- Place the empty dutch oven and lid inside the oven and preheat the oven to 450˚F. Once preheated and bread is ready to bake, remove dutch oven and place on the stove. Be careful not to touch the dutch oven or lid without oven mitts because it will be blazing hot. Transfer the parchment paper with bread dough into your HOT dutch oven. Cover with the hot lid and bake at 450˚F for 30 minutes.
- Remove hot lid and bake another 2- 5 minutes until the top is golden brown. Use the parchment paper to lift the bread out of the dutch oven and cool on a wire rack until nearly room temperature before slicing.
Helpful Tips for Perfect Dutch Oven Bread:
- When the bread is out of the oven, put the empty dutch oven back in the oven to cool down as it will be blazing hot to the touch. My dad lifted the lid to see what was inside before I could warn him – Ouch!!
- No dutch oven? No problem! Follow the baking instructions in our Original No-Knead Bread recipe.
- NEVER slice into hot bread or it will release steam and become gummy. Dutch oven bread will taste best if you let it rest and cool.
More Delicious Homemade Bread Recipes
If you love this Dutch Oven Bread, be sure to also try our:
Easy Dutch Oven Bread Recipe

Ingredients
Ingredients for 5-Seed Dutch Oven Bread:
- 1 1/2 cups 12 oz warm water (100˚F)
- 2 Tbsp honey
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 3 cups bread flour, plus extra flour for dusting*
- 2 Tbsp sunflower seeds, toasted plus more for top of bread
- 2 Tbsp pumpkin seeds, toasted plus more for top of bread
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
- 1 Tbsp flax seeds
- 1 tsp poppy seeds
What You'll Need:
- 1 Tbsp corn meal or semolina to dust parchment, optional
Instructions
Quick Prep:
- Line work surface with parchment paper and trim the corners to fit better in the dutch oven. Sprinkle the center 9" of parchment with 1 Tbsp cornmeal or semolina and set aside.
How to Make 5-Seed Dutch Oven Bread:
- In a large bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups warm water, 2 Tbsp honey and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Stir until honey dissolves then sprinkle with 3/4 Tbsp yeast. Let sit at room temp 5 min. Stir in 3 cups flour and all the seeds. Stir with spatula until it comes together and seeds are incorporated (no kneading required). Dough will be very sticky. Cover bowl with lid or plastic wrap and rest at room temp (70˚F) for 2 hours or until tripled in volume.
- Sprinkle dough with flour and use a spatula to fold dough in half then fold in half again. Sprinkle generously again with flour and with well floured hands, lift up the dough and form a ball in your hands. Place over the center of your prepared parchment paper with the folded seam side down. sprinkle the top with extra seeds if desired. Let rise uncovered at room temp for 40 min.
- Place the empty dutch oven and lid inside the oven and preheat the oven to 450˚F. Once preheated, remove dutch oven and place on the stove. Be careful not to touch the dutch oven or lid without oven mitts because it will be blazing hot. Lift bread with the parchment paper and set it in the center of HOT dutch oven. Cover with lid and bake at 450˚F for 30 min. Carefully remove hot lid and bake another 2- 5 min or until top is golden brown. Remove bread from dutch oven with the help of parchment paper and place bread directly on wire rack. Cool until it's nearly room temperature before slicing.***
Notes
**If you aren't able to find toasted seeds, toast them on a dry skillet a few minutes until golden and fragrant.
***NEVER slice into hot bread or it will release too much steam and become gummy
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
I made it and it was perfect. I am wondering if I can substitute the seeds for tomato and basil? I just love the recipe and it has been so far my favorite one. I don´t want to change.
I haven’t tested that with tomatoes but I think it could work. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe
Sun dried tomato dry basil fresh herb and tomato would be to moist thus to much water ,,,add some Italian sausage pre cooked to reader fat ,,,little pieces not big ones olives the ones that look wrinkled take out pis and chop ,,,experiment I amusing 7grain raw seed from Amazon have fun if it doesn’t work to your likest week it an try try again ….
Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
I am so eager to try this but the cast iron cookware I bought from Walmart (it was all I could afford) says temp highest at 400 degrees. It does have a metal knob so not sure why not higher. Do you have ideas about what would happen if I put it in a hotter oven (as in 425-450)? and would this recipe work in a 400 degree oven? Thanks in advance
Hi Diane, I really can’t say for sure what would happen without testing that out. I would follow the manufacturer’s warnings about not overheating the pot so your knob doesn’t melt or get destroyed.
Diane, I use a dutch oven at 430 degrees for 25 mins with lid on then remove lid for 8 mins to brown the top. Longer than that will give you a harder, crustier top if you like it crunchy. I wouldn’t go above the temperature that the manufacturer recommends or you risk damaging your dutch oven. Enjoy! I’ve made it this way at least 30 times.
great bread recipe and I have tried all on line ,well 5 diff ones , yours is a 10 star , got 7 seed raw ,on Amazon ,comes in a sealed bag really great finished bread ,,,
Thank you for sharing that with us, Joseph!
Thank you Natasha for all the recipes great job.
I have some whole wheat flour can I use it for the Dutch oven bread?
Hi Salwa. Someone commented this “So I tried a whole wheat version, subbing a mix of white whole wheat and whole wheat for all but 1/2 c of bread flour. I increased the water by 1/4 cup and it turned out awesome! I experimented again by letting it rise the second time in a loaf pan to see if it would make good sandwich bread…again… awesome. I did decrease the oven temp to 375 and baked for 25 min.”
Made this bread today and it looks just like your pictures. Added chopped pecans and poppy seeds, I think it could be a great breakfast bread with raspberry jam, mmm … Thank you, Natasha for all your recipes, they ALWAYS turn out great. More like “no fail recipes”. My daughter learned how to cook from your site since she was 11. Blessings to you and your family!
Lovely to hear that, Mila! Thanks for sharing that with us. Please say hi to your daughter, it’s so great to know that she learned how to cook at an early age, great job!
Hi there
I have started using your recipes especially making freshly baked breads all the way in a Singapore!
I’ve love to bake and cook but I’m not talented in either. I rely a lot on recipes and yours Are wonderful!
Thank you!
Thanks for sharing that with us, Florence. I hope you love every recipe that you try!
Hello Florence Beckman. Have faith in your talents you are cooking remember food is a matter of taste so feel free I have been using recipes fro 50 years and then tweet them to my likes a little more of this or less of that cook and learn all ingredients are not always the same one pepper is hotter than the other although from same plant one garlic more pungent than the next salt pepper add leave out cause your soup broth was already seasoned ,,,be proud of what you create ,,da ya think a chef may have to tweak a recipe or try 5 times ta get it rite they all do ,,,as James Beard said ,”Good Eating ‘
I’m wondering if I could omit the honey or substitute it. I’m making this for my son’s vegan girlfriend!
Hello Kerri, it depends on your preference but we love it with honey!
Hi Kerri,
I would just substitute with sugar.
Elaine
Perfect every time! I use any kind of seeds I have handy, and Robin Hood all purpose flour. Thanks for the recipe 😉 Lot of them are simular to my home cooking 😋👌
Thank you for your great feedback, Jarmila. Thanks for sharing the substitute ingredients that you used too!
Hi Natasha,
I am wanting to make this bread but I don’t have an cast iron Dutch oven can I use a ceramic Dutch oven instead?
Thanks,
Dipali
Hi Dipali, I honestly haven’t tried that yet to advise. If you want to do an experiment, please share with us how the outcome goes.
Hi Natasha,
I made the bread using a metal cooking pan to allow room for bread to rise and it turned out great!
Dipali
So glad to hear that, thank you for sharing!
I put it in a loaf pan and then into my roasting pan to get the rectangular shape. Works perfect every time.
That’s so great! Thank you for sharing that with me Ange!
What is better for bread flour?
Hi Angela, we used bread flour, I have a photo of it in the recipe. The next best thing would be to use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour. You may need slightly more flour since bread flour has a higher protein and gluten content.
hi Angelka I use Caputo 00 flour Amazon. A great Italian bread or pizza dough. just follow da Recipe as directed Im letting a dough rise at this time add 7 grain mix also from Amazon. Happy Baking
Thank you for sharing that with us Joseph.
I made the Dutch oven bread today and it turned put better than those artisan recipes.
Thank you,
Don and Virginia Mims
I’m so glad you enjoyed that Don!
Hey Natasha! My family and I love your recipes! I’ve tried this bread recipe twice, and for some reason, my bread comes out to be a bit doughy. I’ve waited before cutting into it to prevent letting out steam. I’ve also kept it in the oven for a bit longer to account for longer baking times. Any other tips or reasons as to why my bread is coming out sticky?
Hi Esther, are you making any substitutions in the recipe or changes in the process? Is the dough rising as expected (like what you see in the photos)?
I didn’t add seeds into my bread. It seems to rise fine, except for the fact that it spreads out like a pancake. I’m not sure if that’s supposed to happen.
You most likely need more flour.
Hi,
Can Canadian flour be used? Or all purpose flour? What kind of result would be if I use that?
Thank you
Hi Ella, I haven’t tested this with Canadian, but generally you would use less flour using Canadian flour. If you experiment with Canadian, I’d love to hear about your results.
Hi Ella, I am in Canada so I make it with Canadian flour. I use “better for bread” flour, but I’m sure it would be just as good with unbleached or all-purpose.
Thanks for sharing that with us, Elaine and for giving this recipe a great feedback!
I use 🇨🇦 Robin Hood all purpose flour. Exact measurements, and it’s always perfect 👍 made it many times 😁
Made it today and love it! Had all ingredients on hand except flax seeds. Thank you!
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed that, Catherine!
Hi Natasha! Made this last night. It was amazing!!!
Love it! Thanks for sharing that with us and I hope you love every recipe that you will try.
Love it! Thanks for sharing that with us, Diane and I hope you love every recipe that you will try.
Love the bread!
Its awesome that you add honey to it but the bread is not sweet.
Glad you loved it and the honey definitely adds a bit of flavor!
Thanks so much for this recipe, the bread looks so delicious, I’m making it next week, can’t wait!
Sounds like you found a favorite! Thanks for your great review!
Dear Natasha, hope you and your family are safe in this crucial time.
I was reading comments, it seems I am missing this recipe…
I really WANT to make this bread. But I don’t have bread flour. And in this time, I don’t want to go to supermarket for bread flour.
Is there any substitute for bread flour?
PLEASE let me know…
In this crazy time, you and your recipes are one of the motivation to
deal this situation.
I really appreciate your help.
Stay safe
Hi, the next best thing would be to use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour. You may need slightly more flour since bread flour has a higher protein and gluten content.
Amazing – my family was loved it so much. They are already asking me to make it again! Great recipe!
So great to hear that your family enjoyed this recipe. I hope that you all love every recipe that you try!
Nothing like warm, homemade bread!! It is the source of comfort right now! I am so making this for my family! We could use it for so many things!
So true Natalie. I am excited for you to give this recipe a try, please share with us how it goes!