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 could cry I’m so happy. I’ve been making bread on and off for about 3 years now. Mostly sourdough. It was very unpredictable weather the loafs would turn out or not. Some did some didn’t. But the flavor just wasn’t there.
I though I’d try something different as I wanted to use up some seeds I had leftover.
Well, let me tell you this was the best loaf of bread I’ve ever made. Could not believe how soft the crust was. And the flavor. YUM. I will be making again.
Aaaw this makes me so proud. Thank you for sharing that with us, we appreciate and love that it was a success!
I wish I could post a picture. It’s a thing of beauty. 🤣
My husband asked if I could make it again but without the seeds ( he’s nuts not to love seeds 😁). I’ll peruse through you’re recipes to see if I can find one. Or, could I use the same recipe and just remove the seeds?
Hi Mary! I’m happy to hear it was enjoyed! There is room to experiment with this recipe. You can make it plain without the seeds or add in a variety of things. Let us know how it turns out. I would love to see a picture if you tag me on Instagram or Facebook. #natashaskitchen
Overall, I do like this recipe. Especially the amount of honey it uses, gives the bread a nice flavor. However, the steps at the beginning are not the best way to start. My bread wasn’t rising a great deal in the oven and after some trouble shooting, I learned what the issue was. First, do not mix the salt in with the water/honey. Salt tends to kill the yeast activation process so I mix it with my flour instead. Second, you should mix the yeast instead of just sprinkling on top. You’ll be able to tell when it activates a lot easier.
Hi Adnan, it may be that the yeast was old and may need to be replaced with fresher yeast. The salt won’t kill the yeast but you can add it later if you prefer. I have always added it per the recipe and haven’t had any issues. Also, make sure to use room temperature yeast (if it’s cold, it can struggle to activate or take longer).
So good! The directions were easy to follow and I really appreciated that!
Thank you for your appreciation, Amy. That means a lot to us!
Mine comes out OK the texture is nice. It lacks flavor though if you follow the recipe exactly. Also, not sure what size dutch oven is used for the recipe, but mine comes out flat as opposed to a nice boule round shape. I’ve made it twice and same result. Maybe my dutch oven is too big.
Hi B, also I suggest checking your yeast to make sure it’s fresh and also start with room temperature yeast. Cold or expired yeast can negatively affect the rise of your bread.
Five stars all around for this easy and bulletproof recipe. I’ve done several no knead bread recipes online and this one is a winner. I’ll do it again but add more salt or use salted nuts. Mine was fairly bland. Maybe a more flavorful seed mixture would help? I’d also avoid putting seeds on top, it’s picture perfect but they just fall off when you slice. Looking forward to future experimentation. Thank you for another great recipe.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Kay!
This is the BEST bread and the first of many attempts I’ve made at making any bread that actually turned out right. I could literally eat the entire loaf. I hope it’s as good tomorrow! Question about yeast. I don’t feel like my bread rises enough. My yeast is not past its expiration date and I was careful to measure the temperature of the warm water. my house was around 70 today but the kitchen was probably a bit warmer since I was cooking. I don’t think my dough tripled in size. maybe doubled. I just expected it to be bigger. maybe it was right. i just seem to be having trouble with my breads not rising enough and being too dense. This bread, however, was a home run. so good! Thanks for your recipes!
You’re welcome, Trisch! I’m so glad you loved the recipe.
I have some sour dough starter left over. Can sour dough starter be used in this recipe?
Hi Jess! I haven’t tested it to advise. You’d have to experiment with it.
This bread is amazing. WOW. My family’s new favorite. Everything is perfect. Taste, texture, crustiness, smells divine while rising and baking. We toasted it the next day for BLT sandwiches which we delicious. I am going to try it with rye flour and caraway seeds which should be good. Probably use a mix of rye & white flour. Have you tried that yet?
There hasn’t been one of your recipes yet that we didn’t love. Keep them coming , Natasha.
Aww, thank you, Andrra! I’m so glad you loved this recipe. I appreciate the feedback and great review.
This bread was absolutely delicious. I”ve been bread baking for a few years and this was one of the tastiest! I was a little confused with the measurements so for anyone else math impaired 3/4 of a Tablespoon is 2-1/4 teaspoons.
I’ll be making this again soon!
Hi Michelle, thank you for the good comments and feedback. I’m glad you loved the result!
Hi Natasha! I’m not a noob to baking bread. The first couple times I made this bread it was picture perfect and my husband loved it. I’m finding lately that I can’t get the dome like a nice bread would have. Our kitchen is about 82’ today; I followed the directions to a T; the 40 minute uncovered rise resulted in some rise and I was hopeful, but alas, it came out with a flattop. With the kitchen this warm, would it work to give the uncovered rise just 20 minutes? My husband says the breads taste fine, but I love a bread that tastes good AND looks nice! I appreciate your input!
Hi Diane, it’s hard to say without being there myself, but a warmer kitchen may be the culprit and may require less rise time.
Hi Natasha,
I followed the recipe exactly how it was described, and I’m wondering why the dough was so (floppy) after the 2 hrs rising time (it did rise beautifully though!) I wonder if it could be the temp in the room— I live in Fl and the temp is about 78 degrees inside. I will continue following the rest of the recipe, and hope for the best!
Hi Adina, that could be the reason. If it’s a warmer room temperature, it would rise faster, but make sure not to overproof or you may exhaust your yeast and it won’t rise properly.
Would the Dutch oven bread recipe work with gluten free flour???
Hi Janet, I have not tested this with gluten-free flour, so, unfortunately, I cannot make specific recommendations for that. If you do any experimenting, let me know how you like it! Sorry, I can’t be more helpful.
Hi there,
Great recipe, it turns out perfectly all the time!
Could the all purpose flour be replaced with a whole grain flour such as brown rice flour?
Hi Jessica, while I haven’t tried this myself, 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.”
How high is this supposed to raise when baked? Mine seems slightly low.
Hi Amelia, I recommend using my photos for reference. If it doesn’t rise enough I recommend ensuring there wasn’t a skip step or process. I hope it turns out great!
Hi, Natasha!
I live in Alaska and it is very cold and dry, even in the house! Should I placed in the oven at a low temp to help it rise?
Thank you,
Amelia
Hi Amelia, we recommend a room temperature room temp (70˚F). If it’s colder than that. You may preheat your oven to 70 degrees, add your dough and turn it off to trap that temperature in the oven. I hope this helps and it works out well!
I simply turn on the oven light, which heats the oven just enough for a good rise. You can leave the oven door slightly ajar to regulate the temperature. This is especially helpful in winter when we set back our house temperature at night or in the middle of the day.
Natasha, I have made several of your recipes and they all turn out great. I just bought a enameled cast iron Dutch oven to bake bread in. Have you ever used any of the lidded clay bakers for bread baking? Their claim to fame for perfect bread baking is the top and bottom are soaked in water. I have 2. I use one for rye bread and one for pumpernickle. Great bread results.
Hi Cathy! I have not tried that, but I bet the process is similar to making it in a dutch oven so I bet it works great!
This is the most requested bread at my house!!! For anyone else who has a Perfect Pot from Our Place, this bread cooks BEAUTIFULLY at 425 degrees (pot and lid are ovenproof up to 425) for 30 minutes and easily releases from the pan without any need for parchment paper, if you grease the pot. I was amazed! My other Dutch oven has a lip so it was a real chore to get the bread out of that one and the parchment paper always ended up sticking pretty badly to the bottom of the bread too. This bread is always gone within the first day two or in our family of five.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Lauren!
Would this work in my 4 quart dutch oven? Should I adjust the ingredients downward? Looks great, would love to make it. Thanks for your help.
Hi Janie, it may make for a taller bread if it fits the four qt. You may need to make adjustments to the baking time.
This is a very easy bread to make. I used instant yeast by adding the yeast to the flour. The bread turned out great!
Thank you for sharing that with us. I’m glad it was a success!
amazing recipe, I baked this bread last night… you are doing great Natasha…would like me to be your assistant 😁
Thank you, I appreciate it!