Easy No-Knead Bread is an artisan-style bread that’s done in 3 hours from start to finish and it’s mostly rising time. This is an easy bread recipe – you don’t even need a mixer. With only 4 ingredients (flour, yeast, salt, and water), you can make a bakery-quality, super soft homemade bread.
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Easy No-Knead Bread
We love the aroma and taste of homemade bread, including our easy Dutch Oven Bread, classic French Bread with the best crust, and of course classic Dinner Rolls. My kitchen has served as a bread-making test lab for the past month. We’ve made this bread countless times. It rises beautifully every time and you will fall in love with the spongy soft texture. It reminds me of the lovely loaves that Costco has perfected.
Many no-knead bread recipes require overnight fermentation but we love that this one is done in just 3 hours (most of which is just letting the dough rise while you go about your business). You’ll get to enjoy fresh homebaked bread within a few hours of when the craving hits.
What is the Best Flour For Bread?
Bread flour typically has slightly more protein and gluten than all-purpose flour so it is the preferred flour for bread. It can give you slightly better rise and texture. We have tested this no-knead rustic artisan bread with both all-purpose flour and bread flour. The loaves turned out perfect with either flour so use what you have on hand.
Watch No-Knead Bread Video Tutorial:
I hope this Easy No-Knead Bread becomes a new favorite homebaked bread recipe for you. If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe to our Youtube Channel and be sure to click the bell icon so you get a notification when we post a new video.
How to Make Easy Homemade Bread:
1. In a large bowl, combine warm water (100˚F) and salt. Sprinkle yeast over the top and let it sit 2 min, then stir.
2. Measure out exactly 3 1/4 cups of flour and add flour to the bowl. Stir together with a spatula just until it together (do not knead). Cover and let rise at room temperature 2 hours (until 2-3 times in volume).
3. Line a cutting board with parchment paper and generously dust with flour. Turn dough out onto the floured surface.
4. With well-floured hands, fold the dough in half, then fold in half again. Dust dough generously with flour, lift it up and form a ball in your hands. Sprinkle the parchment paper flour or cornmeal, extending 1-inch past the border of the dough since it will expand. Place dough over the flour, seam side down, and let it rise at room temp uncovered for 40 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, prepare your oven: place one rack in the middle for the bread and one rack on the bottom for the water pan. Place a rimless cookie sheet (or inverted baking sheet) on the center rack. Preheat the oven and cookie sheet to 450˚ F. Also heat 1 cup water.
6. Just before baking, score the top of the bread 3 times. Place a metal or cast iron dish* on the bottom rack with 1 cup hot water (being careful not to splash water on a glass oven door). Slide dough with the parchment paper onto the hot cookie sheet and bake at 450˚ F for 25-28 min or until golden brown.
*CAUTION: DO NOT USE A GLASS DISH to hold water or it may explode when you add water. Also, be careful not to splash water on a glass oven door to prevent shattering from strong temperature change.
Pro Tips for the Best Homemade Bread:
- Use warm water – ideally about 100˚F to 110˚F. Avoid hot water which can deactivate the yeast.
- Measure precisely – spoon flour into measuring cup and level off the top. See our best tips for How to Measure wet and dry ingredients.
- Dough Rising Temperature – A room temperature of 71˚F to 75˚F is ideal for bread rising. If your room is colder, it will take longer. Do not place dough in a hot oven to rise. If the temperature goes above 110˚F, you can deactivate and ruin the yeast.
- Don’t Rush the Rise – For the best texture and rise, do not rush the rising process. It should be 2-3 times in size when it is finished rising. If you don’t allow the full rise, the bread will be dense.
- Preheat the oven and baking sheet – putting the dough onto a hot baking sheet or pizza stone, will help form a beautiful crust.
- Scoring the bread – scoring the top of the loaf allows it to expand and creates a pretty bread that you will be very proud of. Use a sharp or serrated knife or bread scoring blade.
- Cool before slicing – If you cut freshly baked bread while it’s still hot, the steam will escape and the bread will seem doughy.
Our Top Rated Bread Recipes:
- French Bread with a true crisp crust
- Banana Nut Bread – a moist banana bread studded with nuts and raisins
- Dutch Oven Bread – A 5-seed bread with the same basic dough
- Dinner Rolls – so easy and freezer-friendly
The next day, use this bread to make the most amazing Reuben Sandwich or this restaurant copycat Chicken Bacon Avocado Sandwich.
No-Knead Bread Recipe (Easy Artisan Bread)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups water, warm, at 100˚F (not hot)
- 1/2 Tbsp sea salt
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast, (7 grams or 1 packet)
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, (or bread flour) plus extra flour for dusting
- 2 Tbsp cornmeal , or more flour
Instructions
- In a large bowl, stir together 1 1/2 cups warm water (100˚F) and 1/2 Tbsp of salt. Sprinkle the top with yeast and let it sit 2 min, then stir.
- Measure out exactly 3 1/4 cups of flour and add flour to the bowl. Using a spatula, stir until dough comes together and is well blended. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise at room temperature 2 hours (or about 2-3 times in volume).
- Line a cutting board with parchment paper and generously dust with flour. Scrape dough out of the bowl with a spatula onto the floured surface.
- With well-floured hands, fold dough in half, then fold in half again. Dust dough generously with flour, lift it up and form a ball in your hands. Sprinkle parchment paper with more flour or cornmeal, extending about 1" past the border of the dough since it will expand. Place dough over the flour, seam side down, and let it rise uncovered at room temp 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare your oven with 2 racks - one rack in the middle for the bread and one rack on the bottom for the water pan. Place a rimless cookie sheet (or use the backside of a rimmed cookie sheet or pizza stone) on the center rack. Preheat the oven and cookie sheet to 450˚ F. Also heat up 1 cup water.
- Just before baking, score the top of the bread 3 times. Place a metal or cast iron dish (never a glass dish*) on the bottom rack with 1 cup hot water (being careful to not splash water on a glass oven door). Slide the dough with the parchment paper onto the hot cookie sheet and bake at 450˚ F for about 25-28 min or until golden brown. Transfer loaf to a rack and cool to room temp before cutting into it.
Notes
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
This recipe was first published in 2012. It was updated March 2020 with new photos and we improved the recipe adding slightly more flour to help with forming the loaf.
Active Dry Yeast vs. Instant Dry Yeast? Can it be used interchangeably? or Does the IDY need to be added to the flour and not the water?
Hi Nancy, both yeasts would work well for this recipe. With instant yeast, it isn’t necessary to wait for it to proof in the water and it can just be mixed into the flour right away.
Do you still use the cup and a half of water if you use instant yeast? Does the water need to be lukewarm? Do you mix the dry ingredients then add the water?
Thanks, I’m a novice!
Hi Les, I would do the same proportions of wet to dry ingredients. I would mix instant yeast with the flour and then add the wet ingredients. You don’t need to proof instant yeast so you can skip that initial step of proofing yeast in warm water. I would still use warm water though.
Hi Natasha – I am making the bread today. I am planning on letting it rise for longer than two hours…more like 6. (like the receipes for the overnight rise).
I assume that would be ok. I will comment on how it came out. Love your recipes!
Hi Mina, I haven’t tested that overnight but it may work!
I made this two days ago and even though I mixed in the yeast instead of sprinkling it on top, it came out so good. I just put another loaf in the over and used a cup of whole wheat flour with 2 1/4 cups bread flour so we’ll see how this is. My dough doesn’t come out as sticky and loose as yours looks in the video.
I hope it turns out! I look forward to your feedback Alison! Thank you for that wonderful review!
Have now made four loaves, two substituting 1 cup whole wheat flour and all came out great. My dough seemed drier, so in my latest loaf I used 1 3/4 c. water and dough was nicer. Baked this in a loaf pan; no-stick spray and about 25 minutes. So easy and delicious.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing that with me Alison!
I made your artisan bread this morning. We just tasted it and wow what wonderful texture and flavour. Thank you for such an easy recipe that is 5 star!
You’re so welcome! I’m glad that you loved the end result. Thank you for your amazing feedback.
Hello Natasha,
Can I use instant dry yeast instead of active ? I couldnt find active dry yeast in our store.
Hi Tatiana, I have had several readers report great results using instant yeast in the same amount.
I noticed that the written recipe For the no knead bread uses exactly 3 1/2 cups of flour but the video said to use 3 cups. Which is correct?
Hi Bernard, the correct amount is 3 1/4 cups of flour per the written recipe. We were only able to add a notation in the video about it but unfortunately, there’s no easy way to edit a published video.
Took off one star because it’s a very salty bread, but that being said everything else worked out perfectly and I’ll make it again (using 1 tsp salt instead of the 1 1/2 tsp the recipe calls for).
Thank you for sharing that feedback with us, Jeanne!
As you speak, you say that you add 3 cups of flour. The writing scrolling along says 3 1/4 cups flour. Which is it.
Hi Terry, you will note in the video, we updated to 3 1/4 cups flour in a note. Unfortunately, that is the only way to edit a video. The precise measure is 3 1/4 cups per the written recipe.
Hi, just 1 question. Can you bake this bread in a dutch oven? If so, what temp and for how long. Thanks so very much
Lynda
Hi Lynda, I have not tested this recipe in the dutch oven, I would try the guidelines just like in our dutch oven bread.
Further to my previous question about the salt touching the yeast, i found answers online. It says that will slow the rising so better to add salt last. On the other hand, in this csse, slow rise could be good. Vyou need not publish my question and no need for you to reply unless you want to point that out in your recipe.
Thank you for sharing that with us, Alice!
I have watched many videos saying to keep away salt from the yeast when adding to the flour as salt will kill the yeast. In your recipe, you say to sprinkle the yeast on top of water but salt is already there. I followed your instructions but the yeast settled to the bottom on top of the salt. Will this affect it. I am currently waiting for the dough to rise.
Hi Alice, we have always made it this way and it has worked successfully. Did it work out for you?
What do you do if you don’t have cast iron or dutch oven to put in the water? is that necessary for making breads?
Hi Noreen, the water helps the crust to form. If the surface of the bread is moist, it expands easily. It can still be baked without water, or you could try to spray the wall of the oven (avoid spraying on a glass oven door though) with water to create steam and close the door right away.
I baked mine today and am thrilled with the result.
Hi Ronelle, I’m so glad to hear that! If you share a photo of your loaf online, please tag me so I can see it.
Love you recipes, and enjoyed the tour of your food pantry. I used the back of a cast iron pan to proof second time then slide it into oven lol. It worked really well. Thanks for all the hard work you and your husband do.
Thanks for sharing that with us, Amy. I’m glad to know that it worked well with this recipe. I hope you love every recipe that you try!
My sincere thanks for learning a no knead bread. We love it.. you are a life saver..
You are very welcome, I’m just glad that you enjoyed it!
I’ve made this recipe twice in one week. The first time I followed the recipe written of 3 1/4 cups of flour and had to add a little extra water. It came out great. The second time around I used 3 cups of flour. Instead of leaving the bread in one loaf I cut it into 12 ciabatta buns. It turned out amazing. Golden brown crust and soft on the inside. Thank you so much for a fabulous recipe.
That’s so great to hear, Amanda. Thank you for the excellent review and detailed feedback and suggestions. It’s very helpful!
This recipe is so easy, and my husband absolutely loved the crunchy crust. Will definitely keep making it!
That’s just awesome! I’m happy you liked this recipe, Lesya!
We tried this and loved it!!
I wonder if we could add shredded cheese when we mix the flour for a cheese loaf?
I haven’t tested that Brittney but I bet that could work. If you experiment please let me know how you like that.
A great addition is fresh rosemary if you have any on hand!
Yum! Thank you for that great idea!
Hi Natasha,
I’m making this bread right now but I couldn’t figure out where the sea salt goes in the recipe. I did not see you mention it in your video either, does it not belong in it?
Hi Victoria, we have it listed under step number one. “In a large bowl, stir together 1 1/2 cups warm water (100˚F) and 1/2 Tbsp of salt. Sprinkle the top with yeast and let it sit 2 min, then stir.” I hope that helps
Natasha
Just wanted to say how much I enjoy your videos. I think you are just so cute and like how you enjoy the results of whatever you’ve made.
Actually you’ve inspired me to make a few dishes. Wish I had your guidance when I was younger.
Keep up with what you are doing I’m sure you’ve inspired lots of people with your pleasant attitude.
Wishing you great success.
Thank you for that nice and thoughtful comment and compliment Judy!
Hi Natasha, going to try this recipe. In your video you say to add 3 cups of flour, yet in the recipe you add 3-1/4 cups. Is there a typo. Love your recipes.
It is 3 cups of flour. I forgot to update that in the print-friendly. Thanks so much for catching that and asking!
Ah, I just made today and it still says 3 and 1/4 cups! Looking at it on mobile. It turned out good though. Will try again with just 3.
still says 3 1/4 cups! Making for the second time today. Going to try buns!
Thanks for the recipe. I really was excited about this recipe, however, the crust became very tough and thick and the bread was dense and soggy in the middle even after 35 min! I had a hard time to cut through the bread. I followed up every step in the recipe, any idea why I wasn’t successful?
Hi Ana, it sounds like maybe it didn’t rise properly – this could be due to either old yeast (no longer active) or overheating the dough causing the yeast to deactivate. It could also be due to not giving the dough enough time to rise. I hope that helps to troubleshoot.
Hi , I baked the bread and it was perfect so I wanted to try it with whole flour and it didn’t rise like the white flour , is that how it suppose to be ? do I need to do something diferently ?
Hi Penny, using whole wheat flour will typically create a denser bread, especially if you use all whole wheat flour. This is why I like to use a blend when using some whole wheat flour.