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.
I had never made bread before and I tried this recipe out just today and it came out beautifully! Your video helped me so much, your way of explaining the process was really simple for me to grasp. Thanks so much! I will definitely use this recipe in the future!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your awesome review 🙂
Adderley, I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review! 😀
ok, finally I made it. Yesterday I made this bread with a bread flour and rapid rise yeast. I made sure that my warm water is about 100-105 F not hotter or colder because as you know if water is hotter then it will kill yeast if colder then it will take more time for proofing. So I made two loaves. First loaf came out good but 25 min in my electric oven was too much. Second loaf I baked only for 20 min and it came out soooo delicious. My three little munchkins could not stop eating this bread. By the way they ate almost entire loaf. Another change that I have made is the baking technique. I baked on my pizza stone and water in the bottom…. Actually same technique that you just posted French bread recipe.
Next time I will try french bread recipe.
Definitely I will keep this recipe…
by the way exactly one year ago, I have tried to make this bread but it didn’t work. My batter didn’t prof for like 4 hours. So I ended up to throw it in the garbage. So after starting to searching what could be the problem and it was yeast that was expired for 1 year. I bought in store expired yeast (by the way it wasn’t on sale :), hahaha), from now on I am always checking yeast expiration date.
Thanks for sharing this recipie
I’m so glad you figured it out! Yes, it is very important to make sure they used is not expired. Thank you for writing and sharing that. I’m sure someone else will really benefit from your comment!
Thank you for sharing your experience :). I hope you love the French bread also 🙂
I’ve baked bread kneading it etc for years.Tried this Artisan it will not rise it a flat load made it twice this week what could it be?
Hi Shirley, what is a “flat load.” Are you sure your yeast isn’t expired and making sure to proof it at room temperature (never warmer than 100˚F – or it will kill the yeast)? I hope that helps!
As a guy that hasn’t made bread in almost 20 years (I was ten or eleven and my mom guided my hand) I found this amazingly easy and delicious. First batch was a little chewy. I believe it was because I used a giant mixing bowl which meant I had to mix it a lot more before rising and tookabout ten minutes longer than it should have.
Is there any way to get the same bread taste in a different shape? Form it into more of a store bought loaf? It would be an amazing grilled cheese for the kids.
Hi Joel, I haven’t tried putting this in a bread loaf pan so I’m not sure how well that would work. If you try that, make sure you remove it from the pan right after it comes out of the oven and set it on a cooling rack so the sides don’t get too soft/soggy.
Hello,I just finish tasting the bread I made with a little butter!
Yummy! It’s very good and crispy but the only problem I have is that my bread didn’t rise like the picture.
I didn’t have 3/4 Tbsp measurement so I did the math and I put 3 1/4 tsp.
My daughter loved it with cheese.
For my first time,I did good.Can I try with whole wheat flour and add thank you for sharing this recipe with us.
I always check your blog for some yummy recipes and I tried a lot of yours.
All your recipes are very good. 🙂
Hi Marie, You might add slightly more flour next time. Did you mean 2 1/4 tsp? There are 3 tsp in 1 Tbsp. I’m so glad you liked it. I just made a similar bread – I’m working on developing it this week and I can’t resist a fresh slice of bread with butter. :). If you make this with whole wheat, I’d recommend mixing it with bread flour or it will be pretty dense with just whole wheat flour.
I believe Marie meant she did not have a 3/4 tsp to measure with so she used a 1/4 tsp three times. 🙂
I’m not sure because that would only be 3/4 tsp but the recipe calls for 3/4 Tbsp
Excellent bread, easy to make., thanks so much, Natasha!
I’m so happy to hear you loved it. Thank you for the awesome review!
Hi Natasha.
Do you have recipe for Нарочанский (Belarus) bread?
I don’t have it yet but adding it to my list of recipes to try 😀.
Hello Natasha, could I bake this bread in a dutch oven (cast iron) instead of using the water pan? Would it take the same amount of time?
Thanks!
Hi Ella, I personally haven’t experimented baking this in a dutch oven. I’d suggest lining with parchment paper in the dutch oven though to prevent sticking. I’ve had readers write in to tell me they used a dutch oven successfully but I can’t say if the results are as good without trying it myself.
Thank you for your quick reply.
I’ve heard that using a dutch oven produces a very nice, moist bread (in essence, what you are trying to create with the pan of water). I’ll make the bread the way you directed :). A cast iron baking dish should be safer than a glass one?
Yes cast iron would be safer. 🙂 Let me know how you like it. Next time I make this bread, I’ll try to get out of auto-pilot and make it in a dutch oven. It sounds easier than having to do the water dish. If you test it before I do, let me know what you think of the dutch oven method and I will do the same 🙂
Thank you Natasha for experimenting, sharing, and delivering a no hassle scrumptious artisan bread recipe. Your recipe is by far the best I have made. (MADE IT TWICE IN ONE DAY) I love the outer crunchiness, the inner softness and the perfect color…couldn’ brag enough!
The taste and texture brought back found memories of the European cuisine.
We’ll done. Look forward to savoring additional recipes from your site.
Anna
Thank you so much! I really appreciate your awesome review 🙂
Hi Natasha, Thanks a lot for your recipe and guided video!!! I’ve made bread several times and they all turned out very good. For the 1st time, the dough was very sticky, I couldn’t pick it up from the parchment paper or even hold it. Flour was all over my counter. It was a disaster but finally I floured the surface a lot and could manage it. I think it’s the same case as Lindsey. For the following times on, I use the microwave dish instead of parchment paper to dump dough out and shape on the floured surface dish. It is completely easy to handle. It might be helpful for others who got the sticky issue with dough.
One thing I concern is my bread after baking is always crusty on the skin layer (outside) and soft inside. After cooling down or a few hour later it turns out very hard on the surface. If we want to serve I need to preheat a little bit but it’s still a bit hard (the browning surface is quite thick). If we serve it on the next day, it’s even harder after each time preheating. Is there anyway to keep it soft or making it thin skin like the ones we buy from the stores? I prefer it soft at room temp. and crusty when preheated. Thanks for your comments!
I’ve never considered using my microwave dish. That is an awesome suggestion and thank you! AS far as hardening on the outside. I wonder if maybe your oven runs a little hot? I usually have the opposite happen, it’s crisp when it comes out of the oven and softens on the outside with time. Also, are you using the dish with water to create steam in the oven?
when i take my bread from the oven i cover it with foil, and leave till bread cools down, and after this it still nice and soft. Hope it help you to enjoy this delicious bread 🙂
If you place your bread in a plastic bag and seal it after it cools, it will soften on the crust from the moisture on the inside.
I love the bread and it tastes great, however it was kinda runny and therefore baked really flat. Do you have a suggestion? Can I bake it in a cast iron pan?
Hi, if it was ‘runny’ it could be that the flour to liquid ratio was off. If you are looking to bake in a cast iron pan or dutch oven, you will love our dutch oven bread.
Loved it! It taste just like my grandma’s bread! Simple and even my kids can join in on the fun. The only hard part it not eating it straight out of the oven, lol 😊!
Will be making this again, once this loaf is almost gone. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
That is quite a compliment! Thank you so much for the awesome review. I sure appreciate it! 🙂
The easiest and best bread ever! I’ve made it more times than I could count. I make at least 3 loaves per week. Our family loves it! How ca we NOT?! It’s perfect! Thank you!
Tanya, what a great review 😀, its quite a compliment. Thank you!
Natasha, thank you very much! This bread is amazing! It’s a third dish I’ve cooked from you blog ( I’ve mad shrimp Alfredo and rotate), all three were just perfect!im so happy and excited, because I never thought I can be really good in making a bread)))
My only question is, can I use whole wheat floor for this recipe? Please, need your advice, and again thank you very much!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying the recipes! Two of my readers reported great results with using 1 cup whole wheat flour and 2 cups all purpose or better for bread flour.
I went on a baking binge and made 3 loaves of this bread. One loaf was made using bleached all purpose flour, one loaf was made using unbleached all purpose flour, and one loaf was made using bread flour. One loaf was baked in the Dutch Oven and the other two loaves were baked as directed in the oven. All turned out great no matter which flour I used or the way it was baked. Definitely will make again and again.
I love that you experimented and I love even more that you shared your results! Thank you so much Althea 🙂
Can I use bleached all purpose flour? I only have that one on me right now😕
Hi Yana, that should work fine. 🙂
This bread is wonderful! I would like to make it again but was wondering if you’ve tried using a Dutch oven to bake it in instead of putting water in a pan?
And another question. Where did you get that wide flour container? Is that a special one for flour? I would like one of those 🙂
I believe my flour container is by Progressive and I feel like I could use one that is just slightly larger but it does the job for now 🙂 I haven’t tried it in a dutch oven. If you try, let me know. You might want to use parchment paper on the bottom so it doesn’t stick. If you test it, please let me know how it works out 🙂
Natasha can you help me please! I followed the directions exactly and skipped the cornmeal because I don’t have any… So I floured the parchment paper and scraped the dough out on it and… The dough basically plastered itself onto the parchment paper… I could not even fold it or pick it up. Too sticky. 🙁 so, was my dough just too wet? I guess I didn’t flour the surface enough? (Do you have to put A LOT of flour on the parchment paper??) it was such a disaster, flour all over my kitchen, sticky dough everywhere 🙁 I’m sure it’s me and not your recipe… Did you ever have that happen to you?
Hi Lindsey, what kind of flour did you use? I do flour the parchment paper generously but it shouldn’t have been as sticky as you’re describing. Did you use dry ingredients measuring cups, scraping off the top to get accurate measurements? Did you have a chance to watch the video tutorial? https://natashaskitchen.com/2014/12/16/no-knead-easy-bread-recipe-video-tutorial/ If not, I think you’ll find it helpful.
Thank you! After watching the video – bingo- I definitely did not put down enough flour on the parchment paper! Going to try it again today (I am SO bad at bread lol). I love your recipes so much! I cook a few of them a week! Yesterday I made Lena’s famous chebyreki and the kielbasi tea sandwiches for my family, was so good as always, and today I’m going to use your famous kiwi berri cake- I love experimenting with different fruits for that cake! Today I will put peaches in the middle 🙂 Thanks again! You need to write a recipe book girl!!!
Lindsey, thank you for your comment, I feel so motivated after reading it. I’m happy that you are enjoying the recipes :).
Natasha,
is this type of bread is suitable to be made in the bread maker ?
Thanks
I haven’t tried baking it in a bread maker so I’m not sure if it would work. You’ll have to experiment and let me know. If you’re just asking about making the dough portion in the bread maker, it’s not necessary at all since there is no kneading required.
Hi Natasha,
I don’t have cornmeal, could I just use breadcrumbs?
Hi Marie! You can just omit the cornmeal if you are using parchment paper. It’s used to prevent sticking to the surface while baking and to form nice crust.
Thank you, Natasha. I made the bread with your recipes and method. It worked pretty well. In the begining, it was a bit wet, probably I measured wrong in the flour amount. I add some flour to make it drier. It came out good after the baking. Thank you for your video and tips. I am very happy.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂