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.
Hello Natasha!
I made this bread today and we loved it!
I have to confess that I made a mistake and skipped a step, but it turned out delicious anyway… Next time I’ll follow the steps properly and I’m sure it will be even better.
I am vegetarian and I was wondering if you have some vegetarian recipes to share…
Thank you for the wonderful recipes, Natasha! This is my favorite recipe blog!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the bread!! I do have a vegetarian category that I have been working on although not all of the recipes are categorized as vegetarian yet. This is a good place to start.
I gave up on baking bread years ago since it always seemed so hit or miss. My grandmother’s homemade bread was legendary – the gold standard of breads, and nothing I attempted would ever come close. She recently passed away, and I decided I would try again in her honor. I found your recipe a week ago, and have since used it three times, each turning out perfectly! Only thing I changed was adding 2 tablespoons of raw honey to the yeast mixture (I do this for pizza dough) – seems to help to activate the yeast and gives the bread a subtle sweetness. I currently have a loaf in the oven, this time adding a tablespoon each of flax, sesame, sunflower, and chia seeds to give it a little crunch. Thank you so much for reuniting my interest in breadmaking – my grandmother would be proud!
So glad to hear John, thank you for sharing! 🙂
I made this yesterday afternoon and served it for lunch today. Very delicious!
Awesome! Thank you for sharing Carla!!
Natasha, I would like to say “thank you so much” for this recipe. The first attempt came out as a passable (followed the ingredients) loaf of bread which didn’t rise quite like I expected.
Making a second loaf, I added 1/4 cup of white sugar into the water, salt, and yeast, adding the sugar to help ‘kick’ off the yeast a little better. And let me tell ya, it rose triple the size as the first loaf did. I also folded the second loaf twice as directed, however, I continued to fold the underside several times in a semi-knead sense. The loaf was perfection! It had smaller air bubbles and fluffier texture, just about like store bought bread, with a semi hard crust.
I will continue to use this recipe, with the exception of adding the 1/4 cup of sugar. Nothin’ tastes better than a fresh loaf of this Artisan bread with melted butter and some homemade Wild Mustang Grape jelly. Scrumptiously delicious! It also complimented my 7-Can Dutch Oven Beef Stew better than crackers ever could. Thumbs up on this recipe.
Hi James, thank you so much for sharing your detailed review! I will definitely have to try your sugar tip! Thanks again and I hope you had a Merry Christmas Day! 🙂
Perfection!! Shared with friends. Looking forward to making more of your yummy recipes!
Thank you Sheila! I’m glad you all enjoyed the recipe!
finished product turned out just like you said. very good bread and chewey
Awesome! I’m glad you liked it Dale 🙂
First loaf turned out great–second not so good–very dense–may have baked too long. Question: can I bake bread on a pizza stone? Thanks, John B
Hi John, it would be dry if it was over-baked. Also, did you substitute any of the ingredients – maybe using a different kind of flour? Yes, you can definitely bake on a pizza stone.
Hi Natasha, really love your blog and love this bread recipe. I have made it three times now, and every time it was not as high as yours. Last time I made it, I put too little flour even though I fallowed you strategy. (the dough was runny and very sticky to handle) So I want to try again foolproof, and this time would like to use weight measurement for the flour. Would you mind including this in your recipe? Thank you.
Hi Lana, without remaking the recipe, I can’t really give you the weight. Next time I make it, I will keep that in mind. What kind of flour are you using? Varying kinds of flours requiring varying amounts. For example, Canadian flour usually requires less flour than US all-purpose due to the varying gluten content. I always use American All-purpose flour for consistency unless otherwise noted (some recipes really just work better with Canadian despite many tests) 🙂 This recipe was made with US All-purpose flour.
I had a little problem and doesn’t seem that anyone else has. My parchment paper started burning in the oven and so did the extra flour. It doesn’t seem like anyone else experimented this. I couldn’t finish baking the bread because of the bad smell from the oven. But it did taste quite good even halfway baked 😉 so I want to make it again without any problems. What can I do differently? Thanks!
Hi Anna, parchment should not burn at that temperature. Are you certain you were using parchment and not wax paper? Wax paper will burn sooner. You can also try a silicone liner if you are having that issue. Maybe your oven runs hotter than normal?
Hello Natasha, thank you for such a wonderful recipe. I made this bread couple times and it’s my favorite. My whole family just loves it. I never left comments on your website before. But your website is amazing. You are a very good cook with best and easy recipes. God bless you!
Lina, you are so nice! Thank you for your sweet review and God bless you also!! 🙂
First non bread machine bread I’ve made and it turned out so well I make it every day now. Comes out nice and chewy.
Try grill steak or chicken, smother bread in Butter then Hummus. Add steak or chicken breast stripe, top with cherry tomato halves, rocket, salt, cracked black pepper and drizzle some olive oil or balsamic vinegar. Comes out as a great meal.
Thank you!
Bruce, thank you for the great review 😀. I’m drooling over my keyboard while reading your comment, sounds yummy 😋.
I made the bread tonight, it turned out fantastic! Thanks for the great explanation and the attention to the details!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe and detailed instructions. I love reading recipes that way and I want to provide the same for my readers. It’s a labor of love 😉
nice bread, perhaps need sugar with the yeast, did not rise , but was round and only 1 inch thick. something wrong with your recipe girly girl……1/8th star
Hi Vernon, I’ve made this bread countless times and it is definitely unusual that it was only 1″ thick and I’m always happy to help troubleshoot. Was your yeast fresh? Also, could your water have been too hot? If you add hot water to the bowl, it can deactivate your yeast and stop it’s rising action. The same thing happens if you let the bread proof in an oven that is hotter than 100˚F – it will cook the yeast and ruin the whole loaf. I hope that helps for next time!
great
Hi Vernon,
I make a yeast starter with my water and add a teaspoon of sugar as my yeast I getting close to expiring. I only continue when the yeast starts.
Can I make this recipe in a loaf pan? What would I have to do different?
Hi Louis, I haven’t tried it in a loaf pan but I would do everything the same except I would put the dough into the loaf pan on the last rise and make sure to remove it from the pan right away when it comes out of the oven.
I have tons of basil in my garden. What do you think about me adding this and some garlic to the dough?
I have had a few read his report good results with adding herbs to the dough to make it a flavored bread. If you try it let me know how you like it.
Wow. Thanks for the recipe Natasha. I love baking good bread. Got a little worried because it didn’t rise like your video. It did rise more once it sat for 45 minutes though. This is going to be good. It’s cooling now. 👍
Mark, you are very welcome, let me know how it turns out 😀.
Hi Natasha! This recipe is so simple and awesome! I’ve had it turn out wonderful every time I’ve made it so thanks so much for sharing it! One question though: I always seem to have the flour and cornmeal build up on the bottom of the bread after baking and it makes for a mess and I usually have to pick that off before eating it. Any way or tips to alleviate that problem? Thanks! 😊
Hi Stephanie, the only way to do this really is to use less flour and a little less cornmeal. The bread should not stick to the parchment after baking even if using less corn meal and flour.
Awesome! I will try that next time I make it. I made a loaf the other night for some out of town relatives and they were very impressed! They’re also picky eaters! Thanks so much!
Hi Natasha, this has become our go to family bread. It’s so easy and delicious! Thank you for the wonderful recipes!
I am so happy to hear that! Thanks for sharing that with us 🙂
Can i make this bread in a breadmaker ?
Hi Irina, I haven’t tried baking it in a bread maker so I’m not sure if it would work – the bread maker doesn’t allow for as much rising time as this recipe calls for and I have found that when you make it rise too fast (as in a warm oven), it doesn’t rise as high in the oven. If you experiment in the bread machine, 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.
Thank you
I just made this bread. First time making homemade bread. IT IS amazing!! Perfect. I used King Arthur organic I bleached bread flour. Thank you for the recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that you had a great experience with your first bread loaf. That’s awesome! 🙂