No Knead Crusty Bread

Ready to learn how to make the easiest No Knead Crusty Bread at home? I’ve got step by step photos and directions to teach you how to bake it in your own kitchen!

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I absolutely love this No Knead Crusty Bread. Its not your typical sandwich bread but it’s amazing with soups and stews. To be honest, my 2 year old her perfectly content with tearing off a huge chunk of this homemade crusty bread and just nibbling on it while he watching his morning cartoons! 

What you’ll need to make Homemade No Knead Crusty Bread:

Making the bread dough:

Start the bread making process by pouring the yeast into warm water and letting sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.

In a very large bowl, combine flour and salt. Whisk the dry ingredients together and once yeast had bloomed for 5 minutes, add the water and yeast to flour.

Use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir everything together.

Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest on counter for 8 hours. I’ve let this bread rest for 4 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours and 24 hours to test how we liked it. We like the when it rises for 8-12 hours.

If you’re kitchen is particularly cold, place the bowl into the oven (with the oven off) or inside the microwave (turned off) for it to rise. However, it should be ok on the counter. 

Place a kitchen towel over it and add a note so your family doesn’t touch it and ruin your work. 

Cut two pieces of parchment paper the same size as the lid of a dutch oven or the size of the oven safe bowl you’re using to bake the bread.

After dough has risen, flip dough out onto a floured surface and cut in half. Use floured hands to tuck edged of dough under itself to create a smooth dough ball.

Place each dough ball onto a piece of parchment paper. Cover lightly with a clean tea towel and let dough rise again for 30 minutes.

Try not to handle it too much after it’s risen for the 2nd time. The more you handle it the flatter it seems to bake. 

Set oven racks in oven to the lowest rack possible. Place dutch ovens or baking bowl into the oven. (lids removed)

Preheat oven to 450F with baking dishes inside (without lids).

Once ready to bake, carefully remove dutch oven or baking bowl from oven. THESE WILL BE HOT! PLEASE BE CAREFUL! 

Slice the top of the bread 3-4 times with a sharp knife.

Lift bread using parchment paper as a sling and carefully lower bread and parchment paper into the super hot dutch oven or baking bowl.

Add lid to pot and place back into oven. Bake bread with lid on for about 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, remove top and bake bread for 10 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for 5 – 10 minutes and then transfer out of baking dish onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Once bread is cooled, slice with a serrated knife and enjoy with your favorite jam, jelly, soup or stew! 

Please remember that this is a crusty bread, so the crust is going to be very crispy. You may start to cut into it and say, “Holy Heck, this is hard bread” but don’t worry, the crust its just extra crispy but the bread inside is worth it! haha. 

To store this bread:

If it hasn’t been cut open, this bread can sit on the counter for a few days with no problem. However, once it’s been cut, place uneaten pieces in a resealable bag or closed paper bags to keep it fresh. 

Bread dried 0ut before it’s all eaten?

If you didn’t manage to eat all of the bread before it dried up, don’t toss it out! You can use dried bread to make amazing recipes like these:

• Garlic Chive Parmesan Croutons
• ‘Ohana Pineapple Banana Bread Pudding with Banana Caramel Sauce
• Jack Daniels Bread Pudding

If you need jam recipes for your bread try these:

• Homemade Strawberry Lemonade Jam
• Strawberry Freezer Jam

If you need soup recipes to have with your bread try these:

• BBQ Hamburger Soup
• Slow Cooker Loaded Potato and Shrimp Chowder
• Broccoli and Cheese Pasta Soup
• French Tomato Pumpkin Soup
• Creamy Corn Chowder

More Homemade Bakery Recipes to fall in love with:

• Homemade Beer Bread
• Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Stuffed Muffins
• Blueberry Peach Bread

No Knead Crusty Bread

Yield: 2 loaves bread

No Knead Crusty Bread

Print

Ready to learn how to make the easiest No Knead Crusty Bread at home? I've got step by step photos and directions to teach you how to bake it in your own kitchen!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Rise Time 8 hours

Bake Time 55 minutes

Total Time 9 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 6 cups all-purpose flour + extra for dusting
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon yeast
• 3 cups warm water
• Plastic Wrap
• Parchment Paper
• Large Dutch oven with lid or oven safe bowl

Instructions

1. Pour yeast into warm water and let sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.
2. In a very large bowl, combine flour and salt.
3. Once yeast had bloomed for 5 minutes, add the water and yeast to flour.
4. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to stir everything together.
5. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rest on counter for 8 hours.
6. Cut two pieces of parchment paper the same size as the lid of a dutch oven or the size of the oven safe bowl you're using to bake the bread.
7. After dough has risen, flip dough out onto a floured surface and cut in half.
8. Use floured hands to tuck edged of dough under itself to create a smooth dough ball.
9. Place each dough ball onto a piece of parchment paper.
10. Cover lightly with a clean tea towel and let dough rise again for 30 minutes.
11. Set oven racks in oven to the lowest rack possible.
12. Place dutch ovens or baking bowl into the oven. (lids removed)
13. Preheat oven to 450F with baking dishes inside (without lids).
14. Once ready to bake, carefully remove dutch oven or baking bowl from oven.
15. Slice the top of the bread 3-4 times with a sharp knife.
16. Lift bread using parchment paper as a sling and carefully lower bread and parchment paper into the super hot dutch oven or baking bowl.
17. Add lid to pot and place back into oven.
18. Bake for 45 minutes.
19. After 45 minutes, remove top and bake bread for 10 minutes.
20. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 - 10 minutes and then transfer out of baking dish onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

• I bake this bread in a dutch oven but I know some others have baked it in cake pans and oven safe bowls with success however baking in a glass bowl at 450F scares me so I opt for the dutch oven.
• I've let this bread rest for 4 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours and 24 hours to test how we liked it. We like the when it rises for 8-12 hours.
• Try not to handle it too much after it's risen for the 2nd time. The more you handle it the flatter it seems to bake.

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