Have crusty, fluffy homemade artisan bread on the table every night of the week with just 5 minutes of hands-on time. This recipe uses just 4 ingredients and needs NO kneading at all.
I’m a busy mom, and I know what it’s like to want to feed your family a healthy, home-cooked meal, but to be so busy throughout the day just managing the household that you run out of time.
Especially when it comes to fresh baked bread. Because typically, bread requires a lot of forethought to allow for proper rise and bake time.
But not anymore! This no-knead artisan bread recipe can be whipped up and on the table in about an hour and a half, with just 5 minutes of hands-on time!
Does it get any better than that? I don’t think so!
Basic Dough
The first thing you’re going to do for this no-knead artisan bread recipe is to make a basic master dough (see instructions below).
This dough will sit in the refrigerator until you’re ready to bake your bread and will yield approximately 4 large 1-lb loaves of artisan bread.
You can also use this basic dough to make rolls, pizza crust, sandwich bread, and so much more! We’ve heard some people have even used it to make cinnamon rolls and homemade pretzels!
Supplies Needed
In order to make no knead artisan bread there are a couple of supplies that are necessary.
- A Large Container – should be about 2-gallons in size, or enough to hold 4 pounds of dough. It’s best if the container is either glass or food-grade plastic, and either has a lid or can easily fit some plastic wrap and a towel over the top.
- Whisk – although not necessary, a whisk comes in handy for incorporating the yeast with the warm water.
- Wooden Spoon or Danish Dough Whisk – these come in very handy when mixing the dough itself. If you don’t want to dirty up a utensil, your hands make great tools, too!
Ingredients Needed
- Warm Water – not too hot, and not too cold! You want it about 100 degrees or baby bath temperature.
- Active Dry Yeast – it’s important to use active dry yeast and not instant yeast for this recipe.
- Flour – I prefer to use either all-purpose flour or a combination of all-purpose and whole wheat flour. If you watch to the end of the video above, you can see the main loaf in the video is all-purpose white flour, but the loaf I cut into at the end is a combination of whole wheat and all-purpose flour.
- Salt – use a good quality sea salt. Do not omit the salt or your bread will be bland and flavorless.
Dough Instructions
Add warm water to a large food-grade container. Add yeast and stir to combine.
Add flour and salt and stir until all ingredients are incorporated.
Mix until all ingredients are combined. It may get sticky, so you can always get in there with your hands to give it a good mix. But remember, you don’t need to knead the dough, just mix until combined.
Cover your container with a lid, or with a piece of plastic wrap and a towel and leave at room temperature for 2 hours.
Transfer the dough to the refrigerator and let it rest until you’re ready to bake. The dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Baking Instructions
An hour and a half before you’re ready to eat. Take a grapefruit-sized section of your dough out of the container in the refrigerator.
Place the remaining dough back in the fridge.
Generously flour a banneton basket, if using, with rice flour (or regular flour). Alternatively, place a piece of parchment paper on the counter.
Stretch the grapefruit-sized section of dough, folding it in and under, then pinching the sides together on the bottom until a nice round loaf is formed.
Place top-side down in your banneton, cover with a towel and allow to rise for 40 minutes.
About 20 minutes into the rise time, preheat the oven to 425 degrees with the dutch oven inside the oven.
Place a piece of parchment paper over your banneton and gently flip the loaf over so your loaf is now on the parchment and out of the basket. (See video above for demonstration.)
Remove the hot dutch oven from the oven and gently lift parchment paper and loaf, then lower into the dutch oven.
Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes. Remove dutch oven lid and continue baking for a few more minutes until bread is golden brown on top.
Remove the bread from the dutch oven and place it on a cooling rack for a few minutes. Slice, slather with homemade butter, or serve with dream cheese and enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? If so, we’d love for you to give us a rating in the recipe card below. Also, we want to see your bread, so tag us on social media!
Other Recipes You May Enjoy
- Bread Soup – A Quick and Easy Lunch
- Quick & Easy Cobbler Recipe (DIY Cobbler Mix)
- Whole Wheat Scones Recipe
- Parker House Rolls Made With Sourdough
No Knead Artisan Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups water 100 degrees
- 2 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour or a combination of all-purpose and whole wheat
- 1 1/2 Tbsp sea salt
Instructions
For the dough
- Add warm water to a large food-grade container. Add yeast and stir to combine.
- Add flour and salt, stir until all ingredients are incorporated (using hands if needed).
- Cover container with lid, or a piece of plastic wrap and a towel. Leave at room temperature for 2 hours.
- Transfer the dough to the refrigerator and let it rest until an hour and a half before you want a fresh loaf of bread.
For the bread
- Generously flour a banneton with rice flour and set aside.
- Remove a grapefruit-size section of dough from the refrigerator. Stretch the sides of the dough in on itself, folding it over and under to create a nice tight ball of dough. Pinch the sides together on the bottom and place, top-side down, into your prepared banneton.
- Cover with a towel and let rise for 40 minutes at room temperature.
- 20 minutes into the rise-time, preheat the oven to 425°F. Place dutch oven in the oven to preheat.
- Gently flip your dough out of the banneton onto a sheet of parchment paper (see video for demonstration).
- Carefully remove the hot dutch oven from the oven, lift the parchment paper and gently lower the loaf with the parchment paper into the dutch oven.
- Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue baking for 3-5 minutes until bread is golden brown on top.
- Remove from oven and carefully transfer bread to a cooling rack for a few minutes before slicing and enjoying.
