This is a phenomenal bread recipe. The best, EASY yeast bread you will ever make, beginners love how simple it is while bread connoisseurs appreciate the Artisan bread qualities – the thick crispy crust and chewy crumb with big fat holes like sourdough!
No knead, 3 minutes active effort, very forgiving recipe. Make this today, then the Cheese Bread version tomorrow!

Phenomenal EASY yeast bread recipe
This is an extraordinary white bread recipe with outstanding results. While it’s easy and forgiving, making it suitable for beginners, experienced bakers will recognise and appreciate the Artisan bread characteristics – large holes in the crumb like your favourite sourdough bread with that signature chewiness, and a thick, crispy crust.
It’s a gold nugget recipe, and you may never buy bread again after trying this!
Here’s why it’s so easy:
No knead, no stand mixer
3 minutes active effort – you won’t even get your hands dirty
Dutch oven (cast iron pot) ideal but not necessary
Incredibly forgiving dough, with rise times ranging from 2 hours to 3 days (yes, really, you choose what works for you)
Easy but yet no compromise on quality of bread

What you need to make this homemade bread recipe
Here’s what you need to make homemade bread from scratch – yeast, flour, salt and water. Yep, really, that’s it!
No yeast?
Make this famous Irish Soda Bread instead, or this incredible No Yeast Sandwich bread based on the traditional Australian Damper!

Yeast – my base recipe uses Rapid Rise or Instant Yeast which does not need to be dissolved in water. But it works just as well with normal yeast (“Active Dry Yeast” or just “dry yeast”) – you just need to change the order of the steps and dissolve the yeast in water first. The bread comes out exactly the same!
Best flour for homemade bread – use bread flour if you can. Bread flour has more protein in it than normal flour which means more gluten, and this makes the dough more elastic and yields a more fluffy yet chewy texture inside the bread, as well as creating the big holes you see in the photos, like sourdough bread. However, this bread is still spectacular made with normal flour too!
How to make the world’s easiest homemade bread – Artisan style!
Here are process steps with tips, but also see the video below – super handy to see the dough consistency, and how to form the dough.
1. Make wet sticky dough

Mix together the flour, salt and yeast, then add warm water and mix. The “dough” will be very wet and sloppy, not kneadable at all – this is what you want! See video at 17 seconds for consistency.
2. Rise!

Cover with cling wrap then place it in a warm place (25 – 30°C / 77 – 86°F) for 2 hours. The dough will increase in volume by double or more, the surface will become bubbly and the dough will be wobbly, like jelly. See video at 24 seconds for consistency.
OPTIONAL – develop flavour: Once dough has risen, you can bake immediately. OR, for better flavour, refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours, up to 3 days. Time = better flavour development.
Bread in photos and video were baked immediately. I usually make this dough in the morning, refrigerate all day then bake in the evening. Or make the dough in the evening, refrigerate overnight and bake fresh in the morning! (10 – 12 hours in fridge). Beauty of this bread is that you can bake anytime!
No dutch oven? No problem! Just bake it on a tray – see the recipe notes.
3. Preheat oven & pot

30 minutes before dough has risen, or while refrigerated dough is coming to room temperature, place dutch oven (cast iron pot) in the oven to preheat at 230°C/450°F.
Hot oven + hot pot = bread rising boost!
4. Scrape dough out

Scrape dough out of bowl onto floured work surface. It will be wet and sticky and that’s exactly what you want – because we will not be kneading it! In fact, you won’t even touch it with your hand.
PRO TIP: Dough handling and shaping technique devised to minimise addition of flour. Less flour = wetter dough = bigger air pockets, fluffier bread and more moist.
5. Shape the dough very roughly

Use a dough scraper or anything of similar shape (spatula, cake server, or large knife) to fold the sides in so it roughly resembles a round disc.
Don’t get too hung up on the shaping – you’ll deform it in the next step!! This step is mainly to deflate the dough.
6. FLIP dough upside down onto paper

Slide a large piece of baking / parchment paper next to the dough, then flip it upside down onto the paper using the scraper so the seams from the step above are face down, and you have the smooth side up.
Slide/push the dough into the centre, then briefly reshape it into a round or slightly oval shape.
Do not get too hung up on a neat shape – this bread is supposed to be rustic! Besides, scruffier shape = more awesome crispy ridges
7. Prepare to bake!

Remove very hot pot from oven, then use paper to pick up the dough and put it in the pot, and put the lid on.
See recipe notes for no dutch oven method.
8. Bake!

Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on (this creates a steamer effect, allowing the bread to rise while it cooks before crust sets), then 12 minutes with the lid off to brown and crisp up the crust. The surface will crack – and you want this, for extra crispy ridges!! And it looks authentic, just like the Artisan bread you buy at bakeries. 😇
Cool for 10 minutes before slicing. This is important – to let the centre of the bread finish cooking (if you slice too early, it will seem a bit doughy. Patience was never my greatest virtue, so I learnt this first hand!)
Remember – you can make this bread recipe WITHOUT a dutch oven!

Why this bread recipe works – and TIPS!
Loose, sticky dough = easier to rise than firmer dough.
No kneading = rough dough, but because the dough is so soft, it puffs up enough to “smooth out” the roughness.
Super forgiving dough – too stiff, add water. Too wet, add flour. Dough not rising? Move it to a warmer place. Takes 45 minutes to rise or 5 hours? It will still work. As long as your dough is the same consistency as what you see in the video and you let it rise to double the volume, this bread recipe will work as long as the yeast is not past its expiry date!
Why you need a preheated dutch oven for no knead bread recipes – to create a steamy environment to give the bread a rise boost before the crust sets (which stops the bread from rising). Professional bakeries are equipped with steam ovens – the cast iron pot is the home method!
Don’t have a dutch oven? No problem! Recreate the steamy environment by placing hot water in a pan in the oven, and bake the bread on a tray.
Big holes in the crumb – loose dough from less flour, high oven temp and preheated pot allows the yeast to give the bread a great rise boost, creating big air pockets. Also the use of bread flour rather than normal flour helps – you get less large holes using normal flour.
Bake immediately if it’s a bread emergency….
…but you’ll be rewarded with tastier bread if you leave the dough 8+ hours in the fridge! I normally make dough first thing in the morning (it takes 3 minutes!) then bake that night. Or make dough at night and bake in the morning. (~12 hrs in fridge for both scenarios)
Why refrigerating the dough creates a better tasting bread – because the fridge slows down the fermentation of the yeast (ie dough stops rising, if it kept rising it would kill the rising power of the yeast), allowing the enzymes in the yeast to do their work, transforming starch into sugar which creates a more flavourful bread. So we let the dough rise first, then refrigerate it.


All the ways to eat this bread!
Everything you do with bread you buy, you can do with this bread. It truly has the structure of bakery bread, so there are no limits!
Eat it fresh out of the oven, slathered with butter. Make sandwiches, toast it, mop plates clean, dunk it in soups and stews. Make bruschetta, garlic bread, grilled cheese, CHEESY garlic bread or Cheese and Garlic CRACK Bread!
I hope you enjoy this crusty bread recipe as much as I do. This really is one of those gold nugget recipes that you’ll make once and treasure forever! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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World’s Easiest Yeast Bread recipe – Artisan, NO KNEAD
Ingredients
- 3 cups (450g) flour , bread or plain/all purpose (Note 1)
- 2 tsp instant or rapid rise yeast (Note 2 for normal / active dry yeast)
- 2 tsp cooking / kosher salt , NOT table salt (Note 3)
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) very warm tap water , NOT boiling or super hot (ie up to 55°C/130°F) (Note 4)
Dough shaping
- 1 1/2 tbsp flour , for dusting
Instructions
- Mix Dough: Mix flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add water, then use the handle of a wooden spoon to mix until all the flour is incorporated. Dough will be wet and sloppy – not kneadable, but not runny like cake batter. Adjust with more water or flour if needed for right consistency (see video at 17 sec, Note 5).
- Rise: Cover with cling wrap or plate, leave on counter for 2 – 3 hours until it doubles in volume, it’s wobbly like jelly and the top is bubbly (see video at 24 seconds). If after 1 hour it doesn’t seem to be rising, move it somewhere warmer (Note 6).
- Optional – refrigerate for flavour development (Note 9): At this stage, you can either bake immediately (move onto Step 5) or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- Take chill out of refrigerated dough – if you refrigerated dough per above, leave the bowl on the counter for 45 – 60 minutes while the oven is preheating. Cold dough does not rise as well.
- Preheat oven (Note 7) – Put dutch oven in oven with lid on (26cm/10" or larger). Preheat to 230°C/450°F (220° fan) 30 minutes prior to baking. (Note 8 for no dutch oven)
- Shape dough: Sprinkle work surface with 1 tbsp flour, scrape dough out of bowl. Sprinkle top with 1/2 tbsp flour.
- Using a dough scraper or anything of similar shape (cake server, large knife, spatula), fold the sides inwards (about 6 folds) to roughly form a roundish shape. Don’t be too meticulous here – you’re about to deform it, it’s more about deflating the bubbles in the dough and forming a shape you can move.
- Transfer to paper: Slide a large piece of parchment/baking paper (not wax paper) next to the dough, then flip the dough upside down onto the paper (ie seam side down, smooth side up). Slide/push it towards the middle, then reshape it into a round(ish) shape. Don't get too hung up about shape. In fact, lopsided = more ridges = more crunchy bits!
- Dough in pot: Remove piping hot dutch oven from oven. Use paper to place dough into pot, place lid on.
- Bake 30 minutes covered, then 12 minutes uncovered or until deep golden and crispy.
- Cool on rack for 10 minutes before slicing.
Recipe Notes:
- Fridge up to 3 days – Rise dough per recipe, then leave in bowl and refrigerate up to 3 days. Flavour gets better with time. Dough will stay bubbly for a day or two, then will deflate – that’s fine. Shape into round and place on paper per recipe, then leave for 45 – 60 minutes to take the chill out of it, then bake per recipe. Cold dough won’t rise as well.
- Bread in photos & video is 2 hr rise, immediate bake.
- Cooked bread – great fresh for 2 days, then after that, better warmed or toasted. Keep in an airtight container or ziplock bag. This stays more fresh than usual homemade bread, especially if you use bread flour.
- Freeze cooked bread for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information:
More bread recipes
Life of Dozer
Just keeping a close eye on it for me….

Good job Dozer. Here’s your treat. Look, I even buttered it for you! (PS He’s in his robe because it’s a rainy day yet I still took him to the beach!!!)

I would love to know if you can make this with less salt???
How do you think this would work with spelt flour?
Hi Sharon, this won’t work as written with spelt flour sorry – the hydration is different to regular white flour. N x
Best and easiest bread recipe ever! Never could be bothered to bake bread at home until I found this recipe. Thanks so much Nagi, your instructions and videos are so easy to follow!
Made with no Dutch oven. Halved recipe, used 8g fresh yeast. 2hr rise. Onto a lined baking tray with water in a casserole dish on shelf below. 20minutes. Job done. Tyvm x
First time making bread and it was a glorious success!!!! I use so many of your recipes and they never fail to impress! Thank you thank you thank you ❤️
Wow Nagi, this is awesome! Definitely great for the time conscious bakers out there.
I’ll have to give it a try to see how it tastes, although I am a little biased when it comes to bread, I can’t compare anything to the great taste of a long fermented sourdough! Definitely takes a lot longer than your method however just as easy in my opinion.
Baked this for soup night and it was a hit! I made the dough in the morning then baked it before dinner. The crust was perfect. I waited around 20 minutes before I sliced it and when I sliced it it was so moist? So soft that I thought it was undercooked. Was is supposed to be like that? When I tasted it, it didn’t taste raw or yeasty or undercooked. It was chewy and yummy! I intend to bake this again, but just wondering if I should bake it longer?
Hey Rose Ann, the same thing happened to me however it was because my temperature was moving up and down. What I noticed is that I took off the top of the dutch oven too fast and the above took place. I will be making this bread again and making sure that my oven is calibrated correctly. Overall the bread was tasty and had aa beautiful color.
Can I add herbs to the recipe and if so do I add after it’s done rising?
Yes I was looking for this answer too! It seems like rosemary would be a perfect compliment. Maybe added after the dough has risen?
Hi
Bread looks lovely, The baking paper was welded to the bottom of the bread.
Any suggestions welcome.
Hi Trevor, sorry you had issues here, was it definitely baking paper and not waxed paper?? N x
Hi Nagi
We had a roll of brown colour paper in the cupboard, with no box and we thought it was baking paper.
Just opened a new roll of baking paper and its white and very different to our mystery brown paper.
Our mistake. Looking forward to the next bake.
Hi Brad, I was just looking for another recipe and saw your comment. I am no expert however, is suspect you will have to work the dough a little more to form individual rolls and thus the gas pockets (made by yeast) will be reduced and result in a more dense product. Give it a go though. Maybe after you form the smaller portions, let it rise again….??
Yes, thought so. Appreciate your response. Happy baking.
Going to make but asking can it be made into rolls? Thanks.
Hi Brad, I was just looking for another recipe and saw your comment. I am no expert however, is suspect you will have to work the dough a little more to form individual rolls and thus the gas pockets (made by yeast) will be reduced and result in a more dense product. Give it a go though. Maybe after you form the smaller portions, let it rise again….??
This bread recipe is amazing. Everything baked well and tasted wonderful. I didn’t have the quick rise yeast but activating it in a little warm water was no problem. Made it for the Leek Soup which was also fabulous. Thank you Nagi. I am a fan!!
Made the bread it was beautiful tastey will be making it again soon
It is a great recipe and now its my weekly ritual to bake 3 loafs of those and give some away. But can I would like to make a strong suggestion about refrigeration. I did that and the bread was too yeasty, so much my kids refused (!) to eat it. What I do now, I put only 1/2 tsp of yeast if I leave dough for more than 4 h, and its so beautiful. Normally overnight at room temperature. I would now reduce yeast for dough that will go into a fridge too. It’s so flexible but too much yest doesn’t work for me. I’ve also made it with different flours (spelt, rye addition), so fun to experiment.
It is a great recipe and not its my weekly ritual to bake 3 loafs of those and give some away. But can I would like to make a strong suggestion about refrigeration. I did that and the bread was too yeasty, so much my kids refused (!) to eat it. What I do now, I put only 1/2 tsp of yeast if I leave dough for more than 4 h, and its so beautiful. Normally overnight at room temperature. I would now reduce yeast for dough that will go into a fridge too. It’s so flexible but too much yest doesn’t work for me. I’ve also made it with different flours (spelt, rue addition), so fun to experiment.
If this recipe works for me…we’ll have to talk again.
Can I add or substitute rye flour for this recipe?
It might be very dense with just rye and not rise well but what I do I just experiment with other flours. Try adding it to wheat flour first. And add as much water as needed to get a consistency as shown, don’t make it too wet.
It will throw the liquid ratio off sorry Cyndia, something I’d need to test as Rye flower has a higher hydration point. N x
Question from a non baker. Happy if anyone answers this
1) will it work if shape more oblong like a loaf when cooking without a Dutch oven?
2) I see baker score the top of their artisan bread. Does it work with method.
Thanks
Hello! I have actually tried this, and yes you can definitely score it on top, I like to add more flour on the bread before I score it so when it bakes the art is more prominent on top!
Nagi, I have a new precision steam oven at home and wonder how I could use it with this recipe without Dutch oven. Any tips on the temp, steam & timing?
I use a steam oven and just add a steel shot glass in preheating ta 450 and or spray distilled water on inside walls of oven works fine.
Hi FelN – I haven’t tried with a steam oven just yet sorry! N x
First time making it. Loved it however I think my dough was too wet. I had a difficult time moving it from my mat to the store parchment paper so I lost a bit of the dough. But it came out perfect anyway! So crusty with lovely interior texture.
I have now made this several times. I now lay parchment on top of my pastry mat and flip it. This time it worked perfect, didn’t even have to scrap or reshape it. Brushed it with melted butter afterwards. Delicious! Next time I will try a whole wheat version.