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!!!)
Warning! If you’re like me and weigh your bread ingredients, the weights for flour and water are in incorrect. 3 cups of flour = 360g and 1.5 cups of water = 356 g.
This is the easiest bread I have ever made! I found the 2 teaspoons of salt was too much. The bread tasted salty. My next attempt at making it I decreased salt to 1 teaspoon and a used one and a half cups whole wheat flour, one and a half cups white flour I don’t have a Dutch oven. Hi cooking on parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Just watch the bread for being done. This bread is absolutely delicious.!!!
I have experienced this! To slow down the top browning, put foil on top. Kinda like you would do to make sure the edge of a pie doesn’t burn.
the recipie is cool and all right. but why not bake the bread in the oven for 1 milisecond in 41’400’000 C instead of the 30 mins??
Thanks for sharing, Nagi! This was SO easy to make and even more lovely to enjoy with butter. This will be a “go-to” when craving a crusty bread. The recipe worked out perfect.
Everything went well until the bake. I followed the oven temp and times, took it out, let it cool on a rack for 15 minutes, and while the outside looked great the inside was RAW. If I do make this in the future I will probably increase the first part of the bake to 40 minutes then after uncovering it lower the temp to maybe 350 or 375 and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes.
This recipe is wonderful! Thank you for sharing! I have wanted to make fresh bread since realizing that every bread (and pastry) sold at Walmart’s “bakery” (except the French and Italian bread) is not baked fresh; it arrives frozen and is simply unthawed and put on the shelves. It is dated when it is thawed, according to how long it should last. (Same with Aldi.) Even Walmart’s French & Italian breads are simply baked from frozen dough with many additives, just like their “fresh” donuts.
I’m a busy mom, but saw your recipe and decided it looked simple enough to give it a shot. I’ve never made bread before. I’ve made dough for copycat Cinnabon cinnamon rolls, but only on special occasions. But your bread recipe is so quick and easy that I can make my family fresh bread daily! And it’s pure! It doesn’t contain all of the additives and preservatives that most store-bought breads contain. It tastes much better!
I made the recipe as stated. My dough wasn’t as wet, but I didn’t add extra water and it turned out perfect! I used regular all-purpose flour and it still turned out great; the holes are smaller but that will work well when topped with jam or PB&J. I didn’t have a dutch oven, so I filled my cake pan with water and placed it on the shelf under the bread; it worked well!
Thank you for all of the suggestions. I forwarded your recipe to my daughter in college and told her it’s easy enough for her to make in the dorm oven. My teens are food snobs and they loved it fresh out of the oven with butter! Well done!
I’ll get a little creative next time and try adding some flavors, like garlic or rosemary. This is definitely my go-to recipe now for daily toast/sandwich and dinner bread! No more store-bought bread. ❤️
I must be doing something wrong, my bread cooks lovely on the top but is still very pale on the bottom half.. I will keep at it. Fingers crossed it will turn out right for me eventually
Hey Sammi.
Just wondering if you are preheating your dutch oven?
Hi Sammi! The loaf was a little pale for my liking as well. I find that if you remove the parchment paper from under the loaf after you remove the lid for browning, it browns the whole loaf up!
Hi Sammi! Remove the parchment paper from under the loaf after you take the lid off for browning. Makes a big difference. Cheers!
Hi Sammi! My original comment to you was that I make this bread almost everyday and found it a little pale for my liking as well.
After you remove the lid for the last 10-15 minutes for browning, slip the parchment paper out from under the loaf. That really browns the sides.
Oops! Slip the parchment paper out from under the loaf😂
Hi Sammi! I make this bread just about every day, and it was a little too pale for my liking as well.
For the final 10-15 minutes of bake time, slip the parchment bread out from under the loaf when you remove the lid for browning. Makes a big difference! Nice and brown on the sides. Lol
First time I’ve ever commented on a recipe. This recipe is that good. I’m a “whatever’s in the house” cook, so I’m not fond of recipes that required exact ingredients. I had no bread flour, used whole wheat instead. I cut salt in half based on other comments (I’ll use full measure in future). I don’t have a dutch oven really, but do have a high sided cast iron skillet w/a domed lid. My parchment paper said “good to 420 degrees” so I set oven at 400 degrees. I baked loaf a little longer covered and uncovered. The bread is fabulous. Next time I’m going to fold in nuts and herbs or maybe some pesto before putting in skillet. Truly an awesome recipe.
I have been adding 1 tsp of sugar, a handful of shredded cheese and some olive tapanade, baking it straight in cast iron skillet for 30min. Yummy!!!
I love this easy to follow recipe. Been making it every weekend for my husband that loves it very much and I also love to share my finish product to friends and colleagues at work.
I was looking for a rustic style bread to quickly make for our soup for lunch, and this was it!! Added some herbs and cheddar cheese, baked as directed in my dutch oven. Absolutely perfect! Wish I could submit a pic. Will definitely be trying more of your recipes, thank you!
I absolutely love love this recipe. But wondering if you have tried GF flours and what blends you’ve tried. I would love to know if I can use the same ratios but with GF flours.
Recipe was easy as promised and delicious! Since bread can stay in fridge for 3 days, I’d like to try to bake a mini loaf each of these days. About how long would a mini loaf (⅓ original size) need to bake do you think?
Hey! Just made this bread and it was so easy and sooooo tasty. Could I make it with gluten free flour too?
Have you ever tried this adding a little bit of sugar and oil? If so, would that change the baking time/temp? I added a tablespoon of oil and a few tablespoons of sugar and baked as directed but it definitely made the crust just a little too brown.
Is it okay to leave this dough rising overnight?
Yes. I prepare mine in the evening and bake in the morning.
Hi,
Will added oil improve the bread??
Thanks Brad
Absolutely delicious! I used bread flour because I wanted a chewier bread. So, so easy! If I want to use add ins like cheese & jalapeno when do I add it in?
Great recipe. So easy to use. Each time my bread comes out a little doughy. I waited more than 10 minutes each time to cool and cooked on 220 fan, neff oven bread setting. Anyone know anything I could do differently. It’s not inedible just would be better to have a dryer texture.
Hi!! It says to back at 450, I would guess that is the issue. Just do 450 regular bake and not 220 fan. That would make a big difference IMHO. Good luck!
I believe the 220 temp. with fan
is celsius..
Hey mate. The recommended time to wait before cutting in my opinion is wayyyyy too short. The longer you wait the better. Definitely 30 mins plus. I usually wait an hour if I can help myself.