Super Easy No Knead Bread Recipe For Beginners
I’ve made this super simple bread recipe five times in two weeks, because it is that easy and delicious to boot. The last time was so good that I burnt my hand trying to cut into it while it was still piping hot! Oops!
The easiest no knead bread recipe uses just four ingredients (does water count as an ingredient?) and I make it with regular plain all-purpose flour.
Serving Info
- Prep Time: 5 minutes (+ 3hrs without you + overnight cold proof)
- Cooking Time: 30-45 minutes
- Servings: One loaf
- Level: Easy
Kitchen Bits You’ll Need
Gather a few basic items to help you prepare your easy no knead bread dough:
- Kitchen scales
- Bowl
- 1 teaspoon measuring spoon
- Jug
- Silicon spatula
- Something to cover the bowl
- Round cake tin
- Baking paper
- Optional: Dutch oven
Ingredients You’ll Need
As I said above, there are just three actual ingredients to make this bread, and water brings it all together.
Flour
I find it hard to get interesting flours where I live, so I just use a generic (and cheap) plain flour – I think my US friends call is ‘all purpose’!
Instant Yeast
I throw in the full 7g sachet, because I did it the first time accidentally and it worked.
Salt
Just two teaspoons of a coarse sea salt and you’re all set!
Water
I pour water from the tap and stick my finger in it to make sure it feels ‘cool’ to me. You could use a thermometer, but I never have and I’ve yet to have a dodgy loaf of bread!
Specific Ingredient Amounts
- 3.5 cups / 435g all-purpose plain flour
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 7g instant yeast (1x sachet)
- 1 ⅓ cup / 330ml water – approximately room temperature, assuming your room is not 100º!
Making The Easy No Knead Bread Dough
Pop your bowl on the scales (less washing up this way) and reset them to 0. Measure out 3.5 cups / 435g flour. Add to this the 2 teaspoons of salt and the sachet (7g) of yeast. Give it a mix with the spatula.
Double check the temperature of the water in your jug (honestly, just put a finger in it, and if it feels cooler than your finger is, it’s good enough).
Pour the water into the bowl and combine with the dry ingredients using the spatula. That’s it!
Cover the bowl – I use foil, but even a plate would work – and place it somewhere a little bit warm for 2-3 hours. The first time I made this bread I was also making a roast, so I sat the bowl near the cooker. Another time I popped it on the windowsill as the radiator was on. A tad unorthodox yes, but it worked. I just turned the bowl every 30 minutes.
After 2 hours lift the cover and take a peek – has the dough grown bigger? If so, pop it in the fridge and leave it for 24 hours. If it hasn’t grown, try putting it somewhere else that’s a bit warmer for another hour or so.
I like to put my bowl of dough on the bottom shelf away from prying eyes, and just let it do its thing.
Baking The No Knead Bread
There are as many ways to shape and bake bread as there are stars in the sky. The easiest and non-fussy way to do it is simple.
Take the dough out the fridge one hour before you want to bake it. Not eat it, bake it! The eating part is a bit later!
Put your baking paper in the round cake tin.
Use the silicon spatula thingy to ease the dough from the bowl onto the paper. It’ll be full of bubbles so try to be gentle as this will keep the bubbles as intact as possible.
Once it’s on the paper you can try to shape it with the spatula. It’s sticky so I personally avoid touching it, but you could… if you wanted.
Leave it for 40 minutes with something over the top. I use a broken net tent thing my mum gave me years ago. It stops cat hairs and general life dust floating in and settling on top, because despite what your cat will have you believe its hair does not add to the flavor.
When your phone timer surprises you 40 minutes later, pop the oven on to preheat. If you have a Dutch oven (one with no chips or cracks in) you can pop it on the bottom shelf to heat up. This will make a super crispy crust on the bread if that’s your thing. It’s also my thing, but my teeth are not such fans… Sigh.
After 20 minutes have passed, you have two options:
- Put the round cake tin with the dough into the oven. Pop a bit of extra paper on top to limit burning.
- Take the Dutch oven out, lift the bread and paper out of the cake tin and into the Dutch oven, and pop the lid back on.
In both cases, you can then put the dough into the oven on the bottom shelf and set your timer for 15 minutes.
When the 15 minutes are up, take a look. I usually remove anything covering the dough at this point, and then keep baking in 10-minute increments:
- The round cake tin version takes between 18 and 24 minutes at gas mark 4/5
- The Dutch oven version takes between 26 and 35 minutes at gas mark 4/5
If it’s golden on top, you can remove it from the oven and try knocking the base. I know; it’s hot and it’s tricky but give it a go with a cool tea towel in hand. If it sounds hollow inside, it’s done. If not, pop it back in for a bit longer.
Once your bread is baked, pop it and the baking paper it’s attached to onto a wooden cutting board or a wire rack. Let it cool for about 20-30 minutes so that you can actually cut into it with a bread knife. The wait is worth it, promise!
Things to Note
A couple of points for you to think about before making this easy no knead bread.
Note that the above loaf was my first attempt as baking bread. Although it burned and was too crisp for my teeth, the inside was delicious, and I went on to adapt and improve the original recipe accordingly. Don’t be shy to play with the measurements and timings as well!
Dutch Oven Tip
A Dutch oven is not essential, but it will aid in making the bread crispy all over. If you go this route, always heat the Dutch oven at the same time you preheat the oven. Extreme temperature changes are not so good for the enamel found on most Dutch ovens.
General Bread Making Tip
I am a perfectionist, and I have learned that it is not a good idea to try and exactly follow bread making recipes. If you have flour, yeast and water, there will be dough, and it will be bake-able. So, give it a go and have fun.
Can You Cook It Right Away?
Yep. I tested it to make sure, and after leaving it for 3 hours near a warm oven (I was cooking a Sunday roast), I turned it into a loaf tin and baked it at 350ºf / 180ºc /gas mark 4. It had a cover for 20 minutes and then a further 23 minutes uncovered.
While this is a nice bread to make when you have space in the fridge for an overnight proving, I actually much prefer the bread I make during the day, using my quick bread using active yeast recipe. It comes out perfect time and time again!
