Best No Knead Crusty Bread Recipes

WORLD'S EASIEST YEAST BREAD RECIPE - ARTISAN, NO KNEAD

Steps:

• 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.

NO-KNEAD CRUSTY ARTISAN BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and yeast. Stir in water using a wooden spoon until the mixture forms a shaggy but cohesive dough. Do not over-work the dough. The less you "work" it, the more soft, fluffy air pockets will form.
• Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough sit at room temperature for 8-24 hours*. Dough will bubble up and rise.
• After dough is ready, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place your Dutch oven, uncovered, into the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
• While your Dutch oven preheats, turn dough onto a well-floured surface. With floured hands, form the dough into a ball. Cover dough loosely with plastic wrap and let rest.
• After the 30 minutes are up, carefully remove Dutch oven. With floured hands, place the bread dough into it. (You can put a piece of parchment under the dough if your Dutch oven isn't enamel coated.)
• Replace cover and bake for 30 minutes covered. Carefully remove cover and bake for 7-15 minutes* more, uncovered.
• Carefully remove bread to a cutting board and slice with a bread knife.
• Enjoy!
• Uncovered baking time depends on your oven. In my oven, the bread only needs 7 minutes uncovered until crusty and golden brown, but this can vary. Just keep an eye on it!
• Preheating your Dutch oven to 450 degrees F will not damage it, or the knob on top.
• I've let this dough rise anywhere between 8-24 hours and it has baked up beautifully. Just make sure it has risen and appears to "bubble" to the surface.
• There's no need to grease the Dutch oven/baking dish/pot
• . My bread has never stuck to the pot. If you are concerned though, put a piece of parchment paper under your dough before placing into your pot.
• I do not recommend using whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour in this recipe. The resulting bread will be very dense, and not as fluffy and delicious.
• I used a 5.5 quart enameled cast iron Le Creuset pot, but you can use any large oven-safe dish and cover. All of these also work: a baking dish covered with aluminum foil, crockpot insert, stainless steel pot with a lid, pizza stone with an oven-safe bowl to cover the bread, and old cast iron Dutch oven.
• Add any mix-ins you like - herbs, spices, dried fruit, chopped nuts and cheese all work well. I recommend adding them into the initial flour-yeast mixture to avoid over-working the mix-ins into the dough. The less you "work" it, the more you're encouraging soft, fluffy air pockets to form!

NO-KNEAD ARTISAN STYLE BREAD

Steps:

• Combine the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl and mix to combine. Add the water and herbs, if using, and mix well. The dough will be very sticky and shaggy-looking. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 18 to 24 hours.
• Generously flour a work surface. The dough will have risen and will be covered in bubbles. Transfer the dough to the work surface and dust it with flour. Fold the dough in half, and then form the dough into a ball by stretching and tucking the edges of the dough underneath the ball.
• Liberally flour a kitchen towel (do not use terrycloth). Place the dough ball on the floured towel. Cover with another floured towel. Let the dough rise for about two hours [see footnote].
• Preheat an oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Place a lidded Dutch oven or deep heavy duty casserole dish (with lid) into the oven to preheat.
• Carefully remove the hot baking dish from the oven. Remove the lid and gently turn the dough ball into the ungreased baking dish, seam-side up; shake the dish so the dough is more evenly distributed.
• Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake until the crust is golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the loaf from the baking dish and let it cool on a rack before slicing.

EASY NO KNEAD DUTCH OVEN CRUSTY BREAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add the flour and salt, stirring until blended.
• The dough will be shaggy and sticky.
• Cover bowl with plastic wrap.
• Let the dough rest at least 8 hours, preferably 12 to 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
• The dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles.
• Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it.
• Sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice.
• Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
• Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or to your fingers, gently shape it into a ball. Generously coat a clean dish towel with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal.
• Put the seam side of the dough down on the towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal.
• Cover with another towel and let rise for about 1 to 2 hours.
• When it's ready, the dough will have doubled in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
• At least 20 minutes before the dough is ready, heat oven to 475 degrees.
• Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in the oven as it heats.
• When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven and lift off the lid. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over into the pot, seam side up.
• The dough will lose its shape a bit in the process, but that's OK. Give the pan a firm shake or two to help distribute the dough evenly, but don't worry if it's not perfect; it will straighten out as it bakes.
• Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove the lid and bake another 15 to 20 minutes, until the loaf is beautifully browned.
• Remove the bread from the Dutch oven and let it cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing.