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Recipe

Weeknight-Friendly No Knead Bread

A classic no knead loaf with a crackly crust and chewy center, mixed in minutes and baked in a blazing hot Dutch oven.

Author By Matt Campbell
4.8
A golden brown round loaf of no knead bread on parchment paper next to a cast iron Dutch oven on a kitchen counter
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If you love the idea of homemade bread but do not love the idea of babysitting dough, this is your loaf. No knead bread is the quiet little miracle of weeknight cooking: you stir flour, water, salt, and yeast, then time does the work while you live your life. Next day, you bake it in a screaming hot Dutch oven and suddenly your kitchen smells like a proper bakery.

This version keeps things classic and widely loved with simple pantry ingredients and a long fermentation for real flavor. The crumb is chewy and open, the crust is crisp with those dramatic little blisters, and the whole thing is forgiving enough that you can make it on a Tuesday without feeling like you enrolled in culinary school.

A close-up photograph of no knead bread sliced open showing an airy chewy crumb on a wooden cutting board

Why It Works

  • Hands-off dough development: A long, slow rise builds gluten and flavor without kneading.
  • Real artisan crust at home: A preheated Dutch oven traps steam, giving you that crackly, bakery-style exterior.
  • Flexible timing: The dough can rise 12 to 18 hours, so you can mix it at night and bake it the next day after work.
  • Accessible ingredients: Just flour, water, yeast, and salt, plus optional mix-ins if you want to get fancy.

Pairs Well With

  • A bowl of tomato soup with basil and a drizzle of olive oil on a table

    Cozy Tomato Soup

  • A small dish of whipped herb butter with chopped parsley and lemon zest

    Whipped Herb Butter

  • A platter of mixed greens salad with cucumbers, croutons, and a light vinaigrette

    Simple Green Salad

  • A skillet of garlic butter shrimp with lemon slices and parsley

    Garlic Butter Shrimp

Storage Tips

Keep It Fresh

Bread storage is a little emotional because we want the crust to stay crisp and the inside to stay tender. Here is the low-drama way to do it.

  • Day 1 to 2: Store the loaf cut-side down on a cutting board, or loosely wrapped in a clean kitchen towel. This protects the crumb without turning the crust soft.
  • Day 3: Move to a paper bag or a bread box if you have one. Avoid tight plastic if you care about crust texture.
  • Freeze for later: Slice the loaf once it is fully cool, then freeze slices in a freezer bag. Toast straight from frozen for instant weeknight happiness.
  • Revive a tired loaf: Spritz the crust lightly with water, then bake at 350°F for 8 to 12 minutes. Let it cool 10 minutes before slicing.

Common Questions

Common Questions

Do I really not need to knead?

Yep. The long rise gives the flour time to hydrate and the gluten time to develop on its own. Stir well at the beginning so there are no dry pockets, then let it be.

Why bake it in a Dutch oven?

Steam is the secret. The covered pot traps moisture from the dough, which keeps the crust flexible early on so the loaf can spring up before it sets into a crisp shell.

My dough looks wetter than normal. Did I mess up?

No knead dough is supposed to be shaggy and sticky, not pourable. If it is running like batter, you likely measured flour light (it happens, especially with scooping). If you are using a scale, make sure you used the full 430 g flour. If you are using cups, add flour 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring after each addition, until the dough looks shaggy and holds its shape a bit instead of puddling.

How do I know it is done?

The crust should be deeply golden brown. If you have a thermometer, the center should read about 205°F to 210°F. Also, let it cool at least 30 minutes so the crumb sets.

Can I use active dry yeast instead of instant?

Yes. Use the same amount. Active dry may take a touch longer to get going, but the long fermentation makes it very forgiving.

Can I make this with whole wheat flour?

You can swap in up to 25 percent whole wheat without changing much. For more than that, add 1 to 2 tablespoons extra water and expect a slightly denser crumb.

Does the water need to be warm?

Not really. A long 12 to 18 hour rise will work with cool or room temperature water too. If you use warm water, keep it lukewarm (about 95°F to 105°F), not hot.

I was the kind of cook who could crank out a sauce but still got weirdly intimidated by bread. Kneading felt like a commitment, like owning a trampoline. Then I made no knead bread once, mostly out of curiosity, and it absolutely wrecked my grocery store loaf habit. Now I mix the dough after dinner, let it do its slow overnight thing, and bake it the next day while I am cleaning up or helping with homework. It is the most bakery-level payoff I know for the least amount of effort, and it makes an average weeknight feel a little more like a moment.