Comments keep rolling in each week for our Jim Lahey’s Basic No-Knead Bread post. Some of you are baking pros and others have never baked a loaf of bread in your life. Hundreds of you have tried this recipe and have come to the same conclusion: this is some seriously delicious bread.
I would have to agree. I have baked dozens of these beautiful loaves since I first tried the recipe over a year ago. My Dutch ovens don’t have a chance to gather dust (find affordable dutch ovens on Amazon here) and my husband is one happy camper. All signs point to success.
I love reading your comments and hearing about your bread-baking success in the kitchen. Here are a few examples:
I did it! It’s sitting on my counter crackling right now. It’s beautiful! Besides my kids, it’s the prettiest thing I’ve ever made! – Kristen C.
I just adore this recipe and how versatile it is! We had guests for dinner and they ate it all!! – Stephanie
Thanks for making a baking idiot look like a master. – Tim
We managed to let it cool before slicing. It is absolutely delicious – we love the chewy texture, and the crust is wonderfully crunchy. It’s now wrapped in a towel on the counter, and it’s about all I can do to stay out of the kitchen! – Mary C.
I entered a loaf of this bread in our local county fair (along with sheep) and WON!! Not only did I win, but a gentleman (also entering his sheep) won the same award for the exact same bread!!! – Adrienne
Ok, so… yeast scares me, never made bread but thought I’d give this a go. Forgot to mix dry ingredients before adding water. Due to family tragedy, dough sat out for 24 hours. By the time I got around to baking it I was so tired that I only let it rest for 11/4 hours. Only had Pyrex to bake it in… All that and it still came out great. Cooling on rack now. 1 plain, 1 cinnamon raisin. Smells great, can’t wait to try. Apparently, you can not kill this bread! – Debbie
I just made this… it is AWESOME! So very easy.. the hardest part was waiting for it to cool enough to cut! We are big bread people & very picky.. this tops the list! – Valerie
Let me just preface this comment with my bread-baking skills: They’re nonexistent. I’ve ruined everything from breadsticks to cinnamon rolls before… no matter how easy they seemed. This is the FIRST bread recipe I’ve ever tried that’s ever actually baked looking anywhere near the recipe. It turned out beautifully. – Robyn
I just made this tonight and I have to say…..I CAN’T BELIEVE IT IS HOMEMADE…..It is the best bread I have ever made. – Sarah
No-knead bread plays well with amateur bakers so do not be intimidated by the steps. This recipe is really forgiving (a.k.a. hard to mess up). Even if you let it rise too long or add too much water, odds are, you are still going to end up with a good loaf of bread.
I would recommend following the directions closely the first time you try this. With practice, you will start to develop a feel for how it should look, smell, and taste. Variations of ingredients, temperature, and technique could all affect your dough. It is much better to go by smell and sight than get stuck on exact times. Adjust moisture levels, rise times, and bake times if needed.
Below, you will find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions out of the 400+ comments we have received so far.
Basic No-Knead Bread FAQ’s:
Q: Help! My dough is too wet. What do I do?
A: This recipe will make a wet dough. You can add flour, a tablespoon at a time, until it reaches the correct moisture level.
My best advice, though, is just to use well-floured hands and towels and work quickly with the wet dough. You don’t want it to be a shapeless blob, but it should be somewhat wet and sticky. The moisture is what creates the steam which is what creates that trademark crust and crumb.
Q: Help! My dough is too dry. What do I do?
A: Add water, a tablespoon at a time. Also keep in mind that the dough does hydrate as it rises.
Q: Do I need to oil my Dutch oven?
A: No, you don’t. The high heat will create a crisp crust around the bread, similar to searing a steak. I have had three loaves stick; I believe it was from not pre-heating the pot for the full 30 minutes.
If a loaf sticks, it is frustrating. Just run a plastic knife around the outside of the bread, working it in at an angle to release the loaf from the pot. Then turn it upside down and shake vigorously until the loaf pops out. It always does, though you may break a sweat in the process.
If you consistently have issues with the bread sticking in the pan, pour 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil into the pre-heated Dutch oven and spread it around quickly with a paper towel before dumping the dough into the pot.
Q: Is there any way to cut the salt without risking the integrity of the bread?
A: From Frugal Living NW readers: “I use either salt substitute – potassium chloride (KCl) or the Lite Salt which is half sodium chloride and half potassium chloride. Both work equally well.” and “I don’t use salt, and it is awesome! Use herbs — rosemary, basil, whatever, they all come out good!”
Q: I don’t own a Dutch oven. Can I use a different pot?
A: Any heavy, ovenproof lidded pot rated for high heat will work. Readers have reported success with glass and clay pots. Some creative readers have even used a cookie sheet over a pot as a lid!
Q: Can I add in any additional ingredients?
A: Go for it! Add additional ingredients to the dry flour mixture before adding the water. This ensures that they incorporate evenly. Here are a few variations either Frugal Living NW readers or I have tried (you can find more no-knead bread variations here):
- 2 T. tomato paste, 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, 1/4-1/3 c. basil
- 1-3 T. brown sugar, sugar, or molasses
- cinnamon & raisins
- grated cheese
- 1/3 c. honey, 3/4 c. chopped walnuts, 3/4 c. Craisins, orange zest
- 100% whole wheat, while exchanging 1/4 c. of flour with 1/4 c. vital wheat gluten
- for rye bread: use a 1:2 ratio. (1 c. of rye for every 2 c. of regular flour). Optional: add 1 T. caraway seeds
- for richer bread: 6 T. buttermilk powder
Q: I live at a high altitude? Do I need to make any adjustments?
A: Nope! Your dough will probably rise faster, but other than that proceed as written.
Q: The exterior of my bread turned out crispy and the interior turned out chewy. There are lots of big holes. Did I do something wrong?
A: Sounds like you did everything right! This type of artisan bread will have holes in the interior and a thicker, chewier crust. (In Lahey’s book, his crusts are dark and almost charred looking.) To “fix” this problem would take away what makes this bread unique.
That being said, as long as the interior temp is at 200 degrees and the crust is a nice golden brown, pull it out of the oven. Try decreasing your baking time a bit. I also wonder if a sheet of foil under the pot would give you a lighter bottom crust?
If that still doesn’t meet your expectations, try a different recipe, like this one for hamburger buns (make in any shape you want) that will give you a thin crust and soft, light interior.
Q: Can I use a smaller (3-5 quart) Dutch oven or ovenproof pot?
A: If you are working with smaller pots or appetites, just cut the ingredients in half. Follow the mixing and rising steps as written. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes, remove lid and bake for another 15-30 minutes (until internal temp is 200 and it’s golden brown).
Q: Can this bread be frozen?
A: Yes! Bake the bread as directed, cool it, wrap it in foil, then slide it into a reusable plastic bag. The trick would be finding a big enough bag… Maybe cut the recipe in half if you want to freeze it? Then just slide the foil-wrapped loaf into a hot 350-degree oven until it is heated through.
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If you have mastered this basic bread, you need to check out the other recipes in My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method by Jim Lahey.
Lahey has also come out with a book on pizza! Be still, my carbo-loving heart. My Pizza: The Easy No-Knead Way to Make Spectacular Pizza at Home is on my Amazon wishlist as we speak. Amazon has both books in stock and ready to ship.
Looking for more delicious bread recipes?
This post may contain affiliate links. See the disclosure policy for more information.
Can this be done in a crockpot / slow cooker? I don’t own – or want to buy – a dutch oven or similar cookpot as I use my multicooker / crockpot for so many things and a Pyrex rectangular casserole dish for anything that needs to go in the oven.
I successfully bake my bread in a clay Romertopf and stoneware pottery as well as the recommended cast iron pots. So long as they are properly heated and have a lid to create the steam then all is good.
I tried this when it first came out and was not wowed. Tried again today. I mixed up the dough and covered it with plastic wrap, set the bowl on the (cold) stove. The kitchen is pretty warm, probably 80. The dough is doubled in volume and bubbly all over after just four hours. Should I leave it or proceed to the next step?
Sorry, just noticed this. What did you end up doing? I would have let it go a few more hours.
Sorry I saw this too late, as well! I’d love to hear how it turned out. With this recipe, you really are going for a long, slow rise, so a room closer to 60-70-degrees. This will give a better texture and flavor to the bread. That being said, this bread is incredibly forgiving, so you can get away with longer or shorter rise times. The end results won’t be quite as good though.
I tried to half the recipe and I let the dough set overnight and the next morning it hadn’t rose. The dough looks like it did the night before. What could I have done wrong?
I am loving this bread recipe! I’ve made it twice a week since I found it about a month ago. I do have a question though. What size is the Danish Dough Whisk that you use? I noticed on Amazon that they have a 11″ and a 14″. Not sure which one to get. Thanks!!
Joan, I have the 11″ and it works great. I haven’t had any moments where I wished for 3 more inches 🙂
My bread turned out beautifully except for one thing. The crust is so hard and tough I can hardly bite through it. I baked a second loaf and buttered the crust right out of the oven while it was still HOT. Waiting for it to cool. Any other suggestions?
This style of bread definitely produces a thicker, chewier crust than, say, sandwich bread. I’d try decreasing your baking times, moving your oven rack up (if possible), and popping the loaf out of the pot as soon as it comes out of the oven.
I would like to know how to get that nice golden crust that is shown in pictures. Mine comes out almost white. Bakes well otherwise.
I would bake it just a bit longer so it’s browning. Sounds like it just needs 5-10 minutes more with the lid off.
I’m wondering if anyone has tried this with using all white whole wheat flour – any changes required? Or would you recommend using just half white whole wheat and half bread flour? Thanks!
I think my bread rose too much. it seemed to be much larger than the pictured instructions. It rose for an hour and seemed to be just right but didn’t preheat my pot until that time. Is my bread going to come out? Everything up to this point came out perfectly. It’s baking right now. And I don’t have a meat thermometer.
I bake mine all the time without a meat thermometer. Just tap the top as Emily specifies in the post. It will come out great. In my baking experience the bread is very flexible. I’ve adjusted the rise times and it turns out fine everytime.
Thank you for getting back to me promptly. My bread looks beautiful albeit large and I did have to wrestle with it to get it out of my 6 quart pot. Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I am no longer afraid to bake bread!
I initially added spices before the second rising in case cinnamon was toxic to yeast. While the result was ok, a better result was achieved when mixed into flour at the beginning.
If I want to add spices to the bread at what point do/should I do that? Initially or at the second point of working with it??
Mix any additional ingredients into the dry ingredients before adding the water. That way they will be evenly incorporated, instead of streaky or clumpy (is that a word?).
Can a stainless steel Dutch Oven be used for the bread baking?
Phytic acid, sorry
I skimmed the comments and couldn’t seem to find my question. I’m wondering about sprouting or soaking the grains/flour first (to remove the photic acid). Have you tried it this way?
I noticed several mentions of using a heavy iron pot in the commentsIn my experience you do not require a heavy pot for NK bread; I obtain equally good results using either a terracotta Römertopf (without pre-soaking) or a glazed pottery casserole dish and both are much lighter to handle.
For proving the dough I began with the recommended method but now simply put a large plate over the bowl instead of cling film and I put dough back in the same bowl for the second rise … less messy than using tea-towels, I have also found recipe works better with strong or 00 flour than plain or all-purpose.
One of the great things with NKB recipe is that you can tweak the method and ingredients to experiment, for example bake covered 100% of time, bake uncovered (makes a fabulous focaccia = fold in some pitted black olives, oregano, season and brush with olive oil), change proportion of ingredients, try substituting spelt, potato, rice or other flours, add seeds, dried fruit and so on.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I never knew that baking such beautiful bread could be so easy! It was literally 10 minutes of work. I made it plain this first time, and it came out perfect. Now I’m off to explore the world of possible additions!
HI WAS JUST WONDERING COULD I ADD DIFFERENT TYPE OF SEEDS LIKE SUNFLOWER,SESAME,OR PUMPKIN SEEDS TO THIS RECIPE
surprised no one has asked this yet-
I have a convection oven and most bread recipes have you reduce heat 50 degrees but this might not apply because of the pot with lid. What temp should I use to bake?
I bake all our bread and am always looking for a good recipe . I have yet to find one that is crunchy and chewy so excited to try this one-just got my lodge enameled dutch oven! (and for those with concerns, the 6 qt one on amazon now has a stainless steel knob and says it can be heated to 500 degrees.
This is probably a stupid question, but if you’re adding cheese or herbs or anything, do you do it at the very beginning or can you add them after the 12-18 hours? My first loaf will be ready for baking tonight, but I didn’t add anything to the dough mixture initially and was wondering if it was too late… Thanks. I can’t wait to bake it tonight!!!
That’s a good question! If this is your first loaf, you might want to just bake it as is for the best results. You can add ingredients at this point, but because the dough is wet and sticky, they won’t incorporate through the entire loaf as well. I tried adding molasses to a batch of whole wheat bread at this same stage. It was a sticky mess and ended up looking like a marbled loaf. Not bad, but definitely not the best.
In the future, it is best to add any extra ingredients with the flour, yeast, and salt. Then stir in the water and proceed with the recipe as written.
Either way, I hope it turns out well for you, Tracy! Let us know what you think.
Getting ready to bake soon! I’m actually excited.
I made two BEAUTIFUL and perfect loaves! I am so very excited and a bit obsessed!
I used my new Dutch oven and my clay pot cooker. Both turned out amazing!!!
ONE MORE QUESTION: How can I store it so that the crust is crunchy and crispy the next day? I stored the loaves in the Dutch oven and the clay cooker with the TOP ON, should I leave the tops off?? What about storing them in a paper bag? Any suggestions??
THANK YOU SO, SO MUCH! I have a new obsession!
THANK YOU!! This bread is wonderful, and a godsend for a grandmother baking for a grandson with dairy and egg allergies. He loves “Grammy’s bread” and asks for it daily. I never imagined I’d be baking bread, but this is fun, easy, and delicious. Did two loaves for Easter dinner and have two more started on the kitchen counter right now.
Hi, I tried this recipe for the first time last evening (1/2 whole wheat, 1/2 white), and now I’ve reached the stage where it should be bubbly and wet looking, 14 hours later. I followed the recipe to a “T”, but my dough looks exactly as it did last night before letting it sit post-mixing. What happened? Should I bake it anyways? Or can I fix it somehow?
Since it’s only gone 14 hours, you could always let it rise longer in a warmer area. Whole wheat dough will be more dense; that is normal. If it still has issues after baking, I would look at the quality of your yeast and the temperature of your room. Hope that helps!
Hi, Emily, thanks for your reply.
I left it to rise a little longer, and though it didn’t rise any more in the bowl, it certainly did in the oven. It came out of the oven perfectly fine and l was very happy with it in the end. In retrospect, the room was probably too cold, especially because I left it to rise overnight. Next time I’ll wrap it in a blanket! Or something…
I put mine next to the crockpot while I was making chicken stock and that did the trick. My oven vents outside and has drafts. The only room we usually heat at night is the kids’ room, and I certainly wasn’t going to put my bread dough in there;)
Has anyone tried to “par-bake” this ahead of time? This bread is definitely best the same day it comes out of the oven but I don’t have 3 hours in the morning to make it, can I par bake it the day before and finish baking the next day?
in the “Step by Step” recipe the amount of water used is never listed. could you please tell us how much water was used? (listed was 6 cups of flour, 1/2 a teaspoon of yeast, guessing from the picture a table spoon of salt- and the molasses was optional)
Thanks and cant wait to start baking my own bread!
yep — it’s there in the post. Here’s a copy.
6 cups bread flour (recommended) or all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
1/2 t. instant or active-dry yeast
2 1/2 t. salt
2 2/3 c. cool water
I tried it! I made mine gluten free by using 4 cups brown rice flour and 2 cups tapioca flour. I added a tsp of xantham gum too- but I have no idea if that was necessary.
It was kinda crumbly and funky when I was working with it, so I think next time I’ll change up the flour ratio- maybe add something a little more fibery too. I think it would be better to get a more golden color on the crust, but you can only do so much with rice flour. It was easy overall.
The family loved it and were really impressed! Thank-you!
If I doubled this recipes, as you did, about how much longer would I have to bake it?
Did you try it doubled? How long did you bake it?
Thanks!
All gluten free questions…I’m going to try King Arthurs Gluten Free All purpose Flour today. I will let you know how it turns out.
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I have never successfully made bread before until this. I made me second loaf using your recipe this morning. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. My question is when cutting this recipe in half to make small loaves, can you bake both loaves at the same time in separate smaller dutch ovens? I would like to make smaller loaves to eat one and to freeze one or give one away. Thanks again.
Hi, Amy! I’m so happy you had success with this recipe. Baking 2 loaves at once works great. I just rotate my pots halfway between baking, but that’s partly because my oven is hotter at the back. For a half recipe, bake at 425 for 30 minutes covered, 5-10 uncovered.
It’s glorious!!!
It’s glorious!!! The easiest bread recipe ever and people couldn’t believe it was homemade! Thanks for the recipe!!
I was wondering if I could use Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all purpose flour in place of the regular flour and have the same end result? Let me know? Thanks so much!
I was wondering if I could use Bob’s Red Mill gluten free all purpose flour and still have the same result? I need to rid myself of gluten for good! So any suggestions?
I am hooked on no knead bread! Thanks to a friend who made some raisen nut bread with a no knead recipe and this website! It is the greatest….and I have been making bread for over 40 years! Somehow I had never seen or heard about this method until just a couple of months ago….but now I’ve made over 20 loaves in two weeks at Christmas time! My friends and family do love it soo much! That being said, I have one little, itsy bitsy problem….that I hate to even mention…but….it makes such a mess for me when I plop the bread off of the floured towel and into the pot to bake! I know, I know….deal with it! But….I usually have to put quite a bit of flour on the towel, especially if I am making just white bread, to keep it from sticking…and then it makes such a cloud of flour as I turn it over to the pot! I think this time I am going to try just putting some rolled oats on the towel with less flour and see if that helps….anybody have any other suggestions! I have even considered taking it outside during that step! Other than that….I am totally sold on it….no reason to ever buy Artisan bread again!
Hi, Anne! So glad you love this bread! And I totally get the mess. When I first started making this recipe, there was a small flour explosion every time.
The best solution I found was using that small square of parchment paper in between the dough ball and the towel. It requires much less flour than the towel. If the bread dough sticks to the parchment when you flip it into the Dutch oven, it’s no problem to scrape it off (and this often makes an even more beautiful top crust). Some people just lift the parchment, with the shaped bread on top, into the Dutch oven or let the dough do its 2nd rise inside a cold Dutch oven before sliding it into a hot oven. Lots of options!
Using wheat germ instead of flour would also help. I’ve never tried oats. Let us know how it turns out!
Thanks for replying so fast! I have 3 loaves rising/fermenting right now for tomorrow morning, so I will try the parchment on a couple of them and the oats on the other. Then I will let you know about the oats! I’m not sure I want to use the oats on top, when there are no oats in it….although that may be my next experiment :o) But I will try it to see….the parchment may be the best option! Thanks for the tip….and glad others have worked through this problem!
Ok….the parchment did work pretty good….still stuck, but not nearly as bad. I will try flouring it a little more next time! I have had the thought that maybe as I am trying to remove it from the paper/towel that it could ‘deflate’…what do you think….most of the time it still rises well with a nice ‘crack’ on top, but I try to be as gentle removing it as possible! I have yet to get all those beautiful holes that you show…..one once and awhile a couple here and there….but it is still so delicious I am fine with it! We live at 7,000 ft….but I still let it rise the total of 20 hrs…nice and sour-ish :o) The oats did not work well….just flung oats all over as I was dumping it in the pot! I will keep trying to improve! I made 3 loaves today, one large 6 cup white only, 1- 4 cup 1/2 whole wheat w/garlic, and 1- 4 cup apricot/almond! I am giving the large white to a baking friend whose oven has gone out! I have convinced her that no knead is the way to go for her family of 7….just needs to get her oven fixed! Thanks again! Love the website….especially your area of expertise :o)
I let mine sit on a cutting board for the final rise, then picked it up with my hands, turned it over, and plopped it in the pot. I was wearing a black shirt, and didn’t get any flour on me.
I was so skeptical about this when I first started mixing the ingredients because it smelled like paste. It worked out beautifully! I even pulled off some dough and made a quick cheese pizza before I baked the main loaf after I read some previous posts and got the idea from there (I baked the crust about 8 minutes at 425 until it was a little golden before putting on the sauce and cheese). I’ll definitely keep this recipe in my repetoire.
I would also love to see a no knead gluten free bread. 🙂
Okay, I’ve made a few loaves of this bread and it turns out great… except for one thing: the bread crumb retains too much moisture and is much too damp inside, but not quite wet.
I’ve tried the original recipe from the NYT video — 500 degrees, 30/15 (30 minutes covered, 15 minutes uncovered) — but 500 degrees is too hot for dry climate at 5,500′ elevation and burns the bread. I’ve tried 450 degrees, 30/15. I’ve tried 450, 20/25. I’ve tried 450, 20/35 and covered the bread with foil for last 15 minutes to keep it from burning. Forgot to check the inside temp on all attempts, though, so don’t know what it was.
On all the above, crumb always retains too much moisture and is too damp, but crust is crisp, color is great, crumb is chewy, fissures are prominent. Bread appears to be done, but it’s just too moist.
Not sure if this could be the problem, but… I do not have a heavy pot to bake in. I had a 3-quart, thin, enamel, somewhat-elongated, roasting pan with a lid, so I am using that. Not because I am too cheap to buy a heavy, cast iron Dutch oven, but because that pot is the perfect size and shape for a loaf of bread using this recipe, plus, I don’t particularly like round loaves. The bread looks awesome and looks done, but it’s a damp sponge inside. And with a thin, enamel pan, I figured the pan would not hold the moisture and the bread would be too dry inside, but such is not the case.
Any ideas on how I can reduce the inner moisture?
Forgot to mention:
2 1/2 cups white, all purpose flour (Wal-Mart brand)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (also tried 2 teaspoons, but still think it needs more)
1 1/2 cups warm tap water (also tried more water but that was a bad idea!)
1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast, newly purchased
Usually let it ferment 12-18 hours at close to 70 degrees until it looks bubbly on top, then 1-2 hour rise after shaping until it doubles, then drop it into a preheated pan in a preheated oven (except for the one time mentioned in an earlier response when I used way too much water)
I’ve been searching for an answer to George’s question myself but to no avail. I’ve probably baked hundreds of loaves and the moisture of the crumb is the only thing that hasn’t delighted me. Help, anyone???
I have made probably 7-10 loaves and everyone in the family loves the texture and flavor. But I want the texture of the big bubbles (like pictured). My bubbles are probably the size of a droplet of water and there are a few that are a little bit larger, but few and concentrated towards the top crust.
I do live at a high altitude, and I have tried adjusting the oven temperature up 25 degrees with same results, new yeast, folding it a couple times, folding it twice, folding it more, a smaller pan, bread flour, regular flour, shorter first rise and longer second rise and a variety of others. The bread is great and always consistent through ALL of these changes. Any ideas for larger bubbles? You should consider a YouTube channel, maybe? 🙂
Hi, Ike – Have you tried increasing the water and working with a wetter dough? Seems like more steam would help. Also, I know someone commented about adding a little sugar to achieve bigger air pockets in the bread. Let us know if either of these work! 🙂
I live at 5,500′ and have tried everything to get bigger air holes but nothing seems to work. I have gone so wet on the dough that I couldn’t pick it up or work with it at all. So I just dumped it into a cold pot, put the lid on it, and let it do its final rise in the pot before popping it into the oven. Largest holes were about 1/4″. Still pretty good bread, though.
Disaster, bread was mushy in the middle, stuck in the pot, an absolute mess. I managed to mess up the fool proof bread. Any ideas what went wrong
Hm. I’d need some more details to guess what went wrong. Did you follow the recipe as written or make some changes?
I just bought the Lodge enameled cast iron dutch oven and was excited to start making this bread, The care and usage instructions say you shouldn’t heat it while empty. I don’t want to void the warranty, but haven’t seen any other comments or warnings about this. Please let me know your experience relative to this issue,
Hi, Judy!
I have never had an issue pre-heating my empty Lodge dutch oven. However, if you are nervous about it, I have read many threads on other sites from people producing great loaves of bread without preheating the pot. The Fresh Loaf has lots of great forums with common bread-baking questions. Here’s one for you: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/20715/baking-bread-cast-iron-no-preheat-method
So this would be an option to try: Do your 2nd (2 hour) rise with the dough ball right in the cold Dutch oven (you can lightly oil the Dutch oven or use a square of parchment paper in the bottom if you are worried about the dough sticking). Preheat the oven to 425. Bake as directed.
Let us know how it turns out!
The Lodge enameled cast iron Dutch oven will probably also caution you to not use it in an oven where the temp is over 450 degrees.
I have a Le Creuset Dutch oven that also warns not to heat it empty at high temperatures, or else the knob on lid may crack. But they also sell (separately) an all-metal knob to avoid cracking. Cooks Illustrated found that it is unnecessary to preheat the Dutch oven. It works just as well starting in a cold oven, set temperature to 425 and bake until done
I haven’t personally tried this method, but I’ve read a lot about it! Maybe I’ll try it with my next loaf.
Check out the forums over at The Fresh Loaf for more: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/
I just made this for out Christmas dinner for our small family. Just as I was about to out it in the oven, the kids came to me hungry. I took some dough and made a pizza with it. I pre-cooked he crust for 15 minutes; next time I’ll bake it for 20-25 minutes as the bottom was soggy.
I can’t wait to try some variations.
Thank you so much for the recipe!! I thought I messed it up half way through when the dough was still very wet and sticky…BUT it turned out perfect!! I have never felt such an accomplishment from cooking! I never thought I could made my own bread. I’ll be making this again and again to impress company.
Okay ladies, I am ready to try after reading all of your comments. My question is can I use no knead yeast. I didn’t see where is specified but I have a coupon for it and was going to use a doubler.
Thanks!
Hi, heather! I have never heard of no-knead yeast before. I couldn’t find any information on it. Must be a brand new product. I’d say give it a shot (especially if you have a coupon/doubler). I’d be interested in hearing how it turns out!
Hi Heather,
Do you by-chance mean ‘rapid-rise yeast’? The only yeasts I’ve heard of are ‘Instant’, ‘Active Dry’ and ‘Rapid-Rise’. Must be something new. Did it work?
I have a few questions. First up, when you linked to that hamburger bun recipe above for a bread with lighter crust, would you also cook that in the dutch oven? At what temp and for how long? Would you still pre-heat the dutch oven?
My second question is about halving this recipe. When I made this earlier the dough didn’t really retain it’s shape when I put it into a ball to then rise in the final step before baking. It turned out just fine in the 6 qt dutch oven, but if I’m wondering, since the dough was ‘runny’ if I made a half batch that it would spread out on the bottom of the pan and be a wide, thin bread. I only have the large dutch oven.
And this bread IS wonderfully resilient. I left the dough out on the counter last night and my well-meaning husband thought I forgot about it and put it into the fridge. Even after a cold night the bread turned out just fine, though it didn’t rise a whole lot. My house is pretty cool too.
Hi, Lauren!
The hamburger bun recipe is just a great soft bread that can be shaped in any form — rolls or loaf. It does not need to be baked in a Dutch oven, just a loaf pan or baking sheet.
During that 2nd rise on the counter, the dough will spread. It shouldn’t be runny, but it will definitely be a wet dough that spreads out as it rises up. A half batch in a large Dutch oven would spread out and give you a pretty skinny loaf. That’s why I doubled the recipe; I wanted a higher bread to crust ratio. 🙂
Hope that helps!
I would love a gluten free version or two.
this bread was amazing thank you so much for sharing! You have inspired my christmas gifts this year… a loaf of bread some home made jam and a nice bottle of wine. I can’t wait for christmas to start baking 🙂
What I have read and feel it true is, use less starter for stronger sourdough (it will take a bit longer to rise but the sourness does increase.) I normally add about 1/2 cup….my recommendation is play with the amounts (My sourdough start is the live culture in my fridge that you feed every once in a while and will rise bread off the live culture (I am not sure if this is what you have, if you have the powder I am unsure how to use)….
I love this recipe it is so easy and forgiving a person can play with it and it has always come out great for me. Lan Good luck on the sourdough…
Made this for the first time tonight and it was WONDERFUL! Could not believe how easy it was. I have always been afraid to make bread but not any more!
Diana, how do you substitute the sourdough starter for the yeast, i.e how much to use? Question from a newbie to bread making (who would like to do sourdough too), in case you haven’t noticed :D. Thanks much!
Rebecca, i make this recipe, sourdough all the time i use my sourdough starter instead of yeast in this recipe and it come out beautifully…
Hi Diana;
I was wondering how to make it sour dough. Can you give me your recipe for sour dough starter and tell me how much to use in the bread please.
Phyllis
I would like the sourdough version as well, please.
I baked this in my oven, without a dutch oven, on my (preheated) pizza stone. It worked perfectly, although the crust came out perhaps softer than it would have in a dutch oven – still excellent. It would probably work using a cookie sheet, also, though I suspect it may stick some unless the sheet is preheated for a few minutes to make sure it’s hot.
Can you bake sourdough using this same method?
If anyone wants to try a multi-grain bread recipe that is chock-full of healthy stuff, I took a modified recipe and modified it some more. Recipe is here http://nostalgic-nana.blogspot.com/2012/04/sues-killer-bread.html