No Knead Rustic Bread

No-Knead Bread

There’s nothing quite like fresh, homemade bread. This no-knead loaf takes minimal effort and delivers a crisp crust and soft, airy interior. Perfect for soups, sandwiches, or just warm slices with salted butter.

Servings: 1 loaf | Prep Time: 5-10 min | Cook Time: 45 min | Total Time: 55 min

Ingredients

(Makes one medium loaf)

Ingredient	Metric	US Volume
Bread or All-Purpose Flour	400 g	≈ 3 ¼ cups
Lukewarm Water	300g (or 280g if using AP flour)	≈ 1 ¼ cups
Instant or Active Dry Yeast	3 g	≈ 1 tsp
Kosher Salt	8 g	≈ 1 ½ tsp (or ¾ tsp table salt)

Equipment

• Dutch oven (with lid)

• Mixing bowl

• Parchment paper

• Kitchen scale (optional but recommended)

• Tea towel or plastic wrap

  
  

Instructions

Mix the dough

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and salt. Add the yeast to lukewarm water and wait a couple minutes. Bubbles should form on the surface of the water to ensure the yeast is still active. Combine lukewarm water and yeast with the flour and salt mixture then stir until a shaggy, sticky dough forms. Make sure all the flour is incorporated.

Note: If you are positive your yeast is alive, you can just mix all the ingredients together at once.

First rise (fermentation)

Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let it rest at room temperature for 8–16 hours, or in the refrigerator for 24–48 hours. The dough should roughly double in size and have a bubbly, elastic texture.

Preheat your oven

Place your Dutch oven (with lid) inside your oven and preheat to 450°F (230°C). Allow it to heat for an additional 10–15 minutes after the oven reaches temperature to ensure the Dutch oven is fully preheated.

Shape the dough

Lightly flour your work surface. Gently pour the dough onto it. With floured or wet hands, stretch and fold the dough 4-6 times and shape the dough into a loose ball. Score a long slit across the top using a lame or sharp knife — this helps control where the bread expands and creates the signature “ear.”

Bake

Carefully remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven. Using the parchment paper as a sling, lower the dough inside. Cover with the lid.

• Bake covered for 20–25 minutes.

• Remove lid and bake another 15–25 minutes, until the crust is deep golden brown.

Cool and enjoy

Transfer the bread to a wire rack and let it cool at least 30 minutes before slicing. Serve warm with salted butter, olive oil, or your favorite spread.

Tips

• For extra flavor, add herbs (like rosemary or thyme) during mixing.

• If the crust is getting too dark, add the lid back on until baking is complete.

• Refrigerated fermentation develops more complex flavor — perfect for next-day baking.

Note:

If making this with all-purpose flour, the dough will tend to be more "sticky" and more difficult to work with. Because of this, I prefer going to 70% hydration rather than 75% just to make it slightly easier to work with.