This is the EASIEST method for making Whole Wheat Bread! This recipe for No-Knead bread is made without special equipment, only a few minutes of prep and produces the most delicious hearty, rustic bread.
Not only is this Dutch Oven Bread incredibly easy to make, but it is also one of my favorite bread recipes. It toasts up perfectly but is divine when served with a smear of butter next to homemade Potato Corn Chowder or Lasagna Soup.
I am a bit of a bread snob. I want hearty, rich, and crusty bread that is full of flavor and texture and worthy of every calorie consumed.
And friends, this No-Knead Dutch Oven bread not only meets my high standards for bread, but it is also the EASIEST bread recipe to make.
- One Bowl
- 4 Ingredients
- No-Kneading!!
This no-knead dutch oven bread is just perfection!!
Crusty on the outside and tender on the inside. It reminds me of a fresh loaf of bread that I would pick up from an expensive bakery. Instead, it is something I made with a few simple staples and hardly any effort at all–FOR PENNIES!
How to Make No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the flour, yeast, salt, and water until just combined.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and set on the counter to rest overnight.
- After the dough has risen, place the dutch oven in the oven and turn the oven to 450 degrees. You must preheat your dutch oven for this bread to turn out perfectly.
- Dump onto a floured cutting board and shape into a circle.
- Carefully remove dutch oven from oven and then place the rounded dough into the pan. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove cover and bake for an additional for 20 minutes.
- Let cool and enjoy!
Important Notes on this Recipe
- You will know your bread is done cooking when it reaches a temperature on an instant-read thermometer of 207-209 degrees.
- I use whole wheat flour for this recipe, but you can use half whole wheat and half all-purpose or whole white wheat flour as well.
- Be sure to use a spoon/scoop to add flour to your measuring cup–if you just scoop from canister using the measuring cup, you will end up with significantly more flour than this recipe calls for.
- Use regular active dry yeast, not rapid rise or instant yeast.
- Do NOT forget the step to preheat your dutch oven in the oven while the oven preheats, that is crucial to achieving the right texture.
More Bread Recipes
- Easy Whole Wheat Cranberry Walnut Bread
- Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread
- Homemade Italian Bread
- Honey Whole Wheat Bread
This is a great starter recipe for homemade bread. It is simple, easy, and delicious! I hope you give a try and enjoy!
No-Knead Whole Wheat Dutch Oven Bread
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon yeast
- 3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
Instructions
- Mix together water, salt and yeast in large mixing bowl. Mix in flour until well combined. Cover and let sit out overnight.
- The next day, place a dutch oven in oven and pre-heat oven to 450 degrees. Once heated, carefully remove dutch oven.
- With floured hands, shape dough into circle. And drop into skillet. Bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
- Remove bread from dutch oven and let cool on wire rack for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Equipment Needed
Notes
- You will know your bread is done cooking when it reaches a temperature on an instant read thermometer of 207-209 degrees.
- I use whole wheat flour for this recipe, but you can use half whole wheat and half all-purpose or whole white wheat flour as well. If you use all all-purpose flour you will need to use 4 cups instead of 3 3/4 cups.
- Be sure your yeast is NOT expired.
- It is best to scoop your flour into a measuring cup with a spoon to ensure your don't use too much flour.
- Baking at high altitude? Check out these adjustments that you may need to follow.
This post was originally published in 2017, but has been updated in 2020 with new tips.
YES! The hardest part of making homemade bread is the pesky kneading. This makes baking-life so much easier 🙂 LOVE it!
I love this easy to make bread! So glad I have yeast in the house!
I am right there with you Renee–I am glad I have yeast in the house as well.
I add a heaping tablespoon of gluten. Give it a try. A teaspoon of caraway seeds takes it to a new level
I often add vital wheat gluten to my honey wheat bread, that is a great idea to add to this loaf as well.
I’ve never made bread before. When you say yeast, what kind?
Hi Judy. This is the easiest bread to make! For yeast, you need active dry yeast–just not rapid rise yeast.
can you use ANY bread recipe on a breadmaker
Hi Lorie, No unfortunately not all bread recipes are designed for a breadmaker’s setting–this one needs the full 8-12 hours rise time and therefore would not work.
Hi Kristen
Can I use my 8 quart stock pot for this bread? It’s safe up to 550 degrees but I don’t know if the size will rule it out. It’s Cuisinart.
Thanks.
Jill
Hi Jillene. The size is not an issue. My only concern would be that the bottom of your of the pan may not be as thick and therefore conduct the heat differently.
I have not made this recipe yet because I do not have the kind of dutch oven that you have. Mine is a 1940’s Ware Ever Aluminum Dutch Oven. Will my Dutch oven work?
Hi Teresa! I did some research on that pan, and I can not find if it is safe for 450 degree oven. I think the pan may be too thin and if the knobs are plastic it is certainly not safe. sorry!
My bread turned out extraordinarily dense and when I cut it, it was impossible to cut the bottom because it was so hard and the top crust fell off. The taste was fine, though. What do you think could be the problems?
Hi Mia. It sounds like one of three things happened–your yeast was old and did not work properly, your bread needed longer to rise (this is likely if you let it rise in cooler area) OR you measured your flour with a heavy hand. It is best to scoop your flour into a measuring cup with a spoon to ensure your don’t use too much flour. Those tips should prevent dense bread in the future.
My yeast was very new and I spooned in my flour. I covered my dough rising with a damp towel that was wet with cold water, do you think that would be enough to make the temperature difference?
Oh yes, it may have been the wet cold water that made a difference. I am sorry for that!
This is literally the easiest bread I have ever made and it’s delicious. My kids like it. I can’t believe something so good and nutritional can be so easy. thank you. I will make this over and over again.
I was so excited to try this recipe, at I’d made a white loaf in my Dutch oven last week and it turned out perfectly. But when I took the bowl out this morning, it had risen (not as much as I’d expected, though) and the dough was so wet there was no way it could be formed into a ball (it actually looked like there was some liquid in the bottom of the bowl). I weighed the flour when I made the dough, and the water was the same temp I’ve used for other breads. The only thing I did differently was to cover with plastic wrap instead of a damp towel. I put it in the oven overnight with the light on. Could I have covered it too tightly with the wrap? Was the oven too warm? I’m pretty new to baking bread, so not too good at troubleshooting yet…
Hi Pam! It is hard for me to say exactly what happened, but I have 3 thoughts. What type of flour did you use? If you used white wheat, you may have needed an additional 1/4 cup. Also, I don’t weigh my flour, but instead scoop into measuring cup (this is so that everyone can follow directions, not just those with kitchen scales), so there may have been a difference there as well. And yes, the oven may have been too warm, because this is a slow rise, it should be at room temperature. When placed in the oven with the light on, most ovens can reach over 100 degrees, which is just too warm for that long of a rise. Hope that helps.
Hi!
Pam – you may have suffocated your yeast with the plastic wrap, and over-risen the dough with an oven that was too warm. Yeast is a living organism that exhales carbon dioxide and doesn’t like to be trapped with that CO2 under plastic any more than you or I would. And the long rise time on this recipe is really best at room temp or even a bit cooler. I’ve even made this and left it in the fridge overnight!
I’ve had good luck with a slight recipe variation – 1.5 c water to 3 cups white whole wheat flour plus 2 tablespoons high-gluten flour. I mix it up in the bowl for my stand mixer, and then just cover it with a pot lid that happens to fit the stand mixer bowl. It keeps it from drying out, while still allowing the yeast to “breathe”.
I also don’t bother to do any shaping – I just dump the dough onto a piece of parchment paper, and lift the whole thing into the Dutch oven – less flour, less mess to clean up!