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 between 100-115 degrees Fahrenheit
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon dry active yeast
- 3 ¾ cups whole wheat flour or 480 grams
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Slowly mix in the water using a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, and let sit out overnight at room temperature--or for at least 8 hours.
- After the dough has risen, turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and with floured hand, shape it into a circle. Let the dough rest while the oven preheats.
- Place a dutch oven pan, fitted with a lid, into the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, with the pan in the oven.
- Once the oven is preheated, carefully remove the pan from the oven and drop the shaped bread into the heated pan.
- Bake the bread covered for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the 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
Nutrition
This post was originally published in 2017 but has been updated in 2020 with new tips.
Ellen Giller
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.
Pam
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...
Kristen Chidsey
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.
EngineerMom
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!
Anolis
Not sure what happened. I followed this recipe to a T, but my bread came out like a brick...being small, hard, and extremely dense. Perhaps too much yeast, (my usual whole wheat bread recipe uses just 1/4 tsp. of active dry yeast.) or foregoing the second rise. I gently formed my deflated dough into a round shape, put it into the pre-heated Dutch oven...and it came out looking just as it had going in.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Anolis! I am sorry you did not have success with this recipe. This is not an issue anyone has had before, but let me help you troubleshoot it. My best guess is that it did in fact have to so with your yeast or rise time. If your water was too hot or too cold and/or your yeast was older, it may have not been activated to allow the flour to rise correctly. Another issue may have been that if you scooped your flour from your canister, instead of spooning into your measuring cup, it may have resulted in more flour, which would make result in a denser bread. After the overnight rise, the bread should have risen to at least double the size and the dough should be light, and full of bubbles. If that did not happen, it had to do with the yeast or mis-measurement of flour. I hope those tips help you to perfect this recipe.
Anolis
Thank you for the tips. Rise time may have been a factor here, as the dough seemed to have risen and fallen overnight. Maybe I’ll try this recipe again with a shorter fermentation time, or pop it in the fridge to slow it down.
Kristen Chidsey
Especially in the heat of the summer, that could be an issue if your house is warm. I would recommend to start with shorter fermentation time, before popping the in the fridge 🙂
Shirley
This sounds great! I recently made a very similar version, which uses the Instant Pot to rise the dough; Using the cookingcarnival recipe it takes only 4 hours to rise in the Instant Pot; I went from flour to finished baked bread in about 6 hours. I used white bread flour for the cookingcarnival recipe. Question: would using the instant pot for this bread work? I don't know if using the whole wheat flour (which is my preference) would change the rise time in the instant pot. Thank you for taking the time to read my message and for your response.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Shirley, I am so sorry I misunderstood your question. I thought you were asking if you could BAKE the bread. So yes, I would think whole wheat bread would change the rise time, but only ever so slightly. I would check at 4 hours and go from there 🙂 I hope you enjoy!
Rochelle
Can I proof the dough in my INstant Pot for 4 hrs and then into the dutch oven?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Rochelle! I have not tried that, but in theory it would work. If you give it a go, let us know how it works out
Rochelle
I made the bread yesterday. If you have an Instant Pot Duo 6 or 8 with a yogurt button you can raise any bread dough in it. Pam the metal insert pot and put the dough directly into it. Press the yogurt button, set it on low and the time on 4 hrs.
It turned out great. My husband loved it too. But the crust is so hard I have a difficult time cutting it w/o tearing the bread. I use a serrated knife. What do you suggest? BTW our favorite Instant Pot roast is your Horseradish Roast recipe.
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed this bread! The crust can be a bit tougher, I am able to cut--once cooled with serrated knife, but it is a chewier crust. Most bakeries recommend tearing for thicker crusts actually. 🙂
EngineerMom
Try using a very sharp regular chef's knife! I stopped using a serrated "bread" knife on bread years ago because it just seemed to tear the crumb and crust, rather than slice neatly.
Jen
Hi Kristen, I just want to verify that this dough does not require a second proofing. Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Jen! That is correct. The overnight proofing is more than sufficient. Enjoy!
Jen
Great! Thank you!
Shirley
I have a stainless steel Dutch oven. Will this work?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Shirley! It absolutely will work 🙂 I hope you enjoy your bread!
Beth
My bread was glued to the bottom of the Dutch oven. You don’t grease it or anything, right? The bread tasted great!!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Beth! I am glad you enjoyed the bread, but sorry it stuck to the bottom of your dutch oven. Did you shape your dough on a floured cutting board? That extra flour should have helped prevent your bread from sticking.
Kim
I've made this using another formulation of flour and water and it was absolutely delicious. Very, very sticky. I'm looking forward to trying this with whole wheat flour. My husband, who's from England said this is (type) is the best crusty bread he's had since he's been an American citizen...and that's been 18 years. 🙂 I'm so delighted that your version offers whole wheat and I'll certainly be mixing a batch tonight.
This is a very sticky dough, but with a pastry knife, a little extra flour sprinkled around the boule' and softly floured hands - it rolls just perfect.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Kim! I hope you enjoy this whole wheat version! And yes, very sticky--but great tips! Thank you!
Robert Reading
Flour your hands before handling.
Kristen Chidsey
GREAT tip!! Thanks!
Steve
Kristen-- I'm perplexed about something. 2 cups water, 3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour. Two cups of water weighs 473g (grams). According to the King Arthur Flour chart at https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/ingredient-weight-chart.html 3 3/4 cups of flour at 113g/cup weighs 424g. So the weight ratio of water to flour is 473/424, or 112% hydration the way that pro bakers talk. That's an *extremely* wet dough. 100% hydration is so wet that the dough is very hard to handle. Your pics, and the glowing recipe reviews, don't indicate such a wet dough. So, I'm puzzled.
Happy New Year!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Steve!
I understand how this may confuse you. This is a very wet dough, but it bakes up perfectly every time for me. If I feel it is too wet, I simply sprinkle with a bit of flour before shaping into a ball. I hope you give it a try.
Jenny
This looks absolutely delicious! I’m wondering if it would work to add fresh cranberries and toasted walnuts to the mix? And if so, when should I add them?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Jenny! If you are mixing in fruits and nuts, you will want to fold those in after the first rise. Flour your work surface and place dough on surface. Sprinkle with cranberries and walnuts and then lightly knead 2-3 times to mix fruit and nuts into dough. Then shape into a ball and cover again and let rise another 30 minutes to hour before proceeding with baking. And be careful not to crush the cranberries--you want very little juice mixed into the bread as that will add moisture and change it's structure. In fact, dried cranberries may be a better option (but I understand wanting to try with fresh!) Enjoy!
Weston
I had my first ever attempt at making bread using this recipe and it turned out incredible. I added 2TBSP each (pumpkin seed, sunflower seed, white and black sesame seed) to the mix and an additional 1TBSP of each to the top.
My question, how long does this recipe keep for once cooked and what is the best way to store it?
Thank you for the great and simple recipe and I'm excited to delve more into the world of no-knead bread.
Thank you.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Weston, your additions sound FABULOUS! I would store this bread (once fully cooled) in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days. I have had it last longer, but the taste is diminished. If you have more than you need in 3 days, I would slice and store in freezer safe bag for up to 1 month--it toasts well from the freezer or makes a great base for french toast. Enjoy!!!
Weston
Thank you for the prompt reply.
Since I am cooking for one, I will likely freeze half the loaf once it cools and store the remaining half in an airtight container until I go through it. Have you had issues with mould growing in an container? I've read so many different opinions on how to store homemade no-knead bread (in a linen cloth, plastic bag, paper, bag, container, fridge...).
Do you find the airtight container helps keep it from going stale and does it keep the crust pretty hard?
Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
There are so many varying thoughts on how to store bread, it is CONFUSING. For this loaf, I would allow to cool fully. Slice and then place in dry air tight container and keep at room temperature for 3 days. Most breads run into growing mold if they are stored while still slightly warm, as condensation forms in bag or container and that moisture leads to mold growth. A linen cloth helps absorb moisture, but if completely cool, you should not have an issue. I do store whole wheat baked goods in fridge, but this bread tastes best at room temperature and is fine for 3 days. And the container keeps the crust hard and bread soft 🙂
Weston
Perfect. Thank you! Worst case scenario, it goes stale or moldy and I get to make another loaf 🙂
Last question, have you ever turned this recipe into individual rolls instead of a whole loaf? I'm curious if it's possible and how much to reduce the cook time both covered and uncovered.
Kristen Chidsey
You should be good 🙂 As for individual rolls, I would proceed with recipe as stated, but after dough has risen overnight, I would roll into 8 individual rolls and then gently place into the heated dutch oven. Bake for 30 minutes covered, and then 10-15 minutes uncovered.
Pam Clemens
I have never used a Dutch Oven before, so I am wondering, what size you use? I will need to buy one.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Pam! I use a 6 quart dutch oven. Here is the one I use https://amzn.to/2PEvduC (which is an affliate link) but you can buy them at Walmart even 🙂 I just baked a batch today for soup we are having tonight. Enjoy!
Mary
Can this bread be baked in a round covered casserole dish instead of a dutch oven?
Thank you
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Mary! As long as your casserole dish is deep enough and can be heated up to 450 degrees, it will work perfectly.
Mame Noonan
Hi Kristin,
Approx how many hours of rise time do you recommend? I've made other versions of no-knead bread and times vary.
Thanks!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Mame--I let this sit at least 8 hours. I usually make when prepping dinner, and then leave sit out overnight and bake in the morning, for me, that is about 12 hours.