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.
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!