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Dutch Oven Bread is hands-down the easiest way to make homemade whole wheat bread. No kneading, no fancy equipment! Just a few minutes of prep and a handful of ingredients and you can easily create a beautiful loaf of artisan whole wheat bread right at home!
This No Knead Whole Wheat Bread is crusty on the outside, tender on the inside, and full of hearty flavor. It is the perfect starter bread recipe as it is simple, forgiving, and rewarding.
Kristen's Keys for No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread
While an exceptionally easy recipe, I have a few key pointers to keep in mind before starting.
- You must use a Dutch Oven. This no-knead bread must be baked in a 3½ to 6-quart heavy-duty dutch oven that can withstand temperatures up to 450℉ (230℃). No other pan will conduct heat in the same way.
- Measure flour with care. A kitchen scale is the most accurate way to measure flour when making bread (or ANY baked good). If you don't have a scale, use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup, rather than scooping directly from the canister.
- Use active dry yeast NOT rapid rise or Instant yeast. We want a slow and steady rise.
- The flour is interchangeable. Whole wheat flour gives this bread a hearty flavor, but you can use white wheat flour or all-purpose flour for a lighter texture.
- Parchment paper is optional but helpful. It makes lifting the bread in and out of the Dutch oven seamless. Just be sure to use parchment paper safe up to 450℉ (230℃).
- Plan to make the dough at least 8 hours prior to baking the bread. You need time to let the yeast work it's magic.
Happy Cooking! xo Kristen
5-star Reader Review
This is the absolute best no knead bread recipe I have ever tried. It's hearty and moist and any add-in you throw at it turns out wonderful! -LouAnne⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
How to Make No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread
Making bread at home can feel intimidating. But with this easy no knead whole wheat bread recipe and my step-by-step guidance, there is no need to be intimidated. 😉
Step One: Measure Flour
The most accurate way to measure the flour is to place a mixing bowl on a kitchen scale, zero it out, and set it to measure in grams. Scoop flour into the bowl until the scale reads 500 grams.
👉🏻No Scale? Lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup and level. You will need 3¾ cups of whole wheat flour.
Step Two: Combine Dough
Add the yeast and salt to the mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Add the warm water, and using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir until just combined. It is meant to be a shaggy (slightly damp) dough.
👉🏻Your water should be between 100-115℉ (38-46℃ ). Any colder water won't activate the yeast, while hotter water can kill the yeast. Use a digital thermometer for accurate results.
Step Three: Let Rest
Cover the mixing bowl with a clean kitchen towel or piece of plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 18 hours. I find 12 hours to be perfect! This slow rise develops incredible flavor and gives the dough that beautiful airy structure.
Step Four: Preheat the Oven and Dutch Oven
When you are ready to bake the bread, place the Dutch Oven in the oven and turn the oven to 450°F (230℃). Preheating the Dutch oven helps create that signature crusty exterior.
👉🏻 Using an Enameled Dutch Oven? A few brands state not to preheat empty (most say preheating in the oven is fine, just not on the stove--check your manual carefully). Simply skip the preheat and add an additional 5-10 minutes to the baking time.
Step Five: Shape Dough
While the oven is preheating, use the time to shape the dough. Remember it is meant to be a rustic dough, so don't worry about it being perfect. The less you work the dough, the better.
- Place a piece of parchment paper onto the counter and very lightly dust with flour.
- Turn the dough onto the parchment paper and shape into a circle with lightly floured hands.
- Brush off excess flour from dough and parchment paper and let rest until oven is fully preheated.
Step Six: Bake
Carefully transfer the shaped dough into the preheated Dutch oven, cover, and bake for 30 minutes. Then uncover and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until the crust is deep golden brown.
👉🏻 Unsure if your bread is fully cooked? Stick a digital thermometer into the center of the loaf. The internal temperature should be between 207-209°F (97-98℃).
Step Seven: Cool
The hardest part about making this bread is waiting for it to cool! But in order to prevent it from being gummy and next to impossible to slices, you need to let it fully cool. Immediately remove the bread from the Dutch Oven and let cool on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes before trying to slice.
Recipe Notes & Modifications
- Vary the Flour: While this recipe is written using whole wheat flour, you can swap it out for whole white wheat flour, whole wheat pastry flour, bread flour, all-purpose flour, or a combination of flours. Whatever flour used, it must measure 500 grams. And because different varieties of flour have different weights, a scale is critical here. Gluten-free flour blends and self-rising flour are not recommended!
- Optional Additions: Add up to and no more than 1 cup of chopped nuts (walnuts, almonds, or pistachios), seeds (pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds or sunflower seeds), and/or dried fruit (raisins or dried cranberries) to the flour mixture before adding water to the dough. (Or try my cranberry walnut bread recipe.)
- Dutch Oven Size & Recommendations: A smaller Dutch oven yields a higher, rounder loaf, while a larger Dutch causes the dough to spread more. While still delicious, the bread will be flatter. I prefer a 4-quart Dutch oven for a beautiful tall loaf. And while Staub brand is my favorite, Lodge dutch ovens work well and are much more affordable.
- Storage Tips: Once fully cooled, wrap well in plastic wrap or place in airtight container. Store at room temperature and use within 3 days. Alternatively, wrap well in foil, place in freezer-safe bag, and freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost at room temperature. For best results, slice as needed rather than slicing all at once--this will prevent the bread from drying out.
Serving Suggestions
This artisan-style whole wheat bread is heartier and chewier than my honey whole wheat bread and reminds me a bit of the texture of sourdough bread. It is is perfect toasted, slathered with butter, or served alongside one of following cozy soups:
No-Knead Whole Wheat Bread
Video
Ingredients
- 500 grams whole wheat flour, ~3¾ cups
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dry active yeast
- 2 cups warm water, between 100-115℉
Instructions
- Place a large mixing bowl on a kitchen scale, change units to grams, and zero it out. Add whole wheat flour until the scale reads 500 g (for 500 grams.) To measure flour without a scale, fluff the flour in its container, then spoon into a measuring cup, leveling off the excess. Measure out 3¾ cups whole wheat flour and place in mixing bowl (see recipe notes if using a different variety of flour).
- Add 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1 teaspoon dry active yeast to the flour and mix well to incorporate. Add 2 cups warm water to the flour mixture and use a wooden spoon or spatula to mix until the flour is fully moistened. Resist the urge to overmix. Stop mixing once there are no longer any dry pockets of flour.
- Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, and let rest at room temperature for at least 8 hours or up to 18 hours.
- After the dough has risen, turn out the dough onto a lightly floured piece of parchment paper or lightly floured surface. Lightly flour your hands and then roughly shape the dough into a circle. The dough will be sticky! Brush excess flour off the dough ball and parchment paper and let the dough rest while the oven preheats.
- Place the Dutch oven pan, fitted with a lid, into the oven and then set to preheat the oven to 450℉ (230℃), with the pan in the oven.
- Once the oven is preheated, carefully remove the pan from the oven and carefully drop the shaped bread into the heated pan.
- Place the lid on the Dutch oven and bake for 30 minutes covered. Carefully remove the lid and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until the bread is golden and the internal temperature of the bread reaches 207-209°F (97-98℃).
- Remove bread from dutch oven and let cool on wire rack for 30-45 minutes before slicing and serving.
Equipment
- kitchen scale the most accurate way to measure flour!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was originally published in 2017 but has been updated in 2025 .
Great recipe and directions!!
Made two loaves this week.
I wish l could post the picture
Thrilled you enjoyed, Anna! Thanks for sharing a review.
Well, I made it as per your recipe. What a disaster. The dough was so wet that it couldn't be shaped. I let it sit for 18 hours. I baked also according to the recipe and you could actually hurt someone if you hit them with it. What did I do wrong? I know it's not the yeast because I just used last week and it was fine. Water temperature was perfect. I used King Arthur flour, 300 whole wheat and 200g all purpose. It's probably not the recipe but I could use some help figuring out why it didn't work.
Hi Starr! I am sorry you had issues with this recipe, but I bet with a few tips you can get better results. The dough is supposed to be wet, but should be able to be roughly shaped. I would ensure you used ONLY 2 cups of water. You don't want to over work it when you go to shape it though. As for being so hard--it sounds like it was overbaked. Can you tell me the pan you used to bake it? It may not have been thick enough to conduct the heat like a classic Dutch oven. Let me know and I will keep troubleshooting with you.
Thank you for your recipe; the bread is so moist and delicious. I felt like the crust was a little brown/hard. Could I bake it for a shorter amount of time?
Hi Sandy! Thank you for your review! The bread is meant to be crustier than a soft sandwich loaf, but it shouldn't be hard. It may be that your dutch oven is thinner than most? You can try to reduce the time by 5-10 minutes, but keep in mind for bread to be fully cooked through, it needs to reach an internal temperature of 205-210.
Can this be made in a loaf pan?
Hi there! Unfortunately, a loaf pan won’t work for this recipe. It is not large enough and does not conduct heat the way a Dutch oven does.
Hello! I have a 6.7 quart Dutch oven. Do you believe this will be too big to bake a loaf in? Thank you!!
Hi Liz! It will work. Enjoy!
Hi! Thanks for sharing this recipe! I have a few quick clarifying questions: 1) Would you recommend measuring the flour by weight or by volume? 2) When shaping, do you recommend a stretch and fold technique, or is it more about shaping into a circle as opposed to a ball? And 3) Do you typically do a second rise while the oven/Dutch oven preheats, or is it better to shape and put directly into the oven? TIA for your help!
Hi Lynda! Let me help clarify. 1. Weighing the flour is always the most accurate. 2. Shaping, don't stretch and fold--this dough is too sticky for that. Simply shape into a rough circle. 3. As step 3 states, let the shaped dough rest while the oven preheats 🙂 I hope that helps! Enjoy!
This is delicious and so easy. I did add 1 T vital wheat gluten. After rising I leave the dough in the bowl. tilt it, and use a silicon spatula to keep turning it over on itself to shape it. No knead to dirty a counter or cutting board. I love that it uses so little yeast, a big savings. Making the dough the night before saves the mixing and proofing time in the morning.
It even makes a slightly larger loaf than most recipes. Lining the dutch oven with parchment makes even less clean up. Great recipe
Thank you so much for leaving such a thorough review! I agree this bread is super easy and delicious! Thanks for posting.
This was sooo easy! It turned out perfect! Thanks for sharing this fool-proof recipe
You bet! I appreciate you leaving a review, too!
This worked so well. I love whole wheat bread but I've made my share of lethal weapons using exclusively whole wheat flour. This was hearty but still light. Went really well with the potato leek soup I made the same day.
I mixed the dough in the morning, covered it, and left it in the cold oven all day. Shaped it onto some parchment paper while the oven heated up and then just put in the hot Dutch oven as instructed. Will definitely make again. I might try adding a bit of molasses to it.
Hi Courtney! I am thrilled you enjoyed so much and found the bread light, yet hearty! Thanks for sharing your review.