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.
Sue Andrews
Is oven temperature 450 degrees for the entire baking period?
Kristen Chidsey
That is correct Sue. Enjoy.
Kelsey
Could I sub gluten free flour??
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Kelsey! I have not tried using a 1:1 gluten-free flour in this recipe. I use it all the time with success in muffins, but bread is a bit more finicky and precise. If you are willing to try it, I would love for you to let us know how it goes.
BARBARA
Thanks for sharing this! Do you know how to convert the flour measurement to grams? I live in AZ and the flour is very dry here so I think measuring by weight works best.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Barbara! The grams equivalent would be 480 grams. I will add that to the recipe notes now for others as well.
Joyce
Is the one teaspoon active yeast accurate? I have a 1/4 oz packet packet that I usually use for one loaf bread. The packet says it equals 2 and 1/4 teaspoon. Is 1 teaspoon enough?
Kristen Chidsey
For this recipe, yes Joyce. 2 1/4 teaspoon is typically for a larger loaf of bread. Enjoy!
Rebecca Ofstehage
Kristen, I tried your recipe using half white and half wheat flour.I used instant yeast because that was all I had. Let it rise over night and it deflated but I made a round loaf and put it in the heated Dutch oven. It turned out perfect, nice round loaf! Now I found some new sour dough yeast and wanted to use your recipe with that! Maybe use less wheat flour. I don’t have sour dough starter.Do you make sour dough bread? Would this recipe work? Let me know your thoughts!☺️
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed Rebecca. As for sourdough yeast, I do not have experience with using that--it is typically used in place of a sourdough starter. Sorry I can not help you more, but I bread making is a science and I would need to experiment with this more before advising.
Jamie
This was my first attempt at making bread and this recipe was super easy!! Great starting off point. Like mentioned previously, it has a thick crust and is dense. Can't wait to try it with soup tonight! It is also very wheat-y.. Obviously!!
Sarah Owens
Just wanted to stop by and thank you for this. The flavor and texture are perfect. I, too, can’t find active dry yeast so I used the instant we had. It rose fast! So I put it in the fridge to slow it down over night. Mistake! It never rose right after that. Next time I’ll still have to use instant yeast, but bake it after less rising time I guess. Like you said in a comment above? Do you have any other ideas for using instant yeast instead of active dry? I see this a becoming our go-to bread...Thank again!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! As for using instant yeast, you would to use only 3/4 teaspoon of active dry yeast and bake once doubled--which in this case would typically be 4-6 hours depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
Tracy Byler
Hi
Made this last night.
It was good but needs a sweetener like molasses when making the dough.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Tracy! I am glad you enjoyed. You can add 1-2 tablespoons honey or molasses if desired.
Elena
I missed the note about not using instant yeast and added that in. It's been 5hrs and the dough has definitely doubled. What do I do? Any suggestions?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Elena! I would try to go ahead and bake now, as the dough has already doubled.
NWebber
Easy and delicious!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed and found this recipe so easy to make.
mike m
Hello Kristin
Pretty new to bread baking - first wheat bread for sure - tasted good but seemed denser than should be - any thoughts to what I did wrong ? Proof was 12 hours..
thanks
Mike
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Mike! A couple things to consider. First, be sure to spoon your flour into the measuring cups so you don't use too much flour and that will keep it a bit lighter. You can also mix in 1-2 tablespoons of vital wheat gluten into the flour which does help keep the dough a bit lighter. Hope that helps!
Carolyn Hughes
I really enjoyed the 100% whole wheat bread using this recipe. I used King Arthur white whole wheat flour which is made from a slightly different kind of wheat with a pleasant mild taste. The loaf came out somewhat dense although had widespread small bubbles. I was wondering how I might increase the size of the bubbles and make it lighter.
Do you have any thoughts about using the "stretch and fold" technique or slap and fold? I was also thinking about using sourdough starter to make it rise more. I wonder if any of these things would give me a strong rise with larger holes.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Carolyn! A couple of tips that may help. First, be sure to spoon your flour into the measuring cups so you don't use too much flour and that will keep it a bit lighter. You can also mix in 1-2 tablespoons of vital wheat gluten into the flour which does help keep the dough a bit lighter. As for the stretch and fold, this dough is a bit too wet for that to work. And the sourdough starter would change this quite a bit, so I am not sure on how to advise amounts. Sorry about that!
Carolyn
I highly recommend oiling the bottom of the Dutch oven before plopping the dough in. We nearly broke a wooden spoon trying to unstick it from the bottom.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Carolyn! Thanks for the tip. If your Dutch oven is well-loved with cracks and scratches, spraying with nonstick spray RIGHT before putting the dough into the pan (after pre-heating it), is a good idea.
Chris
I only have the yeast packages can I use one of them?
Kristen Chidsey
That works Chis! Just measure out 1 teaspoon, as the packages of dry active yeast are usually closer to 2 1/2 teaspoons.
S Watkins
Can I add cinnamon and raisins to this recipe?
Kristen Chidsey
Hi! Yes, I have a recipe for Cranberry Walnut Dutch Oven Bread that will walk you through this process. You want to add the cinnamon and raisins with the flour. Enjoy!!!
Dee
I followed the instructions and it came out to be perfect ! Best ever !! Just substituted 3/4th cup of Wheat flour to all-purpose and added flax seeds, white & black sesame seeds,Pumpkin seeds and hemp seeds — super healthy and super awesome. Sliced and Stored the rest in fridge and used it in remaining week by roasting a slice at a time with butter and it was simply awesome !! Thank you for the recipe and instructions ! So easy and so yummy !!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so glad you enjoyed so much Dee. Thanks for sharing your experience and review 🙂
Chelsea
I combined the night before. Let it sit covered for 14 hours. I just went to put it in my Dutch oven and a good part of the water separated out. What went wrong?
Kristen Chidsey
It sounds like it may have not have been mixed fully. It is normal for a bit of water to separate but not completely. Try to mix together and bake. It may be denser than normal but worth a try.
Monica
Hey so I try this and my loaf cam out super small and do you just mix the ingredients un till its mostly together but not all the way? I know the yeast was alive because it still proof im just wondering were I went wrong. Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Monica, the ingredients should be just completely combined together. Be sure to let the dough rise for 12 hours--that should help 🙂
Lisa
I don’t have a Dutch oven...can I make it by putting it in a pan ...or can I use a cookie sheet....if I do...will it come out good? Thanks!
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Lisa! Unfortunately, for this recipe to work, it needs to be baked in a dutch oven.
Lisa
Thank you for answering!
Deb
I have made this several times in an Anchor Hocking 2qt bowl. Turned out beautifully!
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks for sharing that.
Sandi
Hi. Tried this and for the most part it was awesome! Two thing I notice were the outside was definitely crusty. Almost too much to cut. The bottom as well. In addition I am at nearly 10k ft. In elevation. What should I do differently? Thanks!
Sandi
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Sandi! Here are some tips for High Altitude Baking from King Arthur that may help. I would personally start by recommending cutting the baking time by 5 minutes to see if that helps the bread not be overbaked. HOpe that helps! But love hearing you overall enjoyed the bread.