No Knead Crusty Bread Recipe (Video)

This no knead crusty bread is so easy to make, and tastes like the artisan breads from the bakery! Crusty, chewy, perfect for dipping in soups or slathering with butter. Make a batch of dough and refrigerate until ready to bake. It can stay in the refrigerator for a few days if needed. The longer it sits, the tangy the bread will be! This post contains affiliate links.

You might also like my French bread recipe. It makes 2 loaves of delicious soft and chewy bread!

Watch our step by step video!

I’m a sucker for a loaf of crusty bread, and a bowl of chowder. When my husband and I were first married we’d go to Fisherman’s Grotto #9 in San Francisco and each order a bowl of clam chowder because it came with unlimited sourdough baguettes. We skipped the crab and fancy seafood restaurants, and always went for chowder and bread. SO good. Remind me to share our shortcut clam chowder recipe when the weather starts to cool off. It’s so perfect with this bread!

If you love artisan bread you’ll love our no nead crusty bread. This loaf crackles when you press down on it. It’s golden brown and crusty on the outside, but chewy and soft on the inside. The best part is that it is SO DANG EASY to make. If you’ve ever struggled with homemade bread, you need to try this recipe.

What is No Knead Bread?

This bread comes together in a large bowl, and is mixed by hand. You don’t need a stand mixer or any sort of attachment. I mix my dough with a Danish dough whisk, but a wooden spoon works great, too. That is where the dough prep ends. You mix and let it rise. You don’t need to knead it on a floured surface for 5 mintues!

No knead breads typically rise at least 4 hours. This recipe has a rise time of 2 hours, at room temperature on the counter, and 2-4 hours of time in the refrigerator. It’s so forgiving. If you don’t have time to bake your loaf, simply leave the dough in the refrigerator until the next day. According to the King Arthur bread website, the longer it sits in the refrigerator, the more tangy the bread will be (like sourdough). I’ve never left it in the refrigerator longer than 8 hours because I’m too impatient.

How To Make No Knead Bread

1. Mix the ingredients.
2. Let dough rise on the counter for 2 hours, then in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.
3. Shape dough into a ball shape.
4. Let rise in bowl on counter for 1 hour or until dough is at room temperature again.
5. Bake for 30 minutes in dutch oven with the lid on, and then an additional 20 minutes with the lid off.

Ingredients for No Knead Bread

The ingredients are simple. Flour, salt, yeast, and warm water. That’s it! FOUR INGREDIENTS.

The dough will be sticky and rough looking. Not a smooth ball of dough like our Amish white bread.

Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter for 2 hours. Then move it to the refrigerator and let it rise for at least 2 hours. I typically leave mine in the refrigerator 3-6 hours.

The photo above is what the dough will look like after it comes out of the refrigerator. I usually sprinkle it with a little flour to make it easier to work with. It’s still a bit sticky at this point.

Form the dough into a ball on a floured surface. Nothing fancy. Just a round shape.

Wash the bowl that the dough was in so that you can reuse it for the next step.

Place a piece of parchment paper into the bowl and place the dough on top. Cover with a damp cloth and let the dough rise for 1 hour.

Note: Parchment paper makes it easy to lift the dough out of the bowl and place into the pan when it’s time to bake. 

30 minutes into the rise, preheat your oven to 450 degrees and place a dutch oven pot inside with the lid on. You want your pot nice and hot when you put your bread inside.

Don’t have a Dutch oven? No worries. Here is how to make no knead bread on a pizza stone or baking sheet.

When dough is ready to bake, lift the parchment paper and place dough into HOT Dutch oven. Remember: you must preheat your Dutch oven for the bread to cook right.

Score the top of the bread with a sharp knife. Just a few slashes. I’m pretty terrible at scoring, but my bread always turns out fine. Here are some tips for scoring bread before baking. Scoring the bread helps the loaf to expand while baking.

Place a lid onto the Dutch oven and bake the bread for 30 minutes.

Note: Baking the bread with the lid on creates steam. This makes the loaf nice and chewy, similar to how boiling bagels for a few mintues before baking makes the inside chewy.

After the bread has baked for 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue to bake in oven for an additional 20 minutes or until loaf is GOLDEN brown.

Allow bread to cool on wire rack then slice.

Store leftover bread in a plastic bag at room temperature.

Note: make sure the pot you use is oven-safe. Dutch ovens are made to be baked at high heat. If you choose a different type of pot, make sure both the pot and lid can handle the high oven heat. 

No Knead Crusty Bread Recipe