This is LITERALLY the easiest, most flavor-packed and delicious no-knead bread recipe on the planet! I was super disappointed in the first few recipes for no-knead bread that I tried… they were… pretty dang bland and dense. So I took to the kitchen and began recipe testing. And dozens of loaves later, I’m proud to share this secret ingredient no-knead bread recipe with you!
It’s got a perfectly crisp crust with an ultra-light and fluffy interior. The flavor is on point, so delicious in fact, we usually just eat it on its own. Not to mention, this bakery-worthy bread only takes about 10 minutes of actual work to throw together!
After you make this I hope you’ll try my southern cornbread, Parker house rolls, perfect homemade crescent rolls, and amazing Lion House rolls!!
Sounds like perfection right? It is!
Let’s bake this!
What I Love About No-Knead Bread Recipe
- Well, first and foremost, you don’t have to knead the bread!
- To further that, this recipe is pretty dang hands-off. Like I mentioned before, about 10 minutes of stirring, shaping, moving, and you’re done.
- Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, smells and tastes better than freshly baked bread.
- Unlike most no-knead bread recipes, this one is full of flavor!
How To Make Practically No Knead Bread
- Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add the wet ingredients. Make sure your water and beer are room temp (this protects the yeast).
- Stir to incorporate. Now, you’re going to have to work a bit to fold all the flour into the liquid. Scrape the bottom of your bowl to ensure everything is in there.
- Cover the bowl with cling wrap. Allow bread to rise like this for 8-18 hours — the longer it rises, the deeper the flavor and the fluffier your bread. I like to go the full 18 hours (I usually mix the ingredients together the night before and bake around midday).
- Turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface. You don’t want to use too much flour, as this will throw off our flour to liquid ratio! You’ll want to do this about 10 – 15 times. This allows the gluten to develop in our bread. I know this is a little kneading — but it makes a big difference! So do it! In fact, this is the step most no knead bread recipes are missing — this makes our recipe significantly less dense!
- Form dough into a pretty ball. I do this by pinching the edges and pulling them into the center. Then place the dough seam side down on a sheet of parchment paper sprayed with cooking spray. Place in a large dutch oven and cover with cling wrap.
- Allow dough to rise for another 2 hours. After 2 hours, it should have doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 425 F.
- Use a VERY sharp knife to cut two 5″ long slashes on the top of your dough. Sprinkle the top with a touch of flour.
- Remove plastic wrap, cover the dutch oven with a lid and bake the bread in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove the lid from the dutch oven, and continue to bake the bread uncovered until the top achieves a beautiful golden brown, and the center of your bread reaches 210 F.
- Once done baking, carefully grab the edges of the parchment to remove the loaf from the dutch oven. Allow it to cool before slicing — I know it’s tough. Go distract yourself!
Practically No Knead Recipe Notes
Flour – All-purpose flour is what you’ll need for this recipe!
For measuring success, spoon the flour into your measuring cup, and use the back of a butter knife to level the top! Although easier and tempting, scooping the flour with your measuring cup packs it down and adds too much flour to the recipe.
Salt – Kosher salt is our baking preference.
Instant or rapid-rise yeast – check the expo date of your yeast to be sure it’s still good!
Shocking, I know, but you’ll only need 1/4 teaspoon for this fluffy loaf. We need far less yeast because of the slow fermentation process (allowing the dough to sit overnight).
Beer – We prefer light lager beers such as Coors Light or Bud Light. Stronger beers like IPAs can make this bread a tad bitter.
Vinegar – Adds a little tang and a lotta flava!
Water – Room temp. I usually pour my water into a measuring cup an hour before mixing to allow it to come to the proper temp.
Storing + Freezing +Make-Ahead
- Storing: No-knead bread is best stored in a paper wrapper on the counter (such as a bread bag). However, we usually stash ours in a large ziplock and the texture is still wonderful.
- Can You Freeze This? Absolutely! Freeze the whole loaf in a large freezer bag with as much air removed as possible. I like to slice this no-knead bread before freezing it and place wax paper between each slice.
- Defrost the bread in the fridge overnight and voila!
More Homemade Bread Recipes
- Lemon Zucchini Bread – A sneaky way to add some veggies to your sweets!
- Apple Bread – Our fall favorite!
- Banana Bread – The moistest bread on our site.
- Jalapeno Bacon Cornbread – Your soup, chili, and belly want a little more of this!
- Bisquick Banana Bread – What can’t you make with Bisquick?!
Secret Ingredient No-Knead Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon instant or rapid rise-yeast
- 3/4 cup water, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup beer (the secret ingredient!!)
- 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, salt, and yeast.
- In a 4 cup liquid measuring cup mix water, beer, and vinegar
- Gently fold the liquid mixture into the flour mixture, making sure to scrape down to the bottom of the bowl to get all the flour incorporated, until there is no dry flour and a dough begins to form.
- Cover the bowl completely with plastic wrap and allow to sit out at room temperature for 18 hours.
- Very lightly flour the counter and turn out dough. Fold the dough over a couple of times in flour. Pull the edges of the dough into the middle.
- Spread a 18X12 inch piece of parchment paper out on the counter and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer the shaped dough to the center of parchment. Carefully transfer to a Dutch oven (parchment will hang over edges of Dutch oven). Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise until dough has doubled in size, about 1 1/2-2 hours.
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Remove plastic wrap. With a sharp knife make two 5 inch slashes, 1/4 inch deep, on the top of the dough to make a cross.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Place the lid on the dutch oven, and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- Remove the lid and bake 25-30 minutes or until an instant thermometer reads 205-210 degrees, and the crust is nicely golden brown.
- Remove the bread from the Dutch oven, discard parchment and allow bread to cool completely on a wire rack, about 3 hours.
Fans Also Made:
Nutrition
Slightly Adapted From : Bread Illustrated –My favorite bread baking cookbook BTW! The pretzels are also fantastic ♥
Oh wow, I felt like I was a professional baker after baking this. LOL. Diana approved!
Thank you so much, Diana! I’m so happy you enjoyed baking this 🙂
Do you preheat the dutch oven like other recipes? Would that affect baking times?
Hi Kris. Not in this recipe. You actually let the bread rise (the 2nd rise) in the Dutch oven.