Dutch Oven No Knead Crusty Bread

This Dutch Oven No Knead Bread recipe comes out perfectly crusty in
under 3 hours - it's easy to make homemade artisan bread with 5 minutes
of prep!

Prep Time
5 mins

Cook Time 4.98 from 243 votes

40 mins

Rising time
2 hrs

Total Time
2 hrs 45 mins

Course: Bread Cuisine: American Servings: 8 servings Calories: 188kcal

Author: Elizabeth Lindemann

Equipment
Dutch Oven
Silicone Spatula
Parchment Paper

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups warm water (about 100 degrees F)
1 packet yeast (active dry, instant, or quick rise- 2.25 teaspoons)
1/2 tablespoon fine grain salt (see notes)
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour or bread flour, plus more for dusting

Instructions
1. In a large bowl (or container), mix together the warm water (1.5 cups), yeast (1 packet/2.25
teaspoons), and table salt (1/2 tablespoon), until yeast and salt are fully or almost dissolved (I
like using a whisk for this).
2. Add the flour (3.25 cups) to the bowl all at once and stir together until a sticky dough forms.
Don't worry about mixing it too much, just make sure everything is uniformly wet. It WILL be
messy and sticky. You can scrape what's left on the spoon with a silicone spatula.
3. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel (or place the container to the lid on ajar). Leave it for 2-3

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 hours to rise in a somewhat warm place (If it's cold out, I like to preheat my oven for a few
minutes, then turn it off, then place the bowl in the oven, trapping the heat inside. If your house
is warm just leave it out, or if it's warm outside you can place it there).
4. After the two-three hour rise time, you have two options: bake, or store in the fridge. See notes
for how to store.
5. 30 minutes to an hour before you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. Place
your Dutch oven in the oven, with the lid ON, while the oven is preheating. Once the oven
reaches 450, keep it preheating for another 20 minutes, so the Dutch oven gets good and hot.
6. Scrape the dough into the edge of a piece of parchment paper dusted with flour. Make it into as
much of a "loaf" shape as you can by folding the edges up on top of it (a silicone spatula works
well for this).
7. Then, use the edges of the parchment paper to flip the loaf over so the floured side is on top
and the loaf is in the center of the parchment paper. Don't worry about it looking beautiful or
smooth on top. My Dutch oven is an oval, so I made an oval shape. You can do a circle if yours
is round.
8. Optional: use a very sharp knife or clean razor blade to cut a few slits across the top of the loaf
about 1/2" deep, across the entire top. I did this in a cross shape for mine.
9. Take out the preheated Dutch oven and take off the lid, carefully! Grab the parchment from the
sides and place the loaf in your Dutch oven.
10. Place the cover back on the Dutch oven and place in the preheated oven on the center rack.
Bake for 35 minutes at 450 degrees F (40 minutes if dough was cold from the fridge). Remove
the lid and bake for another 5-10 minutes, until a golden brown color forms- longer if necessary.
Remove the loaf from the dutch oven (grabbing the sides of the parchment paper works well
here) and place it on a wire rack or cutting board to cool for at least 10 minutes (preferably 30
minutes - an hour, if you have time) before slicing.

Notes
Make two small loaves instead: This recipe makes about a 2 lb. loaf. You can make two
smaller, 1 lb. loaves, by using only half the dough at a time, saving some in the fridge for later.
Alternatively, you can double the recipe to make two large or four small loaves, leaving the extra
dough in your fridge for fresh bread every few days! Use a serrated knife to cut the dough into
pieces, trying your best not to squish it down as you handle it, and make sure you use a very
large container or bowl for this.
Fine grain salt can be fine sea salt, Himalayan salt, or any other salt you prefer. I recommend
NOT using iodized salt, as it may interfere with the yeast production.
Kosher salt may be used instead of table salt- I recommend 2 teaspoons since it's a larger
grain. Same goes with coarse sea salt.
Avoid "gummy" bread by allowing it to cool for a longer time. I often can't resist and just

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 tear into the thing after 10 minutes, but often the inside seems gummy, and almost raw, because
it's too steamy to cut into. Waiting a whole hour, if you can manage, is ideal.
How to store dough in fridge: If storing in the fridge, leave the lid ajar or towel covering the
bowl so gasses can escape. Storing it in the fridge makes the sticky dough a bit easier to
handle, and it also enhances the flavor, so I recommend refrigerating it for at least 12 hours. It
can stay in the fridge for up to 7 days! After two days, you can seal the lid to the container or
cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. The taste of the bread will get funkier the longer it stays
in your fridge. By the 7th day, it will taste more like sourdough.
Since cold dough is easier to handle, you can place the dough in the fridge for 30 minutes or
so after the two hour rise time, just before baking, so it's easier to scrape out and form.
If using cold dough from the fridge, I recommend baking for 5-10 minutes longer with the lid
on (40-45 minutes instead of 35 minutes).
Dutch Oven Alternatives: The Dutch oven does a really good job of trapping the steam,
ensuring a crusty, golden brown loaf. If you don't have a dutch oven, you can bake this bread on
a baking sheet or in a cast iron skillet. I recommend adding some water to a rimmed baking
sheet, or other oven-safe dish, and placing it in the oven on the lower rack, to add steam to the
oven and help develop a crusty crust.
Freeze the baked bread by slicing it first, then storing it in a zip-top bag, squeezing out as
much air as possible. The bread should be completely cool before freezing. You can also
freeze a whole or half loaf without slicing, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, but you'll need to
wait to defrost the whole thing before slicing into it.
Dutch Oven Size: I use my oval 5.5 qt. Dutch Oven or my 6 qt. round Dutch Oven for this
recipe. There is some wiggle room, so you can go a little smaller if you like, especially if the
parchment paper comes up the sides to prevent sticking. And you can definitely go bigger if you
want.

Nutrition
Calories: 188kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 437mg |
Potassium: 63mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 2mg

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