Easy No Knead Bread

This tried-and-tested recipe is possibly the easiest way to make artisan-style bread at home! Make sure you check out the notes for additional information that will help you get the best results.

Ingredients

-1 slices+

Metric

Method

1. 1

   Combine the flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the water and stir with a wooden spoon until fully combined. The dough should be rough and very sticky, so don’t panic if it feels quite hard to work with. Now cover the bowl with a damp tea towel and leave the dough to rest at room temperature for 12-18 hours (we leave ours overnight).

   
2. 2

   The next day, preheat the oven to 220°C fan / 475°F. As soon as it has come to temperature, place the dutch oven with its lid on inside the oven for 30 minutes.

   
3. 3

   Meanwhile take a look at the dough, which should now be puffy with lots of bubbles. Generously flour a clean worktop, then use a spatula to gently ease the dough out onto the worktop. Dust both the dough and your fingers with more flour, then ‘stretch and fold’ the dough 4 times by pulling each edge up and over itself to form a ball of dough (think of the dough as having four sides ‘north’, ‘south’, ‘east’ and ‘west’ – and each side needs to be pulled/stretched, then folded over itself). Now turn the dough upside down, then gently rotate it with your hands to form a ball and until the top is smooth. Note: you can sprinkle the dough with a little more flour if it’s too sticky to work with.

   
4. 4

   Carefully transfer the ball of dough onto a sheet of baking paper. Then, once the dutch oven is ready, carefully remove it from the oven and remove the lid. Using the baking paper, carefully drop the dough inside the dutch oven so it remains on the baking paper. Using scissors, cut a 5cm (2”) slit into the top of the dough and sprinkle the top with a little more flour. Cover with the lid, then bake for 30 minutes. Then remove the lid and continue baking for another 20-25 minutes or until the crust is perfectly golden brown.

   
5. 5

   Carefully remove the bread from the oven and transfer it to a cooling rack. Leave to cool before slicing.