No Knead Artisan Bread Recipe – This artisan style crusty bread gets its complex flavors and chewy interior from a 24 hour rising time. With only 4 ingredients, even the most intimidated baker can easily make this practically foolproof bread. Below you will find my step by step instructions for the perfect crusty bread on your first try.
In November 2006, the food writer Mark Bittman published a bread recipe in the New York Times that shook the world of bread bakers. The recipe, originally created by Jim Lahey of the Sullivan Street Bakery in Manhattan, was a no-knead bread that promised what many thought to be impossible: A crusty bread that is made with only 4 ingredients (flour, yeast, salt, and water) baked in a dutch oven (heavy bottom cast iron skillet with a lid) without the need for kneading.
It wasn’t long after it was published that this homemade artisan bread recipe gained a cult following and raving fans. According to the New York Times, even to this day, Jim Lahey’s No Knead Bread remains as one of the most popular recipes of their website.
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As the foodie that I am, I had heard about this no knead artisan bread recipe and the magic of baking bread in dutch oven, but never attempted baking it, mainly because I live in Vermont and I am spoiled with an amazing bakery right around the corner from where I live. Also, I am a little bit of intimidated when it comes to making bread.
However, when I saw an adapted version of it in Staub’s newly published cookbook, The Staub Cookbook (affiliate link), with an out-of-this-world photograph (similar to the very first photo on this post), I had to give it a try and see whether or not what everyone has been raving about was true.
On my very first try, following the Staub’s recipe word by word, I was able to get the a bread that looks exactly like what you see in these photos. And here I would like to mention; I don’t consider myself as a bread baker or a person who enjoys the long process of creating crusty artisan bread that you see in foodie magazines.
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But this recipe was different. For one thing, as the name suggests, there was almost no kneading needed. Second, the hands on time was no more than 15-20 minutes from start to finish. And lastly, all I needed was 4 ingredients (which is why some people refer to this bread as 4-Ingredient Bread in most websites and bread-baker circles).
However, like it is in anything in life, something had to give, and in this case, it was time (18-24 hours) and a dutch oven with a lid. If you have both, I guess it is not a bad compromise.
I thought that it would be helpful to explain each step with helpful photographs. Therefore, below you will find step by step instructions as to how to make this crusty bread in your own kitchen with helpful tips.
Easy No Knead Bread Recipe With Step By Step Photos
If you a regular baker, you know that when it comes to baking you have to be very precise so I made it a point to share the brands that I used for my version of this no knead artisan bread recipe.
With that being said, as I was preparing for this recipe (reading through other people’s trials of this recipe) I learned that it is pretty “foolproof” and works with pretty much with every brand.
Please know that I am not being paid to refer these brands to you. Rather, my goal here is to be honest and helpful as you make it in your own kitchen.
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While I was not able to find an exact definition to the meaning of “lukewarm” water, according to this article, if the water is warmer than your body temperature, meaning you touch it and feel like it is warm but not hot, then it is considered lukewarm.
In the context of this recipe, the ideal “lukewarm” temperature that worked in my testings was between 80 – 90 F degrees. If you have a digital thermometer handy, you can measure it, or if you don’t, you can do the feel test that I mentioned above.
If you are still with me and are encouraged to give it a try, I want to answer a few more questions that I had when I first read this recipe: (1) What is the best size of the Dutch oven for this no knead bread? (2) Can I bake this in a smaller countertop oven? (3)The best temperature to bake this bread.
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When I shared one of the photos of this bread on my Instagram feed, someone asked about the size of my dutch oven, which was a question that I had as well.
The original recipe on The Staub Cookbook doesn’t specify a particular size other than saying “a medium cast iron cocoette”. But what does that mean, especially if you don’t own that same exact brand?
The first one, the navy blue dutch oven you see in the photos, was a 3 ½ quarts Le Creuset dutch oven (affiliate link). In my opinion, this was the ideal size for this dutch oven bread as it fit perfectly into the cast iron skillet and maintained its shape throughout the baking process.
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The second dutch oven I baked this easy artisan bread was this 6-quart Lodge dutch oven (affiliate link). The result with this one was just as good. Before I tried baking in this larger cast iron skillet, I thought that the bread would spread quite a bit during the process, but surprisingly it maintained its shape quite well. Yes, it did spread a little bit, but it wasn’t too noticeable.
I wanted share this as I wanted to let you know that you can still make this homemade artisan bread even if you don’t own “the right size” dutch oven.
Let’s make one thing clear here. I believe that spreading a thick layer of butter onto a slice of this homemade rustic bread is quite a satisfactory feeling after waiting for 24 hours for it to rise. Not to mention seeing my husband’s face when he saw the freshly baked dough while it was cooling on the counter.
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However, it was important to me to not to break the bank with a high power bill at the end of the month just to experience the aforementioned feeling of accomplishment. So, to see if this bread would also work in a smaller countertop style oven (this Wolf Gourmet countertop oven is the one I own – affiliate link), I baked it in it as well.
It worked perfectly, just as it did in the large wall oven. The only issue was that the larger 6-quart Lodge dutch oven didn’t fit into my countertop oven when the lid was on.
That is why, please know that (depending on your countertop oven) this is a good option if you have a smaller (3 ½ quart dutch oven).
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In my case, the issue was that the highest temperature that my countertop oven provided me with was 450 F degrees so I didn’t have an option but to bake it in 450 F degrees.
Then on my third try, this time baking it in the large wall oven, I tried baking it in the same temperature (450 F degree), and again, it yielded a gorgeous loaf of crusty bread similar to what you see in the photos.
I wanted to mention this because this is the only change I made to the original recipe in the book. If you are not sure of your oven temperature, you can get an inexpensive digital oven thermometer (affiliate link) to make sure that it is providing you with the temperature you need.
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In all 4 of my testings, in both ovens, the bread baked under 1 hour. Like I mentioned earlier, I had the lid on in the first 30 minutes and then I removed it for the latter part of the baking process.
The second part of the baking process, without the lid on, took between 23-27 minutes. However, a good indication is by simply looking at the crust. If its golden brown, you are good to go.
Whether you are an avid bread baker or an amateur one like I am, I hope you found this post helpful and feel encouraged to give this easy no-knead bread recipe a try. As you make this recipe in your own kitchen, if you have any questions feel free to drop me a line via email or comment below. I’ll try to help as much as I can.
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No Knead Artisan Bread Recipe – This artisan style crusty bread gets its complex flavors and chewy interior from a 24 hour rising time. With only 4 ingredients, even the most intimidated baker can easily make this practically foolproof bread.
Calories: 170 kcal | Carbohydrates: 34 g | Protein: 6 g | Fat: 1 g | Saturated Fat: 1 g | Sodium: 584 mg | Potassium: 47 mg | Fiber: 1 g | Sugar: 1 g | Calcium: 7 mg |
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