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The Best (easiest) No Knead Bread. Crusty on the outside, light and airy inside, with just a little rosemary swirled throughout. Itโ€™s the easiest bread recipe, yet still impressive. It’s best served warm right out of the oven with softened butter and a sprinkling of sea salt. Serve alongside your favorite soups, chili, pasta dishes, withย roasted chicken, or even on its own. This is certainly sure to become a weekly staple!

The Best (easiest) No Knead Bread | halfbakedharvest.com

Every time I make a pot of soup or chili or even a creamy curry, I also make a homemade bread recipe. Many times I’ll go for everyone’s favorite, honey butter beer bread. And if I’m making Indian, I always, always make naan.

But on snowy Sundays in January, I make my no-knead bread. I’ve been making this for years, sometimes with rosemary, it’s delish with or without.

The Best (easiest) No Knead Bread | halfbakedharvest.com

We LOVE it. But my no-knead bread isn’t like others. I have a little secret.

Instead of water, I use beer, which I think enhances the flavor of the bread. You don’t know it’s there, but it gives the bread more of a sourdough flavor, just without all the work.

Kind of like a “cheaters” sourdough bread in a way.

If you have my Super Simple cookbook, I use this recipe for my pizza dough too. Either way, it’s baked up, it’s delicious. But We really LOVE it as bread (plus I have a new and improved pizza dough that I’ve been making all the time now).

The Best (easiest) No Knead Bread | halfbakedharvest.com

Here are details

Step 1: mix the dough

Using a large bowl and dough hook or just a wooden spoon, mix flour with instant yeast, you could also use active dry yeast, fresh rosemary (if you like), and salt. Now, pour over a room-temperature can/bottle of beer. If you don’t drink, use 1 1/2 cups warm water.

Mix just until the dough comes together. Do not do any kneading!

The Best (easiest) No Knead Bread | halfbakedharvest.com

Step 2: let that dough hang out

Now, cover the dough with a towel and let it hang out on the counter in a nice warm spot for at least 12 hours. I usually let the dough sit overnight or even over two nights for more flavor.

The Best (easiest) No Knead Bread | halfbakedharvest.com

Step 3: bake

Preheat the oven to 450ยฐ. Place a cast iron Dutch oven into the oven to preheat. Get it nice and HOT.

Shape the dough into a ball or an oval. Let it rise on a piece of parchment paper while the oven is heating. When ready, you can lift the parchment and the dough up and into the hot Dutch oven.

And then you bake it. Nothing fancy at all. Not even a stand mixer. We love this bread. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.

The Best (easiest) No Knead Bread | halfbakedharvest.com

Step 4: enjoy it

Slice with a sharp knife. Of course, we love this bread most when it’s fresh from the oven. Topped with really good butter and a small amount of sea salt – so yum!

Or serve it up with dinner. Soups, chilis, and slow-roasted meats are our favorites. Or use it for avocado toast. For sandwiches, the options certainly are endless.

The Best (easiest) No Knead Bread | halfbakedharvest.com

Looking for other breads to make? Here are a few to try:

Sesame Gouda Stuffed Naan

Salted Honey Butter Jalapeรฑo Cheddar Rolls

Jalapeรฑo Cheddar Popovers with Honey Butter

Soft Garlic Herb Cheddar Cheese Bread

Easy Pull Apart Garlic Parmesan Bread

Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Soft Pretzels

Lastly, if you make this The Best (easiest) No Knead Bread, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, donโ€™t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

The Best (easiest) No Knead Bread

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 12 hours
Servings: 1 loaf
Calories Per Serving: 1450 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 1. In a bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, rosemary (if using), and salt. Add the beer and mix with a spatula until combined. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature for at least 12 hours, but ideally overnight.
    2. Preheat oven to 450ยฐ F.ย Place a large Dutch oven in the oven to preheat for 30 minutes.
    3. Generously dust a work surface with flour. Scrape the dough out of the bowl. It should be loose and sticky. Form the dough into a ball and place on a piece of parchment. Cover and allow to rise for 1 hour, until doubled in size.ย 
    3. When ready, carefully lift the dough and the parchment and place in the Dutch oven. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking until the bread is a deep, golden brown, about 15-20 minutes more. Remove from the oven. Enjoy with softened butter and sea salt. YUM!ย 
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The Best (easiest) No Knead Bread | halfbakedharvest.com
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Comments

  1. Tieghan, I only have a 4 qt. dutch oven: could I halve all the ingredients to yield a smaller loaf, or would the full recipe possibly still work? Thank you!

    1. Hi there,
      I think the full recipe should be just fine for you in the 4 qt dutch oven. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xx

  2. this recipe looks great! unfortunately i canโ€™t eat gluten so i am wondering your thoughts on using various types of gf flour, and which might be the best substitute. just swap the ap flour for basic gf flour? thanks for any help!

    1. Hi Jessica,
      I think a basic GF flour like Bob’s Red Mill should work nicely for you. I hope you love this recipe! Happy New Year!!๐ŸŽ† xxT

  3. Hi, I am looking for a bread recipe you used to have on your website. It called for 6 cups flour, 3 cups of water, kosher salt and 1.5tbsp yeast. It makes 3 loaves of bread. I have made it before but I can no longer find it on your website. It is a family favourite.

  4. Hello! I don’t have instant yeast, but I do have active dry yeast. Usually I let it sit in warm water to activate, but this recipe doesn’t call for water at any point. Could I warm the beer up and let the yeast sit in it for a bit? Should I stick to using water? Thanks for the help

    1. Hey Jaime,
      Sure, just follow the package instructions for proofing your yeast and then you can follow the recipe as written. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx

  5. Mine did not double in size ๐Ÿ™ i let it sit overnight plus when it said let double in size for 1hr before putting in oven, i let it sit for 1 1/2hrs & still did not double โ€ฆ

    1. Hi Sarah,
      So sorry to hear this. Was your yeast expired by chance? Did you use warm water or beer? Let me know how I can help! xxT