This No Knead Bread recipe is proved overnight, with just 4 ingredients, no shaping and no skill required for a seriously impressive home baked loaf.
Can I tell you my dirty food secret my friends? Hot, fresh, sliced bread with a SLICE of cold butter and a sprinkling of salt. This is the GOOD STUFF.
I first published this No Knead Bread recipe back in 2014 and rediscovering it now, has brought me so much joy.
There’s just 4 ingredients and a good night’s sleep between you and this beauty. Please don’t let not being a baker (or patient) put you off. It’s such a shortcut to something wonderful.
Treat YO SELF!
You’ll love this No Knead Bread recipe because:
✅ Zero skill required
✅ Nothing quite like fresh baked bread – right?
✅ Looks so impressive!
FAQs about the No Knead Bread recipe
Do I need to have a cast iron pan?
No, any saucepan that is large enough, has a tight fitting lid and also can be heated super hot will do fine.
I think results are maybe a tiny bit better with the heavy cast iron pan, but certainly don’t buy one especially.
This is a really good value 4 litre cast iron pan, the type that would work perfectly.
My bread is sticking to my bowl when I try and tip it out!
You need to pull it away carefully from the edges of the bowl to release the ‘seal’
I use a dough scraper which is super affordable and also super useful for lots of little kitchen jobs.
These are the small plastic scrapers I like. They are a buy that you won’t know how you lived without once you start using them!
My bread is a bit flat and not a rounded ball?
Try using a smaller pan to help keep it’s shape.
Can I make a smaller loaf as my pan isn’t big enough?
Sure, you can half the recipe quantities.
How long will this bread keep for?
It’s best eaten on the day it’s baked or the day after.
You can also use if for toast the day after that, or freeze it.
Do I need to use Strong Bread Flour?
Yes, it’s processed for bread and so will give you the best texture here.
Fancy some other easy bake recipes ?
- No Bake Malteser Rocky Road – The easiest treat to whip up.
- Peanut Butter Cookies – Just THREE ingredients!
- Easy Homemade Fudge – Just 2 minutes and 2 ingredients!
Hope you enjoy this recipe. I’d love to know how you got on and what you thought of it if you make this recipe. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below!
Also, if you fancy showing me a photo by tagging me on Instagram (@tamingtwins) I LOVE to see your creations and try and share as many of them as I can.
This recipe was first published on Sep 14, 2014 and fully updated with new photographs on Oct 22, 2021.
No Knead Bread - The Easiest Ever Overnight Recipe
Ingredients
- 750 g Strong White Bread Flour
- 3 tsp Fine sea salt
- 7 g Fast action yeast
- 500 ml Warm water
- Extra flour for sprinkling
Instructions
- Mix all of the ingredients (apart from the extra flour for sprinkling) well in a very large bowl. Use a spatula and/or clean hands to form a dough, making sure there's no dry flour left at the bottom of the bowl.
- Cover with clingfilm or baking paper and leave over night (8 - 12 hours).
- In the morning, the dough should have doubled in size (maybe more) and look bubbly.
- Preheat your oven as hot as it will go (probably about 220C) and pop your lidded dish into the oven.
- Allow the dish to preheat for 30 minutes.
- Lay a baking paper sheet onto your worksurface and sprinkle with a little extra flour.
- When the pan is very hot, carefully remove from the oven and take the lid off.
- Carefully tip your dough out onto the baking paper (you may need to scrape the edges of the bowl to release it).
- Gently ease the bread on the baking paper sheet into the very hot tin. Be careful not to touch the pan! Try not to touch the dough too much as it will be very sticky.
- Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid and bake for a further 30 minutes or until the bottom of the bread, when tipped out and tapped, sounds hollow.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
I’m totally with you, there’s nothing better than salted butter on freshly baked bread! And this bread looks wonderful, love that it doesn’t need kneading!
Sarah Barnes says
Thanks Becca, pleased it’s not just me with a butter habit 😉
Jacqueline Meldrum says
I do enjoy kneading bread, but that looks wonderful . I am sorely tempted to make it tonight, but don’t know if I have fast action yeast. Thank for linking to me
Ana says
Looks delish. What size is your Chasseur cast iron pan? I’ve got something I think I could use but it’s only about 6″ in diameter.
Camilla @FabFood4All says
Ooh what a fabulous loaf and i want some of that flour it looks amazingly nutty and yummy:-) Thanks for linking to my loaf:-)
Sarah Barnes says
It’s great flour Camilla, I’d really recommend.
Jeanne Horak-Druiff says
Me no knead… I am a huge fan of no-knead bread, basically because I have no patience 😉 I love that this gets baked in a casserole dish – in South Africa we often bake bread in cast-iron pots over open fires called “potbrood” and this reminds me of that. Thanks for including my cheesy beer bread link!
Katie Bryson says
Look at the crust on that bad boy – wowzers!!!! I’m loving the sprinkling of salt on top of the butter… SO naughty but SO nice. I’m going to have a go at making this at the weekend for our lunch. Our Saturday lunches are always based around a good crusty loaf – but not usually one i’ve made myself! Thanks for the inspiration Sarah, and hope all is well in your world with those gorgeous mini people of yours 🙂 xxx
Sarah Barnes says
Thanks for your lovely comment Katie. Let me know how it goes!
Laura@howtocookgoodfood says
What a wonderful looking loaf. Goes to prove you don’t need to knead to get top results!
Helene @Croque-Maman says
Wow this looks like an amazing recipe. I’ll definitely try it!!! You can’t beat fresh bread and this is just the kind of easy recipe I can squeeze in when making the rest of the lunch. Thank you for sharing.
Mel says
We love our bread around here, too! Since I started making no-knead bread a couple of years ago, I have not bought one single loaf or ‘Artisan’ bread in a bakery. I love the fact you can go for plain white, wholegrain or seeded bread, loaf with foil on top or use a cast iron casserole dish with lid. It just works every time. Fool proof recipes rock! Gorgeous food styling, as usual, my lovely!
Rachael Grose-Hodge says
Made your fantastic bread last night and it was an absolute game changer! Whole family loved it (I have 4 hungry boys!) and it was eaten within hours of coming out of the oven 😄. This will definitely be a go-to recipe from now on! Thanks so much.
Bonnie Phillips says
Love this recipe! So easy! Think my oven was up to high tho, crust was quite hard and my
Baking paper was incinerated haha All the numbers have rubbed off my oven. Not a clue how hot I’m cooking at!
Sophie says
So glad I found this recipe! It was so easy to make and tasted absolutely delicious! I cooked it at 220c in a fan oven.
Barbars says
Loved making this bread. So easy and delicious with real butter and butternut squash soup 😋
Thanks , Barbara x
Katharina says
Love the bread was wondering if the crust could be made softer? Mine turns out quite hard and crunchy 😞