Best 3 Updated No Knead Bread Recipes

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Craving the sweet, crusty aroma of freshly baked bread without the hassle of traditional kneading? Look no further! Our guide to "Updated No-Knead Bread" offers a collection of easy-to-follow recipes that deliver delightful, artisanal-style bread right from your home oven. With minimal effort and a few simple ingredients, you can create a variety of mouthwatering loaves that are perfect for sandwiches, toast, and more. From classic white bread to whole wheat and flavored variations, our carefully curated recipes cater to every taste preference. Get ready to embark on a baking journey that will fill your home with the warmth and comfort of freshly baked bread.

Here are our top 3 tried and tested recipes!

NO-KNEAD BREAD



No-Knead Bread image

Here is one of the most popular recipes The Times has ever published, courtesy of Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan Street Bakery. It requires no kneading. It uses no special ingredients, equipment or techniques. And it takes very little effort - only time. You will need 24 hours to create the bread, but much of this is unattended waiting, a slow fermentation of the dough that results in a perfect loaf. (We've updated the recipe to reflect changes Mark Bittman made to the recipe in 2006 after publishing and receiving reader feedback. The original recipe called for 3 cups flour; we've adjusted it to call for 3 1/3 cups/430 grams flour.) In 2021, J. Kenji López-Alt revisited the recipe and shared his own tweaked version.

Provided by Mark Bittman

Categories     easy, breads, times classics, side dish

Time 1h30m

Yield One 1 1/2-pound loaf

Number Of Ingredients 4

3 1/3 cups/430 grams all-purpose or bread flour, plus more for dusting
Generous 1/4 teaspoon/1 gram instant yeast
2 teaspoons/8 grams kosher salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran, as needed

Steps:

  • In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 1/2 cups/345 grams water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
  • Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
  • Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
  • At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is OK. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

UPDATED NO-KNEAD BREAD



Updated No-Knead Bread image

This recipe is based on Jim Lahey's recipe from 2006, with a few modifications for the sake of precision and a touch of acid to improve dough strength. Unlike Mr. Lahey's recipe, this one does not require handling a hot Dutch oven. You'll need one metal heatproof bowl (no rubberized bottoms) around 11 to 12 inches in diameter, a second bowl of any material around 8 to 9 inches in diameter, a scale with gram-accurate resolution, a baking sheet and a clean cotton dish towel. (Freshly washed is fine; it doesn't need to be brand new.) If you prefer, you can still bake in a Dutch oven instead of using the overturned bowl method described in the steps; see this article on no-knead bread for full details. For a loaf of bread with significantly improved hole structure and flavor compared with this no-knead version, and without much extra work, take a look at our low-knead bread recipe.

Provided by J. Kenji López-Alt

Categories     snack, breads

Time 21h

Yield 1 loaf

Number Of Ingredients 6

400 grams bread flour (about 2 2/3 level cups; see Tip)
8 grams salt (about 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt, 2 teaspoons Morton kosher salt or 2 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt)
2 grams instant or "rapid rise" yeast (about 1/2 teaspoon; see Tip)
280 grams warm water (about 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons; see Tip)
1/8 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice
Rice flour or extra bread flour, for dusting

Steps:

  • Mix the dough: Combine the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl and mix with your hands until mostly homogenous. Combine the water and vinegar or lemon juice, then add to the bowl. Form one hand into a stiff claw, and stir with it until no dry flour remains and the dough forms a sticky, shaggy ball. Roll the ball around the bowl until most of the dough is part of the same large mass. The mixing process should take no more than 30 to 45 seconds.
  • Scrape your dough-covered hand with your clean hand or with a metal or plastic dough scraper to get most of the dough into the bowl, then invert a tall-sided medium metal or glass bowl (or a cutting board) and place it on top of the large bowl, tapping it to ensure a tight seal. Let dough rest at least 12 hours and up to 18 hours at room temperature, 60 to 70 degrees. When the dough is done resting, it should appear very bubbly and wet.
  • Shape the loaf: Wipe out any moisture collected inside the medium bowl. Dust a dish towel thoroughly on one side with rice flour or bread flour, then line the medium bowl with the towel, floured-side up. Generously flour your work surface. Sprinkle flour around the edges of the dough in the large bowl, then tilt the bowl over your floured work surface, using your fingertips to ease the dough away from the bowl until it all tips out. (Some bits of the dough will stick to the bowl, this is OK; leave them behind.)
  • Working gently but quickly to avoid deflating the dough, using one hand, reach under one side with your fingertips, stretch the dough, and fold it over itself into the center. Repeat three more times until each side of the dough has been folded over the top. Using the sides of your hands instead of your fingertips and as much extra flour as necessary to prevent sticking, flip the dough over. With your palms up and hands placed flat on the work surface, gently tuck the dough together underneath until the top surface is relatively smooth and taut.
  • Proof the loaf: Carefully lift the dough, place it smooth-side up into the towel-lined bowl, and dust lightly with rice flour or bread flour. Cover the bowl with a large baking sheet and allow the dough ball to rise until it roughly doubles in volume and doesn't spring back readily when you poke it with a fingertip, about 2 hours. Meanwhile, wash out the large bowl and have it ready.
  • Heat the oven: At least 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees. When dough is ready, invert the bowl and baking sheet so that the dough is lying on the sheet. (The sheet will end up inverted.) Lift off the bowl and carefully lift off the kitchen towel. If it sticks at all, be very gentle when coaxing the dough off; the goal is to minimize the loss of gases trapped inside.
  • Bake the bread: Splash some water inside the larger metal bowl, then invert it onto the baking sheet over the dough. Transfer the whole thing to the oven, reduce oven temperature to 450 degrees, and bake for 25 minutes. Using oven mitts or dry kitchen towels, remove the bowl and continue baking until the loaf is as dark as you'd like it, 15 to 25 minutes longer. Remove the bread, transfer to a cooling rack, and allow to cool completely before cutting it open.

SUPER-QUICK NO-KNEAD BREAD



Super-Quick No-Knead Bread image

This is the latest version of bread coming out of my kitchen. Husband and Son eat it almost as soon as it is out of the oven which makes me grouse at them about sore stomachs. Blahblahblah is probably all they hear because they carry on eating it! Sometimes I make plain crust bread and other times I roll the dough in cracked wheat before placing it in the pans. Either way the bread has a wonderfully crisp crust and a really tender inside.

Provided by Bokenpop aka Mad

Categories     Low Cholesterol

Time 2h30m

Yield 2 loaves

Number Of Ingredients 5

6 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
2 1/2 cups warm water

Steps:

  • Mix all dry ingredients together.
  • Add water and stir in until a really sticky dough has formed.
  • Cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place to rise.
  • Punch down and divide dough into two balls.
  • If you are using the cracked wheat, roll the dough balls in the cracked wheat now.
  • Place into well greased pans and bake at 400F for 1 hour.
  • Cook's note: No need for a second rising as the bread rises perfectly in the oven on baking.

Tips:

  • Use quality ingredients: Freshly milled flour and filtered water will result in a better-tasting loaf of bread.
  • Don't overwork the dough: Overworking the dough will develop the gluten too much, resulting in a tough, chewy loaf of bread.
  • Let the dough rise in a warm place: This will help the yeast to work its magic and produce a light, airy loaf of bread.
  • Bake the bread in a Dutch oven: This will create a steamy environment that will help the bread to develop a crispy crust.
  • Don't slice the bread until it has cooled: Slicing the bread while it is still warm will cause it to crumble.

Conclusion:

No-knead bread is a delicious, easy-to-make bread that is perfect for beginners and experienced bakers alike. With a little planning, you can have a fresh, warm loaf of bread on your table in no time. So what are you waiting for? Give it a try today!

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