No Knead Bread
on Mar 03, 2023, Updated Feb 28, 2026
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I posted this No Knead Bread recipe on TikTok on February 12, 2021, not expecting to wake up to 15 million views 🤯. Little did I know that this humble peasant bread, rooted in a history of strength and resourcefulness, would become a 🌎 global sensation, carrying forward my Bapche’s legacy 👵🏼. If you’ve never baked bread before, this is the perfect place to start — it’s simple, beginner-friendly, and surprisingly easy.
Key Takeaways
- The No Knead Bread recipe gained 15 million views on TikTok and honors my family legacy from Bulgaria.
- This recipe requires no kneading and only 5 minutes of active work, making it beginner-friendly.
- You can customize No Knead Bread with variations like gluten-free or sourdough options.
- Serve No Knead Bread with soups, stews, and cheese boards for a delightful pairing.
- Tips include using the correct water temperature for yeast activation and adjusting the dough’s consistency.
Table of Contents
Origins of No Knead Bread
In the heart of Bulgaria 🇧🇬, where a frugal lifestyle was a necessity, basic ingredients—flour, salt, water, and yeast—had our tummies fed and our pockets happy ☺️. My grandma was one of ten siblings so this rustic bread became a lifeline in a very challenging world. The legacy of this no knead bread, called “Selski Hliab” in Bulgarian, persevered through the harsh years of communism when ingredients were scarce but the warmth of freshly baked bread 🥖 was our lifeline.
This bread has been in my family for generations and represents more than just nourishment; it symbolizes the bond between my family and the strength my grandma passed down to us. Though I lost my grandma, who was my soulmate, on November 13, 2020, her memory lives on through our shared moments of laughter, tears, and the simple pleasure of enjoying this bread together. Every time I close my eyes, I can picture her so I hold on to that feeling.
Why You’ll Love No Knead Bread
🥣 No kneading, no stand mixer required. Just a bowl and a spoon — that’s it.
⏲️ Only 5 minutes of active effort. You won’t even get your hands dirty. Mix, cover, and let time do the work.
🍞 A Dutch oven is ideal — but not necessary. It helps create that beautiful crust, but I’ll show you how to make it without one using a baking dish.
👩🍳 Easy to make, without compromising quality. You’ll get a crisp crust and soft, airy crumb that tastes like it came from a bakery.
Nonna’s Tip 🫧
To activate the yeast, dissolve it in warm (not hot) water and let it sit for 5–10 minutes — it should look foamy and bubbly. If nothing happens, it’s best to start fresh.
Variations and Substitutions for No Knead Bread
- Flour Variations: If you’d like a slightly chewier crumb, you can use bread flour instead. For a heartier loaf, substitute up to 50% whole wheat flour and add 1–2 tablespoons of extra water 💧 since whole wheat absorbs more moisture.
- Gluten-Free Option: For all my gluten-free besties, I developed this Gluten Free No Knead Bread with you in mind. Since bread relies on gluten to develop structure, the GF version won’t rise as high as the original and will have a slightly different taste and more density 🥖.
- Yeast Variations: This recipe uses active dry yeast. However, if you prefer instant yeast, you can substitute it in equal amounts and mix it directly into the flour.
- Sourdough Variation: Replace the yeast with ½ cup active sourdough starter and slightly reduce the flour and water to keep the dough balanced. The rise will take longer, and the flavor will be more complex and tangy.
- Flavor Add-Ins: Stir in rosemary and garlic 🧄 before the first rise, fold in chopped olives 🫒, make it extra cheesy, or add 2–3 tablespoons of seeds to the top before baking for extra texture. You can find all of my No Knead Bread recipes below!
More No Knead Bread Recipes
No Knead Olive Bread
6 hrs 5 mins
No Knead Gluten Free Bread
6 hrs 20 mins
No Knead Cheddar Bread
6 hrs 10 mins
No Knead Garlic Bread
4 hrs 10 mins
No Knead Feta Bread
6 hrs 10 mins
No Knead Chocolate Chip Bread
6 hrs 5 mins
Best Served With
My No Knead Bread pairs wonderfully with a variety of dishes, including soups and stews 🍲, cheese and butter boards 🧀, and more. Some of my favorite soups to enjoy with this bread:
- Pastina Soup
- Greek Lemon Soup
- The Best Lentil Soup
- Hidden Veggie Orzo Soup
- Healthy Cream of Broccoli Soup
- Healthiest Cream of Hidden Veggie Soup
- Hidden Veggie Meatball Soup
- Chicken Noodle Soup
Try it With My Favorite Boards
- Viral Butter Board With Goat Cheese
- Holiday Butter Board
- Holiday Charcuterie Board
- Holiday Cheese Board
Most Common Questions
Maintaining this water temperature range is crucial because it ensures that the yeast activates properly. Water that’s too hot or too cold can hinder yeast activation.
In this traditional recipe, I encourage you to add water gradually until you achieve a very thick and sticky dough, following the “na oko” or “by eye” method.
To test your yeast, add it to warm water. If it doesn’t foam up, you’ll need to start with new yeast. Foaming indicates that the yeast is active and is ready to be added to the flour and salt.
You certainly can. Although this recipe specifically calls for active dry yeast you can also try instant yeast as well.
If the dough is too wet, you can sprinkle in a bit more flour to adjust. Conversely, if it’s too dry, add warm water a little at a time until you have a tacky dough.
Yes, any oven-safe baking dish that can accommodate a loaf of bread will work. For example, a Corning Ware Dish or something similar will do the job.
It’s not necessary. A Dutch oven traps steam, which helps create a crisp crust and strong oven spring. However, you can use a casserole dish or a baking stone with a steam tray as an alternative.
Preheat your Dutch oven in a 450°F (230°C) oven with its lid on, shape the dough, place it inside, bake for 30 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Weighing your flour using a kitchen scale is ideal for accuracy. However, scooping and leveling the flour in a measuring cup can also ensure more precise measurements, helping you achieve the right consistency for the dough.
While I have not explicitly tested it, aluminum foil should work as a substitute for a dish lid.
Yes, you can use 1-1 gluten-free flour for this recipe, or you can make my No-Knead Gluten-Free Bread.
The dough should rest for a minimum of 5 hours, but it’s common to leave it overnight and bake it the following morning, typically at room temperature away from drafts.
In hotter climates, the dough may rise much faster, so I would advise placing it in a cooler room or limiting the rise to a maximum of 2 to 3 hours to prevent over-expansion. Once it doubles or triples in size, it should be baked immediately.
The recipe hasn’t been tested at higher altitudes, so adjustments may be necessary.
The dough should have a thick and sticky consistency. If it’s too dry, add a splash of water at a time until the dough is tacky. Too wet? Add a sprinkle of flour at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
No Knead Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting the counter and top of the bread
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon active dry yeast , check the expiration; see notes below
- 1 ¾ cups warm water, between 100 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit (37 to 43 degrees Celsius)
- additional flour for dusting the counter plus the top of the bread , no kneading, dust the top and bottom well, gently shape and transfer
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, and yeast. Mix with a whisk, wooden spoon, or with clean hands.
- Add the water and mix with a spatula until you have a sticky dough. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let rest at room temperature for at least 5 hours or overnight. Place the bowl of dough away from drafty areas, such as in the microwave, cupboard, or in a cold oven.
- Note: The water must be between 100 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit (37 to 43 degrees Celsius). If the water is too hot or too cold the yeast will not activate.
- After the dough has tripled in size, uncover it, and flour the counter. Pour the dough out onto the counter and generously sprinkle the top with flour.
- Note: You do NOT need to knead the dough. You can simply move it around until you have a really nice and soft dough that is no longer sticky and is oval in shape. If the loaf sticks to your hands or the counter, sprinkle on a little more flour.
- Place the loaf into any oven-safe dish lined with parchment paper. Place a lid on the dish, and place the dish in a cold oven (an oven that is NOT preheated).
- Turn the oven on to 450F (230C) once the bread is inside. Bake the bread with the lid on the dish for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, carefully remove the hot lid from the dish and bake the bread for another 25 to 30 minutes.
- Baking note: The bake time will depend on your oven, so keep an eye on it. Total bake time will be about 1 hour from the moment you place the bread into the cold oven.
- The bread is done once it’s light and golden all over. Let it cool for 5 to 10 minutes and enjoy!
- Storage note: To store leftover bread, let it cool completely, wrap it up in plastic wrap, beeswax wrap, or a clean kitchen towel, and store the bread on the counter. This bread is always best served warm the same day.
Nonna’s Notes
- Flour Variations: If you’d like a slightly chewier crumb, you can use bread flour instead. For a heartier loaf, substitute up to 50% whole wheat flour and add 1–2 tablespoons of extra water 💧 since whole wheat absorbs more moisture.
- Gluten-Free Option: For all my gluten-free besties, I developed this Gluten Free No Knead Bread with you in mind. Since bread relies on gluten to develop structure, the GF version won’t rise as high as the original and will have a slightly different taste and more density 🥖.
- Yeast Variations: This recipe uses active dry yeast. However, if you prefer instant yeast, you can substitute it in equal amounts and mix it directly into the flour.
- Sourdough Variation: Replace the yeast with ½ cup active sourdough starter and slightly reduce the flour and water to keep the dough balanced. The rise will take longer, and the flavor will be more complex and tangy.
- Flavor Add-Ins: Stir in rosemary and garlic 🧄 before the first rise, fold in chopped olives 🫒, make it extra cheesy, or add 2–3 tablespoons of seeds to the top before baking for extra texture. You can find all of my No Knead Bread recipes when you scroll up the post!
My Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This looks amazing. If I am using thr Dutch oven method, how long do I let the Dutch oven pre heat in the 450F oven before putting the dough in it and starting the covered cook time?
I would say about 30 minutes is okay 🙂
Fabulous!!!!
Thank you, Maria! ❤️
I just put mine in the oven- recipe was easy to follow & I think everything is going well. The only problem was that I missed the part where you needed to put it in a cold oven & already had my oven at 350 when I put the bread in. But my question is- do you start the first 30 min once the oven preheats or as soon as you put the bread in the cold oven?
Hi Ammy, you put it in a cold oven, turn the oven on, timer starts right away. 30 min covered and then 30 uncovered
Simple and easy. This is the first bread recipe I’ve ever been able to get right. I used a regular oven.
Love it, thank you for the feedback, Krisztina! ❤️
First time bread maker ! My bread was perfect SUCH A MASTERPIECE I FOLLOWED IT EXACTLY !! I’m so proud of myself !
I’m proud of you too, Kiera! Great job!!
Love your recipes. First tome trying this and I realized I don’t have any parchment paper. Do you think it’d be fine in an unlined Dutch oven or should I use flour or grease?
I think it will stick so I would flour it or grease it for sure
Hello Snejana: Made my first loaf earlier in the week and used kosher (Diamond Crystal) salt. The bread rose perfectly as in the video – cooked perfectly with the ‘crackly’ crust, but was ‘flat’ tasting. I’m baking a second loaf using regular Morton’s Iodized salt and I’ll bet that will solve the flavor issue I encountered with the first loaf. None the less, the first loaf was consumed within two days, but all agreed it needed “more salt” to balance the flavor.
Thanks again!
Hi there 🙂 yes absolutely salt is always to taste as different types of salt will be more/less salty than others. Glad you loved it. If you can please give it a star rating, that would mean so much
Easy and great bread!
You just call for salt (so I assume table salt). I only use kosher salt (larger flakes) so I doubled the salt and it’s perfect…
Sounds delicious, Candi! Thank you for your review and feedback! Appreciate it. 🥰
Thank you for your great tips. I wouldn’t have thought to use a sour dough starter for gluten free bread recipes.
I LOVE your website!!
You’re so welcome, Lee!
Yum!! Delicious with jam!!
I accidentally added too much yeast so I doubled the recipe. From now until I decide to make the other half, what should I do with it? Refrigerate? My overzealous helpers went at it with the floor before I could stop them so it’s already been floured after the initial rise.
Hi Leslie, you can definitely wrap up and freeze the other loaf 🙂
I’ve always struggled with bread making and did try another Peasant Bread recipe a few weeks ago. It worked but there was always a sort of grainy/cornflour texture to it the next day. Anway, I decided to try yours which I saw on IG. I made it yesterday and your Nonna’s recipe definitely likes me LOL. Perhaps she was looking down on me as I was determined this would be perfect!
I did mine in the Dutch oven, preheated oven with that inside and the lid on. I baked for 30 minutes, then I kept checking every 10 minutes whilst it baked without the lid on. It was around 15 minutes when it looked just right. Tapped on the bottom and it sounded hollow. This is now my go-to. The ONLY thing was that it was not as light and fluffy inside as I think it should be, don’t get me wrong, it was very good, accompanied with lashings of Irish salted butter. I believe that had to do with the rising? The more it rises the fluffier it will be….is that correct? This was for sure my mistake not the recipe’s. Any hints?
Thanks for sharing your Nonna’s recipe 🙂
Helen
Hi Helen, thank you so much for this beautiful message and review. Yes, the longer the bread rises the fluffier it will be BUT this type of peasant bread that is only made from flour water yeast and salt will never be too “fluffy” it has a rustic soft but chew texture with a crispy crust. I can share other bread recipes that are more like sandwich bread. This one is different
Thanks so much for the response 🙂 I’ll stick with this recipe and in the meantime I’ve found the perfect spot to let it rise in so it should be even better next time.
You’re very welcome. ❤️