Description
This World’s Easiest Yeast Bread recipe is an artisan-style no-knead bread that delivers a crispy, chewy crust and airy, holey interior similar to expensive sourdough. Using simple ingredients and minimal effort, it requires just mixing, rising, and baking in a Dutch oven for stunning bakery-quality bread right at home. Perfect for beginners and busy cooks, this forgiving recipe allows for flexible timing with options to refrigerate the dough for enhanced flavor.
Ingredients
Scale
Dough
- 3 cups (450g) bread or plain/all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp instant or rapid rise yeast (see note for active dry yeast substitution)
- 2 tsp kosher or cooking salt (NOT table salt)
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) very warm tap water (up to 55°C/130°F, not boiling)
For Dusting and Shaping
- 1 1/2 tbsp flour (for dusting work surface and dough)
Instructions
- Mix Dough: In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the warm water and use the handle of a wooden spoon to stir until all the flour is incorporated. The dough will be wet and sloppy, not kneadable but not runny. Adjust with a little more water or flour if needed for the right consistency.
- Rise: Cover the bowl with cling wrap or a plate and leave it on the counter for 2 to 3 hours until the dough doubles in volume. It will look wobbly like jelly with bubbles on top. If after one hour it hasn’t risen much, place it somewhere warmer.
- Optional Refrigeration: At this point, you may bake immediately or refrigerate the dough, covered, for up to 3 days to develop more flavor. If refrigerated, remove the dough and let it come to room temperature for 45 to 60 minutes before baking.
- Preheat Oven and Dutch Oven: Place a 26cm (10 inch) or larger Dutch oven with its lid inside your oven and preheat to 230°C (450°F) or 220°C fan for 30 minutes. This ensures the pot is piping hot for baking the bread.
- Shape the Dough: Sprinkle your work surface with 1 tablespoon of flour. Scrape the dough out onto the surface and dust the top with 1/2 tablespoon flour. Using a dough scraper or similar tool, fold the sides of the dough inward about six times to roughly form a round shape, mainly to deflate bubbles. Don’t worry about perfect shape—rustic is better.
- Transfer to Parchment Paper: Slide a large sheet of parchment paper next to the dough. Flip the dough upside down onto the paper so the seam side is down and the smooth side is up. Shape it gently into a round shape on the paper.
- Bake Bread: Carefully remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven. Lift the dough on the parchment paper and place it into the pot. Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes.
- Finish Baking Uncovered: Remove the lid and bake for an additional 12 minutes or until the bread is deep golden and crispy on top.
- Cool: Remove the bread from the pot and place it on a wire rack. Let it cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing to allow the crumb to set.
Notes
- Use instant or rapid rise yeast for fastest proofing. If using normal active dry yeast, proof it first in water before mixing.
- Use kosher or cooking salt, not table salt, for best texture and flavor.
- The dough should be very warm but not hot—up to 55°C/130°F—to activate the yeast without killing it.
- Rising time depends on room temperature; locate in a warmer spot if dough isn’t rising well.
- Refrigerating the dough up to 3 days enhances the flavor and allows flexible baking schedule.
- If you don’t have a Dutch oven, bake on a preheated heavy baking tray or cast iron skillet, placing a metal bowl over the dough to create steam for a crispy crust.
- The recipe is forgiving; slight variations in flour or water won’t ruin the bread.
- Tomorrow, try making the Cheese Bread variation for a tasty twist.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 155
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 469 mg
- Fat: 1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 32 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
