Fast and Easy No Knead Bread
A No Knead Bread that is fast, easy and delicious. No 18 hour rising time, just 2 hours and baked to perfection. Fresh Homemade Bread just in time for dinner.
Sometimes you just want fresh bread out of the oven especially on the weekend. And yup that was me this past weekend. And I wanted the least amount of work possible and as quick as possible.
I found quite a few of these amazing no knead bread recipes, but I wanted it for lunch and not ready the next day.
So you know that NYT’s No Knead Bread that takes 12-16 to rest and then you bake it? Well this isn’t it! This is better.
How to Make the Best No Knead Bread:
- In a small bowl let the yeast, 1/4 cup of the lukewarm water and honey sit for 5 minutes.
- In a big bowl add the flour and make a well in the middle.
- Add the yeast mixture, remaining lukewarm water and salt.
- Stir it all together, then cover the mixture with a tablespoon of flour.
- Cover the bowl and let it rest for 2 hours.
- Move the mixture to a parchment paper lined cookie sheet, divide into 3 loaves and bake.
- And there you have Easy No Knead Homemade Bread.
Looking further I found an Italian Food Blogger, Misya, who made a No Knead Bread Recipe with the resting time of 1 1/2 hours! I knew I had to try it. And try it I did, 3x already!
I have been reading up on this no knead bread for awhile now and I always thought it was interesting and worth trying. Every time I went shopping I kept thinking I had to buy a dutch oven.
But I never did. For this No Knead Bread Recipe you don’t even need one, a plain ordinary cookie sheet is all you need!
Why does this Bread have a short rising time?
I will be honest and say I am not sure why it works could be the high temperature or the extra yeast, but it does work, and it is so good. This recipe makes 3 small loaves and let me tell you nothing like Homemade Bread warm from the oven.
The first time I made this recipe I made two loaves, but to be honest, three loaves baked better. This recipe can also be doubled if you want.
And look at that crust!
How to tell if your Yeast is Active:
How to test yeast to make sure it is fresh, in a small bowl add 1/4 cup of warm water then add 1 teaspoon of sugar and 2-1/4 teaspoons of yeast. Wait 10 minutes. If the mixture bubbles, then the yeast is still good.
Can I substitute active dry yeast with instant yeast?
Yes you can, for every teaspoon of active dry yeast substitute with 3/4 teaspoon of instant. The yeast does not need to be activated in warm water and sugar, add the yeast directly to the flour in the mixing bowl and then add the lukewarm water, salt and sugar, and continue with the recipe.
Can the dough be refrigerated to Bake later?
Yes you can refrigerate the dough to rise, but it’s best to use it within 48 hours. Another option would be to freeze the dough but be sure to use it within 2 weeks. Just thaw it overnight in the fridge.
How to Store Baked Bread:
If the Baked bread is a crusty loaf then it should be stored unwrapped at room temperature. But once the bread has been sliced be sure to place the bread in closed paper bags. If the bread has a soft crust then it should be stored in an airtight plastic bag or container and stored at room temperature.
How to Freeze Homemade Baked Bread:
- Be sure to let the loaves cool completely before freezing.
- Wrap the loaves individually in plastic wrap (be sure to wrap tightly).
- Then wrap either in foil or place in air tight freezer bags.
- Bread will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
How to Thaw Frozen Bread:
Remove the bread from the bag and wrapping and let it thaw overnight in the fridge. The loaf can be warmed up in the oven at 350F (180C) for about 3-5 minutes.
More Delicious Yeast Breads you may enjoy!
So if you do try it, you have to let me know how it turns out. I am dying to know that it turned out for you too. Enjoy!
Fast and Easy No Knead Bread
Ingredients
- 3½ cups + 2 tablespoons all purpose flour (450 grams total, if you double or triple the recipe double or triple this amount)
- 1½ cups + 3 tablespoons lukewarm water / divided (396 grams total, if you double or triple the recipe double or triple this amount)
- 1¾ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon honey or sugar
Instructions
- In a small bowl add 1/4 cup (60 grams) of lukewarm water, 1 teaspoon of honey (I mixed these together then added the yeast) and yeast. Let sit 5 minutes then mix to combine.
- In a large bowl add the flour, make a well in the centre and add the yeast mixture and remaining water (1 1/4 cups + 3 tablespoons / 340 grams), start to combine with a wooden spoon, then add the salt and combine well. Sprinkle the top with 1 tablespoon of flour.
- Cover the bowl and place in a warm draft free area and let rest for 2 hours.
- After 1¾ hours has passed pre-heat oven to 420° F (220°C). And line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper, sprinkled with flour.
- With the help of a spatula transfer the dough (floured side up) onto the prepared sheet. Divide the dough into 2-3 parts, shape into logs approximately 2 inches apart. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes. (Bread is done when tapped on the bottom and there is a hollow sound). Enjoy!
Notes
Transferring the dough to the cookie sheet can be a bit tricky, so if you have trouble with this you can just lightly sprinkle the cookie sheet with flour, flip the dough onto the cookie sheet and lightly sprinkle the top with flour and bake.
If you substitute with instant yeast use 1 1/4 teaspoons.
Nutrition
Updated from February 20, 2018.
I made this today. Fantastic recipe! Warm bread from start to finish in just a few hours, with almost no work.
I saved the recipe and am sure I will use it often.
Didn’t change anything this time around, except I made two loaves instead of three.
I’ll probably do some experimenting in the future.
Thanks!
Hi Liz, thanks so much, so glad you like it. I make it quite often too. Have a great week.
Great recipe!
I use it regularly. Everyone loves it.
Thanks Ed, glad you like it. Have a great weekend.
Thank you for this recipe! I only had 2.5 cups of flour so I took my chances and used roughly a tsp of yeast and maybe 1 cup water (give or take, I didn’t measure it) with some dried rosemary and oregano! I did however leave it to rise for about 6 hours or so before baking it as I was busy getting some errands done.
It was so tasty, my husband and I devoured half a loaf (I made one big loaf instead of dividing it – baked it for ~20minutes) after it came out of the oven! It’s even better than the bread recipe I made 2 weeks ago which I kneaded by hand! This will be my go-to bread recipe from now on!
Hi Jenny, thanks so much so glad you both enjoyed it. Good idea with the rosemary and oregano. Have a wonderful Sunday.
Rosemary,
Made this bread this evening, excellent recipe thank you so much Italy comes through magnificently!
Hi Maggiore, thank you glad you enjoyed it. Have a great week.
Omg the best ever. I have tried many bread recipes and failed miserabley. I had no patience this time and only let it rise for 1h in the oven that was on 50°C before.. It rose quite well but when i wanted to take it out of the glass dish it collapes and it was a huge mess (i didnt watch the video so didnt know this was how it was supposed to look) but i made a few smaller buns and popped it in. What did i have to lose?
My husband who is a huge fan of homemade bread was soooo happy. The kids had their share and we ate until we collapsed 😀
I am printing that recipe and saving it in all my bookmark catagories to not lose it 🙂
Thanx sooooo much!!
Hi Katie, thanks so much, so glad it worked out in the end. 🙂
This was super easy to make. Made it just as directed and my only reason for not giving it 5 stars is it needed more salt. I’ll definitely make it again (with a bit more salt) and perhaps even add some herbs and/or garlic.
Made your bread on a whim this morning for an intimate “survivor” luncheon this morning. I wanted everything to be just perfect. I’m not a fan of the NY Times No Knead Bread, too hard, too tasteless… But I figured I’d give this one a try. Wow. I made two loaves (which were fairly small), rubbed butter on the crust when they cam out of the over and WOW! they were devoured almost before we could even start lunch! This is a keeper. I’m looking forward to experimenting with flavors,rosemary, garlic, maybe even raisin and cinnamon… Oh the possibilities! Thanks for the recipe!
Hi Stacey, thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed it. All your suggestions sound amazing. Have a great weekend.
Hey I just tried your recipe !
It was quiet easy to follow and everything seemed fine …. I love the crust but the bread is dense why is that so ?
I followed ur recipe no changes
I was hoping for the same airy bread as shown in ur video:(
Hi fq, could be you should let it rise a little longer then the recipe states. Is your yeast fresh?
I used instant yeast . Could that be the issue ?
Yes my yeast is fresh
So I should give it more time ,
Hey how is ur crust not so thick ?
Hi Fq it could be that, I use active dry yeast. Try that one and give it maybe an extra hour to grow, remember a draft free warm area. Did you make 3 loaves?
Hi. Thank you so much for this recipe. I’ve been trying to make bread for a long time, failing every time. I’m so glad I didn’t give up because I found your recipe! My dad only eats wholemeal bread so I substituted 200grams of the plain flour with wholemeal flour and let rise for about 3 hours and 15 min. The plan was 4 hours but I just couldn’t wait any longer. It was tough transferring the dough flour side up and I only managed half floured side up. The result was a little dense but the closest to success that I’ve ever been! I brushed one loaf with melted butter, cheese and garlic, as shared in another comment. It was delicious! Will surely try again. For better results should I add more flour and let rise longer?
Hi Jocelyn, so glad you liked it. The reason the bread was dense is because of the wholemeal flour, so letting it rise longer probably won’t change the texture. Hope that helps. Have a great Sunday.
I didn’t have enough flour so I put less water in but it came out Great !!!
Hi Jenny, great, so glad you like it!
Thanks for another wonderful recipe. I just made this bread and it was so good.
Hi Kate, thanks so much, so glad you like it.
My favourite bread recipe by far. Everyone loves it.
Hi Mary, thanks so much.
I make this bread at least 3 times a week, so good, thanks for the recipe.
Hi Rob, great, so glad you like it. Have a great week.
Hi!
Thanks for the recipe. It was a total failure the first time, completely flat and stodgy inside and didn’t rise…. i went back and checked the cups to metric and I think you have a mistake in your ingredients list, since 3 *1/4 cup + 1tbsp flour is not equal to 500g. 400g water also doesn’t equate to the cups you have there. Could you double check these?
Thanks!
Hi Matilda, I recalculated the flour and yes it should be 450 grams but the water is correct (396 grams), sorry about that. Hope this helps.
Hi Rosemary. I made the bread but must have done something wrong because it turned out flat although it was still delicious. I’m going to buy more yeast since the one I have expires this November although I don’t think it’s the yeast. Whenever I make pizza dough or rolls, to facilitate the rising, I place the bowl on a heating pad. This trick has worked in the past (even with your no knead pizza dough), however, this may have been the culprit. Next time, I’ll eliminate the heating pad and use newly purchased yeast. I prefer using grams or ounces when I bake and was wondering if you could give me the measurements in grams. I clicked on US custom – metric but nothing came up for me. Many thanks.
Hi Ann I really don’t know why it wouldn’t rise, maybe let it rest for 2-3 hours) and I updated to show the grams. Hope that helps, let me know. 🙂