Bread

No-Knead Crusty Bread

Name: No-Knead Crusty Bread
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 1 loaf
Cuisine: Baking
Ingredients: 3 cups (375 g) bread or all-purpose flour; 1½ tsp fine salt; ½ tsp instant yeast; 1½ cups (360 g) warm water

A bakery-style crusty loaf with almost no effort.

⏳Prep15 min

🔥Bake45 min

🍽️Makes1 loaf

📊LevelMedium

This is the loaf that turned everyone into a home baker. No kneading, just a wet dough left to work overnight, then baked in a hot covered pot so it steams itself into a crackly crust. Weigh the flour and water for the reliable, open crumb.

👩‍🍳 Method

1
Stir the flour, salt and yeast in a big bowl. Add the water and mix with a spoon just until you have a shaggy, sticky dough with no dry patches. Do not knead.
2
Cover the bowl and leave it at room temperature for 12 to 18 hours, until the surface is bubbly and the dough has more than doubled.
3
Tip the dough onto a well-floured surface, fold it over on itself a few times into a rough ball, and let it rest 30 minutes under the bowl.
4
Meanwhile put a cast-iron pot with its lid in the oven and heat to 230°C / 450°F for at least 30 minutes.
5
Carefully lower the dough into the hot pot (baking paper makes this easy), cover, and bake for 30 minutes.
6
Take off the lid and bake another 12 to 15 minutes until deep golden and hollow-sounding. Cool fully before slicing, or the crumb turns gummy.

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💡 Baker's tips

The long, slow rise is what builds the flavour and the open holes. Do not rush it.
A screaming-hot covered pot traps steam, which is what gives you the crackly crust at home.

🔀 Make it your own

Fold in 100 g of grated cheese and a little cracked pepper after the first rise.
Add 75 g of olives or a handful of rosemary when you shape it.

📦 Storing & freezing

Cut-side down on a board for 2 days, or slice and freeze. Refresh in a hot oven for 5 minutes to bring back the crust.

❓ Frequently asked

Can I make it faster?

A warm spot and a little more yeast (1 teaspoon) can cut the rise to about 3 to 4 hours, but the overnight version has far more flavour.

No cast-iron pot?

Bake on a hot tray and put a shallow tin of boiling water on the oven floor for steam. The crust is a touch softer but still good.

Baking in a different unit? Use the cups ↔ grams converter or the recipe scaler to halve or double this recipe.