Easiest No-Knead Bread in a Dutch Oven

Emotionally prepare yourself for the fact that step 2 is going to feel all wrong.

Whisk together the flour, yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Stream in the water, stirring as you go, until the ingredients are incorporated. Barely stir or mess with the dough. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and then a kitchen towel, and let the dough rest/rise/get less weird for 12 hours or so.

When the dough has risen, place a large (4-7 quarts) Dutch oven plus the lid in the oven. Preheat the oven AND the pot to 450F for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, choose your bread method:

FLOUR METHOD: Place a large piece of parchment paper on a flat surface. Sprinkle flour on the parchment paper and flour your hands. Gently scrape the dough onto the parchment paper and fold it one or two times to make a ball. It might spread out, no worries. No knead, either. Drape the plastic wrap or towel you used to cover the bowl over the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes while the pot preheats. (continue to step 6)

OIL METHOD: Place a large piece of parchment paper on a flat surface. Drizzle a tiny bit of oil on the parchment and oil your hands. Scrape the dough onto the parchment paper and fold it one or two times to make a ball. Brush a bit more oil on the top of the dough and sprinkle with coarse salt, if using. Drape the plastic wrap or towel you used to cover the bowl over the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes while the pot preheats.

Carefully take the Dutch oven out of the oven once it has preheated. Moving quickly, remove the lid and pick up the bread dough by the edges of the parchment paper. Place the dough ON THE PARCHMENT PAPER in the Dutch oven. Put the lid back on.

Return the Dutch oven to the oven and bake the bread covered for 30 minutes, then uncovered for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and crusty.

Remove the pot from the oven and lift the parchment paper with the bread to a cooling rack. Let the bread cool as long as you can manage, then rip into it.

You did a really, really good job.

NOTES:
Recipe adapted from Mark Bittman, pinky promise that time and flour swaps still yield delicious bread!

The internet tells me that active dry yeast and instant yeast will work almost entirely the same in this particular recipe. I use instant yeast because it’s what I have, and I recommend that you use what you have.

I have let this dough rise for 8-18 hours (I make it a lot, have tested it a ton of ways) and honestly it’s great in all the ways. I prefer to do an overnight rise so I’m not obsessing over it, but that’s a personal issue.

If you don’t have parchment paper, no worries! The flour method or oil method will work fine, the parchment just keeps things tidy. Not worth an extra trip to the store for.