No Knead Overnight Crusty Bread Recipe. This No Knead Bread is baked in a dutch oven and is the perfect crusty french bread recipe. This makes a beautiful artisan loaf of bread and is so easy! The only ingredients you need are flour, water, salt, and yeast for the perfect overnight crusty bread.
Prep Time2 minutesmins
Cook Time40 minutesmins
12 hourshrs
Course: Bread
Cuisine: French
Keyword: artisan bread, bread baked in dutch oven, dutch oven bread, no knead bread, overnight bread
In a mixing bowl, add flour, yeast, salt, and warm water. Check to make sure the water is warm but not hot. You want the water to be about 110 degrees. If it is too hot, it will kill the yeast.Stir the mixture together. The mixture will look shaggy and that is ok. I suggest using your hands to create a ball and bring all of the ingredients together.
Cover with a light tea towel, flour sack towel, or Saran wrap and let the mixture rise for 12-18 hours. It is important to let it rise for at least 12 hours as it allows the flavors to develop.
When ready to bake, heat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the dutch oven into the oven to allow it to heat up for 25-30 minutes.
Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a piece of parchment paper. Shape it into a round ball that will fit into the dutch oven.
Carefully remove the hot dutch oven from oven. Place the dough with the parchment paper into the hot dutch oven. Cover with the lid. Place in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes.
After 30 minutes, carefully remove the lid with hot pads and let it brown for about 6-12 minutes, depending on how brown you want the crust to be.Remove from the oven and let sit for 15 minutes before slicing.
Notes
Flour -- I suggest using all-purpose flouror bread flour in this recipe. Bread flour has a high protein content so it is good for a hearty bread. All-purpose flour has slightly less protein than bread flour but is a universally used flour because of its protein content.
Yeast -- I suggest using active dry yeast. You only need 1/2 teaspoon because this is a slow-rising bread. This is going to slowly rise for 12-18 hours.
Salt -- If bread is ever lacking flavor, it is because there is not enough salt in the dough.
Warm Water -- I suggest the water be warm at approximately 110 degrees. This helps to activate the yeast. If it is too hot, it will kill the yeast. Use a thermometer to check the temperature of the water.
I suggest using a 5 qt - 6 qt dutch oven. The smaller the dutch oven, the higher the bread will be. If you use a 7 qt dutch oven, your bread will spread more and will be flatter. Recipe adapted from Jim Lahey