Description
This World’s Easiest Yeast Bread is an artisan-style no-knead bread that delivers an incredible crispy, chewy crust with big holes like sourdough. Perfect for beginners and busy bakers, this recipe requires minimal effort, just mixing and resting, yielding a bakery-quality homemade loaf with a tender crumb and complex flavor.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 3 cups (450g) flour (bread or plain/all purpose)
- 2 tsp instant or rapid rise yeast
- 2 tsp cooking/kosher salt (NOT table salt)
- 1 1/2 tbsp flour (for dusting)
Wet Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) very warm tap water (up to 55°C/130°F, not boiling)
Instructions
- Mix Dough: In a large bowl, combine the flour, instant yeast, and kosher salt. Add the warm water and use the handle of a wooden spoon to mix until all the flour is incorporated. The dough will be wet and sloppy, not kneadable but not runny either. Adjust consistency with more water or flour if necessary.
- Rise: Cover the bowl with cling wrap or a plate and leave it on the counter for 2 to 3 hours until doubled in volume. The dough will look wobbly and jelly-like with bubbles on top. If it has not risen after 1 hour, move it to a warmer spot.
- Optional Refrigeration: For enhanced flavor, you can refrigerate the dough for up to 3 days at this stage. When ready to bake, bring the cold dough to room temperature by leaving it on the counter for 45 to 60 minutes.
- Preheat Oven and Dutch Oven: Place a Dutch oven with lid (26cm/10″ or larger) inside your oven and preheat to 230°C/450°F (220° fan) for 30 minutes.
- Shape Dough: Sprinkle 1 tbsp flour on a work surface. Scrape dough onto it and sprinkle the top with 1/2 tbsp flour. Using a dough scraper or similar tool, fold the sides inward about 6 times to form a rough round shape, deflating bubbles gently.
- Transfer Dough to Parchment Paper: Slide a large piece of parchment paper next to the dough. Flip the dough upside down onto the parchment (seam side down, smooth side up). Push it towards the middle and reshape roughly. Imperfections are good for crust texture.
- Bake: Remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven. Using the parchment paper, lift and place the dough into the pot. Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes. Then remove the lid and bake an additional 12 minutes uncovered until the crust is deep golden and crispy.
- Cool: Remove the bread from the pot and cool on a rack for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Use instant or rapid rise yeast for best results; active dry yeast can be substituted but will require longer rising times.
- Do not use table salt; kosher or cooking salt is recommended for flavor and texture.
- Water should be very warm but not hot enough to kill the yeast, ideally around 55°C/130°F.
- If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can bake on a preheated baking stone or sheet; place a metal pan with water in the oven to create steam and mimic the crust effect.
- This dough can be refrigerated for up to 3 days to develop complex flavors and accommodate your schedule.
- The dough is forgiving; slight variations in hydration or rising times can be adjusted with small flour or water additions.
- For a cheese bread version, add your favorite grated cheese before the final bake.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (approximate)
- Calories: 155 kcal
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 469 mg
- Fat: 1 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.1 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 32 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 5 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
