No-Knead Everyday Bread

4.43 from 21 votes

No-Knead Everyday Bread is a simple homemade bread that needs just 90 minutes to rise and doesn’t require special methods or equipment. (No Dutch oven. No bread flour.) It’s so simple that it feels like a bit of magic every time it comes out of the oven.

For best results, get out that kitchen scale and measure your flour by weight right into the mixing bowl.

Prep Time1 30

Cook Time40

Total Time2 10

Course: Bread

Keyword: Homemade bread

Servings:

Author: Jess Smith via Inquiring Chef

Cost: $5.00

Equipment

Large Mixing Bowl
2.5-quart Oven-Safe Bowl

Ingredients

4 cups/500g All-Purpose Flour
2 tsp Kosher Salt (I use Morton’s or Diamond Brand)
1 Tbsp Sugar
2 1/4 tsp Fast Acting or “Instant” Yeast (see note)
2 cups/473ml Warm Water (see note)
2 Tbsp/30g Unsalted Butter, softened

Instructions

Make Dough: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. Pour water over dry ingredients and stir until no dry spots remain. The dough will be very sticky, but just scrape down the sides as you stir.
First Rise (60 minutes): Cover the dough with a clean dish towel and leave it on the kitchen counter to rise until doubled in size, 60 minutes. (If your kitchen is on the colder side, let the dough rise for 75 minutes.)
Heat Oven: Once dough has finished the first rise, preheat oven to 425°F / 218°C.
Rub softened butter over the inside of a 2.5-quart oven-safe bowl (or a 2.5-quart round / oval casserole dish).
Use a spatula to ease the dough into the buttered bowl.
Second Rise (20 minutes): Place dough near the oven and let it continue to rise, uncovered, for 20 minutes more.
Bake bread (40 minutes): Bake bread until the top is golden brown and very crisp, 40 to 45 minutes. (Use an instant read thermometer if you have one. The bread is done when it reaches 190°F / 88°C in the center.)
Remove the bread from the oven and flip it out onto a cooling rack so that it is upside down.
Allow bread to cool completely before cutting into slices or wedges. (Slicing the bread while still warm will cause it to compress and can give it a gummy texture in the center. Resist the urge to slice into the bread until it is completely cool.)

Notes

Yeast - 2 1/4 tsp of Fast Acting or “Instant Yeast is one 1/4 oz packet of yeast (often sold in 3-packet sets). Be sure to get yeast labeled as Fast Acting, Instant, Quick-Rise, Bread Machine, or RapidRise - any of these will work. Do NOT use “Active Dry Yeast” for this recipe; it needs to be dissolved in water before using.

Water - Check the label on the brand of yeast you have purchased for the recommended water temperature. Water that is too hot will kill the yeast, water that is too cool will not “activate” it. Use a thermometer to check the temperature or just make sure it feels warm (but not hot) to the touch.

Storing bread - Sliced bread can be stored at room temperature for 2 days (it’s best warmed in the toaster after the first day) or can be frozen for up to 6 months.

This recipe is adapted from what is, as far as I’ve been able to figure out, the original source - Mrs. Howard G. Shutte, Jr. as published in the Three Rivers Cookbook III of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (1990). Tips, tricks, and the discovery of this recipe come from my grandma - Jeanne Gregg.

Nutrition