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It’s about that time of year when I begin to crave bread baking, and this cheaters no-knead dutch oven sourdough bread is my newest homemade obsession.
Did anyone else’s moms bake bread when they were growing up? As I’ve mentioned…over and over, my mom is not much of a cook, but she has always loved to bake. Most of the time her baking was limited to chocolate chip cookies and pecan pies, but during the fall and winter months my mom would bake up a fresh loaf of bread for Sunday night dinner.
The woman loves bread like no other. Give her fresh, homemade bread and there’s a good chance she’ll end up eating the entire loaf within a day…the warmth, the carbs…the butter!
Anyway, mom baking bread on Sunday night is always such a relaxing and comforting memory for me. The house smelled incredible, the kitchen was warm from the oven, and often times there was also a roaring fire.
So basically the perfect fall night.
Recently, I’ve been seriously craving those comforting smells of homemade bread. A lot of this is due to my anxiety being kicked into high gear lately, but it’s also the extremely chilly nights and much cooler days we’ve been experiencing here that totally have me wanting to bake.
Also, it snowed up in the mountains while I was hiking on Saturday morning, so yeah, there’s that too.
Warm, baked things are clearly what needs to happen over here.
One of my favorite loaves of bread is a really good loaf of crusty sourdough. For years now I have been wanting to develop a sourdough bread recipe for the blog, but the involvement of making homemade sourdough always scared me off. It can take weeks to make a really great loaf of sourdough and let’s just be honest, that’s kind of way too much time for most of us.
I mean, right?
I make my homemade naan with plain greek yogurt, and it’s probably the most popular recipe here on the site…and with good reason. It’s incredible and I’m not sure I can really top that naan, but the use of yogurt in the recipe got me thinking.
Greek yogurt has some of the same cultures as a sourdough starter, so I thought I might try adding some to a no-knead bread recipe and see how it turned out.
The results? Sourdough bread perfection. YES.
Like any other no-knead bread recipe, this cheater’s sourdough is EASY. The dough is made with a total of six ingredients, including the water, and it all goes into one bowl, gets mixed up, and is then left to sit and rise. You can literally be done with the actual mixing of the bread in five to ten minutes. The rest of the time involved is rising and baking time.
Meaning hands-on work is so minimal. Mix. Let Sit. Bake. EAT. Simple as that.
As the title of this recipe states, you need a good dutch oven for baking the bread. It’s a must for getting a bread that’s crusty on the outside, but extra soft on the inside. I love my Staub 5 1/2 Quart Cocotte for this bread, it’s the perfect size. Any heavy cast iron pot that’s 4 quarts or larger will be great though!
Another key to success? A super hot oven and keeping the lid tight on the pot for the first half of baking. This traps the heat inside the pot, which in turn creates the extra hard crust, but extra soft interior.
Again, perfection and so easy!
I’ve made this multiple times now in the last few weeks, most of the time on Sunday, because I just love the smells and memories it brings.
Plus, serving it up with a bowl of chili is pretty much the best Sunday night dinner.
And of course, any leftovers are delicious when toasted the next day for breakfast, or used as a base for your favorite lunchtime sandwich. I’ve been spreading my homemade apple butter over toasted pieces of this bread, and it’s quickly becoming my go-to breakfast and/or afternoon snack…and yes, the apple butter recipe is coming soon. I’ll be sending out the recipe exclusively to all the HBH email subscribers, so if you aren’t signed up yet, I’d do so soon!
Cheaters No Knead Dutch Oven Sourdough Bread
Servings: 12 servings
Calories Per Serving: 241 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 cup plain greek yogurt (any % fat will do, but I use full fat)
Instructions
- 1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, yeast, honey, flour, salt, and yogurt. Using the dough hook, mix until the flour is completely incorporated. Alternately, you can mix the dough with a wooden spoon until it comes together. Cover the bowl with a wet towel or plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature 2 hours or until it doubles in size.2. If time allows, punch the dough down, cover the bowl, and transfer to the fridge to let sit overnight. This will help develop a stronger "sourdough" flavor. 3. Generously dust a work surface with flour. Scrape the dough out of the bowl. It should be loose and sticky. Form the dough into a ball and place in a parchment lined 4 quart or larger dutch oven. Allow to rise 1 hour or until doubled in size. 4. Preheat to 475 degrees F. Bake, covered for 20-25 minutes. Using oven mitts, remove the hot lid and continue baking until the bread is a deep, golden brown, about 20-30 minutes more. Remove from the oven. Carefully lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a rack to cool completely, about 2 hours. Don't slice into the bread right out of the oven, the bread continues to cook as it cools. Enjoy!
Honestly though…it’s doesn’t get better than this bread…with a little salted butter. YUM.
This post was originally published on September 19, 2017
If I don’t have a Dutch oven, what else can I make it in?
HI! Do you have a heavy pot with a lid that can go in the oven? You need something with a lid for this. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Good Morning,
I baked the cheater’s sourdough bread and must say it was delicious! But, I must also add, it is quite heavy (literally), and the crumb is nothing like a real sourdough. I know this is a “cheater’s” loaf, but thought I would mention this. It is quite enjoyable toasted and served with homemade tomato soup!
Thank you so much Elizabeth! I am really glad you enjoyed this! xTieghan
I made this bread today since we are quarantined and baking relaxes me. It was so delicious and easy! It will become a staple in our house moving forward. Thanks so much! Laura in California
Thank you so much Laura! I am so glad you enjoyed this! xTieghan
Thank you for replying, I went ahead that day before looking for your respond and baked my bread. I was so happy, my bread turned delicious and so pretty. Thank you, I ordered a kitchenaid mini mixer and will be making more bread, I also started sewing bread bags and embroidering “Pan” on front of the bags (pan is bread in Spanish) I’m exited, I can bake and make presents for the holiday (bread in cotton bags, just like the old days).
Aw that is so amazing and sounds so cute! I am so glad this turned out so well for you Rosa! Thank you! xTieghan
My husband made this bread last night, we put it in the refrigerator for the night. When we took it out, we ‘floured’ the loaf, and put it into a parchment paper lined Dutch oven. My question is how long should we allow it to rise before we bake it? We did about 3 hours, and the loaf was delicious, but it didn’t rise as much while baking as I expected it to. P.S. do not hesitate to make this bread – it is scrumptious!
HI! 3 hours is plenty of time! I would say 1-3 hours max rise time. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I am so glad you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Hi! Super excited to make this while we’re all stuck indoors during this quarantine. Would I be able to use coconut flour for this?
Hi Kristy! I have not tried coconut flour with this recipe, so I would not feel comfortable recommending it! Please let me know if you try it or have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi!! I recommend a GF flour blend instead for best results as I have not had success using only coconut flour. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
I am a total bread making novice and got a wild hair and decided to try this out. I already have a sourdough starter going, but it won’t be ready for another week and I stumbled upon this recipe. IT. IS. SO. GOOD. Seriously, you can’t even tell that it’s not “real” sourdough; it’s dense, slightly tangy, crusty on the outside, and soft and chewy on the inside. I am fully blown away, and immediately saved the recipe as a keeper. I’ll still try my hand at some sourdough from scratch when my starter is ready, but it’s real nice to have this in my back pocket. For what it’s worth, I did let the dough rest in the fridge overnight, and I think that made a big difference. Cheers!
I am so glad this turned out so well for you Lydia! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
Just made this recipe today and WOW – so so so good. We are bread eaters and have a fairly high opinion of what makes a really good bread good and I was completely shocked at just HOW GOOD this came out!
It was also incredibly easy. First time ever making a yeast-based bread and I had no trouble. I do not have a stand mixer and used my hands and a wooden spoon. Cannot recommend this enough! Bake it and bring it to friends – they won’t believe you made it! It’s THAT good.
I am so glad this turned out so well for you Stephanie!! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
Per usual, your recipe did not disappoint! This bread loaf was super easy to make and very delicious. I really appreciate knowing that any recipe I make from your website will turn out great!
Aw that is amazing! I am so glad this turned out so well for you Lauren! xTieghan
Can I use bread flour
HI! Yes, bread flour will worl well. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Awesome!
Thank you so much Janis! xTieghan
This bread is so simple and DELICIOUS! I made this last night along with one of your pasta recipes and my boyfriend and I couldn’t stop eating! My favorite part was the crunch to the crust. He said no more store bought bread- requesting homemade here on out lol. Yum yum yum. Thank you!
Wow that is so amazing to hear! Thank you so much for trying this Madi! xTieghan
Amazing recipe! Thanks so much! From a doctor self isolating at home in Sydney Australia! X
Amazing! Thank you for trying this Deirdre! xTieghan
Hi there. My oven is old and I’m thinking I shouldn’t have it at 475. If i have it at 400 will it ruin the baking? Shall I bake it longer?
Thanks.
Hi Julia! Bake at 400 and add 15-20 minutes to the cooking time. I think that will work well. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Very good bread! Nice texture and flavor, just not sour. Left dough sit overnight in the fridge just like the recipe called for to develop more sour flavor. Maybe i need to let it sit longer?
Hi there! You can try leaving the dough for 2-3 minutes in the fridge. This will help it to develop more flavor. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan