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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
This has been my go to bread for quite some time now, and it’s beyond delicious! However, I do have one question. We have just moved up to an elevation of around 6800 ft!! All my neighbors have woes about baking up here. Do you have any recommendations for high altitude baking by chance? Especially, for this bread? Baking at high altitudes is a whole new beast for me, and I’m scared. Haha.
Hi Cede! I am so glad you have been loving this recipe! You should be fine to make this normally, as I am at around 9000 ft. Please let me know how it goes and if you have any other questions on other recipes too! You got this!! xTieghan
Hi…I made this last week. My kids weren’t a fan of the “sour” taste. Probably didn’t help that it wasn’t completely cooked in the middle…my bad. Any way I could make it with plain whole yogurt instead of greek?? I want to try it again!
Hi Susie,
Yes that would work! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Any thoughts on why the dough did not rise? My daughter made it according to your directions. The bread looks delicious. My daughter lives in CO- elevation a possibility? Thank you. Susan
Hi Susan,
Elevation shouldn’t be an issue. I am wondering what kind of yeast she used? Please let me know how I can help! xTieghan
This bread is in process to pair with the Chicken Pizza for tonight to soak up the yummy sauce. Second rise out of the fridge is amazing…smells sour-doughy and bready and delish. I have both a 4 quart and 6 quart dutch oven. It proofed well and excieted for the last proofing in the dutch oven. Wondering if the 6 quart is better and/or work just as well? Thanks!
Hi Teresa,
I would use the 6 quart dutch oven. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
In the midst of making this right now (my dough is rising BEAUTIFULLY in my fridge as I wait anxiously for morning), and I just had a question about pre-heating. Many no-knead/dutch oven bread recipes call for placing your dutch oven in the oven as it gets up to 475 to make sure the pot is piping hot for your bread. Have you tried this with pre-heating the dutch oven? Does it make any difference? Thanks so much!
Hi Emily,
You can absolutely do this! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This is amazing. I have run out of dry yeast in my area and can only find fresh yeast. Do you know how much yeast I should use??? Thank you!
Hi Samantha,
So sorry I have not tested this recipe with fresh yeast. According to google: 1 teaspoon instant yeast (3 grams) = 1/2 block (0.6 ounce size) fresh yeast. I hope this helps! xTieghan
It didn’t cook the outside was brown but the inside was rubbery. What went wrong?
Hi Mayra,
So sorry you had issues with this recipe. It would help me to know if you adjusted the recipe at all, what kind of yeast you used, and did you bake this in a dutch oven. Please let me know how I can help! xTieghan
Can’t wait to try this !
Did you pre-heat your Dutch oven first ? Or was it okay without pre-heating?
Hi Becca,
I did not, but you totally good! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Would be really helpful if you could write down this recipe in grams instead of cups!
Thank you Blanca! In the US we use cups and that is how I make my recipes.. Sorry about that! xTieghan
This bread is amazing. I look at it and can’t believe I made it. Thank you for this simple and delicious recipe.
Thank you so much Melissa! I am really glad this bread turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Will be trying this recipe tomorrow, after punching down and placing in the fridge overnight. The next day, should it be brought to room temperature before step 3?
Hi April,
Yes that is a good idea. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Would it be possible to substitute the instant yeast for activated yeast? If so how much should I use?
Hi Joann! Just allow the dry yeast to sit in the warm water with the honey for 10 minutes until it gets foamy and proofs. That will work great! Let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love the recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Just made this bread! Could not have been easier! Didn’t do the overnight. No patience! But will try it next time to compare the taste! Thank you for another delicious recipe! Will definitely make this again! Next up to try, chai frosted cinnamon bun bread!
YES!! So glad this one turned out so well for you, Susan! Oh and I hope you love the cinnamon bun bread! xTieghan
hi there! is it possible to use buttermilk instead of the Greek yogurt? thank you!
Hi Stephanie,
I would use sour cream in place of the greek yogurt. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Absolutely fabulous recipe! Thank you. My family said it was the best bread they’ve ever had. 😉
I strained 6% plain yogurt In a coffee filter for 15 minutes and it worked beautifully.
If I want to make it to freeze is it better to freeze the dough, or the baked bread? If the dough, should I freeze it before or after the 2 hours rising on the counter? Thanks!
Hi Elaine,
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! For freezing I would recommend slicing the bread and freezing in an air tight container. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan