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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
My parchment paper is only supposed to be used in oven temperatures up to 425 degrees. What can I use as a substitute?
Hey Shari,
I would use olive oil and skip the parchment paper. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I made it yesterday and WOW. It was absolutely delicious!!! Not an intimidating bread recipe at all especially for new beginners. Question: how long will it stay fresh?
Hey Caroline,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try! I would say up to 1 week in an air tight container. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Tips or changes for active yeast instead of instant? Thanks!
Hey Emily,
You will need to activate the active yeast in warm water and honey. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I’ve made this a lot. I love it. I have a 2 quart Dutch oven so I split the dough and make 2 loaves. One for us and one for a friend or (daughter most time, who loves sourdough). I grew up eating San Francisco sourdough and I think is just about as good.
I was wondering if it’s ok to leave the dough in the fridge longer than one night? Maybe 2 nights. Will it make it even more sour? I love it really sour
Hey Dolly,
I am so glad you have been enjoying this recipe! Sure you could leave in the fridge for two nights. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
So far so good! Tucked away in the fridge for the night waiting to be baked up in the morning! I have a Dutch oven but was wondering if I split it in half and put the dough in loaf pans covered in foil? No foil? What do you think about temperate adjustment and cooking times?
I love all of your recipes! I have been cooking my way thru your extensive and inspiring recipe collection! I even told my mom about the Creamy vegetable tortellini soup and she made it tonight! It was soooooo good! Love your rich flavors!
Hey Kelly! I think use the foil and try baking as directed, but for a little time at the end. The foil should prevent the bread from burning. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you for all the kind words! So glad you loved the soup too!! xTieghan
Omg!!! Everyone needs to makes this. I’ve made it before and just keep making it! Thank you for this recipe.
Thank you Kathi! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I worried about 475 degrees – typically bake at 400/425- everything was perfect – until i took the lid off on that last 20-25 min. At 19 min it was way way too dark. I am not detoured ! i will try again soon!
Hi Michelle! I am sorry about that! Is there anything I can help with? Please let me know! xTieghan
LOVE this recipe and have shared it with a number of friends. It is fool proof! I have added sunflower seeds occasionally, which was really good. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Yum! Thank you so much for trying this recipe, Steph!! xTieghan
I could swear I made the spread two weeks ago with sour cream but now I’m reading that requires Greek yogurt. I told my sister all about this recipe that you use sour cream for, but now I’m rereading it. Could you use sour cream instead of the Greek yogurt?
Resending this with the correct email address.
I could swear I made the spread two weeks ago with sour cream but now I’m reading that requires Greek yogurt. I told my sister all about this recipe that you use sour cream for, but now I’m rereading it. Could you use sour cream instead of the Greek yogurt?
Hey Michelle,
You could use either one for this bread. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
HI..
just read your response & absolutely i left it probably 18-24 hrs. upon cutting it open
there were a few streaks of yogurt, but i don’t think that was the reason.. it just does not
taste at all like sourdough, but it is still good!eE
Thank you so much Elaine! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
hey there… as per your reply on 8/20, i made the bread & the loaf looked great! just like yours.
however, not even a hint of sourdough taste. can i make this again without the yogurt? because
i like the size, do i have to delete or adjust any of the ingredients? i have made several of your
recipes for baking & i love them….thank you
Hey Elaine,
So sorry you did not get the sourdough flavor. Did you leave it to rise overnight? This really helps create the sourdough flavor. Sorry I haven’t tested this without the yogurt so I am unsure what the results would be. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
thank you for this recipe. the first loaf looked beautiful, however, the crust was soft & did not taste at all like
sourdough. upon cutting the bread, i saw that the yogurt was not mixed in well, the bread still tasted good.
i made it again last night & made sure the yogurt was well mixed. & 2 hours after i put it in the fridge i realized
i forgot to ‘punch ‘ the dough down. i didn’t know what to to..so i took it out, punched it down & folded sides in
towards center & returned to fridge.i just looked at it & it did rise, but you can till see the folds…do you think
it will be okay? i planned on making it Tuesday…
thank you so much, it’s great to be able to communicate w/you with our questions.
Hey Elaine,
Yes it should be totally fine! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Made this today but the bottom burned 🙁 anything I can do to avoid that? A heavier pot?
Hey Meg,
So sorry about that! What kind of pot did you use? A dutch oven is really key here, I would try using a higher rack in your oven if you don’t have one for next time. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
hi again,
my dough is in a large bowl…it has risen so much in a short period of time, i wonder,
did i do something wrong or is this okay? i hope so ’cause i luv sourdough & i am so
looking forward to it. the dough is touching the plastic. i hope that’s okay!