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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
I made it!! I have not tasted it yet but cant wait. I also add a bit of fresh rosemary to the dough.
Hey Kimberly,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad you enjoyed! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Do I cover the dough in the dutch oven for the hour before it is baked or leave uncovered. It’s not mentioned.
Hey Bonni,
You can cover the dough. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Loaf just came out of the oven, can’t wait to try it! Question though, mine doesn’t have the crack on top, it’s smooth. How did you get the cracked look on yours?
Hey Michelle,
Thanks for trying the recipe! Was there anything you adjusted? Let me know how it tastes! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Love this recipe! I have made it several times and my family loves it. I would like to make two smaller loaves out of this recipe. Would I need to adjust the baking times?
Hey Liz,
I am so glad you have enjoyed the recipe! I have never made two smaller loaves, I would just keep an eye on them. Please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Can anyone please tell me why my do for this recipe doesn’t look like the ball in the picture to put it inside the Dutch oven? Mine is runny and jiggly even though I put the exact ingredients that it calls for. Maybe I just didn’t get enough flour in it. Thank you
Hey Becky,
So sorry you are having issues with this recipe. Is there anything you are adjusting? Please let me know how I can help! xTieghan
Just made this for the first time – came across the recipe on Facebook and thought it would be good some slow cooker soup I have on….can’t wait to cut it and taste it – it looks awesome – just like the pics…
Thank you Kat! I hope you love this one! xTieghan
All purpose flour is listed for this Cheaters No Knead Dutch Oven Sourdough Bread but is it better or not as good if using bread flour?
Hey Dana,
Bread flour would work here too. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
This has quickly become my favorite homemade bread recipe. I make it to accompany dishes as well as throw it together “just because”. Can’t go wrong with this one!
Thank you so much Carly! xTieghan
This bread is SOOOO good. Our new favorite bread recipe. I am making my second loaf for this week. Everyone in my house eats it up. Thanks for another winner! AMAZING with butter and truffle salt.
Thank you so much Lindsey! xTieghan
We have a 3.5 qt. Dutch Oven. Will that be big enough, or should I scale back the recipe proportionately?
Hey David,
That should work okay, instead of using the lid I would cover with foil. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Ok so super stupid questions. I just got a le creuset 5.25 qt but they say it is taller to take less room on the stove- is this ok or is the depth an issue? Also- super embarrassed but do I bake it with the parchment or take it off first? Thanks!
Hey Brian,
This will be fine to use! I leave the parchment while baking. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I am doing this bread second time and it is great.
Hi! I am so glad you have been enjoying this recipe! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Hello! I’m so excited to make this bread today! One question – I do not have the time to let it sit overnight to develop more flavor, but I do have time to let it sit a few hours longer during the day if you think that would help? If so, should I let it sit longer in the mixer or in the dutch oven before cooking? Thanks so much! 🙂
Hey Andrea,
I would just let it sit in the mixer. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
So easy and soooo good!
Thank you so much Tiffany! xTieghan
I tried this recipe, but have a question about the parchment paper. Mine says max temp to use is 420. I tried it at 475 covered but once the cover came off the paper got too toasty :). Any advice? I had to turn the temp down and extend the time in oven but it was still under done.
Hey Liz,
So sorry about that, I would just skip the parchment paper next time:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan