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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
Greetings fro New Zealand. Just made this today. Really tasty. I think I could have cooked it a bit longer. Thank you for sharing the recipe. I will certainly make it again.
Thank you Anna! I am so glad you liked this!
Way do you have to refrigerate the dough? All of the no knead breads that I have made just sit covered for 12 to 18 hours on the counter. I let mine rise sitting in the oven. It has a constant even temperature. In the process of making your bread now.
Refrigerating the dough helps develop a sour flavor. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
This is a great recipe! The flavor was delicious, but very mild. I even left the dough to rise overnight. Any suggestions on how to increase the “sourdough” flavor? Thanks!
HI! To increase the sour flavor, let the dough sit for up to 4 nights in the fridge. This should deepen the flavors. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
I knew it was going to be a large loaf with the amount of flour. Followed recipe to a “T”. What a beautiful loaf – it browns so nice. Wonderful crust and crumb. Spectacular taste. Thanks for the recipe, it will be ” a go to” for success and a crowd pleaser.
Thank you! I am so glad this turned out amazing for you!
I made this loaf of bread this weekend, and it LOOKED amazing (as beautiful as the ones in the picture), however it tasted nothing like sour dough. It tasted like white bread with yogurt. It has inspired me to create a proper sour dough starter though, so thank you!
Also, this recipe needed more salt.
Hi Dave! I am so sorry this did not turn out as you expected. I hope you enjoy some other recipes on my blog and the sourdough starter. Thanks!
I want to make this today, will it still be yummy even if I skip the overnight portion?
And my Dutch oven is enameled cast iron. I am guessing this won’t make a difference in the cooking, just checking.
Thanks!
Yes, it should be fine. Not as much flavor but still delicious. Your Dutch oven will be great! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
If interested in gifting this, how long could it keep? Would it last in the freeze if properly wrapped?
It freezes great and the bread is best up to 2 days after baking. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
YOu can make the broth in the crockpot and then pour it over the raw beef as directed. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
I bake many kinds of bread and while they’re all tasty, its not often that my loaf turns out exactly as pictured in a recipe. The texture and moisture levels were lovely. The flavor was very pleasant although it is a very mild sour tang, not too extreme. What I really like about this loaf is that it works well fresh and simply dipped in olive oil, but also saves well to make tender sandwiches.
I am really glad you enjoyed this! Thank you Brigette!
This is delicious. I was in a hurry to try this that I didn’t wait overnight. I will next time.
Great! I am so glad you enjoyed this!
I just made homemade Greek yogurt… totally making this with it, yum!
I followed a recipe similar to this (minus yogurt) but this sounds so much better!
Thank you Betty! I hope you love this!
This is an excellent recipe! I’ve made it several times with 3 cups of AP flour and 3 cups of whole wheat flour and it’s awesome! Thanks!!
I am really glad this turned out amazing for you Erin! Thank you!
I have my own sourdough starter and make bread routinely but this recipe looks amazing. . . can it be adapted to use actual starter?
I just made this as the first recipe in my new Dutch oven and WOW it is amazing. I never have to buy a loaf of expensive organic sourdough again!!! Thank you !!!!!
Haha that is so great!! Thank you Cass!
This recipe is just plain incredible, thank you so much for sharing! I have made this bread already at least 5 times. One thing I’d like to ask you about is the crust: my crust is not as ‘crusty’ as the one you have on the photo. I follow the recipe as is, except I use bread flour, would that make a difference in the crust? Having said all that, I don’t really care about the crust not being ‘crusty’ as the bread tastes absolutely divine. Thanks again!
HI! So I dont think the bread flour would make a difference. It’s hard to say why it’s not as crusty without being in your kitchen with you. Maybe try leaving the lid of the bread a little longer? Please let me know if you have other questions. Thanks! ?
Amazingly delicious and easy! This is our new go to for fresh bread. Thanks for the great recipe!
I am really happy you like this Cherie!