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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
Awesome and easy recipe! I am adoring the looks of my first baked sourdough waiting for the resting time to pass! I have always been reluctant to bake bread, but since your recipes are always trustworthy to follow, I felt inspired and went for it! I went for the overnight in the fridge suggestion and used organic flour! Thank you Thiegan for making it so simple! You are an awesome cook and very talented recipe maker!
You are too kind! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! Thank you for giving it a try! xTieghan
Well, I decided to try this for a little something extra on Thanksgiving. It did not work. I followed the recipe to the letter and bought all fresh ingredients. It didn’t rise at all. I have baked a lot of bread, but don’t as much as I used to.
Hi Bethany! I am really sorry to hear that! Are there any questions I could help you with? xTieghan
Hi! Lovely bread! I am planning to give it a try but I am finding difficult to find What is the equivalent size of the pot in cm. The link for the pot you used is not available for Europe, so I cannot see the dimensions. Could you please help me? Thanks!
Hey Martha! You’ll need an 8 quart pot for this bread. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
Great recipe. I’ve made no knead bread in a cast iron pot in the past, but the addition of yogurt is brilliant. Will be making it with whole wheat flour ad maple syrup instead of honey the next time! Thanks Tiegan
I hope this turns out amazing for you Sandie! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Can you use Active yeast instead of instant yeast?
I love all you postings and both of your cookbooks!
Hey Jess! You can use active yeast, just mix the yeast with the warm water and honey. Let sit 10 minutes, then continue on with the recipe as directed. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
Your recipes all look so delicious! How are you not 300 lbs??? Winter and fresh baked bread….oh, my! I’m in trouble! Can’t wait to try! Homemade is always best!
Homemade is always best!! I am so glad you are loving my recipes, Dina! Thank you so much! And as I always say, everything in moderation!! xTieghan
May I use bread flour in place of the AP flour?
Hi Jill! Bread flour will be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
Couldn’t wait, so I made it without the refrigerated time. Just pulled it out of the oven and it smells great! Not sure I can wait the full 2 hours to cool.
How would you suggest storing the leftover bread (yes, serving with Chili tonight). Not Sunday but who cares.
Hi Kathleen! Just storing in something air tight should be great! I usually refrigerate, or slice and freeze my bread! xTieghan
When you let the dough rise for 1 hr in the dutch oven (step 3), is that covered or uncovered? Thank you!
Hi Christina! You should cover the dutch oven while rising. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
My Dutch oven is oval – will that work?
Hi Laura! Yes, that will work great! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
CULINARY GENIUS!!!!
I can’t wait to try this!
I hope you love this! Thank you!! xTieghan
Hello, this looks amazing. What if you do not have a stand mixer?
Hi Renee, step 1 tells you how to mix without a mixer, but I have copy pasted for you below. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
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 size.
This is great, I’ve made and like this recipe. Question: have you used/experimented with the new sourdough yeast? Wonder, how it would work in this recipe. Leaving town for a bit, but hopefully I’ll remember to try it out when I get back.
HI Joyce! I have not used that yeast before, but it sounds interesting!! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
What changes do I have to make to use all whole wheat flour?
Hi Jo! You can simply just replace the flour with an equal amount of whole wheat flour. That will work well. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! xTieghan
Any suggestions for those of us who are gluten free?
Hi Mary, I have never made this with GF flour so I can’t really say how it will turn out. If you do try it, I recommend Cup4Cup flour. Please let me know if you have any other questions and how it turns out. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan