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The Best (easiest) No Knead Bread. Crusty on the outside, light and airy inside, with just a little rosemary swirled throughout. It’s the easiest bread recipe, yet still impressive. It’s best served warm right out of the oven with softened butter and a sprinkling of sea salt. Serve alongside your favorite soups, chili, pasta dishes, with roasted chicken, or even on its own. This is certainly sure to become a weekly staple!
Every time I make a pot of soup or chili or even a creamy curry, I also make a homemade bread recipe. Many times I’ll go for everyone’s favorite, honey butter beer bread. And if I’m making Indian, I always, always make naan.
But on snowy Sundays in January, I make my no-knead bread. I’ve been making this for years, sometimes with rosemary, it’s delish with or without.
We LOVE it. But my no-knead bread isn’t like others. I have a little secret.
Instead of water, I use beer, which I think enhances the flavor of the bread. You don’t know it’s there, but it gives the bread more of a sourdough flavor, just without all the work.
Kind of like a “cheaters” sourdough bread in a way.
If you have my Super Simple cookbook, I use this recipe for my pizza dough too. Either way, it’s baked up, it’s delicious. But We really LOVE it as bread (plus I have a new and improved pizza dough that I’ve been making all the time now).
Here are details
Step 1: mix the dough
Using a large bowl and dough hook or just a wooden spoon, mix flour with instant yeast, you could also use active dry yeast, fresh rosemary (if you like), and salt. Now, pour over a room-temperature can/bottle of beer. If you don’t drink, use 1 1/2 cups warm water.
Mix just until the dough comes together. Do not do any kneading!
Step 2: let that dough hang out
Now, cover the dough with a towel and let it hang out on the counter in a nice warm spot for at least 12 hours. I usually let the dough sit overnight or even over two nights for more flavor.
Step 3: bake
Preheat the oven to 450°. Place a cast iron Dutch oven into the oven to preheat. Get it nice and HOT.
Shape the dough into a ball or an oval. Let it rise on a piece of parchment paper while the oven is heating. When ready, you can lift the parchment and the dough up and into the hot Dutch oven.
And then you bake it. Nothing fancy at all. Not even a stand mixer. We love this bread. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.
Step 4: enjoy it
Slice with a sharp knife. Of course, we love this bread most when it’s fresh from the oven. Topped with really good butter and a small amount of sea salt – so yum!
Or serve it up with dinner. Soups, chilis, and slow-roasted meats are our favorites. Or use it for avocado toast. For sandwiches, the options certainly are endless.
Looking for other breads to make? Here are a few to try:
Salted Honey Butter Jalapeño Cheddar Rolls
Jalapeño Cheddar Popovers with Honey Butter
Soft Garlic Herb Cheddar Cheese Bread
Easy Pull Apart Garlic Parmesan Bread
Spinach and Artichoke Stuffed Soft Pretzels
Lastly, if you make this The Best (easiest) No Knead Bread, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
The Best (easiest) No Knead Bread
Servings: 1 loaf
Calories Per Serving: 1450 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast (rapid rise)
- 1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary (optional)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 (12 ounce) can or bottle room temperature beer (or 1 1/2 cups warm water)
Instructions
- 1. In a bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, rosemary (if using), and salt. Add the beer and mix with a spatula until combined. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature for at least 12 hours, but ideally overnight. 2. Preheat oven to 450° F. Place a large Dutch oven in the oven to preheat for 30 minutes. 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 on a piece of parchment. Cover and allow to rise for 1 hour, until doubled in size. 3. When ready, carefully lift the dough and the parchment and place in the Dutch oven. Bake, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking until the bread is a deep, golden brown, about 15-20 minutes more. Remove from the oven. Enjoy with softened butter and sea salt. YUM!
This post was originally published on January 16, 2024
Hi….first I want to say how much I love your recipes. I have two of your books, Super Simple and your original HBH cookbook. I’ve never made bread before but the no knead bread directions in the book seem to differ from the directions online even though the ingredients are the same. The rise time says 1-2 hours in the book but online it’s much longer. Can you clarify which is correct. Thanks so much!
I asked the same thing but haven’t gotten a response back
Hey Dani!! Both recipes are correct and both will work just fine! Allow the dough to at least an hour or up to 2 hours! It shouldn’t matter too much!!let me know if you have other questions! Hope you love the bread! Xx
Question! What are some of your favorite beers to use for this? Would like to try the same ones!
What more can I say? Love love love and sooooo easy!
Tried using gluten free flour and the bread did not rise. Any suggestions?
Thank you sooo much Angie! xT
I accidentally used cold beer and it isn’t really rising! Did I ruin it?
Hi Breanne! I would try to put it in a warm place to get it to rise! xT
Hi there! I’d love to try this but I don’t have a dutch oven. Any alternatives? Thanks 🙂
Hi! Want to say I absolutely love every single recipe I’ve ever made of yours and there have been a lot of them. Thank you for all your hard work and for sharing with us!
I have your cookbook Super Simple and the bread recipe on page 20 has totally different directions than what you have posted here. The ingredients are exact but nothing else. Which is the correct recipe?
I left my dough rise for 2 days for most flavor. When I went to go get it started this morning to put in the oven there was a thin crispy layer on the top of the dough. In that normal ?
Hi Jennifer! Yes, if it was rising for two days I would say that’s normal! xT
My first time making bread solo and it is a winner!! I forgot to let my beer (good ol’ Shiner) warm to room temperature, but it still turned out absolutely fantastic! Devoured half in mere minutes and my husband asked if we could make 2 more loaves. Haha Not sure what I got myself into but it looks like I’m entering into my “bread era!”
Thank you Ally! Loveee to hear this! xT
This turned out beautiful. Let it sit almost 24 hours . Very good bread
Thank you so much Doug! I’m so glad you enjoyed this bread! xT
Hi Tieghan…
Wondering if the bread can be baked in a ceramic coated Dutch oven? Or, should I use a 10″ cast iron skillet?
Thank you for your help, recipe!
Hi there! Yes, you can use a ceramic coated dutch oven for this bread! xT
Well this one didn’t work out for me. It never really formed into a ball after sitting overnight and when I baked it, just was a flat hard disc. What would you suggest I do differently? Want to try again!
Oh no!! I’m so sorry this bread didn’t turn out for you! So did it not really rise at all? Maybe the yeast just didn’t activate? xT
Thank you for sharing this lovely no knead bread recipe! I tried using beer. What a yummy flavor!
I have 2 questions. How large a Dutch oven? And, for the second rise what is used to cover the dough? A towel or an inverted bowl?
I can’t wait to try this! How would this do using whole wheat flour? Thanks!
Hi Sarah! That should work just fine! xT
Still trying with this recipe, but the first time I cooked it the bread got so hard on the outside but tasted so good on the inside as well as not rising much after ball formation. So I reduced the temp of my oven and tried again (Michelob ultra beer both times) with everything else the same and the rise was still not as pictured but taste and hardness was perfect. How can I get the rise correct? I am using white Lily all purpose flour, and brand new rapid rise. The dough is almost tripling over night but then doesn’t shape up well day of cooking even when proofing near the warm oven. Also this is my first time baking bread so this is totally probably user error! SOS
I think you probably need a “full” beer for this one…not a “light” beer. My mom tried it yesterday with coors light and had similar issues. I’m making it today with a full dark beer and hoping for good results. Try it with a guiness or like a Negro Modelo.
Decent overnight recipe with minimal effort. I used water in place of beer, as I didn’t have any on hand, and it still turned out fine- just lacking in flavor, so I would say that if you’re skipping the beer to add more salt. Aside from being slightly bland, the bread was fine, and it had a gorgeous crumb as well. It did not have much oven spring, and I would add some folds to the bread in the future to develop a bit more gluten. Overall, not the best bread recipe I’ve ever had, but still quite delicious and easy to make!
Hi there! Thank you for the feedback Adelaide! I really appreciate it! xT
Would you recommend light beer or a pale ale?
Hi there! I would recommend a pale ale! xT
Love this bread! Made it on a whim last night, and added some homemade butter and blackberry jam!!😋 thank you for giving a sourdough knock-off without all the time commitment!
Yummm, sounds delish with the blackberry jam! 🙂 xT