A no-knead bread recipe is the best entry point for home baking in the UK — mix it before bed, leave it overnight, and wake up to a dough that’s ready to bake.
Quick answer: Yes, if you want a good loaf without kneading. Mix 400g strong white bread flour, ½ tsp instant dried yeast, 10g fine salt and 300ml cool water in about five minutes the night before, leave it 12–18 hours, then shape it and bake in a preheated lidded casserole at 240°C (fan 220°C) — 30 minutes covered, 15–20 uncovered. Time replaces kneading: a wet dough left long enough develops its gluten on its own. About 80p a loaf.
This is the bread recipe for people who want a good loaf without the kneading. Mix it in five minutes, leave it overnight, bake it the next morning. The result is an open-crumbed, crackly-crusted loaf that’s better than most things you’ll buy.
The Easy No-Knead Loaf
Mix it in five minutes the night before, shape and bake in the morning. An open-crumbed, crackly-crusted loaf that does the work while you sleep.
Ingredients
- Strong white bread flour400 g
- Instant dried yeast½ tsp
- Fine salt10 g
- Cool water300 ml
Method
- Evening — mix (5 min): combine flour, yeast and salt. Add cool water; mix until no dry flour remains. The dough will be shaggy and wet. Cover tightly and leave at room temperature for 12–18 hours.
- Morning — shape (10 min + 1 hr rest): tip onto a well-floured surface. Fold edges into the centre a few times to form a rough round. Place seam-side down on baking parchment. Cover loosely and rest 1 hour.
- Preheat: 30 min into the rest, put your Dutch oven (with lid) in the oven and heat to 240°C / fan 220°C.
- Bake — covered (30 min): using the parchment as a sling, lower the dough into the hot pot. Score the top with a sharp knife. Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
- Bake — uncovered (15–20 min): remove the lid and bake until the crust is deep brown. Cool on a wire rack for at least 45 minutes before cutting.
The no-knead method was codified by American baker Jim Lahey but the principle is older: if you give a wet dough enough time, the gluten develops on its own without any mechanical help. What would take ten minutes of kneading takes twelve to eighteen hours of sitting in a bowl. The trade-off is entirely in your favour — a few minutes of mixing the night before, and you wake up to dough that’s ready to shape and bake.
The result is a different kind of loaf from the standard sandwich bread in the beginner’s bread guide. The no-knead loaf has a more open crumb — irregular holes, chewy texture — and a crust that crackles when you press it. It’s the kind of bread that’s best eaten in thick slices with good butter, or alongside soup, rather than used for sandwiches.
What you need
A large mixing bowl with a lid or cover, a Dutch oven or heavy lidded casserole dish (a Le Creuset or similar — this is what creates the steam that makes the crust), and an oven. The Dutch oven is the one piece of equipment this method genuinely requires. A 26cm or 28cm round casserole dish works well. If you don’t have one, a deep roasting tin covered tightly with foil is an acceptable substitute, though the crust will be slightly less dramatic.
Ingredients (makes one round loaf)
- 400g strong white bread flour
- ½ tsp (2g) instant dried yeast — notably less than a standard loaf
- 10g fine salt
- 300ml cool water — not warm; the long prove means you don’t need to activate the yeast with heat
Optional additions: 50g mixed seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame) mixed into the dough before the prove, or a tablespoon of olive oil for a slightly softer crumb.
Method
Evening: the mix (5 minutes)
Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add the water and mix with your hand or a wooden spoon until no dry flour remains. The dough will be rough, shaggy and quite wet — this is correct. No kneading, no smoothing, no tidying. Cover the bowl tightly with a lid or cling film and leave at room temperature for 12–18 hours. Overnight is ideal.
Morning: the shape (10 minutes + 1 hour rest)
After 12–18 hours the dough should be roughly doubled, bubbly on the surface, and smell faintly yeasty and slightly acidic — good signs. Tip it onto a well-floured surface. The dough will be sticky; flour your hands generously. Fold it a few times (fold the edges into the centre, turn it over) until you have a rough round shape, then place it seam-side down on a sheet of baking parchment. Cover loosely and leave for one hour.
Thirty minutes into this rest, put your Dutch oven (with the lid) into the oven and heat to 240°C (fan 220°C). You want it very hot.
Baking
Carefully take the hot Dutch oven out of the oven. Using the baking parchment as a sling, lower the dough into the pot. Score the top with two or three cuts from a sharp knife. Put the lid on and return to the oven.
Bake covered for 30 minutes. Then remove the lid and bake for a further 15–20 minutes until the crust is deep brown. The internal temperature should reach 95°C. The crust will darken considerably once the lid comes off — go for colour; a pale crust means a softer, less satisfying result.
Transfer to a wire rack and cool for at least 45 minutes before cutting. The crumb continues to set as it cools and cutting too early will leave the inside gummy.
Why the Dutch oven matters
Professional bread ovens inject steam. Steam keeps the outside of the loaf moist in the first phase of baking, which allows it to expand fully before the crust sets. In a domestic oven, a covered casserole pot traps the steam from the dough itself and replicates this effect. Without the lid, you get bread — with it, you get bread with the kind of crust that makes people assume you know what you’re doing.
A cast iron casserole holds heat better than ceramic or stainless steel, which is why Le Creuset-type pots give the best results. A heavy ceramic casserole works almost as well. What matters is that the pot can withstand 240°C and that the lid makes a reasonably tight seal.
Variations worth trying
Overnight in the fridge: After the initial 12-hour room-temperature prove, put the shaped dough (on its parchment) in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Bake it cold from the fridge, adding 5 minutes to the covered baking time. The cold retard develops flavour significantly — the best loaves this method produces come from a longer, colder prove.
Seeded loaf: Mix 75g of seeds into the dough with the flour. Sunflower and pumpkin work well. A tablespoon of caraway seeds in a loaf made with 25% rye flour is excellent if you want something more assertive.
Rosemary and olive oil: Add two tablespoons of olive oil and a tablespoon of finely chopped fresh rosemary to the dough. Produces a loaf that works very well alongside a roast chicken or lamb.
Keeping and freezing
The open crumb of this loaf means it stales faster than a tight-crumbed sandwich loaf. It’s best on the day of baking — the crust at its crispest, the crumb at its most open. On the second day it’s good toasted. After that, freeze in slices and toast from frozen.
For more on the broader approach to bread-baking, the beginner’s bread guide covers the standard kneaded method and all the fundamentals. And for the equipment side, bread tins and proving baskets covers what’s worth buying at each stage. Everything baking-related lives in the baking hub.
Frequently asked questions
Why does no-knead bread work without kneading?
Time replaces mechanical work. If you give a wet dough long enough, the gluten develops on its own without any kneading. What would take ten minutes of kneading takes twelve to eighteen hours of sitting in a bowl.
Do I need a Dutch oven to make a no-knead loaf?
It is the one piece of equipment this method genuinely requires. A covered casserole traps the steam coming off the dough itself, which keeps the outside moist long enough for the loaf to expand fully before the crust sets. A 26cm or 28cm round casserole works well. Without one, a deep roasting tin covered tightly with foil is an acceptable substitute, though the crust will be slightly less dramatic.
Should the water be warm or cool?
Cool. The long prove means you do not need to activate the yeast with heat, so 300ml of cool water is correct and the twelve to eighteen hours do the work that warmth would otherwise rush.
How do I know when a no-knead loaf is baked?
Bake covered for 30 minutes, then uncovered for a further 15 to 20 minutes until the crust is deep brown. The internal temperature should reach 95°C. Go for colour — a pale crust means a softer, less satisfying result.
How long should the loaf cool before cutting?
At least 45 minutes on a wire rack. The crumb continues to set as it cools, and cutting too early will leave the inside gummy.
Can I prove the dough in the fridge instead?
Yes. After the initial twelve-hour prove at room temperature, the shaped dough can go into the fridge on its parchment for up to 24 hours, then be baked cold with five minutes added to the covered time. The cold retard develops flavour significantly, and the best loaves this method produces come from a longer, colder prove.
How much does a no-knead loaf cost to make?
About 80p a loaf, from 400g of strong white bread flour, half a teaspoon of instant dried yeast, 10g of fine salt and 300ml of water.
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About Gareth
Gareth Isherwood is the editor of Danbury & Lovejoy. He has baked bread at home for 25+ years and has 15 years of growing experience across gardens, containers and other growing spaces, including an East Sussex allotment for the past three years. Read his full story →
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