4 Ingredient No Fail No Knead Artisan Bread that’s easy and delicious! Perfect for those who love freshly home baked bread right out of the oven.
Long ago, I discovered that it’s more fun to make bread myself without a bread machine. I do have my good old trusted KitchenAid mixer which I cannot live without and for this bread, I made the dough with the mixer. You don’t have to but it’s a lot easier.
Now I cannot tell you how easy this bread is to make, and with only 4 ingredients. Beat that!
I have had this recipe for a while now, at least a couple years and I personally got the recipe from a friend of mine. Apparently this is the same as the recipe in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home BakingBread Baking Books), however I don’t own the book, so I’m not sure, but if it is their recipe I’d like to give them credit for it.
This is very simple, no kneading required. In a medium bowl add the lukewarm water, it has to be a bit warmer than body temperature, add the salt and the yeast and stir together. In the bowl of your mixer add all the flour and the pour the yeast mixture over the flour. Using the dough hook mix it all together. The dough will be sticky so don’t be tempted to add more flour.
Now you can place the dough in a big plastic container with a lid, but do not close the lid completely, leave one corner open a bit. Or you can just place it in a big bowl and wrap it up really well with plastic wrap and poke a couple small holes with a toothpick so that the gases can escape a little. Let it rise in a warm place for a good two hours.
Since there’s no kneading required, all you have to do is shape your bread, but because the dough is really sticky you need to flour your hands really well. Basically you have to divide the dough in two and shape each piece. Again add as much flour as necessary to your hands to avoid dough from sticking. It is ideal to bake this bread on a stone, but if you do not have a stone you can just use a regular baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Shape the dough and place it seam down on the baking sheet or stone. Sprinkle some more flour on top. You need to let the bread rest for another 30 minutes so that it rises a bit more.
Preheat the oven to 450 F degrees. Before placing the bread in the oven, slash the top of your bread with a knife, it will make your bread look pretty, plus it will allow for the trapped gases to escape. Also place a pan with a cup of water in it and slide it in the bottom rack and the bread on the middle rack. As the water heats up in the oven, it will create steam which will give the bread that nice crusty top. Trust me, you will want to do this. Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes and let it cool completely before cutting into it. I know it’s hard, I love hot bread, just the thought of it now, makes me crave it.
If you love this bread, give this No Knead Bread a try!
If you try this recipe, please let us know! Leave a comment, rate it and tag a photo #jocooks on Instagram so we can see it. I always love to see what you guys come up with!
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Artisan Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups water lukewarm
- 1 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 tbsp salt
- 6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- In a medium bowl add the warm water, salt and yeast and stir together. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes until the yeast bubbles up.
- In the bowl of your mixer add all the flour, then pour the yeast mixture over the flour and mix using the dough hook of your mixer, until it's all well incorporated and the dough comes clean from the sides of the bowl. I usually do this for about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Place the dough in a large plastic container, it needs room to rise, and put the lid on it, but do not close completely, there needs to be one corner left open to let the gases escape. Alternatively, you can use a large bowl, covered well with plastic wrap and poke a couple small holes in the top using toothpicks.
- Let the dough rise for 2 hours.
- The dough will be very sticky and elastic. It is recommended to bake this on a stone, however a regular baking sheet will work just fine. Cover the baking sheet, or stone with parchment paper.
- Add flour to your hands, and divide the dough in two pieces. Add more flour to your hands as necessary. Shape the dough into the desired shape for your bread and place it seam down on the baking sheet. Sprinkle some more flour on top of the loaves. Let the loaves rest for another 30 minutes so that they can rise a bit.
- Preheat oven to 450 F degrees. Before placing the bread in the oven, add a pan with a cup of water and place it in the bottom rack. Slash the top of your bread, to allow gases to escape.
- Bake the bread for 30 to 35 minutes. The water will allow for the bread to form a nice crusty top.
- Cool on a rack before serving.
Recipe Notes
- Always check the expiration date on your yeast and make sure it hasn’t expired. All your yeast products whether it’s in a jar or a package should be stamped with a “Best if Used by” date. Always make sure you check this date, even when you purchase the yeast, who knows it could have been on the shelf past its expiry date.
- To keep your yeast fresh and longer lasting, unopened yeast packages or jars should be stored in a cool or dry place such as your cupboard. However, you can also store your yeast in the fridge or freezer. If you do store it in the freezer and need to use yeast for your baking, make sure you take out the amount you need and let it sit at room temperature for at least half hour before using.
- Once your yeast package or jar has been opened, you must refrigerate the yeast or freeze it in an airtight container.
- One thing to remember about your yeast, is that it is a living organism and over time it will lose activity, even if you’ve never opened the jar or package. So if you don’t bake often, buy the smaller yeast packages rather than a big jar of yeast.
- How do I know when my bread is done baking: Tap the bottom! Turn the bread upside down and give the bottom a firm thump with your thumb, or a knock and if it sounds hollow it’s done.
- Recipe will yield 2 loaves. Nutritional information assumes 10 slices per loaf and is per slice.
How warm should the water be when proofing the yeast? Is there a temp that is desirable?
Hi Anne,
Heat the water to approximately 100 degrees F (40 degrees C). We recommend testing the water temperature using a thermometer. Once you’ve done this a few times, you’ll get a natural feel for how warm the water should be without being too hot to kill the yeast culture.
Let us know how the bread turns out!!
How much yeast if I am using fresh not from a jar?
Hi MK,
Here is how you can substitute the active dry yeast for fresh yeast:
1 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast = 13.95 g = 41.85 g fresh yeast
Hope this helps!
I want to try this, but I want to know if I can substitute regular flour for bread flour?
You can, bread flour just has a higher protein than all-purpose flour.
Would it be 1:1 with AP flour?
Yes!
Do you scoop your flour or spoon and level?
Spoon and level.
I somehow managed to fail at reading the ingredients despite double checking more than once and accidentally used double the yeast. Whoops
BUT it still turned out super delicious and the instructions were super helpful to a bread newbie. Thanks!
Newbie question about using baking stones: I’ve heard that the baking stone is supposed to be placed in the oven during pre-heating so as to avoid thermal shock and cracking. But your instructions call for 30 minutes of rising on the stone before placing it into the hot oven. Any advice?
Ideally, yes, you’d want to preheat the stone. In that case you’ll have to be very careful when placing the dough on the stone. I haven’t had any problems with it cracking, but if you want to be careful, yes go ahead and preheat.
Hi! Can I bake this in a hot 3 qt dutch oven instead of on a stone/baking sheet?
As long as it fits!
Can you freeze these before or after baking? I insta-carted yeast and have a ton! Would love to have bread on the ready.
Yes you can absolutely freeze the loaf after baking!
Can i substitute half flour for whole wheat?
Yes you can definitely try it out! I would suggest starting with only replacing about 1/3 and see how it turns out for texture etc If that result is good, increase to use half all-purpose flour and half whole wheat flour!
Love love love it!
I have some of this baking right now! I made 2 oblong loaves, and added rosemary, basil, parsley and a blend of Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago cheeses, plus spritzed it with a bit of olive oil and sprinkled the top with the cheese mixture. We’ll be having this with homemade sauce, pasta, meatballs, and salad tonight! This recipe is easier and quicker than previous ones I’ve used.
Want to make this but am confused by “tbsp”….Tablespoon is “Tbsp” and teaspoon is “tsp”…..I can’t imagine that it would be that much salt, so assuming it’s a mistake and the ‘b’ isnt’ suppose to be there??? **is the yeast and salt table or tea spoon???
Yes, tbsp is tablespoon, and yes the amount is correct. Don’t forget this yields 2 loaves, and without salt the bread will taste flat, however feel free to use as much salt as you like.
Thank you so much for the fast reply! (good grief, some of the things I do)….so, yesterday I started this only using the yeast the salt in teaspoons…and the yeast did nothing (because of all the water I now assume), so I just stuck the bowl in the fridge. I now have it out and am wondering if I can just add the rest and keep going? Or do I need to throw it out and start over? Thanks so much!
Unfortunately, you’ll need to start over. If your yeast isn’t activating, it is most likely dead. You may have to purchase new yeast!
Can I used bread flour in place of AP?
Yes, for sure.
Great recipe.
Thanks
I love to make good bread.
Have made most of James Beard’s breads