Easiest No Knead Bread Recipe (2024)

This easy no knead bread recipe has my been my favorite for years and years! It’s simple to make in a dutch oven using only 3 ingredients and a few basics steps to get it ready for the oven. We love it!

Sara Lee announced today that they will be raising bread prices again. (According to Reuters) Bread, of course, is a basic staple, so what is a thrifty person to do? Bake your own!!!! It’s a frugal option and mom approved.

Learning how to make your own bread can be a key step in frugal living, especially if you go through a lot of loaves! With just a few basic ingredients, the price per loaf adds up to just a few pennies.

My key to keeping the cost low is to buy yeast in bulk. If you buy your yeast in the little yellow packets at the grocery store, your price per loaf will be much higher.

Red Star Active Dry Yeast 32 OZ (2 lbs)

I buy bulk packages of Red Star Active Dry Yeast at Costco, but I have found you can also buy it on Amazon. You can get TWO POUNDS of yeast for the price of just a few of the small packets.

The good thing about yeast is that it freezes really well! Stored in the freezer it lasts for months after its expiration date (I have used it over a year past that date.)

So, I usually freeze at least half of the yeast package when I buy it and then keep the rest in a small mason jar in the fridge to measure out each time I make bread.

When it comes to flour, you may want to use different types of flour for different types of bread. For my no-knead bread recipe I use your standard all purpose flour. But, when I’m cooking in a bread machine I always use bread flour to get the best results.

(And yes, you can also use bread flour for this no knead bread – it’s just not a requirement.)

For years and years I would buy 50 pound bags of bread flour at Costco. I was so sad to find out that they stopped carrying it. I was very excited to learn recently that you can still buy Ardent Mills Harvest Bread Flour at Costco, but you have to get it via a Costco Business Center.

You can use your regular Costco membership card to shop at a Business Center, so if you have one near you and you have a standard Costco membership, you’re in luck!

There are a few ways to make your own bread, but my favorite is the Easiest No Knead Bread Recipe below. (Which also happens to be the bread I use in this sandwich recipe.)

How to Bake Bread at Home:

1. There are a number of ways to go about this. First, and probably the easiest is to use a breadmaker. If you don’t have one already, the investment will pay off. The Zojirushi Bread Machine is a great option (and the breadmaker I use when not baking bread in the dutch oven). But if you’re not up to buying a bread maker, you may find one cheap or free through Craigslist, Next Door, Facebook sale groups, Freecycle or garage sales.
2. The second way, which is the most work, is to make bread by hand the old-fashioned way. This involves preparing dough, needing it, letting it rise, and baking in traditional rectangular bread pans. This is definitely the most difficult and takes the most skill. I personally have a heck of a time getting this type of bread to raise properly.
3. The third way, and probably the thriftiest is to use this no-kneading recipe. Sure, it takes about 24 hours to turn out a loaf, but the bread is delicious and the actual “work time” is minimal.

This is the most delicious and easy homemade bread. I have been making it for ever and it has become a staple in our house.

I love it because it only uses 4 ingredients, is the cheapest bread you can make since it uses only a tiny bit of yeast, is fat-free, looks great, has fantastic texture and tastes delicious!

I bake this in my Orange Rachel Ray 7-Quart Round Cast-Iron Dutch Oven, which I really LOVE! I won this from a sweepstakes and it has quickly become my favorite cooking/baking piece.

Unfortunately, this particular model has now been discontinued and is now even pricier through 3rd party sellers, but this dutch oven from Zelanico is very similar!

Another tool that is definitely not a necessity, but makes measuring so much easier since the bread requires an unusual 1 5/8 measurement for water, is a top view measuring cup.

It’s very easy to see exactly how high the water is and choose the half-way point between the 1/2 and 3/4 marks to know you’re hitting 5/8. This Good Grips 2-Cup Angled Measuring Cup is the one I use.

This is a great loaf of bread to bring when invited to someone’s house for dinner. Every time I have brought it, everyone has raved over it and it has quickly disappeared! (Yes, these are all my loaves in the pictures!)

If you want to change things up a bit, I also use this same basic recipe for my No Knead Garlic Cheese Bread pictured above, which is also fantastic and packed with flavor.

Easiest No-Knead Bread Recipe

No Knead Bread Ingredients:

3 C all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. instant yeast
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 5/8 C water

How to Make No-Knead Bread:

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl and stir in water until well blended. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place to rise for at least 12 hours (16-18 hours is better).

To make this easy and to avoid having to use a new piece of plastic wrap each time, I cover the bowl with a plastic shower cap.

Next, place the dough on a generously floured work surface, sprinkle with flour, and fold it in on top of itself two to three times. Turn the bowl you were using at first upside down over the dough and let it rest for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, shape the dough into a ball. Coat a smooth cotton towel with flour and put the ball seam side down, dusting the top with more flour. Fold sides of towel over top of ball and let rise for 2 hours. The dough should double in size.

(I admit I have usually skipped the towel and just continued to let rise under the bowl on the counter and it still works, but it has to be a BIG bowl.)

30 minutes before the dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees and put a 6 to 8 quart heavy pot with a cover (pyrex, cast iron, enamel or ceramic work best) in to heat.

Remove the pot from the oven and dump the dough ball seam side up into the pot.

Cover the pot and bake for 30 minutes. Then remove the lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes or until the loaf is nicely browned. Remove from oven and cool on rack.

For another variation, you can also make my Garlic Cheese No Knead Bread Recipe.

How can I make no knead bread without a dutch oven?

I was asked by a reader how to make no knead bread if you don’t have a dutch oven. The reason a dutch oven works so well is because it can withstand the high heat and the tight lid creates steam, which makes for the crusty loaf.

If you don’t have a dutch oven, however, you can try one of the following:

• Use a heavy, deep pot with a tight-fitting lid.
• Use a heavy, deep pot with a cookie sheet placed upside down on top of it.
• Place your dough on a pizza stone and add a small casserole dish filled with hot water to your oven to help create the steam effect.

To see more recipes from Thrifty Jinxy, click “Recipes”at the top of thepage!