No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread

Name: No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 10 servings
Cuisine: French
Ingredients: 3 cups (spooned and leveled; approximate, weigh for accuracy) (400 g) bread flour, measured by weight if possible; 1½ teaspoons (9 g) fine sea salt; ¼ teaspoon (1 g) instant yeast, no need to proof; 1¼ cups plus 1 tablespoon (300 ml) water, room temperature, about 70°F (21°C); 2 tablespoons (16 g) bread flour, rice flour, or all-purpose flour, for dusting the work surface and dough

From the MyKitchenBank Kitchen

A crackling-crusted, open-crumbed French-style country loaf made with four pantry ingredients and almost no effort. A long, slow overnight rise builds the flavor, and a preheated Dutch oven traps steam for a bakery-style crust.

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 45 min
Wait: 16 hr
Total: 17 hr 5 min
Makes: 1 round loaf (about 10 slices)

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Steps

Before you start

Plan ahead: the first rise takes 12 to 18 hours (timings here assume 14 hours). Mix the dough in the evening to bake the next morning. If your rise runs longer or shorter, the total time shifts to match.
You need a heavy, lidded 5- to 6-quart (4.7 to 5.7 L) Dutch oven rated oven-safe to at least 500°F (260°C), which leaves a safe margin over the 450°F (230°C) bake. If the lid knob is plastic, swap it for a metal one or cover it with foil.
Weigh the flour and water with a kitchen scale if you can. Scooped cups of flour vary a lot, and this dough is wet.
Use room-temperature water, about 70°F (21°C). Very cold water slows the rise and very warm water speeds it too much.
On baking day, the pot goes into a cold oven and heats along with it, so clear the middle rack first.

1
Mix the shaggy dough
- In a large bowl, whisk together the 400 g bread flour, 9 g fine sea salt, and 1 g instant yeast.
- Pour in the 300 ml room-temperature water.
- Stir with a spatula or wooden spoon for about 1 minute, scraping the bottom and sides, until no dry flour remains and the dough looks sticky, rough, and shaggy.
- Do not knead.
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Ready when: No dry flour pockets remain and the dough forms a sticky, shaggy mass.
Tip: Do not add extra flour even though the dough looks wet. The high water content creates the open crumb.
2
Ferment overnight
- Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap.
- Leave it at room temperature, about 68 to 72°F (20 to 22°C), for 12 to 18 hours (14 hours is used for the timing totals).
- In a cooler kitchen, go toward 18 hours.
- In a warm kitchen, go closer to 12.
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Ready when: The dough has more than doubled, is dotted with bubbles on the surface, and jiggles when you shake the bowl.
Tip: If the dough shows few bubbles, give it another 1 to 2 hours. Fermentation time depends on room temperature.
3
Fold and shape
- Generously flour a work surface with about 1 tablespoon of the dusting flour and scrape the dough out onto it with a floured spatula.
- With floured hands, pull the right edge of the dough out and fold it over the middle, then repeat with the left, top, and bottom edges.
- Flip the dough seam-side down.
- Cup your hands around it and drag it toward you in a small circle 3 to 4 times to tighten it into a round ball about 7 inches (18 cm) across.
- Place the parchment sheet on the counter, dust it lightly with a little of the dusting flour, and set the dough on it seam-side down.
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Ready when: The dough holds a loose round shape with a taut, slightly smooth top.
Tip: Handle gently to keep the bubbles. If the dough sticks to your hands, re-flour them rather than adding flour to the dough.
4
Rest and preheat potOven 450°F / 230°C
- Put the Dutch oven with its lid on the center rack of a cold oven and set the oven to 450°F (230°C).
- Dust the top of the dough with the remaining dusting flour and cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel or inverted bowl.
- Let the dough rest for 60 minutes while the oven and pot heat together.
- The oven needs about 15 minutes to reach 450°F, so the pot gets roughly 45 minutes at full heat.
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Ready when: The dough looks puffy and has spread slightly. When you press a floured fingertip 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) into it, the dent springs back slowly and only partway. If the dent stays completely, bake right away.
Tip: Do not shorten the preheat. A fully heated pot gives the best oven spring.
5
Score and loadOven 450°F / 230°C
- Wearing dry oven mitts, carefully remove the hot Dutch oven and set it on a heatproof surface.
- Remove the lid.
- Using the parchment as a sling, lift the dough and lower it into the pot.
- With a sharp knife or razor blade, make one confident slash about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) deep across the top.
- Cover with the lid and return the pot to the oven right away.
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Ready when: The dough sits in the pot with one clean slash across the top.
Tip: The pot and lid are extremely hot. Keep your hands and forearms clear of the sides and lid.
6
Bake coveredOven 450°F / 230°C
- Bake covered at 450°F (230°C) for 30 minutes.
- The trapped steam keeps the crust soft so the loaf can expand fully.
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Ready when: The loaf has risen and the slash has opened, though the top is still pale.
Tip: Do not lift the lid during these 30 minutes, or the steam escapes. If your oven runs hot and the bottom may scorch, slide a baking sheet onto the rack below the pot for the whole bake.
7
Bake uncoveredOven 450°F / 230°C
- Wearing oven mitts, carefully remove the lid, tilting it away from your face.
- Continue baking at 450°F (230°C).
- After 10 minutes, check the temperature: pull the rack out a few inches, keep your arms clear of the hot pot walls, and insert an instant-read thermometer through the top into the center of the loaf.
- It should read 205 to 210°F (96 to 99°C).
- If it is lower or the crust is still pale, bake 2 to 5 more minutes and check again.
- Most loaves take 12 to 15 minutes uncovered.
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Ready when: The crust is deep golden brown and the center reads 205 to 210°F (96 to 99°C).
Tip: Judge doneness by temperature first. Only if the center has hit 205°F but you want a darker crust, give it a few extra minutes, and don't go past 210°F.
8
Cool completely
- Using the parchment sling and oven mitts, lift the loaf out of the pot and transfer it to a wire rack.
- Cool for at least 1 hour before slicing.
- The crust will crackle as it cools.
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Ready when: The loaf feels barely warm and the bottom is dry and firm.
Tip: Cutting too early releases steam and makes the crumb gummy.

Good to know

Tips

A wet, sticky dough is correct. Flour your hands and tools, not the dough.
If you don't have a Dutch oven, use any heavy oven-safe pot with a tight lid. A lidless pot will not trap steam well.
Listen for crackling as the loaf cools. It means the crust is crisp.
If the bottom browns too fast in your oven, put a baking sheet on the rack below the pot from the start of baking.

Make ahead

After the first rise, cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for up to 24 hours. Cold dough is firmer and easier to shape than room-temperature dough. Scrape it out onto a floured surface, fold and shape as directed with floured hands, then let it rest 60 minutes while the oven and pot preheat, as the dough warms slightly. Because the dough starts cold, bake covered for 35 minutes instead of 30, then uncover and check the temperature after 10 minutes as directed.

Storage & reheating

Room temperature: store cut-side down on a cutting board, or in a paper bag, for up to 2 days. Avoid plastic, which softens the crust. Freezer: slice, wrap tightly, and freeze for up to 3 months. Toast slices from frozen. To refresh a whole loaf, warm it at 350°F (175°C) for 8 to 10 minutes.

Substitutions

bread flour → all-purpose flour. Works well, but the crumb will be slightly softer and less chewy. Reduce water to 280 ml (about 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons) because all-purpose flour absorbs less.
instant yeast → active dry yeast. Use the same amount, 1/4 teaspoon, and stir it into the water first. The long rise doesn't need extra yeast.
bread flour → whole wheat flour for 100 g of the bread flour. Gives a nuttier flavor. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons extra water, and expect a slightly denser crumb.
fine sea salt → fine table salt. Use the same weight (9 g), about 1 1/2 teaspoons. Weigh it if you can, and do not substitute coarse kosher salt by volume.