I haven’t always been the most confident baker when it comes to recipes that call for yeast, but that was before I was introduced to this easy overnight bread! The thought of baking a loaf of bread from scratch can be intimidating, but this recipe is so simple that even the most novice baker could pull it off.
Plus, we all know that the aroma and flavor of freshly baked bread are their own rewards! A slice of warm bread with butter is one of life’s simple pleasures, one that’s easier to enjoy than ever with this simple overnight method.
Give it a try, and experience the rewards of making your own bread for yourself!
Looking for bread sans gluten? Don’t miss my favorite gluten-free bread recipe!
How to Make Easy Overnight Bread (no Kneading Required!)
Ingredients:
- All-purpose flour
- Kosher salt
- Active dry yeast
- Warm water
Directions:
Step 1 – Mix the Dough
Start by whisking the flour, salt, and yeast together in a medium-sized bowl. Gradually add the water and stir with a wooden spoon. Mix the dough gently and form it into a ball.
Step 2 – Rest
Transfer the dough to a large ungreased bowl, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set it aside in a room-temperature area. Let the dough rise for 12-18 hours, or until the surface is covered in bubbles and the dough has at least doubled in size.
Step 3 – Prep the Dough
When the dough is ready, place cast iron pot with a lid (like a Dutch oven) inside your oven, turn it on, and set it to 450°F. Let the Dutch oven warm up in your oven for about 30 minutes or so.
Transfer the dough to a floured surface. Fold the corners of the dough under to create a smooth, rounded ball, then place the dough on a large square of parchment paper and dust the surface with flour. Let the dough rest for about 15 minutes.
Next, use a sharp knife to score an X-shape into the top of the dough. (The cuts should be shallow and just a few inches long.) Then use a spray bottle on the mist setting to spray the top of the dough lightly with water.
Step 4 – Bake
Remove your preheated Dutch oven and use the parchment paper to lower the dough into the pot. Place the lid back on the Dutch oven and bake for 30 minutes.
At this point, remove the lid and bake your bread for an additional 8-15 minutes to get a deeper color on the crust. You want the top to be dark, but not burnt.
Remove the finished bread from the oven and cool on a rack for 30 minutes before slicing.
More Ideas You'll Love
Step 5 – Eat!
Now comes the best part: eating! I love a slice of this bread toasted, buttered, and sprinkled with the perfect cinnamon sugar mix. Or slather a piece of your fresh homemade bread in nut butter or jam, and dig in!
More Bread Baking Tips & Tricks
- If you don’t own a Dutch oven, or a cast iron pot, you can use the insert of your crock-pot or a deep stoneware baking dish. And if those don’t have an oven-safe lid, you can always cover it with foil instead!
- Customize your loaf by mixing in your favorite ingredients. Add garlic and herbs for a savory loaf, dried fruit and nuts for a sweeter loaf, or a handful of your favorite shredded cheese. Yum!
- For an even quicker bread, try my mom’s English Muffin Bread!
No-Knead Overnight Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 – 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
Instructions
- Whisk the flour, salt, and yeast together in a medium-sized bowl.
- Gradually add the water while stirring with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together into a ball.
- Transfer the dough to a large ungreased bowl, then cover with plastic wrap. Leave the bowl out at room temperature for 12-18 hours, or until the surface is covered in bubbles and the dough has doubled in size.
- Place a Dutch or French oven in your oven, then set it to 450°F. Let the Dutch oven warm up for about 30 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface, then fold the corners of the dough under to form a smooth, rounded surface. Place the dough on a large square of parchment paper, then dust with flour and let it rest for 15 minutes.
- Use a sharp knife to score an X-shape into the top of the dough. (The cuts should be shallow and just a few inches long.) Mist the top of the dough lightly with water.
- Remove the preheated Dutch oven, then use the parchment paper to place the dough inside. Cover the Dutch oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue baking for an additional 8-15 minutes.
- Transfer the loaf to a cooling rack and allow it cool for 30 minutes before slicing.
OK I must admit I was skeptical. Ive tried a few no knead breads with mixed results. But this worked well. I don’t know why the bowl should not be greased. pulling it out of the bowl deflated the loaf. I would either grease it first or put it on parchment and lift it out carefully. Herbs, chives, garlic, rosemary, maybe chopped olives! definitely!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Jilee, can this dough stay in fridge longer than 18 hours? More like 24 hours?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I haven’t tried it. You’ll have to experiment and let me know how it turns out! :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Yes.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.hi i am going to try this recipe but i have a question. do you use only 1/2tsp of yeast? most recipes i see call for 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 tsps of yeast.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.That’s all you need! :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.1:2 teaspoon of yeast is plenty.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Can this bread be made in a bread machine?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I haven’t tried it, but I’ve heard from a lot of readers who have – they all say it works wonderfully! :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Jillee
Please log in or create a free account to comment.i have used the insert in 2 of of my oval crock pots and both have broken how can they be used in a 450 degree oven? i don’t own a dutch oven:(
That’s so odd! Even of Crock Pot’s website, they say you can put the insert in the oven. I’m so sorry for the mishap! A round baking dish will have to work :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What about a glass lidded baking dish? My other question is why Kosher salt?
I have used a Corning Ware deep casserole dish with a cover and it works just fine. Any covered bowl or pot, that is oven safe, will work.
It’s really very easy and you reap great rewards.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I note recipe includes kosher salt ? Can ordinary table salt be used . Also , sorry , but is the water 3 x 1/4 of a cup wasn’t sure reading correctly
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You can use table salt, but you’ll want to use less. 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons should be good! And it’s one and one half cups of water, or 1.5 cups :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I make this bread all the time and it is fantastic. I use einkorn flour as, it not only has more nutrition, but works for people that have gluten sensitity.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Einkorn wheat is not gluten-free. Neither are other forms of ancient wheat, such as Kamut, khorasan, farro (also known as Emmer), spelt, Graziella Ra or even the heritage Turkey Red wheat brought to the U.S. by Mennonites from Russia back in the 1800s.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Do you make any other changes in the recipe when you use eincorn flour?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have been looking at the recipe and finally made it. It is wonderful!! Now I want to try and add sugar and cinnamon in a swirl. I’ll let you know1
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Sounds delicious!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi, would love to do this bread. I would like to print it off but don’t want all the picks. is there somewhere on you page that i just get the recipe?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.There’s a green print button at the bottom of every post :-) Once you click it, you can choose to “remove images” and print just what you need!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Hi Jillee…! Help….! I see the green “print” button clearly…. but for the life of me, can’t find the “remove images” button.
Click inside the square just to the right of the image icon (it has a tiny mountain and sun on it). It’s automatically set to 100, meaning that the images will show up in their original size. You can choose a smaller percentage to make them smaller, or choose zero to make them go away all together :-)
I’ve made this bread a few times and while the crust is awesome the inner bread is too moist. Has anyone else run into this problem? The bread seems too moist/wet inside like it hasn’t baked long enough. Anyone with a solution?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Thanks,
Irene
The internal temp should be 195 to 200 degrees F. Just push your probe thermometer down into the center for a proper reading. Enjoy!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Oh. My. Word. This crust is perfection! And I made it in my toaster oven since my kitchen is being renovated!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.What can i bake it in if i dont own a dutch or a french oven? (Nor a german, greek, or italian oven either! Lol)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Do you have a crockpot? If so, you can use the ceramic inner pot :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.No sugar to work with the yeast?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Nope :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Can this recipe
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Be made with gluten free flour?’m
I haven’t tried it yet, let me know how it turns out if you make it :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Has anyone tried this recipe and added other ingredients such as nuts or seeds?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I followed the recipe exactly, but my dough looked nothing like yours. My dough was so wet & mushy, there was no chance of scoring the top with an X. It came out good, but I’m wondering what I could have done wrong. I let it rest for 18 hours, turned it out on a well floured surface, transferred my “blob” onto parchment and into my pre-heated dutch oven…. any thoughts would be appreciated!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.You may have let it rise for too long, you want to bake it as soon as it has doubled in size and has bubbles on the surface :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.IT WORKED!!! :) I took your advice and shortened the rise time, after waiting for the dough to double in size and have surface bubbles, and my dough was a lot more solid! Thank you! The bread is delicious (as are most of your recipes), my family loved it! Thank you for taking the time to help me figure out what I was doing wrong! I will be making this bread often in the future!!
I’m so glad!!
Going to make this bread. Sounds like Brochettes. Lived in Germany for three years and loved this bread.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Can this recipe be used in a 5 qt dutch oven?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.thanks
Yes :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I have never made bread before.This came out rather dense. what can I do to lighten it up?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.It might not have risen for long enough :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Yes, the bread dough has to rise for 18 hours, so if you make it at 10:00 a.m. for example, you can’t bake it until 4:00 in the afternoon the next day….just in time for dinner. This is a must or it won’t come out right!
Your timing is WAY off. If you make it at 10:00 a.m., 18 hours from there is 4:00 a.m. the next morning not 4:00 in the afternoon. That would be 30 hours.
Thank you I will try again:)
You mean 10 PM, tegma. ;) I made this today and let it rise about 8 hours and I LOVED how it came out. I do like denser bread. The crust was perfect and there were plenty of large air pockets in it and it was great for me. I may let it rise a bit longer next time, but this was truly perfect for me. I loved it and it will be my new ‘go to’ bread recipe! <3
Sounds just perfect. The large holes are telling you that it was properly proofed.
I saw a TV chef make this bread and she mixed the warm water & yeast together well before adding to the dry ingredients. She also made a bread dip from rosemary (lots of it) and olive oil. She mixed that into the dough and even added a little over the top of the loaf before baking. The remainder was kept for dipping.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.My problem isn’t making bread, it’s killing the yeast. What temp is “warm” water?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.It should be between 100-110 degrees F :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Buy a food thermometer to get the correct temperature of the water. Good luck.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I make bread similar to this every Thursday. My recipe calls for only 1/4 teaspoon of yeast, 1 tsp of salt, 3 cups of flour (I use organic-no pesticides or herbicides) and 1 1/2 cups of warm (think baby’s bath water) water, and then the magic! 1 tablespoon of dried chopped onion and 1 teaspoon of dill seed. Try it. You will love it.
I would love to be able to make some kind of homemade crusty bread but a gluten-free version.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I’ll have to get started on a new recipe!
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I make this bread all the time. I love it on a cool day with soup. Ladies this is easy.
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Do I need filtered water? I live in a hard water area and have a water softener (salt). Really looking forward to making this today or tomorrow?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.I used tap water and it turned out just fine! :-)
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Could you give us a print version that doesn’t include the pictures. Seriously, 16 pages for a recipe is a bit much, don’t you think?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.Unless you REALLY needed the pictures of the Dutch oven, why would you simply print the pages without first eliminating unnecessary portions? Copy and paste into a word processing document. With the valuable pictures reduced, it’s four pages. Remove the pictures, and it’s one page. Not much at all, is it?
Please log in or create a free account to comment.The print button at the bottom of the post allows you to remove images or make them smaller, so you can print exactly what you need :-)
Just use the Print Friendly button at the bottom and customize the page to your liking. You can also save it as a PDF.
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