This is a phenomenal bread recipe. The best, EASY yeast bread you will ever make, beginners love how simple it is while bread connoisseurs appreciate the Artisan bread qualities – the thick crispy crust and chewy crumb with big fat holes like sourdough!
No knead, 3 minutes active effort, very forgiving recipe. Make this today, then the Cheese Bread version tomorrow!

Phenomenal EASY yeast bread recipe
This is an extraordinary white bread recipe with outstanding results. While it’s easy and forgiving, making it suitable for beginners, experienced bakers will recognise and appreciate the Artisan bread characteristics – large holes in the crumb like your favourite sourdough bread with that signature chewiness, and a thick, crispy crust.
It’s a gold nugget recipe, and you may never buy bread again after trying this!
Here’s why it’s so easy:
No knead, no stand mixer
3 minutes active effort – you won’t even get your hands dirty
Dutch oven (cast iron pot) ideal but not necessary
Incredibly forgiving dough, with rise times ranging from 2 hours to 3 days (yes, really, you choose what works for you)
Easy but yet no compromise on quality of bread

What you need to make this homemade bread recipe
Here’s what you need to make homemade bread from scratch – yeast, flour, salt and water. Yep, really, that’s it!
No yeast?
Make this famous Irish Soda Bread instead, or this incredible No Yeast Sandwich bread based on the traditional Australian Damper!

Yeast – my base recipe uses Rapid Rise or Instant Yeast which does not need to be dissolved in water. But it works just as well with normal yeast (“Active Dry Yeast” or just “dry yeast”) – you just need to change the order of the steps and dissolve the yeast in water first. The bread comes out exactly the same!
Best flour for homemade bread – use bread flour if you can. Bread flour has more protein in it than normal flour which means more gluten, and this makes the dough more elastic and yields a more fluffy yet chewy texture inside the bread, as well as creating the big holes you see in the photos, like sourdough bread. However, this bread is still spectacular made with normal flour too!
How to make the world’s easiest homemade bread – Artisan style!
Here are process steps with tips, but also see the video below – super handy to see the dough consistency, and how to form the dough.
1. Make wet sticky dough

Mix together the flour, salt and yeast, then add warm water and mix. The “dough” will be very wet and sloppy, not kneadable at all – this is what you want! See video at 17 seconds for consistency.
2. Rise!

Cover with cling wrap then place it in a warm place (25 – 30°C / 77 – 86°F) for 2 hours. The dough will increase in volume by double or more, the surface will become bubbly and the dough will be wobbly, like jelly. See video at 24 seconds for consistency.
OPTIONAL – develop flavour: Once dough has risen, you can bake immediately. OR, for better flavour, refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours, up to 3 days. Time = better flavour development.
Bread in photos and video were baked immediately. I usually make this dough in the morning, refrigerate all day then bake in the evening. Or make the dough in the evening, refrigerate overnight and bake fresh in the morning! (10 – 12 hours in fridge). Beauty of this bread is that you can bake anytime!
No dutch oven? No problem! Just bake it on a tray – see the recipe notes.
3. Preheat oven & pot

30 minutes before dough has risen, or while refrigerated dough is coming to room temperature, place dutch oven (cast iron pot) in the oven to preheat at 230°C/450°F.
Hot oven + hot pot = bread rising boost!
4. Scrape dough out

Scrape dough out of bowl onto floured work surface. It will be wet and sticky and that’s exactly what you want – because we will not be kneading it! In fact, you won’t even touch it with your hand.
PRO TIP: Dough handling and shaping technique devised to minimise addition of flour. Less flour = wetter dough = bigger air pockets, fluffier bread and more moist.
5. Shape the dough very roughly

Use a dough scraper or anything of similar shape (spatula, cake server, or large knife) to fold the sides in so it roughly resembles a round disc.
Don’t get too hung up on the shaping – you’ll deform it in the next step!! This step is mainly to deflate the dough.
6. FLIP dough upside down onto paper

Slide a large piece of baking / parchment paper next to the dough, then flip it upside down onto the paper using the scraper so the seams from the step above are face down, and you have the smooth side up.
Slide/push the dough into the centre, then briefly reshape it into a round or slightly oval shape.
Do not get too hung up on a neat shape – this bread is supposed to be rustic! Besides, scruffier shape = more awesome crispy ridges
7. Prepare to bake!

Remove very hot pot from oven, then use paper to pick up the dough and put it in the pot, and put the lid on.
See recipe notes for no dutch oven method.
8. Bake!

Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on (this creates a steamer effect, allowing the bread to rise while it cooks before crust sets), then 12 minutes with the lid off to brown and crisp up the crust. The surface will crack – and you want this, for extra crispy ridges!! And it looks authentic, just like the Artisan bread you buy at bakeries. 😇
Cool for 10 minutes before slicing. This is important – to let the centre of the bread finish cooking (if you slice too early, it will seem a bit doughy. Patience was never my greatest virtue, so I learnt this first hand!)
Remember – you can make this bread recipe WITHOUT a dutch oven!

Why this bread recipe works – and TIPS!
Loose, sticky dough = easier to rise than firmer dough.
No kneading = rough dough, but because the dough is so soft, it puffs up enough to “smooth out” the roughness.
Super forgiving dough – too stiff, add water. Too wet, add flour. Dough not rising? Move it to a warmer place. Takes 45 minutes to rise or 5 hours? It will still work. As long as your dough is the same consistency as what you see in the video and you let it rise to double the volume, this bread recipe will work as long as the yeast is not past its expiry date!
Why you need a preheated dutch oven for no knead bread recipes – to create a steamy environment to give the bread a rise boost before the crust sets (which stops the bread from rising). Professional bakeries are equipped with steam ovens – the cast iron pot is the home method!
Don’t have a dutch oven? No problem! Recreate the steamy environment by placing hot water in a pan in the oven, and bake the bread on a tray.
Big holes in the crumb – loose dough from less flour, high oven temp and preheated pot allows the yeast to give the bread a great rise boost, creating big air pockets. Also the use of bread flour rather than normal flour helps – you get less large holes using normal flour.
Bake immediately if it’s a bread emergency….
…but you’ll be rewarded with tastier bread if you leave the dough 8+ hours in the fridge! I normally make dough first thing in the morning (it takes 3 minutes!) then bake that night. Or make dough at night and bake in the morning. (~12 hrs in fridge for both scenarios)
Why refrigerating the dough creates a better tasting bread – because the fridge slows down the fermentation of the yeast (ie dough stops rising, if it kept rising it would kill the rising power of the yeast), allowing the enzymes in the yeast to do their work, transforming starch into sugar which creates a more flavourful bread. So we let the dough rise first, then refrigerate it.


All the ways to eat this bread!
Everything you do with bread you buy, you can do with this bread. It truly has the structure of bakery bread, so there are no limits!
Eat it fresh out of the oven, slathered with butter. Make sandwiches, toast it, mop plates clean, dunk it in soups and stews. Make bruschetta, garlic bread, grilled cheese, CHEESY garlic bread or Cheese and Garlic CRACK Bread!
I hope you enjoy this crusty bread recipe as much as I do. This really is one of those gold nugget recipes that you’ll make once and treasure forever! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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World’s Easiest Yeast Bread recipe – Artisan, NO KNEAD
Ingredients
- 3 cups (450g) flour , bread or plain/all purpose (Note 1)
- 2 tsp instant or rapid rise yeast (Note 2 for normal / active dry yeast)
- 2 tsp cooking / kosher salt , NOT table salt (Note 3)
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) very warm tap water , NOT boiling or super hot (ie up to 55°C/130°F) (Note 4)
Dough shaping
- 1 1/2 tbsp flour , for dusting
Instructions
- Mix Dough: Mix flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add water, then use the handle of a wooden spoon to mix until all the flour is incorporated. Dough will be wet and sloppy – not kneadable, but not runny like cake batter. Adjust with more water or flour if needed for right consistency (see video at 17 sec, Note 5).
- Rise: Cover with cling wrap or plate, leave on counter for 2 – 3 hours until it doubles in volume, it’s wobbly like jelly and the top is bubbly (see video at 24 seconds). If after 1 hour it doesn’t seem to be rising, move it somewhere warmer (Note 6).
- Optional – refrigerate for flavour development (Note 9): At this stage, you can either bake immediately (move onto Step 5) or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- Take chill out of refrigerated dough – if you refrigerated dough per above, leave the bowl on the counter for 45 – 60 minutes while the oven is preheating. Cold dough does not rise as well.
- Preheat oven (Note 7) – Put dutch oven in oven with lid on (26cm/10" or larger). Preheat to 230°C/450°F (220° fan) 30 minutes prior to baking. (Note 8 for no dutch oven)
- Shape dough: Sprinkle work surface with 1 tbsp flour, scrape dough out of bowl. Sprinkle top with 1/2 tbsp flour.
- Using a dough scraper or anything of similar shape (cake server, large knife, spatula), fold the sides inwards (about 6 folds) to roughly form a roundish shape. Don’t be too meticulous here – you’re about to deform it, it’s more about deflating the bubbles in the dough and forming a shape you can move.
- Transfer to paper: Slide a large piece of parchment/baking paper (not wax paper) next to the dough, then flip the dough upside down onto the paper (ie seam side down, smooth side up). Slide/push it towards the middle, then reshape it into a round(ish) shape. Don't get too hung up about shape. In fact, lopsided = more ridges = more crunchy bits!
- Dough in pot: Remove piping hot dutch oven from oven. Use paper to place dough into pot, place lid on.
- Bake 30 minutes covered, then 12 minutes uncovered or until deep golden and crispy.
- Cool on rack for 10 minutes before slicing.
Recipe Notes:
- Fridge up to 3 days – Rise dough per recipe, then leave in bowl and refrigerate up to 3 days. Flavour gets better with time. Dough will stay bubbly for a day or two, then will deflate – that’s fine. Shape into round and place on paper per recipe, then leave for 45 – 60 minutes to take the chill out of it, then bake per recipe. Cold dough won’t rise as well.
- Bread in photos & video is 2 hr rise, immediate bake.
- Cooked bread – great fresh for 2 days, then after that, better warmed or toasted. Keep in an airtight container or ziplock bag. This stays more fresh than usual homemade bread, especially if you use bread flour.
- Freeze cooked bread for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information:
More bread recipes
Life of Dozer
Just keeping a close eye on it for me….

Good job Dozer. Here’s your treat. Look, I even buttered it for you! (PS He’s in his robe because it’s a rainy day yet I still took him to the beach!!!)

Just tried this and still can’t believe how easy it was. Exactly as described. I needed a bit more eater to get the sticky consistency. Delicious crusty outside, soft and airy inside
I’ve been making this bread for the past month and I love it! I love your details bc it answers all my questions. I don’t have a Dutch oven, would you recommend baking the bread on a pizza stone?
I’ve been making this bread for the past month and I love it! I love your details bc it answers all my questions.
However, I don’t have a Dutch oven, would you recommend baking the bread on a pizza stone?
This is so good and easy to make. I added some cranberries, walnuts, and a touch of honey for the overnight recipe and it was delicious! I have always been afraid of making yeast bread, but I am not afraid any more! Thank you.
You’re converted now Becky!!! N x
Could I do a one to one substitute with a gluten free flour and get a similar result? I lost a recipe just like this that was a snap to sub 1:1 with gf bob’s red mill and looking for a copy cat. Thanks!
Hi Liz, unfortunately it doesn’t get the same result – you really need the stretch from the gluten to help form the signature holes in this artisan bread. N x
Hello,
I only have 18cm Dutch oven, can I still make this bread in it? Should I use less of everything?
Thanks x
Love this bread. Since i want to make your beef Ragu and this bread and only have one dutch oven, can i make the bread in the morning and reheat in oven before serving the Ragu? i want that fresh, soft inside and crunchy outside. Wrap in foil maybe and bake or just on the oven rack?
This was easy to do and looked and tasted amazing! Why do you stir the dough with the handle of a wooden spoon?
I would also like to know why to stir with the spoon handle.
I made the bread for the 1st time yesterday and it went so fast in my household, I had to make it again today 😂. Making a 3rd one now while the 2nd one is cooling.
2nd loaf – I put 1/3 whole meal bread flour and 2/3 white strong bread flour. Added a little more water because whole meal needs more according to your reviewers’ comments. Looks great though I’ve yet to cut it open as it’s still cooling now.
3rd loaf – I decided to do the same as the 2nd loaf using 1/3 wholemeal flour but added some sundried tomatoes into the dry ingredients before adding water. Hope that turns out okay.
It’s such a versatile, forgiving and easy recipe to follow. I am so happy I found your blog, Nagi.
Great recipe! Super easy and fast. I put Everything Bagel topping on mine. It was sooooo good with asparagus mushroom soup. Perfect for this cold weather.
My parchment paper is safe up to 420F. Should I try at 420F to bake my bread or just skip parchment paper?
My parchment said same thing but I baked it at 450 and it was fine
Turned out perfect. I used the standard packet size of Instant Yeast (2 1/4 tsp = 1/4oz), and let dough rise for 2.5 hours. Next time I’ll refrigerate also for about 8-12 hours after the room temperature rise and see how it turns out. Wish there was an option to upload pics. This will definitely be my go to artisan bread recipe,
This came out looking so good I cant believe I made it! Im a very underconfident cook but Nagi you are amazing – each and every one of your recipes I have tried have come out brilliantly including this bread! You make me feel like a success in the kitchen and thats quite something as I’ve always been a rubbish cook until now! Thank you so very much 🙂
Smashed it as ever. The trickiest bit was getting it onto the parchment but it worked out in the wash. Delicious, thank you!
Hi Nagi, I am trying to find out what went wrong with my bread as it didn’t rise. I used half all purpose flour and half whole flour. I also don’t have a Dutch oven, so I made the bread in an oven dish and covered well with foil. It tastes great, but I’d like to know how I could make it rise for the next time! Many thanks for sharing
Hi Lorena, sorry you had issues – did it rise at all? Could it be a problem with your yeast? N x
If baking inside a Dutch oven do you still bake on middle rack or use the next rack level down from bottom of oven?
I use a Dutch oven to bake bread , always put a Dutch oven on middle rack. It works out well for me.
What an easy bread recipe! I have been wanting to try this for a while. The loaf came out looking just like Nagi’s. It tastes so good too! I will be baking this often. Thanks, Nagi!
Hi, I make this bread often and I absolutely love how simple it is, but just curious if I could double this recipe and how that would turn out. Thank you!
I just tried this with 1 cup granary bread and 2 cups strong bread flour, yeast/salt as instructed, and it was perfect! It needed 1/2 a cup of extra water to reach the consistency Nagi shows. Granary flour seems to absorb more water. Just wanted to share that this works perfectly for those who want more of a granary texture. Honestly one of the best loaves I’ve ever made, and I love bread baking.
Thanks so much Emma, that’s great to know! N x
Love this recipe! I was sceptical the first time I made this, not thinking that the jiggly/wet dough would turn into a beautiful crusty loaf- but it works out every, single time. Now my go-to bread recipe.
I’ve made this bread over and over again it is so great! I do add the 2 tsp of sugar another commenter recommended so that it would toast better and that works too with no added flavor from the sugar! This past weekend I added a cup of shredded cheese to it – still turned out amazing and had some cheesy flavor too!
Kathleen, I want to make a cheesy bread too. When did you add the cheese to the dough? Did you have to change anything?
Hi Catherine,
I added 1 cup of cheese to the flour before I added the water and mixed as normal. I did not change anything else to add the cheese. We used cheddar jack, which was a little mild but was excellent. Hope this helps!
This is a silly question but is this the equivalent of a small pack of yeast. 1/4 ounce.
Hi Jill, 1/4 ounce is just over 7 grams, standard size foe yeast sachets in UK
It is! Just threw this together and one packet was perfect
That’s what I did it was 1/4 ounce rapid rise. Came out perfect. Finally found an easy bread recipe that I love!
Hi Jill, I can’t answer that because I don’t know the size of the packet! I imagine id differs between brand/country. N x