No Knead Bread Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the point of no-knead bread? ›

It's easy to see the appeal of the “no-knead” approach in bread baking: minimal effort produces maximum flavor. By simply mixing up your dough and giving it an extended rising period, you can enjoy gorgeous, golden loaves without having kneaded a thing.

Is there really much of a difference? Most of the difference is about time. If you like a straightforward bread made with flour, water, salt and yeast, or that same basic bread with mixed grain flours or add-ins such as nuts, seeds, and porridge, then no knead bread can be a great way to go.

Vinegar – I use my homemade apple cider vinegar but any vinegar will do, it helps create a better texture in no-knead bread recipes. Yeast – I use active dry yeast but instant will work too. Store your yeast in the fridge to help prolong shelf life.

Usually your bread will be chewy when there isn't enough gluten formation or you're using a low-protein flour. Make sure you let your bread dough rest for at least 12 hours to give it enough time for gluten formation.

Classic no-knead bread (made with ¼ tsp instant yeast and 2¾ cups of flour) often tastes flat and dull. That lack of flavor comes from the yeast outpacing enzymes and consuming too many of the available sugars in the dough.

Pros: Develops dough without adding additional flour (as with traditional kneading). Effective method, especially with slack doughs such as baguettes. Cons: Takes time and repetitions to master. Less effective with doughs that are either stiff or high hydration — best with medium-soft doughs.

Too much yeast could cause the dough to go flat by releasing gas before the flour is ready to expand. If you let the dough rise too long, it will start having a yeast or beer smell and taste and ultimately deflate or rise poorly in the oven and have a light crust.

If the dough isn't mixed or kneaded to full development (e.g., full windowpane), adding in sets of stretch and folds during bulk fermentation will help continue its progress toward a firmer, more cohesive dough that's able to trap gas and hold its shape all the way to bake time.

When just vinegar and yeast are mixed, vinegar's weak acid cancels out yeast's ability to grow.

How do you keep no knead bread from sticking? ›

Oil or flour your tin or baking tray

You can use olive or vegetable oil, lard or butter to grease your tine and prevent your loaf from sticking. If I am using a baking tray for a free form loaf then I will dust it with flour, rice flour or semolina to prevent any sticky bits of dough cementing themselves to the tray.

Overworking the dough can cause the gluten strands to break down, resulting in a tough and dense bread. To ensure a light and fluffy texture, knead the dough just until it becomes smooth and elastic. This usually takes about 7-10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in a stand mixer.

Editor: Shani, it sounds that your yeast may be too old and expired, or perhaps you're not letting the dough rest adequately after shaping and before baking. Take a look at our no-knead bread step-by-step (with pictures!) and compare your process; you may find a way to tweak it.

Instead, the range of which a dough can be properly kneaded is quite broad. It's possible to under-knead the mixture by a small amount, or over-knead it and still yield a delicious loaf of bread. Doughs usually flop when they are severely under or over-kneaded. That being said, it is quite easy to over-knead dough.

The purpose of kneading any dough is to develop gluten, and incorporate micro bubbles into the mass of the dough which will inflate during proofing and baking.

The overworked dough will often feel tight and tough. This means that liquid molecules have been damaged and won't stretch properly, causing the bread to break and tear more easily. Conversely, a dough that is underworked will be harder to form into a ball shape.