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!!!)

Question: I must let it rise for 1-2 hours on the counter before sticking it in the fridge right? I can’t just mix and then stick in the fridge overnight?
Hi Nat, yes you want to let it rise before putting it into the fridge. N x
Thanks Nagi. Amazingly easy! And bread looks and tastes great too
You’re so welcome Jackz! N x
Fantastic bread Nagi. I am loving what you are doing. I keep raving about you to my friends & you are helping with missing my youngest who is in Australia! He’s been gone 6 months now & you are becoming an inspiration to me.
One question, my friend hasn’t got a cast iron pot, could she use a clay pot to bake the artisan bread?
Keep up the good work!
Xx
Hi Irena, I have instructions in the notes for people who don’t have a dutch oven – I haven’t tried in a clay pot though! 🙂
This bread was fantastic and just as easy as Nagi said! Love that it came together even though my first loaf looked a bit like a kidney bean instead of a round loaf. The video was extremely helpful to show consistency and how to fold the dough. Will be trying again and again! Love your recipes Nagi – keep them coming (and the photos of Dozer!)
I love this recipe! The only problem I found was that it wouldn’t toast. I would have it in the toaster for so long that it would turn into cardboard but still wasn’t brown! So I googled lots of websites about bread and the two things that were mentioned were that it maybe had too much water and that a bit of sugar might help. So last night I baked another loaf and I put in a little less water than the 375mls (about 10mls less) so it was a stiffer dough after the rising and I also added 2 teaspoons of castor sugar (fine sugar) , So this morning we had toast! Lovely brown toast a bit soft inside. I hope any other toast addicts might find this useful. I live in regional Victoria and we have wood heating so for helping the dough rise I wrap the bowl in a towel and put it on top of the wood heater (we have one that the top doesn’t get hot) This makes the dough double in size in about an hour and a half. Thanks Nagi, your recipes are the best!
Hi Lyn, I can honestly say I’ve never had this problem!! Can I ask what type of flour you were using? N x
Defiance bakers flour from Woolworths (Coles is too expensive) . I have given the link to your recipe to a few friends and they said the same thing about toasting the bread, so I looked on google and found lots of people saying the same thing (not about your recipe, just no knead bread in general). It happened with sourdough as well and the general theme was too much water in the dough and a few people said adding a bit of sugar helped so that’s what I tried! but your recipe is the best so far, I think because it has extra yeast, as some of the other no knead recipes have only 1/2 teaspoon of yeast so it would take a long time to rise. I hope you didn’t mind me putting that tip in the comments. Although you might have a better toaster than I do!
I just made this bread, and it came out fantastically well!!! It looks just like your photos; can’t wait to eat it. I’ve made similar no-knead breads before, but the use of the Dutch oven/casserole was an absolute stoke of genius! Perfect environment for the best expansion of air bubbles and moisture retention. Superb!
Most bread recipes have a Little sugar added. This has none. Have you ever tried this with a little sugar? Just wondering if it would still work.
I made the bread today to go with my home made soup! You said that this recipe is very forgiving and you are so right!! My dough was first too dry, then I got it too wet but didn’t realize it. After rising and turning the dough out onto the counter it started to “walk”! I decided to go with it and see what happens. I continued as you instructed. It came out perfectly and really lovely! Next time, I know I can get it right but hey, it was still so delicious!! A keeper!
could one use gluten free flour
Not for this recipe sorry Roger! N x
This turned out so good. Yum!
Am trying this now and excited to see the outcome. Have you done this with wholegrain flour before or does this only work with white?
Hi there such a great recipe! Has anyone tried to make it multigrain and if so, do you have to soak the grains and seeds first or can you just add it in before the water?
I tried this recipe again and cooked it immediately. I got a better loaf this time, and I will try it again.
Thank you so much for the recipe and super helpful notes and alternative baking option.
Used regular plain flour, instant dried yeast, dough left in the fridge for 17hrs (as i had the time to). No Dutch oven – so baked in a log shape on baking sheet with improvised steamer as per notes.
Bread came out amazing. Easy to do with hardly any elbow grease, just lots of waiting, but it’s well worth it! Will definitely do this again.
I’m so glad you loved it Penelope!!! N x
I like to make two loafs so double quantity and with this amount I’d like to use stand mixer – then into two Bannetons in fridge for overnight – then freeze for later use – is this ok?
could one use a banneton? and at what point
Not really with this recipe Roger as you’re not forming it and leaving it to rise a second time, you’re shaping and cooking straight away. N x
I’ve made twice and both times left in fridge for next day baking so presumably can be left in banneton as anything else…? ans what about my other question re making two at the same time – tks very much 😍
Love your recipes but am amazed just how easy this bread is to make – even I can do it!!!
Hi Nagi 🙂
I’ve been making your recipies for years now, and have just tried this bread. I’ve made it twice (one left in the fridge overnight and one cooked immediately). The bread is absolutely delicious, but I can never get those beautiful cracks in the top. I really really want them! I don’t have a Dutch oven so use the pan with hot water – is this why?? Any tips to get my bread to crack?
Thanks!
My bread was dense without the holes that are in your bread. I used a Dutch oven. Any idea what I did wrong?
Hi Nancy, sorry you had issues here – could be the rise time or the type of yeast you used. How long was it left to rise? did the volume increase noticeably? N x
I used instant yeast, let it rise about 2.5 hours, and put it in the refrigerator overnight. I let the dough sit out about an hour before cooking.
Hi Nancy, did you aerate the flour? That’s what makes the difference to mine, stirring it in the container and then adding it to the cup measure spoonful by spoonful, meaning it’s not compacted. It really does make a big difference.
I love this bread and today I added Sundried tomatoes, garlic and green olives, after taking the lid off I sprinkled the top with Parmesan cheese, and continued baking for a further 15 mins. It was to die for!
When did you add the sundried tomatoes, garlic and olives? Sounds yummy!
Hi Sunny, I added them to the flour, yeast and salt, then added the warm water.
I could send you a photo if you send me your email address. You are right it was yummy!👍