There is nothing better than fresh homemade bread. Store bought can’t even begin to compare. Today I’m sharing the absolute easiest homemade bread recipe ever. This will help you bake the best homemade bread you’ve ever had. It’s incredibly simple to make, and practically impossible to mess up.
I recently looked at a ‘healthy’ bread wrapper. The package said, “100% whole grain, no artificial preservatives, colors or flavors, no high fructose corn syrup”. There were still 20 ingredients, some of which were “azodicarbonamide” and “calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate” I like to know what’s in my food, and I like for my 8 year old son to be able to pronounce the ingredients. This recipe has four easily pronounceable ingredients: four, yeast, water and salt. (Five, if you use olive oil to grease the baking dish with).
No knead bread was first made famous by the New York Times, and for good reason. The original recipe suggests baking in a covered pot. If you don’t have a dutch oven or covered baking dish, you can use a glass mixing bowl and pie plate, or you can cover a tall glass baking dish with foil.
Step One: Combine 3 cups of flour, 1/4 teaspoon of yeast and 3/4 Tablespoon of kosher salt
Any combination of whole wheat/white flour, or 100% whole wheat should yield similar results.
Step Two: Add 1 1/2 cups of warm water
I’m sure you already know this, but remember to use the correct measuring utensil for liquid and dry ingredients
Step Three: Stir the dough–it will be very sticky
Step Four: Cover the bowl, and place in a dark spot for 12-24 hours
Step Five: The dough should be very bubbly and wet. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.
Dough is easiest to handle with wet hands, so stay near the faucet during the next step, and run your hands under the water repeatedly if necessary.
Step Six: Run your hand around the inside of the bowl, separating the dough from the edge of the bowl. Gather the dough into a ball, and fold over about twice, so that there are seams on the bottom. (Don’t overthink this step. The main goal is to get it into a loaf like shape).
Step Seven: Put the dough in the baking dish. You can plop it back in the mixing bowl you mixed the dough up in, which will result in a more rustic looking bread. The dough can also put it in a more traditional bread pan. If using a bread pan, I grease mine with olive oil. I included pictures of both:
Step Eight: Cover the bread pan and bake for 30 minutes at 450 degrees F. Take the cover off, and bake for 20 more minutes
I did have to run a knife between the bread and the bowl–it did stick a little, but not a lot. The crust was crispy, and the inside was soft. For those that prefer a more traditional loaf shaped bread, I followed the same procedure, but after forming the loaf, put it into a ceramic bread pan greased with olive oil.
This bread is far cheaper and much better tasting than store bought, and it’s one of the easiest things you’ll ever make. (I buy my yeast in bulk from my local health food store, where it’s cheaper than at Sam’s club. If you bake a lot, yeast is usually less expensive at a warehouse club or health food store.) If you prefer a softer bread, covering the pan with foil the entire time should result in a softer crust.
- 3 cups of flour
- ¼ teaspoon of yeast
- ¾ Tablespoon of kosher salt
- Olive oil (optional)
- Combine 3 cups of flour, ¼ teaspoon of yeast and ¾ Tablespoon of kosher salt
- Add 1½ cups of warm water
- Stir the dough
- Cover the bowl, and place in a dark spot for 12-24 hours
- The dough should be very bubbly and wet. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F
- Run your hand around the inside of the bowl, separating the dough from the edge of the bowl. Gather the dough into a ball, and fold over about twice
- Put the dough in the baking dish
- Cover the bread pan and bake for 30 minutes at 450 degrees F. Take the cover off, and bake for 20 more minutes
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