No knead bread is the way to go! You don’t need a machine. You don’t need any bread making experience. All you need is a bowl, a spoon, a pot, and plenty of time (it rises while you sleep!) and you too can be eating this yummy rosemary no knead bread tomorrow.
I have been making variations of no knead breads ever since Mark Bittman popularized Jim Lahey’s recipe in 2006.
Okay, not quite from 2006, since I will admit I was skeptical that you could stir some flour with yeast and water, just walk away, and come back to bread. But finally the excitement over this bread was too much for me (maybe about year later?) and I had to try it. One taste and I was a convert. 🙂
You really can walk away from dough and it’ll make bread while you sleep. In fact, I’d say leaving the dough alone and simply being patient might even make better bread than some of the more complicated methods.
It’s not that I’m against kneading. I do find it rather meditative. And there are breads which do require more attention that I’m certainly still going to make. But bread that practically makes itself while I sleep? Sign me up!
And of course, once I started making no knead bread, I needed to try different variations! Different flavors. Different shapes. Different additions.
Like this olive oil rosemary no knead bread which is so darn tasty it’s my new favorite version. I even made it for my parents when they visited recently! I was making my lamb and artichoke stew (parent approved and daughter approved – she had two bowlfuls and wanted more) and thought a good, crusty bread was just the thing to serve along side. So, I pulled out my notes and 5 minutes later my dough was hanging out becoming bread.
Oh, and before dinner I made my three cheese broccoli bites. Mom can’t wait to make them herself for her friends. They are seriously tasty and gluten-free! What more could you want?
But back to the bread! It’s:
- easy
- oh so tasty
- much cheaper than store bought
- full of yummy rosemary flavor
- did I mention easy?
- probably better for you than mass produced bread!
- and easy
How do you make rosemary no-knead bread?
To make rosemary no-knead bread, stir together the flour with yeast, rosemary, water, oil, and salt. Cover and let rise overnight and then shape, proof, and bake in a dutch oven until browned and cooked through.
It’s that easy!
If you have a bowl, ingredients, and a spoon you can mix the dough. To finish it, you will need a dutch oven with a lid and parchment paper.
Why parchment paper?
The way the dough works is by adding more water to the flour and letting the yeast do the work to align the gluten. That makes the dough sticky! Parchment paper keeps you from needing to scrape the bread out of the dutch oven at the end.
Why a dutch oven?
This particular style of bread needs a well developed crust.
By using a pot with a lid you are keeping the steam inside the pot and that steam is developing the crust. This recipe will make a great bread without using the dutch oven, but you will not get the same crust that way.
Tips for Making No-Knead Bread
You will need a fairly large oven-safe Dutch oven. You can go cast iron, enameled, stainless. It’s up to you! But you do need a pot with a lid and one that can deal with high oven temperatures.
Depending on your oven, you may need to adjust the temperature. In my oven my bread gets uncomfortably close to burnt at 450F so I use 425F after I’ve fully heated the oven. You want to have a deep brown crust, but not black.
Use fresh rosemary! Dried is just not the same and this is rosemary no knead bread so it should taste of rosemary. Go big or go home. 🙂 I clipped a few tips off of my little rosemary bush, gave them a chop, and tossed them into the flour and it was all good.
I like using an extra virgin olive oil in the bread. You will get a deeper olive flavor with a more intense oil and I like that.
No-Knead Bread Recipes
If you love this bread and want to try some variations on other no-knead breads, I have two great focaccia recipes and one for no-knead dinner rolls (a big hit last Thanksgiving!).
If you try my recipe for Olive Oil and Rosemary No-Knead Bread, I would love to hear from you in the comments with your experience and rating! And I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.
You can connect with me by subscribing to my emails (see the form in the sidebar or below the recipe card), liking my FACEBOOK page, or by following me on PINTEREST.
– Happy Baking, Annemarie
- 15 oz (3 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp instant yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp table salt
- 2-3 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 1/4 cups room temperature water
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- In a large bowl combine the flour, yeast, salt, and rosemary. Add the water and olive oil and stir with a large spoon until the flour is completely incorporated. You may need to get your hands in there to finish mixing in the flour. The dough will be wet and sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit in a warm spot in the kitchen for 10-12 hours.
Once the dough is covered in bubbles and looks puffy the dough is ready to be shaped.
- Lightly dust a work surface with flour and sprinkle a little more flour over the top of the dough. Using your fingertips, scrape the dough out of the bowl onto the floured surface. Fold over the dough a few times to give the dough a little structure. Then gather the dough into a ball. Brush a piece of parchment paper with oil. Put the dough onto the parchment and cover it with a damp kitchen towel. Let the dough rest for 1 hour.
30 minutes before you are going to bake the bread, put a large (oven safe) pot with a lid into the oven and heat the oven to 500F.
When you are ready to bake, you can either cut a slit in the top of the bread with a serrated knife or grease another piece of parchment and flip the bread onto the new piece so that the seam side of the bread is facing up. Either will let the bread expand during baking.
Then pick up the bread by the corners of the parchment and lower it into the large pot. Cover the pot and put it back in the oven. Lower the heat to 425F. Bake the bread for 30 minutes.
Remove the lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes. Transfer the bread to a rack and let cool.
- Rosemary: Fresh rosemary is a must for this recipe! Dried just doesn't provide the flavor.
- Slashing the dough: While I have flipped the dough to its seam side, I do prefer to make a cut in the dough. Use a sharp, serrated knife and gentle pressure to saw into the dough.
- Flour/Water Balance: Depending on how you measure your flour and how dry your kitchen is, you may need to a more water to bring the dough the right wet and sticky consistency. If your dough is dry after you mix it, add water by the tablespoon until it feels right.
- Yeast: If you wish to use active dry yeast, mix the yeast with the water and let it rest for 10 minutes to dissolve the yeast before continuing with the recipe.
Stephanie says
My bread came out a little lighter than I’d have liked. I think I will only drop my oven to 450 next time. Otherwise, really delicious.and very easy to make! Exactly what I was looking for. 🙂
justalittlebitofbacon says
Great! This is still my favorite bread to make. And thank you for sharing your results!
Meredith says
Hi! Any advice on when the bread is super wet or runny when it comes out of the bowl?
justalittlebitofbacon says
If the dough is too soft and wet, work some more flour in until you can form it into a rough ball. A tablespoon or two at a time should do it.
Sarah says
How long can the bread proof? I’d like to make the dough 24 hrs in advance
justalittlebitofbacon says
You can easily slow down the proof by putting the shaped loaf in the fridge for up to 12 hours. Take it out when you start heating the oven and it will be ready to bake when the oven is ready.
Candice Bizzell says
I’m so excited for this bread. I made it tonight and love it. I accidentally kneaded it and it didn’t rise as well as I wanted it to…but the taste and flavor are AMAZING! I will be using this recipe in the future and remember to not knead the dough.
Shelly says
This is amazing! I’ve always been scared of yeast breads and have been meaning to try this no knead method for many years, but just never braved it. Then I came across this recipe and I’m a huge fan of rosemary and decided to take the plunge. I think I made some mistakes with my first batch but it still turned out amazing and my family gobbled it down. In fact I have a 2nd loaf in the oven right now as one of my daughter’s complained that she only got one slice and begged me to make more. Thank you so much!
justalittlebitofbacon says
I’m glad you decided to try out yeast breads! No-knead breads are so much fun. 🙂
Mal says
Did you transfer the dough from the parchment paper while going into the pot – or did you transfer the paper and dough both into the pot ? This looks so yummy!!
justalittlebitofbacon says
I moved both of them together to the pot. It’s the easiest way to get the soft dough into the hot pot.
Marieke Fehrle says
I really love this bread. I’ve made it 3 times. I play with the water flour ratios. I want to make it for my friend but they are gluten free. Can I use gluten free flour and get the same results?
justalittlebitofbacon says
I’m glad you love the bread! However, I have no idea how to make a gluten-free version. I’m sure gluten-free flours behave differently, especially in a recipe like this where the gluten is important. My thought is to do a search for another recipe which is gluten-free already and then use my flavors in that bread. Good luck!
Krystal says
Would I be able to use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast? Does it make a difference?
justalittlebitofbacon says
Yes, you would. The difference is that active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in the water before you mix it into the flour. I have updated the recipe to include directions for active dry yeast. Thanks for pointing that out!
Rosina says
Made this read but used 1 tbsp Italian seasoning and 1/2 tsp minced garlic instead of rosemary and it was a hit. Both times i made it, i had to add 1/4 c more water as the dough was not sticky enough
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thank you for the review! I’ve updated the recipe to note that people may need more water.
Erika says
I don’t have a Dutch Oven, but I have stoneware pots, would that substitute well? The lid is glass so I don’t know if that would hold up? I’ve never made bread before so I have no idea!
justalittlebitofbacon says
I would think so! I bake in stoneware and I think any oven safe pot would work. From what I can see, oven safe pottery is good to 500F. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if you got an especially good crust on the bread. As for the lid, I would not use glass at that temperature. If you don’t have another oven safe lid which fits, take some foil and tightly seal the top with it instead. Happy baking! 🙂
Candice Bizzell says
I also do not have a dutch oven (saw one at the thrift store that I am now kicking myself for not getting). I have stainless steel pots would that work? They all have stainless steel lids. I don’t trust my glass bake-ware to hold up to such high temperatures.
justalittlebitofbacon says
You just need a large enough pot with a lid which can go in the oven. (Which is basically what a dutch oven is!) I use my large stainless dutch oven to make this bread all the time.
Absolutely DO NOT use a glass bake ware or lids! The temperature is much too high and they would likely shatter. Not good. 🙁
Candice Bizzell says
Thank you, I actually found a great clay dutch oven at a local thrift store the same day I made this. I will be baking it up tonight and will definitely post photos. If you have Instagram please follow me there at Onthe_Blond_SideofThings.
Marieke says
Can use you a stand mixer to make the dough? I just got one as a gift and itching to use it?
justalittlebitofbacon says
Congratulations! You certainly can if you wish. Extra mixing won’t hurt it. 🙂
CL says
Hello, what size DO are you using? Will this work in a simple 5Q?
Thank you!!
justalittlebitofbacon says
A 5 quart dutch oven is actually the perfect size.
Bethany says
This looks like the perfect, easy break recipe! Yum!!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thanks! This method is one of my favorite ways to make bread. It’s so easy. 🙂
Thao @ In Good Flavor says
This bread looks wonderful, Annemarie! I love playing around with easy bread recipes. After seeing this, I almost want to hop right onto making some since I have all the ingredients, even the fresh rosemary. But since it’s almost 10:30pm on a work night, I guess it will have to wait. Can’t wait to try it!
justalittlebitofbacon says
Thank you! No knead breads are so much fun to make! 🙂