No Knead Bread Without Dutch Oven

Have to ever hear of a No Knead Bread without Dutch oven? It is so simple and easy to make, Just four ingredients and five minutes of prep time no Dutch oven required and you will get a perfect crispy crusty artisan bread. It is a vegan bread recipe that is oil-free and sugar-free.

No Knead No Dutch Oven

This dish conquered the hearts and kitchens of all lovers of homemade bread. Just an incredible success for this revolutionary recipe, which makes it possible to obtain a loaf of magnificent crusty artisan bread. As the title suggest the process simply no kneading and no Dutch oven is required.

Your bread will be a thousand times better than bread made in the bread machine, and is much easier to prepare than you think! 

It's magic! Just impossible to believe that this bread can be homemade. It is foolproof just like my vegan galette recipe.

What Can You Use Instead of a Dutch Oven for Bread?

It's essential to have some steam during the beginning of baking a bread. Yeast activity accelerates as the bread enters the hot oven. The crust sets immediately, If you put the dough in a dry oven, preventing the yeast from expanding the bread. That is the reason Dutch ovens are used to trap the steam inside.

Without Dutch oven we simply create an artificial steam environment for the bread dough. When we preheat the oven just before putting the dough in the oven we pour a cup of water in a dish underneath the dough rack. This will create steam and it will trapped inside the oven surrounds the loaf. This will keeps the crust soft and cool for longer, allowing the yeast to go to work and the loaf to grow.

Pro Tip: Instead of a a Dutch oven simply pour a cup of water in a dish underneath your bread dough rack. This will create a steam environment for the dough to rise and ensure a crispy and crunchy crusty bread. 

What You Need for No Knead Artisan Bread 

How to make delicious crusty bread yourself, without kneading? You require just four simple ingredients in which one is water. Yes!  

• All-Purpose Flour: After testing different kinds of flour and mixtures, my preference goes to the one made with all-purpose flour. You can use half in half of wheat flour and all purpose flour too. (Update: I tried this recipe with bread flour and it worked even better may be because of higher gluten level in it)
• Warm near to hot water: To make the mixture, add 2 cups of warm water. You’ll get a sticky mixture and its normal! 
• Yeast: I am using instant yeast but dry active yeast will work too.
• Salt: You can not think a bread without salt. Keep in mind that it’s essential! 

Yes, you read it right, you do not need any oil or sugar for this bread recipe.

How to Make Artisan Bread at Home

To make this easy no knead artisan bread start with

Prepare the Dough

Combine salt and active dry yeast in warm water. Add flour gradually and mix well with wooden spoon and hands. Cover with plastic wrap and place a towel over the top. Leave in a dry warm place for up to 2 to 3 hours.  

Shape the Dough

Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C). Once dough is risen scrape dough out of the bowl, sprinkle the top of the dough with flour and fold it. Roughly form a round shape. Divide dough into 2 to make two bread loafs and make an oval-shaped ball.

Let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes over a baking tray. Sprinkle some oats and white sesame seed over the dough ball and slightly press. Slit on the dough with a sharp knife to let the steam out. Once done, carefully place your bread dough ball tray on the rack.

Bake without Dutch oven

Pour a cup of water in a dish underneath your bread dough rack. This will create steam and ensure a crispy and crunchy crusty bread. Bake the bread for 30 minutes. Remove with baking gloves on over a cooling rack. Serve with your soups or toast to eat. Leftover dough can be refrigerated for up to two weeks in an airtight container. 

Depending on the size of the bread as well as the type of flour used, the process may take a few tries to arrive at the ideal amount! Even if the first loaves are not perfect, they will still be very good.  

My first wasn't quite bloated enough, but that's okay! 😂 

How to Store your Artisan Bread for Long? 

Storing the Bread: Baked bread keeps well for two to three days on the shelf. But I bet it will disappear really fast.

Freezing the Bread

 To freeze the bread let the loaves cool completely, wrap it in some paper and then place it in an airtight freezer bag. Bread will keep well in the freezer for up to 2 months. Once needed let it thaw overnight and warm up in the oven.

How to Thaw Frozen Bread

Remove it from freezer bags and let it thaw in the fridge for 7 to 8 hours. Once soft, warm it up in the oven for 3 to 5 minutes at 350F (180C).

Storing the Dough

You can keep the dough in the fridge for up to a week in an airtight container, and freshly bake it whenever you need it. I have done it with perfection many times.

Tips and Tricks

1. Make sure your water is not too hot nor too cold It is very important to use warm water. The cold water will not revive the yeast and hot water will kill the yeast.
2. Yeast should be fresh otherwise it will not rise the dough making a dense dough ball.
3. Use some oil on your hands for easy handling of the dough as it will be quite sticky.
4. Sprinkle some rolled oats, sesame seeds, or cornmeal for a rustic-looking bread loaf.
5. you can use some herbs and seasonings or even nuts and dry fruits to add some flavor to the bread.

How To Serve

1. Serve this delicious bread with soups or Lentil Curry.
2. Make Buffalo Chickpea Sandwich with this Rustic bread and enjoy.
3. You can also make this delicious Savoury Babka Bread with this no-knead bread dough.

Is This No Knead Artisan Bread Worth It? 

Whether it's every day or just once in a while, for me the answer is clear for making this bread. REALLY! It is for several reasons: 

• It's really cheap: by my calculations, $1 just for a 1.5 pound (650 gram) loaf of bread. It's easily 4 times more economical than a comparable loaf at the grocery store or bakery. 
• Simple Ingredients: You always have in your pantry, what you need to make it!
• It smells good in the kitchen all day long. 
• The feeling of satisfaction in baking bread is immense. 

If you try this recipe, leave a comment, and show some love by rating it in stars. Do not forget to take a picture and tag us @getsetvegan on Instagram. We would love to see this.