Last updated on February 28th, 2021
BACK IN 2006, JIM LAHEY took the food world by storm when his recipe for no-knead bread appeared in The New York Times. After making his bread myself this week (5 times!), I can see what the fuss was about. For here is an artisan loaf par excellence. The crust crackles when you bite into it. Divine too is the bread’s moist, chewey interior. It’s the bread you want for sopping up olive oil, or for topping with hummus or tapenade.
To achieve the ideal crust, you’ll need to bake the bread in an enameled, heavy-bottomed, 5-7 quart pot with a lid, just as Lahey recommends. I baked mine in the 7-quart Le Crueset dutch oven pictured above.
Jim Lahey’s No-Knead Bread
Adapted from a recipe published in The New York Times
Ingredients for one, 1 1/2 lb boule
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp rapid-rise yeast
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 5/8 cups water
Cornmeal, wheat bran, or more flour for dusting
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, and salt. Add water, and stir with a wooden spoon until the dry ingredients are moistened. Then cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set aside for 18 hours.
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles, as above. Pour the dough onto a lightly floured board. Dust the top of the dough with extra flour, and dust your fingers, too. Then knead the dough 4 times, by patting it out and then folding it into thirds, as if you were folding a letter. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rest for 15 minutes.
3. Liberally dust a cotton kitchen towel with cornmeal, wheat bran, or flour. Form the dough into ball, and place it, seam-side down, on the towel; dust the top of the dough, and cover it with another cotton towel. Let rise for 2 hours.
4. Turn the oven to 450F, set the covered pot on the center rack, and let it preheat for 30 minutes. Remove the pot from the oven, place your hand under the towel, and flip the dough into the pot, its seam now facing up. If the dough sticks to the towel, don’t worry. Just scrape it off as best you can. Shake the pot to help center the dough. Bake in the covered pot for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for another 15 minutes or slightly longer, until the crust is perfectly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
Does this bread sound appealing to you? Let me know, in comments section below.
And for more cooking and gardening tips, be sure to sign up for Kevin’s weekly newsletter.
You may also like:
Sheila says
Homemade bread is the best! I'll definitely try this one over the weekend. Can't wait!
Gregory says
OK, I tried it, and all I can say is this is one INCREDIBLE bread. Great crust with a dense, moist “flesh.” I'll make this again and again and again. Too bad it has to rest for a total 20 hours and 15 minutes. But that's probably why it's so good, right?
John C. says
OK. Here's the inevitable “improvement” in this recipe that you might try. It's the Cook's Illustrated redo of the original Jim Lahey recipe, and it is good. I've done both, and find that this one has an even more complex flavor. The only difference is that you substitute a mild-flavored lager beer and some vinegar for part of the water. This also reduces the resting time to as little as 8 hours, so I put it together early in the morning and can bake for supper.
The recipe is exactly the same except use only 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water (7 oz.), plus 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons mild-flavored lager (3 oz.), and 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.
After mixing all the ingredients with a rubber spatula, scraping up dry flour from the bottom of the bowl until a shaggy ball forms. Then, you let it rest anywhere from only 8 to as long as 18 hours.
So, basically, it's the same recipe and either is great.
It's from the Cook's Illustrated Jan./Feb. 2008 issue.
Note: If your Dutch oven doesn't have a metal knob on the lid, be SURE to unscrew the composite one or it will burn and smoke!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
John C – thanks for the tips. I will have to try the lager/vinegar version.
Jackie says
Kevin: Bread sounds delicious. Here is a great potato soup recipe to round out the perfect winter dinner.
You need: Four baking potatoes
2/3 cup flour
6 cups milk
2 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 cups sour cream
3/4 cup chopped green onions
6 bacon slices cooked and crumbled
Pierce potatoes with fork, bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour or until tender. Cool. Peel and coarsely mash. Discard skins.
Place flour in a large Dutch oven, gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 min.) Add mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup cheese, salt and pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.
Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup onions. Cook over low heat 10 min. or until thoroughly heated (don't boil). Sprinkle each serving with cheese, onions and bacon.
This makes 8 servings.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Jackie – this sounds WONDERFUL.
Tammy says
Kevin, I finally had a chance to try this bread last weekend. It's been so popular I've made several more loaves since! It's delicious and easy…my kind of bread.
A friend without Le Crueset ware told me she makes it using a cast iron bean pot with lid and it works really well. Just thought I'd mention that for readers who don't have Le Crueset.
Thanks for everything you do.
kathithara says
Kevin, First of all, love your website. Discovered it from the Garden Design website. Love your gardening articles too. They put me in a happy mood, so thanks.
Question: sorry to be dense, but can you elaborate a little bit on how to fold the dough like you’re making an envelope? (I’m a novice cook and baker; I do want to try this recipe.)
Also, looks like some of the recipes are no longer available. e.g. the English scones. Do you edit out the recipes as time goes by?
kathithara says
Kevin, scratch that last paragraph. I found the English scones on the next page. 🙂
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
kathithara – Sorry for the confusion! I’ve just corrected the post.
So…simply pat the dough out, then fold it into thirds, as if you were folding a letter. Repeat this step 4 times. Or, just knead the dough any old way you want to. The idea is to stretch the gluten molecules.
Glad you found the English scones recipe. When this website migrated from Blogger to WordPress, almost every link became broken. I’m still working to fix them.
Tater says
What can I bake this in if I have no Dutch oven or covered cast iron bean pot?
I enjoy your site very much! Thank you for the time and effort you put into it!
Julianne says
Do you think I could substitute the flour for Gluten free all-purpose flour? I have an intolerance, but love bread!
Janice Seigler says
I would like to know if I can use a cast iron dutch oven that is not enamel coated? I do want to make this bread, too!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Tater – Jim Lahey recommends an enameled, cast iron Dutch oven, and that is what I use. Cast iron can withstand the pre-heating necessary to achieve good results with this bread.
Julianne – I don’t know if this will work with GF flour. But I encourage you to try. You see, my partner is gluten-intolerant, and I’d love for him to sample this incredible no-knead bread — or at least something akin to it!
Janice – Yes — I suspect you can use a non-enameled, cast-iron Dutch oven for baking this bread. Have fun!
Not Supermom says
Howdy!
I made this bread this morning, with a few changes.
Essentially, it was the same ingredient list. We left it sitting on the kitchen counter overnight, about 12 hours, with some saran wrap over it.
I preheated the oven & the dutch oven, at 450*, and then, when the pot was hot, I simply scraped the dough out of the bowl and into the pot. Baked for roughly 30 minutes.
It turned out beautifully, with that lovely crunchy crust… but without all the folding and shaping business.
Laura says
Followed the directions and the results were perfect.
Loved it.
JEANNE LAMB says
cheese straws that the English often serve with sherry Thanks
bobbi butler says
iI AM EXCITED TO HAVE THE NO KNEAD BREAD RECIPE. but WANT TO ASK IF COOKING IT IN A BLACK IRON POT WITH TOP WILL BE OKAY. IT IS ALL I HAVE LIKE THAT.
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Bobbi Butler – If your black pot will hold 5-7 quarts, then it should work for this recipe. Let me know how the bread turns out for you.
Barb Conrick says
I have made this bread 4 times in the past 2 weeks, not only for my family, but as a gift to my dear sister. Everyone that has eaten it has loved it and except for the traveling time to my sister’s home (about 20 minutes) has it made it to a cooled stage before it was sliced. I have added fresh rosemary from the garden and roasted garlic during the folding stage before the last raising with wonderful results. And as a side note, I did not have rapid rise yeast so I used regular rise with no ill effects. My next loaf, I am going to use –hopefully–as the bread for a turkey, sauerkraut and swiss panni, at least that is my intent now.
Theresa says
Hi .Kevin . I love this bread but my crust was very rubbery do you think I did something wrong ?
Ashley says
To bad I don’t have anything to bake this in! It looks amazing. One of my favorite snacks is olive oil with dried garlic with bread for dipping. This would be perfect as you stated!
Sandy says
I made this using 1/2 c orange juice ,+ zest, 1 c water, 3 c flour, 1 tsp. yeast, 1 tsp. salt and1 c craisins. After the overnight rest I formed it into a ball on a lightly floured board. Placed the ball directly into the preheated pan for 30 min. Remove the cover and cook 10-15 min longer. It was hard to stop eating this delicious bread.
Tammra says
Love this recipe! I have even made individual bread in my small loaf pans…visiting guests loved their own loaf.
Joan says
I used my old cast iron chicken fryer with a glass lid. It turned out great! No knead (pun intended) for an expensive Dutch oven!
Kevin Lee Jacobs says
Hi Joan – Great to know that a large cast-iron pan with glass lid works in place of a Dutch oven. So glad you enjoyed this fab loaf!