2-Hour Fastest No Knead Bread
This recipe uses MORE YEAST than my Faster No Knead Bread. The rest of the ingredients are the same. Be sure to aerate (not sift) your flour before measuring. PLEASE SEE MY METRIC CHART ABOUT THE FLOUR. - Jenny Jones
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
Makes: One loaf
Ingredients:
- 3 cups (360-390g /12 3/4 ounces) bread flour or all purpose flour (AERATE FLOUR BEFORE MEASURING - See How)
- 2 TEASPOONS instant or RapidRise yeast (1 packet/7 g)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups hot water (up to 130° F)
- (about 2 Tablespoons extra flour for shaping)
Instructions:
- Combine flour, 2 teaspoons yeast, and salt in a large bowl. Stir in water until it’s well combined.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
- After 40 minutes, place a 3 to 6-quart Dutch oven with lid in a cold oven and preheat to 450° F.
- After the dough has rested for the hour, place it on a well-floured surface and sprinkle with a little flour. Using a scraper fold dough over 10-12 times & shape into a rough ball.
- Place in a parchment paper-lined bowl (not wax paper) and cover with a towel or another bowl. Let stand on counter top for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, carefully, using oven gloves, lift the parchment paper with the dough and transfer gently into the hot pot. (the dough sits inside a parchment "basket" inside the pot). Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove lid and parchment paper. Return, uncovered, to oven and bake 10 - 15 more minutes. Let it cool at least 15 minutes before slicing.
METRIC: The standard for weighing flour is 1 cup = 120 grams. But when I weigh one cup I get 125-130 grams. Please decide what works for you.
MAKE IT EVEN FASTER! See how to make it in 1 3/4 hours in my blog. Click here.
No Dutch Oven? Didn't Turn Out? Other Questions? Click here.
Just used this recipe to make the first loaf of bread I’ve made in my life, and apparently you can teach old dogs new tricks (I’m 60). It turned out amazingly well.
Objectively speaking the crust was perhaps a teensy bit chewy, and the interior a bit too moist/chewy/dense — but we’re talking fractions of degree from perfection. (My wife agreed with my critique but she did not leave any crumbs on her plate.) These were possibly caused by not waiting until the loaf was completely cooled to room temperature, but hey, warm bread and butter. Maybe next time I’ll control myself better. Maybe. There was a slight amount of scorching on a couple places on the bottom, so next time I think I’ll pull it from the oven just a bit sooner.
I like crusty crunchy tasty bread crusts, and in this regard the loaf was magnificent. It had a terrific nutty flavor. The crust alone made the project worthwhile.
Procedural Deviations: I had neither parchment paper nor Dutch oven.
Instead I floured a flexible silicone baking sheet to fold the dough on and to carry it to the baking container. I just dumped the dough ball on the bare metal, scraped off the remnants from the silicone, and patted them on top of the loaf.
To bake in I used a cast iron Griswold chicken fryer/skillet set which I have taken care to season thoroughly. It worked perfectly. The loaf did not stick AT ALL. Clean up was a snap. (In fact since the oven was fired up, I took the opportunity to rub on another coat of oil on the fryer and skillet, crank the stove another 75 degrees, and put the iron back inside.)
All in all this went far better than I expected for a first effort, and as our British cousins say, I’m chuffed. 🙂
Like you I was amazed that I made bread. Haven’t done soo since culinary school an funny how I always felt a bit intimidated but I have not stopped since trying Jenny’s recipe an now have made them all. The fast rolls are amazing an freeze well so I make big batches. All her recipes are great try the potato pierogi they are awesome
Hi Jenny do you ever age?? As still funny, gorgeous how knew you could cook and bake thriple threat i see !! Jenny i just made the dough 3 cups of flour?? I’m italian that wouldn’t be enough for lunches HA!HA! I TRIPLE THAT BUT I WANT TO ONLY MAKE ONE LOAF TODAY i followed your recipe after it rises i was going to grab ENOUGH for one LOAF and then can i store the rest in the frige knead it let it rise and pop it in the dutch oven 🤔🙄😮 if i am right it will prove to my family i really am a genius well more then they normally agree when i let them know whos. The friggen boss around here who hasnt gone to bed yet because i want to plse Jenny do you think you could get back to me in the next half hour thnxs.babe
Once again, you have helped me astound my family with these delicious recipes! They’re so flawless and well-detailed (your BBQ ribs, the yellow cake…). I’ve made your no-knead rolls recipe several times (awesome) and tonight needed a super quick loaf – it’s heavenly and will go perfectly with my roast chicken. (In terms of “flavorings” a la other cooks, I added a couple of teaspoons of Italian seasonings and doubled the salt (to our taste). Also: although this didn’t have one, your videos are super informative, cheerful, and well-edited. Thank you!
Do the ingredients need to be changed a little to use in a bread machine for the dough portion?
Hello! This bread is so good! Is there a way to make it less crunchy on the bottom? The top is perfect but the bottom is a very dark brown and hard. Maybe bring out of the oven sooner?
Please see the FAQs.
I have solved that for me at least. I always keep a sheet of parchment paper that I have folded in half twice so that it is a square on the bottom of the dutch oven. I put the dough into another piece of parchment per the instructions and put that in the dutch oven when it is hot per the instructions. When the bread is done I take it out and put on a wire cooling rack while it remains in the parchment while cooling. The bottom crust turns out softer for me.
I put a cookie sheet on the bottom rack of my oven. And I have no more dark bottoms on my bread.
Jenny, love your 2 hour dutch oven bread. My husband and I have made it several times with no fails. Always easy, super delicious and a hit in the house. Today I thought I would add some things I replaced the water with tomato juice from tomatoes we canned last year with basil,. I also added fresh rosemary, (about three tablespoons), a half cup of sun dried tomatoes diced and patted dry, and, a half cup of kalamata olives drained and diced as well. After the first rise, I flattened the bread, spread on the toppings and folded it into itself to make a ball. I let it rise again for 45 minutes and then followed your recipe. Soooo good! Savoury and tasty! Eat on its own, add butter or dip in olive oil. Yum! Thanks for your recipes. You are the bomb!
I’ve been cooking my loaf on a large pizza stone ( with parchment paper) covered by a metal Dutch oven lid. Great success with the crust on the pizza stone, recommended!
Hi Jenny!! So my best friend passed on your bread recipe so I made it last night, using AP Flour & Active Dry Yeast & today I made another loaf, using AP Flour, Quick Rise Instant Yeast, & 1 1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt…both turned out awesome, hubby was especially happy since he loves bread. I can’t wait to make more loaves of bread, trying bread flour instead & see how I like it!!!
BTW, I used to watch Jenny Jones Show back in the day. Thank You for sharing your passion of food with us…much appreciated 👩🏽🍳👨🏻
Perfect and easy
This bread recipe is amazing. I also put a cup of shredded old cheese, garlic and sea salt than melted butter with a sprinkle of parsnip amazing
Can you freeze the dough ball to bake it later? Or is it best to bake it & freeze it?
10/10 definitely reccomend. ya man just make it how it says to its right dont add no sugar or less salt like ur fine follow the recipe. so ya 10/10 doing it again.
Amazing as always! This is our go-to bread and it turns our perfect every time! Thank you so much for the recipe!!
Easy peasy! I’ve made this several times and it turns out excellent everytime! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for the recipe!
I always add one tablespoon of molassis. And I put the whole package of instant sourdough.
So.. the taste just amazing!
😍🙏🏻👍🏻🌺🌼🌸
I was wondering about that yeast. I got some a while back, but haven’t used it. So, the packet is all the yeast you put in? 🍞👑
Loved this recipe! The loaf was soft, light and airy, with a nice crust on the outside. The only things I did different from the recipe were:
-add a half tsp of sugar to the dry ingredients for the yeast to activate quicker
-added chopped rosemary to tye dry ingredients
-I did not remove the parchment from the loaf for the last 10min of baking
-added a little olive oil drizzle on the top for the last 15min of baking
Will definitely make again!
I Would like to add black sesame seeds, chia seeds, and some rosemary into this wonderful recipe. Can you share the amount in teaspoons and tablespoons that in can incorporate to this and make it work. I’ll be making your recipe tomorrow and cannot wait. I’m new at bread baking so I’m really excited to get started. Thanx in advance for your help, LuLu.
Loved this! I knew I was having soup for lunch today and definitely wanted fresh bread to go with it.
1 tsp of salt, though, is too much. The taste dominates the bread and I would cut it to 1/2 tsp next time.
I’ve made this several times now, with great success. I read that someone was having trouble with the bottom getting too hard. I put a piece of aluminum foil, folded into quarters so there are four thicknesses, into the bottom of the baking pan. That seems to help with the bottom of the loaf.
Thank you. I’ll try it.
I also found that when the bread is done I leave it in the parchment on a cooling rack and the bottom stays softer.
I love this recipe but always get a hard bottom crust. It is so hard I can hardly cut through the bread. Any suggestions to avoid this problem.
Someone farther down the comments suggested taking a sheet of parchment paper and folding it in half then half again and put in bottom of the pot. Also raising the oven rack up one level. I have done that and my bottom crust is now easy to cut and still crisp. you can leave the parchment paper in the pot and use it over and over again.
Try raising the oven rack one notch up. Or, put a black skillet on rack below your rack. That would diffuse some of the heat. I’ve heard of people using a Bakers Stone, that basically “lives” in the oven. 🍞👑
Phenomenal! You are the best! This bread is so easy, so crusty & good! I made & served it with clam chowder tonight.
I’m so grateful for your recipes & spirit, the way you bring such joy to cooking. Thank you for sharing with joy your excellent recipes that make people happy! You are making dinner special.
Your bread recipe came through again Jenny! I have made the other dutch oven bread a few times and my family loves it! I didn’t leave enough time today to make that version so I tried this version and once again it came out great! Perfect addition to our St. Patty’s Day corned beef dinner. Thanks!
This was so lovely and delicious. Guess the recipe is as lovely as the chef! You have such a sweet way about you Jenny. You genuinely want to make it as easy as possible to make something delicious and quick.
I have made this bread 3 times now. Comes out perfectly every time. Thank you.
For my 4th attempt, I added 4 teaspoons of Stevia in powder form and 4 Tbl spoons of Vital Wheat Gluten. Otherwise I followed all instructions and quantities. The family liked the small changes, especially my 93 year old Mum!
I just have 1 question. If I want to make 2 or 3 loaves together, can I do it on a parchment lined tray without the Dutch Oven? If I MUST use a covered pan, could I use my turkey roasting pan instead of the cast iron Dutch oven?
TIA for your response.
Please see the FAQs for “I Don’t Have a Dutch Oven” suggestions.
I also forgot to mention that I didn’t remove the parchment paper either – as this is a step the NYT recipe also omits. The paper doesn’t catch on fire and it’s just one less step. I turned my oven down to 350 for the last 15 minutes, and left it in the oven for 5 beyond that with it turned off. It was perfect.
Made tonight to go with Damn Delicious’ Creamy Tortellini Soup with sausage and kale. It was perfection! I wish I could post a picture of how pretty it was. Sundays are now ‘cook with mom’ days for our 11 YO son – and he’s loving it. We made lemon icebox pie, this bread, and the soup 🙂
I made it with Damn Delicious Clam Chowder. Delicious together.
My question is, do I need to double the recipe for a 7 quart Dutch oven?
Every time I make this it comes out flat, only about 3 inches high. I’ve made it the original kind, I’ve made it the fast way, I’ve let it rise over night, I’ve tried both regular yeast and quick rise yeast – – flat flat flat.
Any suggestions?
Thank you.
Richard
Did you look at the FAQs?
Hi Richard,
I have the same problem. I decided to double the recipe and left it in the oven for 15 minutes when I took the lid off. The loaf is thicker but still not great. I have been using a 5 quart Dutch Oven. I am going to try a 2 quart with the original recipe directions to see if that makes a nicer loaf.
Just came out of the oven. Looks and smells good, can’t wait to try it. Thanks for the easy recipe.
I left the parchment in and it turned out great! It was nice and brown and crunchy all over
How do I remove the parchment paper when I take the lid off without disturbing the bread
After 30 min the bread is basically done, removing the lid and parchment is to help brown and get a crisp crust. Don’t be afraid to take it out of the Dutch oven to remove the parchment and put the bread back. Sometimes I just pull the parchment out and the bread flips over when that happens I just put it right again with my oven mitts on.
I use two spatulas: one to slide under the bread and another to keep the bread from sliding away. Then I gently use the two to place the loaf back in the pot. The ‘stabilizing’ spatula is not a metal one.
Good luck.
I do not remove the parchment paper at this step, never had any issues.
I just slid the parchment paper out from under the loaf.
I substitute a packet of Instant sourdough yeast.
My mom discovered this recipe and we have both made it several times. It comes out perfect every time. Sometimes we change it up by adding chopped up Kalamata olives, or pepperoni or even both. Trying dried cranberries and walnuts this time.
. . this is my “go to” for Cranberry Walnut Bread. . I add 2 Tbsp turbinado sugar for a little added sweetness.
Could this be done in the Dutch oven, over open flame pit? We are without power, and would love to have some warm bread tonight!
As a mechanical engineer, my answer is go for it. A dutch oven in a fire will act a lot like one in an oven, it’s actually designed to do so.
I’ve never made no knead bread before this but this will be the only recipe I’ll use! I’ve done the different bread machine breads and never got the texture or crust I like but this is perfect and so quick and easy! I don’t have a Dutch oven but I got a silicone bread bowl/maker for Christmas that tops out at 428 degrees so I lowered the temp to 425 and baked 30 min closed and 15 more open and got a crunchy, chewy crust with a fluffy interior….hasn’t lasted more than 30 minutes out of the oven yet
I don’t have a Dutch Oven either. I have a huge old Correlle backing dish with lid and I think it does OK. Everyone eats the bread so it must not be bad!
Beth,
I used a Corelli dish and my bread turned out fabulous, crusty top and soft inside.
New to baking here👋can this recipe be doubled?
I usually make twice the recipe in 2 different bowls. I add different types of cheese to the second one, so good!!!
Do you cook them at the same time?
Awesome bread Jenny!! We love it!
Excellent taste used in a grilled cheese sandwich too! Second one going in the oven within a couple of days…that’s how yummy 🙂
Thank you.
I haven’t made no-knead bread in a couple of months. This morning I decided to make it and the house smells great. Can’t wait to slice it!
I have Wolf (combo) Convection ovens. Would I use the convection setting or the conventional setting? No one EVER speaks to convection ovens! The Wolf rep told me that my ovens are really made to use convection, not the conventional settings 🤦🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
I also have a convection oven but never use it. All of my recipes use a conventional oven and I think most recipes do unless otherwise stated.
You drop the temp to 425
And bake 10 minutes less.
I skipped the pot heating step and it worked out great too!!! I have done both and they seem to be the same. I would like to get more lift for a fluffy bread with this recipe. Do you have any suggestions Jenny?
Thanks so much!
PS Jenny, this is now my GoTo bread recipe. I have never failed! This bread tastes so good. I made combinations with rosemary, cheese, garlic, sesame seeds, chili sauce, wasabi and kosher salt. I even let it sit for 24 hours and it STILL turned out amazing!! The only thing I need to watch is the wetness of the dough. Sometimes it needs more flour and sometimes it ‘kneads’ a lot more flour:) Regardless, your recipe is AWESOME and THANK YOU for sharing. I went from knowing nothing about this recipe to mastering it immediately so you were right…even a monkey can do this LOL!!!
At which point do you add the rosemary, or other ingredients?
I make this bread all the time and the family loves it. Thank you so much Jenny. Also, I’ve been making your baby back ribs for a few years now and it is another family favorite! Wish you would put out more videos on YouTube. I’ve always been a fan of yours!
If you like a light fluffy loaf ,one must take days, if at 2 o’clock you decide to make fettuccini and want a damm good loaf of fresh bread this is your huckleberry. Made this a bunch makes a great pan fried sandwich. Smoking French toast.
Jenny, do you leave the oven temperature at 450′ while baking the bread? RSVP. Thank you. Lorraine.
Yes.
Do we not grease the pan?
No, don’t grease the pan.
This is brilliant! Thank you so much for posting this.
This recipe was a delight! I didn’t have a Dutch oven Or parchment paper so I just put it on an iron skillet With foil as a “lid” as is. Turned out amazing! Thanks so much for the recipe! This might turn out to be my regular everyday bread
I absolutely love, love, love this recipe. I have made this bread several times and it always turns out perfectly.
Thanks Jenny 😊
Awesome bread! I was SO happy to get your 2 hour, no-knead, Dutch oven bread recipe. I had wanted to try no Knead bread but the recipe my daughter used required raising overnight. I was not up for that! After watching your video and making my first loaf 🍞 was hooked. I have been making 2-3 loaves per week since! I made one alteration to the recipe, I added 1 tbsp of white sugar to the dry mix. Just a matter of flavour for me. Thank you very much for you recipe! I am submitting a picture also.
I also add sugar (raw) and I add some parmesan cheese in the dough. When it is time to Christ it I sprinkle some cheese on top.
Excellent recipe. Thanks for your work on this.
As a variation, I added about 1/2 cup of sugar, 1 tsp of cinnamon, and 3/4 cup of raisins to make cinnamon raisin bread. I stuck with the 130 grams of flour per cup. The sugar made the dough sticky, but I went with it and added a little flour when I worked with it to form a ball. The crust did not harden over like the regular recipe, but That was not a bad thing for me.
It is outstanding toasted.
Again, thanks for your work on this recipe. Each Sunday I bake a couple of regular recipe loaves to give away to neighbors who need a little lift. It is always a hit and much appreciated by them, and it doesn’t take a ton of time out of my day to lift the spirits of my neighbors.
Love all of your bread recipes. They never fail!
For those ecologically minded folks, try this instead of a new piece of plastic wrap for each loaf (I make a new one every few days and began to feel guilty about the waste.)
Dollar stores sell plastic shower caps in packages of 3 or more. These fit nicely over a bowl and are easily hand washed. I have been using the same one for months!
I don’t often comment on recipes, but this was GREAT! At 4pm I decided I wanted bread, and looked for the fastest recipe, and this was it. The only alterations I made were to press the loaf into some cornmeal before putting it on the parchment (I love that crunch on the crust), and after the 30 minutes of baking I took the whole loaf out of the dutch oven and put the naked loaf back in for the last 15 minutes, because I like a nice dark crusty loaf. It was amazing! Thanks!
I made this today, I used my LC sauteuse, it is nice and crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. This recipe is a keeper. I don’t have the patience to wait for hours and hours before I can eat a piece of bread. Thanks, Jenny for a fabulous recipe.
can you use wheat flour instead
I used whole wheat (hard red winter wheat) and it is great.
I just put the shaped loaf and parchment paper in my cold DutchOven put in cold oven set temperature to 450. After 40 minutes I remove the lid and bake another 15 to 20 minutes or until internal temperature is 2OO degrees. No burns this way.
This was my first time ever making bread and this was so easy and turned out fantastic!!! Wish I could post a photo. My entire family gobbled it up while it was still warm. Next time I’ll have to make more.
You can send photos using this link: YourPhotos@JennyCanCook.com
Love the bread! Any way to make it into a long loaf instead of round?
After it set for the first hour I shaped rolls and let them rise in my romertopf. Came out perfectly! I’m trying cinnamon rolls next.
I imagine you could shape it into loaves, braids, Jenny has instructors on how to cook bread in 2 loaf pans.
This was my very first time making bread and it worked! I had my worries as I don’t have a real dutch oven and I didn’t have any parchment paper either.
I used my Lagostina pot and lid which are stainless steel and happen to say dutch oven on the bottom.I used a floured tea towel to transfer the dough to the pot and it worked well with no sticking. I also put some flour in the bottom of the pot and tin foil over the pot then the lid to seal it better.
Thanks for this recipe. It was absolutely delicious.
Can you help me calculate the nutritional value, specifically the carbs? Thank you
Hi Kathy
The analysis for one loaf of bread is as floows. Since nutritional information is based upon serving size, take the number of servings you get out of a loaf and divide the total calories and other information by the number of servings. The nutritional information will not be exact as loaves are not uniform in shape and slices vary a bit. But this should be a guide for you. I used 390 Grams of flour for the calculations.
1 Loaf of bread
Calories…1318
Fat….3.6 Grams
Saturated Fat..0.6 Grams
Cholesterol….0
Sodium…2344 mg
Carbohydrates….276.1 Grams
Fiber…10 Grams
Sugars….1 Gram
Protein…37.1 Grams
On the fiber, I don’t think there are 10 grams of fiber in this loaf if using bread flour.
Good Morning
Bread flour (white) has 3.6 Grams of fiber per cup. This recipe, 390 Grams of flour, is 2.89 cups. A loaf made with white bread flour will have 10.404 Grams per loaf, slightly more than all purpose. Following is a breakdown for most common flour for breads.
Whole wheat flour has 12.8 Gram of fiber per cup
All purpose white bleached flour has 3.4 Grams of fiber per cup
I like mixing Whole wheat and bread flour for this recipe.
I’ve been making bread regularly for years and a couple years ago started playing with no knead recipes. Your video was what convinced me to start. Thank you!
This is a very forgiving recipe and here are my findings on substitutions and variations:
1. The extra yeast definitely shortens the process and I’ve already been doing that for a couple years.
2. I never buy the more costly bread flour any more, AP always works great.
3. You can substitute whole wheat and/or rye flour up to about 1/3 of the total, and have no problems with rising or texture.
4. To adjust loaf sizes, just keep the flour to water ratio at 2 to 1.
5. You can substitute 1/2 cup of milk for the same amount of water.
6. You can substitute an egg for 1/4 cup of the water, just don’t heat it.
7: Finally, sourdough! I keep a 50/50 hydration sourdough starter in my fridge in a 1/2 full, quart Mason jar that I feed weekly. When I’m ready to use it, I feed it with a cup of water and a cup of flour and leave it on the counter for about 1/2 a day. For the loaf recipe, I substitute 1 cup water and 1 cup flour for 2 cups of the starter. It isn’t as “sour” as a traditional 2-3 day loaf, but it’s ready in 2 hours!
By the way, I just had a toasted slice of sourdough whole wheat rye with my breakfast. Delicious, thanks again for the inspiration!
Try a little beer sometime! I used 1/2 cup and it rose a bit more and was a little sweeter. Cooling a loaf now and will sub a little whole wheat next time. Thanks
Curios if you substituted the beer for the hot water?
Jenny!
This recipe is magic! Love it, but your suggestion for the oven thermometer was the best. My stove is relatively new so I figured it was accurate.
Boy was I wrong. That thermometer has changed everything.
Thank you.
How come my dough is not sticky like yours?
I just made this bread came out fantastic! Thank you
This worked perfectly! I made mistakes on the first 2 attempts by not following instructions exactly, but recovered with my third!
The best part of this is that you don’t have to wait a long time to check results and tweak your actions.
Just ate it with Goat Cheese and Grilled Asparagus and Zucchini
Thank you Jenny, you are a genius!
Easier bread recipe I’ve ever tried. I have tried out several spices and cheeses. Our new favourite is fresh Rosemary and fresh parmesan cheese. I add these ingredients as I form the ball and place it on the parchemin paper. Gave some breads as Christmas gifts to neighbours… I just love this recipe so thank you!
My goodness, this was incredible and incredibly easy. I didn’t have a large enough Dutch oven so read the FAQs and used a roasting pan. It came out perfectly…crisp and toasty on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth soft on the inside. It was great for sandwiches but also with just a bit of olive oil.
Oh, and I might add that if you have silicone lids then you don’t need to bother with plastic wrap to cover the dough.
Just made it again for the 20th time. So simple and so very delicious. Just waiting for it to cool down a bit so we can have a warm slice with my wife’s home-churned butter. Beyond yum.
Has anyone tried doubling the recipe to make a larger loaf? Would the baking time need to be increased? If so, by how much?
thanks for any feedback
I have doubled and split the dough in half and used another dutch oven. My family enjoyed both breads.
I was hoping to make a larger loaf. I guess I will have to experiment.