2-Hour Fastest No Knead Bread
No knead bread in two hours? Believe it! Be sure to aerate your flour before measuring. - Jenny Jones
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
Makes: One loaf
Ingredients:
- 3 cups bread flour (all purpose works too)
- 2 teaspoons instant or RapidRise yeast (1 packet/7 grams)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups hot water (up to 130° F)
- (about 2 Tablespoons extra flour for shaping)
Instructions:
- Combine flour, 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 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 and dough from the bowl and place gently into the hot pot. (parchment paper goes in the pot too) Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, remove lid and parchment paper. Return, uncovered, to oven and bake 10 more minutes.
Didn't Turn Out? Other Questions? Click here.
For more on this recipe in my blog click here.
Hello,
Today I tried the bread recipe and it turned out GREAT. I only change the flour ingredient to 1 cup whole wheat, 1 cup mixed seed flour and 1 cup white flour. I have not tasted it yet, but it looks exactly like the picture in the recipe.
Thank you.
Dr.Trudy
LOL… I just watched your YouTube video, even though we eat Keto.
CarboPorn… SOOOO funny! However, there are times when we take a wee break (usually just a snack here or there) and I am saving this video link for just such a time!
I am thankful that your metabolism does not require a low carb lifestyle because then we wouldn’t have awesome videos like this! or… maybe you would bring this creativity to KetoLife!
Either way, you made me literally laugh out loud and that doesn’t happen often.
LOVE it! THX!!!
After the first 30 minutes of baking, you remove the bread, discard the parchment paper and then return the loaf to the pan to put in the oven, right?
But if you can handle the loaf , why not just return it to the oven on the shelf by itself, and not in the dutch oven?
I put mine back in for the second cooking on the parchment paper only and directly on the oven rack NO POT. Returning it to the pot over cooks the bottom of the bread.
I have been baking our own bread for some 30 years and I am nearly sure that what you suggested/requested that the “loaf” will not be able to stand on its own. It may slightly collapse, since the loaf is not firm enough inside to do what you suggest.
Keep baking,
Dr Trudy
The recipe is so great!! I am wondering if I could add some cheese, some jalapeño or…just for flavor. Will this mess up the recipe?
The instructions seem to be backwards. Can you re-read them and correct?
You asked me this on January 2nd and I replied asking you to tell me how it should be corrected because I posted it the best way I could. Please send me the corrections it needs and I will try to make it more clear.
The instructions read correctly to me. That is, they reflect the video exactly.
Cindy, have your forced a refresh of your web page or flushed your browser cache? Web browsers store as much of a page as it can to help the page load more quickly the next time we return to the page. While helpful, this browser-controlled shortcut can create problems when a webpage has changed since the last “snapshot”.
We can force the browser to actually PROCESS the contents of the code by surfing to the page we want to see, then tap the F5 key. If that doesn’t work, you can refresh your cache by CTRL+F5 (hold the CTRL key down, tap the F5 key, then release the CTRL key). That should do it!
If the above methods does not refresh a web page, you will have to flush your cache, following the directions for whichever browser you use.
HTH,
Cyn
Cooked this today; my first loaf of bread ever baked.
Fantastically easy, clear directions, and for the time invested, a seriously good loaf of bread!
A couple notes – I wasn’t sure about whether, when the dutch oven was being preheated in the oven, it should have the lid on. I believe the answer is “yes”, and that might be important.
I left mine in for more like 15 minutes uncovered at the end, because I like a dark finish. YMMV.
Tasting the bread, I might add a bit more salt, but I’m a baking novice so don’t know if that would throw off the chemistry in some way?
All in all, extremely easy, quick, and tasty – thanks for publishing this recipe!
If I’d read closely, I see that the recipe indicated putting the oven “with lid” in the oven, so guess that’s clear….
Adjusting the salt will not change the chemistry at all.
Hi Jenny! Loved your video! What can you substitute for a Dutch Oven? I haven’t purchased one yet ( been meaning to though). Could I possibly use a soup pot that has an oven friendly lid??? Or maybe a cast iron skillet?
Please see the FAQs.
No need to run straight to the Chi-Chi kitchen stores! I’m not even kidding: “Wally World” is where I bought my first one, the brand is Tramontina (think that spelling is right), it was around $45 and it is as good as your MIL’s spendy Le Creuset ones. I made the original no knead bread (NOT fast!!) and it came out great. Homegoods also had a ton of them — can’t remember the brand, but ones you’d know. They are worth checking from time to time to see if they have any in. Cheaper is better! Worth noting, getting it shipped free is a plus cos they weigh a TON, WalMart will ship free as long as over a certain $ amt.
I made this yesterday. I followed the recipe exactly., except I must leave out the salt. But regardless of what the “master bakers” tell you, bread bakes just fine without salt. As Jenny said, it’s for flavor.The technique with the Dutch oven is perfect for what I like.
I got a cheap cast iron Dutch oven from Amazon.
A note to folks who have failures with this bread. Bread has been baked like this for at least 10,000 years. It’s the original bread recipe, less the salt. Flour, water,yeast, bake. Bread.
The flour. Try different brands. Just don’t use self-rising, that has baking powder and baking soda in it for quick breads.
The moisture content of your flour may make a difference. Older flour will be dried out more than fresh. I don’t know that for sure, just my experience.
Then water. I use filtered or distilled water. My tap water is extremely hard (dissolved limestone) and chlorinated. Good drinking water. But my tap water inhibits the growth of my yeast. I’ve tested it.
Try a different brand of yeast. I use Fleishmans and LeSafre. There is no difference in the strain of yeast, just the different way companies process it. No, for you older folks you won’t get that wonderful yeasty smell of your Mom’s bread. That is an old strain of yeast not used anymore. Moderns didn’t like it, they wanted store bought tasting yeast bread. I’m not making that up, Google it.
Check the temperature of your oven. Even new ovens may be off several degrees.
Don’t be afraid of tweaking your water, flour,dough or technique.
When you are folding the dough, it should push back a bit. Pick it up, a ball of correct dough can be handled easily, without falling apart
.Leave a tail of parchment paper when you put the dough in the Dutch oven in the oven. Then when removing the parchment paper from the hot oven, grasp it, give it a quick jerk and it slides out from under the bread. No need to remove the hot Dutch oven. Hold the Dutch oven to be sure it doesn’t move, though. My loaf stayed up-right, but as hard as the crust is, no need to worry if it is upside down.
Fleischmanns invented instant yeast for the military in World War II.
To maintain the purity of their yeasts, the yeast companies grow the yeast in the lab and then look at it under microscopes and gently pick out the most vigorous plants.
The main thing is “Don’t be afraid”. So, you ruin a loaf or two. It won’t be the first loaf of ruined bread. Just try again.
I hope this helps.
Perfect!!! Thank you for the information. I did not know some of it. I am new ad to baking bread and I have not had this recipe fail.
Is ok if you use gluten free flour?
Please see the FAQs.
Your recipes are wonderful and I enjoy watching your videos . You have a great sense of humor. I am of Hungarian descent so a lot of your recipes are very familiar. Thank you for the great information and the great entertainment
If making the bread with all whole wheat are the ratios the same?
You will probably need to add a bit more water, as the whole wheat soaks up more liquid. I bake whole wheat nearly all the time.
The secret to bread making is to have a dough of the right “feel”. When you are folding your loaf, it should feel a lot like a jell-cushion seat cushion.
Springy, it should push back at you a bit. It’s hard to explain, but when you get it down, you will make better bread.
This my second time doing this, 1st time it was not completely done in the middle, should I bake it longer?
It sounds more like your oven was not hot enough or you sliced it too soon. Please check the FAQs: https://www.jennycancook.com/no-knead-bread-questions/
It’s a cold sunny day & I’m trying this for the first time. Going to risk my pot lid handle at 450 degrees because specs for it are ling gone & I don’t know max temp. I’ll report back – but thanks so much for this info & your great videos! I’m inspired!
WOW! Success! My loaf wasn’t as pretty as Jenny’s, but the taste is YUM! I’ll keep making this. My dough ball was looser than Jenny’s but I turned it a number of times in the bowl before removing it to roll. That did it. So glad I tried it!
My second loaf was even better than the 1st one, thank you, easy directions!!
I made this today and it may quite possibly be the best bread anyone on this planet has ever eaten. Now I am ruined for mediocre bread forever. Made this exactly as written. Thanks!
Directions are not in order
I do the best I can. Please send me a corrected version.
Directions looked perfect to me. Followed it in your order and the bread came out beautifully. Was also terrific with cheddar and olives.
You do just fine! I am making the bread today and appreciate you sharing!!
The recipe is in perfect order. Thanks so much for sharing this perfectly in order recipe🦋👏🏻🦋
Directions look perfect to me. Possibly they weren’t read carefully and the preheating of the pot was confusing to complainer?
Methinks the trolls are out from under the bridge.
It’s been a very long time since I’ve made bread. This looked easy enough, so I gave it a try! I just pulled it out of the oven and if it tastes as good as it looks, it’s going to be delicious!
I have been backing bread for years and you always have to think out the mistakes you make and keep plugging away. This recipe has always turned out perfect. I have made it several times and i have even increased the recipe to 4 cups of flour and not quite 2 cups of water. The dough is a little moist but not to much. It is perfect for when you need somthing fast. This is the first recipe that i don’t check the tempture on before removing it from the oven, it just is perfect every time by the recipe times. Thank You Jenny!
Hi there,
Just a quick question. I bought a dutch oven for Christmas but the max safe temp it reaches is 400F. I know a lot of recipes call for 450F. What is the major difference that 50 degrees would make? Not quite a crispy crust?
Thank you!
If your Dutch oven is cast iron, it’s good to 1200 degrees F. That’s where it begins to turn red and vaporizes the food.
I don’t know where that 400 deg thing came from, but it’s on a lot of cast iron cookware instructions on the internet.
Just make sure your lid and handle are oven proof, not plastic.
I think it’s the enameled cast iron dutch ovens where the enamel might get damaged from high heat unless they specify as safe to 450 or 500, Mine is LeCreuset, which is oven safe up to 500 degrees F.
tried this. not impressed. did it to the letter. hard to work with the initial ‘ball’. too loose, too sticky. did not form a ‘sticky ball’ to put onto parchment for next rise. had to add a goodly amount of flour just to ‘dry it out’. did the whole dutch oven idea. came out light just like the video. did the second ‘without cover’ for 10 minutes. again, exactly brown like the video. let it cool, cut it open. decent but not exceptional crumb, and actually slightly undercooked. the ‘worst’ part was that the bottom crust was too thick and hard to cut through and chew.
what i don’t get is this recipe vs the other no knead, the only difference is the amount of yeast (1/4 tsp vs 2 tsp) and the rise/bake times. this ‘boule’ just came out way too small. wonder why.
You might find some answers in the FAQs.
Response to AL- YOU DONE WRONG. I have never made bread in my entire life except for this recipe. Absolutely a
Great way to begin to make bread. Simple with amazing results. The only issue I have is that family wants it everyday now.
There are so many variables when making bread. I have found over the years sometimes flower can be adjusted up to one cup in a bread recipe. I have done verious “No knead’ Bread recipes. I have also found the amount of yeast varies quite a bit from Loaf to loaf.
The nice thing about it, you can basically tweak the recipe until it works for you, your environment, the moisture content of your flower, etc. Once you get that perfect recipe. Do it that way from here forward.
And be sure to share your results.
This past week I have made multiple loaves of this type bread. This recipe is the only when I have made three times and come out with a consistent results. My 13-year-old granddaughter was here and also made two loaves all by herself and they came out good.
Tell your granddaughter Good Job! It’s so nice when children want to learn new old things!
I just took mine out of the oven and OH-MY-GOODNESS does it ever look and smell delicious! I’ve made the recipe where you let it sit overnight or longer, but this is just so much easier and I don’t have to plan way in advance. I love the use of parchment paper. It sure makes for an easy cleanup. Thank you, thank you!
Made it with 4 year old yeast and it turned out great! Looked just like 6our photos
Made it for the first time tonight. Looks fabulous. Letting it cool now.
This makes a great loaf of bread…my second favorite after the original no-knead bread! Thanks! But I’d like to pass on a safety tip. When you pre-heat the dutch oven, take the lid off. If it’s heated with the lid on, the air inside can become “superheated” and when you take off the lid to put the dough in, the air can actually catch fire. Courtesy of my fire chief brother!
Although I left my lid off during preheating, I did not do it for the reason you shared. Frankly, I just forgot. Great advice and much appreciated from the mother of a career firefighter. Thanks!
I didn’t use instant yeast and it turned out perfect anyway. Somehow I missed that detail and have only regular yeast on hand.
Made this bread a couple days ago. It was my very first baked bread loaf. We added cheddar, japeleno and garlic from an idea we got on facebook and it turned out perfect. I could have increased the cheese and jalapeno slightly and I think I didnt use enough salt (used kosher instead of sea/table salt) but it was delicious and beautiful! Thank you!
Hi..what size is your le creuset Dutch oven? Thanks!!
Hi, can I use a thick ceramic bowl with a glass lid instead of the dutch bowl? Because I don’t have one. If so, at what temperature should I bake it and for how long?
Please see the FAQs.
Jenny, you make it look so easy! And it WAS!! I tried both the fast and the faster breads, both were wonderful! I was wondering if you could add raisins and nuts?
Glad I found your video’s, can’t wait to try and make some of your holiday treats.
Please see my other no knead variations.
Quick and easy. Almost indistinguishable from the 18-hour version, but not quite. When I’m in a hurry, this will be my go to. It’s not as crusty and doesn’t have the sourdough taste, but it’s a lovely loaf.
I unfortunately cannot have wheat gluten. What other flours could I use with this and what measurements should they be? I have found that potato and quinoa and millet flours are quite tasty. But the measurements are different…
You could search around for gluten free no knead bread. I tried it once and it did not turn out: https://www.jennycancook.com/no-knead-bread-questions/
We used buckwheat. It did nit rise as beautifilly as the photos but it was tasty and went well diped in olive oil and basmanti vinegar
I have a cast aluminum Dutch Oven, can it be heated to 450 degrees?
I tried making my loaf with 100% whole wheat and I even added wheat gluten. The bread didn’t really rise when baked. Wonder what happened? The loaf made with bread flour turned out fine.
This 2-hour version is not intended for whole wheat flour. I suggest you stick with my proven recipes for multi-grain breads and make sure your yeast is fresh. My FAQs deal with a lot of baking issues. https://www.jennycancook.com/problems-with-yeast-baking/ I hope this helps.
Unfortunately I didn’t read this thread till after I used whole wheat flour in the recipe. What should I expect? Any description of how the whole wheat loaf will come out?
I really enjoyed making this bread. I used 1 cup AP, 1 1/4 cup Bread flour, 1/2 cup rye, and 1/4 cup Spelt (aerated flours) and 1 tsp sea salt, then mixed 1 tsp instant yeast in 120° purified water and 1/2 cup sourdough starter to measure a total of 1 1/2 cup liquid.
I will wait for breakfast and have my Avocado toast on my fresh baked loaf of sourdough bread, made in 2 hours.
Do you happen to live in a high altitude area? I do, and was wondering how to incorporate my sourdough into this recipe.
Super easy work and fast tank I will send a picture if I can but I don’t know how wander full
You can send photos using this link: YourPhotos@JennyCanCook.com
Thank for this recipe it work superb easy and tastes good 😋😋
I did enjoy the bread but didn’t find it as light and airy as the overnight recipe. I think I will stick with that one
Wow! This was amazing! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I’m a decent sweets baker but always always failed at bread. Until today. I can officially check this off my life list!
Jenny do you or anyone know if you can substitute gluten free flour for the regular flour?
It’s addressed in the FAQs. https://www.jennycancook.com/no-knead-bread-questions/
I made this one today and it came out so delicious. Quicker than the overnight one and tastier too.
Can you add less water and add olive oil along with rosemary ?
Yes…but just under1/3 c evoo. Black olives, rosemary Yes!
Do you use fresh or dried rosemary?
This was the first time I’ve ever made bread, and it turned out amazing! I only have a 2qt glass baking dish, so I halved the recipe, and everything stilll turned out great! As a poor starving college kid who can eat bread like it’s nobody’s business, baking my own bread with this recipe is going to save me so much money! I had to stop myself from eating the whole loaf!
You have to be very careful using glass pans for this at that heat level. 425º is usually the hottest oven for glass pans. You run the risk of the glass exploding.
Glass pans are not safe to use over 425º in the oven. You run the risk of the glass exploding.
Please get a small Amazon Basics cast iron Dutch oven, the 2 qt may fit you fine.
They are cheap, but heavy.
In the video you said 1/4 tea spoon of yeast and this recipe ask for 2 tea spoons of yeast. I’m praying my bread still come out fine.
The video is for a different Faster 4 1/2 hour loaf with 1/4 tsp. yeast. This recipe is for a new Fastest 2-hour loaf and it needs 2 tsp. yeast. If you followed the recipe as written it will turn out.
An you use rapid rise yeast for this recipe?
Yes, and I clarifed the recipe.
can you do half whole wheat and half bread flour?
I haven’t tried the 2-hour version yet with whole wheat but it works with this “faster” recipe: https://www.jennycancook.com/recipes/faster-no-knead-whole-wheat-bread/
I made this bread and the “No Dutch Oven” recipe today. Wow so easy to make and delicious too! Will be making and teaching your recipe to my posterity….it works well with All purpose flour and whole wheat!
Had a crush on you since I first saw one of your videos!
That’s all Jenny.
Has anyone tried using whey instead of water? I am thinking it might make it more sourdough-ish. I have a lot of whey on the fridge from making and straining yogurt.
Made this recipe as directed. Bread seemed a bit doughy. Used bread flour.
Please see the FAQs for some tips. https://www.jennycancook.com/no-knead-bread-questions/
YOUR A REAL CUPIE DOLL YOU REMIMDE ME OF MY GRADE 4 TEACHER mRS mISSET/ALA BOUFONT BUT NOT THAT SO MUCH.
ITS THE HONESTY IN YOUR EYES.
THE WAY YOU SEE THINGS.
I made this delightful recipe today. I watched the video on YouTube 2 times and told my husband not to talk to me while I was trying to make bread…..lol…I do not have a Dutch Oven, so I used my 3 qt. Cuisinart stainless steel saucepan with the glass lid that has a metal handle. I looked up my set online it can withstand 500 degrees so I thought I give it a try.
I did everything else exactly like you said Jenny, I even checked the water with a thermometer to make sure it wasn’t over 130 degrees.
Well, after I finished baking it, my husband asked me 3 times, “Can I have some now”? LOL. So finally after cooling a bout 30 minutes he ate some with butter.
He moaned and said, “Why haven’t you been making this if you knew how?
He continued and said, “Weve been married 28 years and you’ve been holding out on me that you could make bread like THIS!
Well, this recipe is certainly a keeper and so is my Husband!! 🙂 Thanks Jenny!! 🙂
This is such a sweet post. Congrats on your enduring marriage and your successful bread!
I’ve been making this for a month now and I realized that there is no need to use the “dutch” oven thing, just slide it into the oven and it will.turn out the same. Also I put less water, enough to make the dough easy to mold.
You just put it in the oven? On what did you put it? It’s too soft to just put on the racks. Did you use a cookie sheet , a pie pan or what?
How was the crust? I understand without steam the crust is just a dull brown, or at least when I tried just dough on a cookie sheet it was a thin dull brown crust. Nothing like using a dutch oven or putting a pan of water on the rack below the cookie sheet. Let us know about the crust.
Made this for the second time today and it was even better than before! I used king Arthur bread flour,and I do believe it makes a difference vs regular ap flour. Made in my 5 qt cast iron durch oven.
Turned out fantastic! Used scale and grams.
Hey Jenny,
Lots of love from Britain. We tried your bread recipes unfortunately we weren’t very successful then we found out that USA and U.K. cup measures are different . Would you mind tgiving recipe in grams and mls? I would be grateful. Thanks ever so much . Liam
The best I can do is refer you to my Metric Conversion Chart. I hope it helps. https://www.jennycancook.com/category/metric-conversion-chart/
3 c AP flour: 420 g
2 t yeast: 7 g
1 t non-iodized table salt: 7 g *
1.5 c water: 340 g
* same weight if using kosher but volume will be higher. You can adjust to taste 5-12 g.
Ps 1 us cup = 236.588 ml