A Bread Recipe for Those Who Don't Know How To Boil Water (2024)

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No Knead Bread Ingredients Instructions Nutrition Don’t miss a recipe! Leave a Reply 54 Comments on “A Bread Recipe for Those Who Don’t Know How To Boil Water” FAQs

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by Joanne December 10, 2010 (updated May 17, 2020)

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Only 4 ingredients are needed for this simple No Knead Bread recipe, which bakes up fluffy on the inside with a golden and bubbled crust.

A Bread Recipe for Those Who Don't Know How To Boil Water (1)

Okay, so obviously you know how to boil water. But the point is, this recipe is absurdly easy. I know a woman whose 4 year old son made it. Yeah. So you can DEFINITELY make it too. There’s no starter or sponge, no kneading to the windowpane stage, none of that stuff. Just mix some flour, yeast, salt, and water before you go to bed, then in the morning form the dough into a ball, wrap it in a towel for 2 hours, then plop it in a pan and bake it. Pretty awesome. Make it for your friends and family, and impress them =)

Before you go to bed, mix together the dough. It will look like a shaggy mess:

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Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit overnight on the countertop (and for up to 20 hours). When you wake up, the dough should look like this:

A Bread Recipe for Those Who Don't Know How To Boil Water (3)

Bubbles on the surface, and very sticky and wet. Lay out a kitchen towel, then get your hands nice and wet (and re-wet as needed, to keep the dough from sticking to you). Pick up the dough mass, and form it (more or less) into a ball. Place it onto the towel:

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Wrap it up, and let it rise for 2 hours.

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After one more rise, it’s ready to bake! The key is to bake it in a pot, which traps in the moisture and give it a great crust.

A Bread Recipe for Those Who Don't Know How To Boil Water (6)

A Bread Recipe for Those Who Don't Know How To Boil Water (8)

No Knead Bread

Servings: 8

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 45 minutes mins

Total Time: 14 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Only 4 ingredients are needed for this simple No Knead Bread recipe, which bakes up fluffy on the inside with a golden and bubbled crust.

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Ingredients

  • 3 cups bread flour
  • 1/4 tsp quick rise yeast
  • 1.5 tsp sea salt
  • 1.5 cups warm water
  • cornmeal to sprinkle on the bottom of the pan

Instructions

  • Before you go to bed, mix all the ingredients in a big bowl until combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit overnight on the countertop (and for up to 20 hours).

  • Lay out a kitchen towel, then get your hands nice and wet (and re-wet as needed, to keep the dough from sticking to you). Pick up the dough mass, and form it (more or less) into a ball. Place it onto the towel, wrap it up, and let it rise for 2 hours.

  • Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, and stick a dutch oven into the oven so it gets very hot. Once the oven is preheated, take the pot out and sprinkle cornmeal in the bottom so the bread doesn’t stick. Lift the towel up and dump your dough ball into the pot, and give it a shake so it sits flat on the bottom of the pan. Put the lid on, and bake the bread for 30 minutes. Then take the lid off, and bake for another 15 minutes, until the bread is golden brown. Take the bread out of the pot and cool on a wire rack.

Nutrition

Calories: 186kcal, Carbohydrates: 37g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 1g, Sodium: 223mg, Fiber: 1g

Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Author: Fifteen Spatulas

posted in: Bread, Dairy-free, Vegan 54 comments

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    54 Comments on “A Bread Recipe for Those Who Don’t Know How To Boil Water”

  1. Donnis Franklin — Reply

    It looks great. However, I do not have a Dutch oven. Can this be baked in a loaf pan?

  2. Anna — Reply

    Dumb question: when I preheat the Dutch oven, should I be preheating it with the lid on?

    Thanks!

    See Also
    19 Best Gluten Free Dessert Recipes – Tip Junkie

    • Joanne — Reply

      Yes, the lid too 🙂

  3. Bharati — Reply

    Hey Joanne, thanks for the simple recipe. What if I left the dough 2 nights over in the frig, like say 36 hours. Would it work?

  4. Mika — Reply

    Help! I just made the dough and was about to go to bed but realized I don’t have any pots with lids that can withstand temperatures above 350° in my oven. They all have rubberized handles that are rated only up to 350 degrees. (Rachael Ray hard anodized set with orange handles). I DO have loaf pans and a baking sheet, but of course they wouldn’t be covered. Ideas ?

    • Joanne Ozug — Reply

      Hi Mika, I was without internet this weekend so sorry I couldn’t get to you earlier. Not sure what you ended up doing. I have baked on a sheet tray and thrown in ice cubes at the beginning for a similar effect.

      • Mika —

        Hi Joanne! So I ended up using a loaf pan and covering it with foil and a cookie sheet on top. It didn’t rise as much as I hoped, but it tasted delicious!

  5. DeAnn Franklin — Reply

    Wow! I can’t wait to try your no knead bread. Tonight’s the night. Fun Website, kiddo.

  6. Drema — Reply

    Thanks for the questions about ‘not having a Dutch Oven’ below! I bought one, but when I thought about how super, backbreaking heavy it is WITHOUT food in it!…. and adding a roast, potatoes, gravy, etc…or whatever I’m going to put in it…and that it was only safe to a certain amount & bread baking is higher than that…..and there are lots and lots of posts about people buying expensive Dutch Ovens only to have them craze and crack in a short amount of time… I took it back. SO happy you said I can replace the Dutch Oven with a soup pot! I’ve got that! A Curisnart with a matching lid. Thank you!! If anyone is interested – I bought the King Arthurs yeast that comes with a plastic jar with a gasket that seals & a ‘clamp’ so the lid stays shut completely – you leave it in the freezer and it gives you so much more time to use the yeast! Perfect for those of us with health problems where we never know from day to day how we will feel or if we will get anything we want to done! Merry Christmas and thank you for sharing this and all of your good information with us! (and the photos are great, too. It must take you so long to do each recipe – your hard work is not in vain! You are helping a lot of people!)

  7. Carolina — Reply

    Do you bake it with the pot’s lid on or off

  8. Amanda — Reply

    Would all-purpose flour work?

  9. Matthew Madsen — Reply

    I like the technique because it is aGreat start for adding to recipe and making new breads after 1st getting good at this recipe.

  10. Laurel Johnson — Reply

    I have FINALLY found THE bread recipe for me! Apart from being super simple, and making one loaf at a time, this bread tastes fabulous! It is the perfect texture, with just the right amount of chewiness, just the right amount of yeastyness (is that a word?), and not too dense or too fluffy. Plus it’s pretty and makes the house smell wonderful as added bonuses! Thank you so much for posting this. My husband and I are in Bread Heaven!

    • Joanne Ozug — Reply

      Hi Laurel, awesome!!! So glad to hear you love this bread so much. Happy cooking!

  11. Julie B — Reply

    Made this bread for Easter. The first test loaf was amazing but a tad salty. The loaves I made for Easter dinner I added 1 tsp salt instead of 1 1/2 tsp and added a teaspoon of sugar. It was perfection! Thank you so much for sharing this fantastic recipe!

    • Joanne Ozug — Reply

      Hi Julie, different salts can have different amounts of saltiness. I’m glad that you found an amount that’s perfect for you. Hope you had a nice meal!

  12. Kimberly — Reply

    Cloth problem:

    When I cover the bowl with plastic wrap, i use a little extra.
    When it’s time to take it out, I lay down a dish towel flat. On top
    of it I spread out the same plastic wrap and sprinkle lightly with flour
    (because their will probably be moisture droplets on it).
    Plop the dough on the plastic, and loosely wrap it with the plastic.
    Then loosely wrap with the towel.
    2 hours later I open it and peel off the plastic (it sticks, but is easily
    peeled from the dough). Then plop it in a pan, making an oblong shape.

    No Corn Meal:
    I use a light spray of cooking oil (on the metal dish), works great.

    No Crock Pot:
    I bake it in a metal rectangular baking dish with a tight domed
    tin foil seal for 30 min. Then transfer it to a room temp. glass
    rectangular baking dish for 15 more minutes of cooking time.

    This makes a nice oblong shaped bread, not burned, and crusty-
    tastes great!

  13. elaine — Reply

    will this recipe work using 100% white whole wheat flour?

    • Joanne Ozug — Reply

      Elaine, I don’t recommend it. It won’t have enough protein in it to develop the proper gluten needed for the bread.

      • Elaine —

        OK, thanks!

A Bread Recipe for Those Who Don't Know How To Boil Water (2024)

FAQs

What happens if you use milk instead of water to make bread? ›

The fat and lactose in milk help with tenderizing the crumb of the bread making it softer and sweeter. The crust of the bread also gets more caramelization. Be aware that bread made with milk should not be baked at too high of a temperature to prevent it from browning too much too soon.

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Can you bake bread without water? ›

You can make bread without water. But you need to replace that liquid with something else, like pineapple juice or milk. I've made bread using one or the other for years and had great results. (Don't try both at once, the acid in the pineapple juice will curdle the milk!)

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What does adding boiling water to flour do? ›

Mixing flour with boiling water essentially cooks it. Starch gelatinizes at a temperature above 65C (150F). During this process liquid is absorbed by the starch which makes it swell up. The swollen starch can hold more water and it holds on to water a lot better.

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What breads are boiled before baking? ›

One of the main differences between bagels and bread is that bagels are boiled before baking, whereas bread is not boiled. Briefly boiling bagels allow the bagels to gelatinize the starches on the bagel's outer surface, revealing the crunchy exterior we are all familiar with.

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Is bread better made with milk or water? ›

Milk changes bread recipes by producing a softer loaf, due to the milk fat content, which also gives bread a richer flavor. Bread made with milk browns more easily than bread made with water, as lactose or milk sugar will caramelize as it bakes.

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What does adding egg to bread dough do? ›

besides the nutritional benefits there are a few other good reasons to use egg in breadmaking. It makes the bread lighter and fluffier. The reason for that is the fat in the yolk that inhibits gluten formation just as any other fat would. This results in a looser dough that can expand and puff up more.

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Why do you spray water in the oven when baking bread? ›

Method #1: Baking bread with steam using a spray bottle

The simplest method of adding steam to your oven is to spray the loaf with warm water prior to putting it into the oven. Spray the oven once the bread is loaded, and then again about 5 minutes into the bake.

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Why spray water on bread before baking? ›

Wetting the dough causes the surface to steam. Covering it traps the moisture. This partnership stops the bread from drying out on the surface in the hot air of the oven and forming a premature crust. Your bread rises more and produces a richer colour, becoming glossy on the surface.

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Why do you put ice cubes in the oven when baking bread? ›

The purpose of the ice cubes. is to add more steam into your baking vessel. So the steam is critical. so that your dough has more time to expand. before your outer crust completely forms.

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Why use boiling water in dough? ›

Found in baked goods across the world — tortillas, milk bread, cornbread and cream puffs, to name but four — hot water can speed mixing time; make it easier to fill and form doughs; yield softer, fluffier breads; and create stunning pie crusts like Ms. Hussain's.

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How to scald flour for bread? ›

For the scald, I heated 150g flour and 300g water to about 170F. This gelatinizes the flour and allows it to hold a lot of water (200% hydration!). The final hydration of the whole scald test dough was about 90% (some evaporation) and it felt similarly wet to the control, “no-scald” dough that was 77% hydration.

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Why is it important not to use boiling water to mix a dough? ›

This is because boiling water breaks down the gluten in the flour and gelatinizes many of the starches. Serious Eats says that gluten is a protein that gives bread and dough their structure and adds to their chewiness.

Find Out More ›
What makes bread super soft and fluffy? ›

Milk powder.

Instant milk powder makes bread dough super soft and fluffy and also helps to give it a good rise. It also contributes to the dough staying nice and soft after baking for a little longer than a recipe that does not use milk powder.

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What makes baked bread soft and fluffy? ›

The yeast releases carbon dioxide, which fills the dough and increases its volume. Due to the heat, more gas bubbles emerge when this dough is baked. The bread rises and becomes soft and fluffy as the gas leaves.

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What makes bread so light and fluffy? ›

Adding sugar weakens the gluten structure, absorbs water, and eventually makes the bread lighter and softer. As a result, sugar improves the bread's taste, structure and texture. Yeast also eats up sugar to produce carbon dioxide, which raises the dough and makes bread fluffy.

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How does milk affect bread making? ›

In the finished product, milk will make bread that has:
  • Greater volume (improved capacity to retain gas)
  • Darker crust (due to the lactose in the milk)
  • Longer shelf life (due partly to the milk fat)
  • Finer and more “cottony” grain.
  • Better slicing due to the finer grain.

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Can I use milk instead of water in my bread machine? ›

Water is a common ingredient, but since many people use the timer on their bread machines, most recipes call for non-fat dry milk or powdered buttermilk. However, if you are mixing your dough right away, you can certainly use fresh milk. Simply replace the water with milk or buttermilk and omit the powdered milk.

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Is it okay to use milk instead of water? ›

But milk can't replace water altogether. If you're going to replenish with milk instead of water, go for it after a big workout or long day of hiking. Otherwise, water can't be beat! Real Simple is committed to using high-quality, reputable sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts in our articles.

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Will yeast rise in milk? ›

For starters, milk is full of natural sugars like lactose or fructose. These natural sugars can give your yeast the kick it needs to get moving, whether in the form of lactose-y cow's-milk sugar or fructose-y plant-milk sugars. Activating yeast in milk follows the same steps as activating it in water.

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