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It’s about that time of year when I begin to crave bread baking, and this cheaters no-knead dutch oven sourdough bread is my newest homemade obsession.
Did anyone else’s moms bake bread when they were growing up? As I’ve mentioned…over and over, my mom is not much of a cook, but she has always loved to bake. Most of the time her baking was limited to chocolate chip cookies and pecan pies, but during the fall and winter months my mom would bake up a fresh loaf of bread for Sunday night dinner.
The woman loves bread like no other. Give her fresh, homemade bread and there’s a good chance she’ll end up eating the entire loaf within a day…the warmth, the carbs…the butter!
Anyway, mom baking bread on Sunday night is always such a relaxing and comforting memory for me. The house smelled incredible, the kitchen was warm from the oven, and often times there was also a roaring fire.
So basically the perfect fall night.
Recently, I’ve been seriously craving those comforting smells of homemade bread. A lot of this is due to my anxiety being kicked into high gear lately, but it’s also the extremely chilly nights and much cooler days we’ve been experiencing here that totally have me wanting to bake.
Also, it snowed up in the mountains while I was hiking on Saturday morning, so yeah, there’s that too.
Warm, baked things are clearly what needs to happen over here.
One of my favorite loaves of bread is a really good loaf of crusty sourdough. For years now I have been wanting to develop a sourdough bread recipe for the blog, but the involvement of making homemade sourdough always scared me off. It can take weeks to make a really great loaf of sourdough and let’s just be honest, that’s kind of way too much time for most of us.
I mean, right?
I make my homemade naan with plain greek yogurt, and it’s probably the most popular recipe here on the site…and with good reason. It’s incredible and I’m not sure I can really top that naan, but the use of yogurt in the recipe got me thinking.
Greek yogurt has some of the same cultures as a sourdough starter, so I thought I might try adding some to a no-knead bread recipe and see how it turned out.
The results? Sourdough bread perfection. YES.
Like any other no-knead bread recipe, this cheater’s sourdough is EASY. The dough is made with a total of six ingredients, including the water, and it all goes into one bowl, gets mixed up, and is then left to sit and rise. You can literally be done with the actual mixing of the bread in five to ten minutes. The rest of the time involved is rising and baking time.
Meaning hands-on work is so minimal. Mix. Let Sit. Bake. EAT. Simple as that.
As the title of this recipe states, you need a good dutch oven for baking the bread. It’s a must for getting a bread that’s crusty on the outside, but extra soft on the inside. I love my Staub 5 1/2 Quart Cocotte for this bread, it’s the perfect size. Any heavy cast iron pot that’s 4 quarts or larger will be great though!
Another key to success? A super hot oven and keeping the lid tight on the pot for the first half of baking. This traps the heat inside the pot, which in turn creates the extra hard crust, but extra soft interior.
Again, perfection and so easy!
I’ve made this multiple times now in the last few weeks, most of the time on Sunday, because I just love the smells and memories it brings.
Plus, serving it up with a bowl of chili is pretty much the best Sunday night dinner.
And of course, any leftovers are delicious when toasted the next day for breakfast, or used as a base for your favorite lunchtime sandwich. I’ve been spreading my homemade apple butter over toasted pieces of this bread, and it’s quickly becoming my go-to breakfast and/or afternoon snack…and yes, the apple butter recipe is coming soon. I’ll be sending out the recipe exclusively to all the HBH email subscribers, so if you aren’t signed up yet, I’d do so soon!
Cheaters No Knead Dutch Oven Sourdough Bread
Servings: 12 servings
Calories Per Serving: 241 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 cup plain greek yogurt (any % fat will do, but I use full fat)
Instructions
- 1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the water, yeast, honey, flour, salt, and yogurt. Using the dough hook, mix until the flour is completely incorporated. Alternately, you can mix the dough with a wooden spoon until it comes together. Cover the bowl with a wet towel or plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature 2 hours or until it doubles in size.2. If time allows, punch the dough down, cover the bowl, and transfer to the fridge to let sit overnight. This will help develop a stronger "sourdough" flavor. 3. Generously dust a work surface with flour. Scrape the dough out of the bowl. It should be loose and sticky. Form the dough into a ball and place in a parchment lined 4 quart or larger dutch oven. Allow to rise 1 hour or until doubled in size. 4. Preheat to 475 degrees F. Bake, covered for 20-25 minutes. Using oven mitts, remove the hot lid and continue baking until the bread is a deep, golden brown, about 20-30 minutes more. Remove from the oven. Carefully lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a rack to cool completely, about 2 hours. Don't slice into the bread right out of the oven, the bread continues to cook as it cools. Enjoy!
Honestly though…it’s doesn’t get better than this bread…with a little salted butter. YUM.
My bread has a wonderful dark color but I’d very flat. It doesn’t have the nice domed top I see in your pictures nor does it have the crack in the top. Any ideas as yo why this might be?
Hey Katie,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try. Was there anything you may have adjusted? What kind of yeast did you use? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
Love this recipe! Is it okay if the dough sits in the fridge for two days?
Hey Alanna,
Yes, that is just fine! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Delicious bread! Easy to make by hand 🙂
Hey Yolande,
I am so glad this recipe was a winner, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xxTieghan
I am making this bread again today. Any idea if it would work to split the dough to bake 2 smaller breads?
Hey Yolande,
I think that would work just fine for you, you may have to reduce the baking time slightly! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
Do u use regular or convection oven to bake the bread?
I love this bread! Made it many times over covid quarantine. Do you think this could be split and baked in loaf pans?
Hey Beth,
Thanks so much for making this recipe! I’ve only ever made the bread in a dutch oven, so I am unsure of what the results would be in a loaf pan! xTieghan
Hi, I just found your recipe and can’t wait to try it, but am wondering if the recipe can be halved ? Or, if not, does the bread freeze well ? Can’t wait to try it, and thanks !
Hey Claudia,
You can either halve the recipe or freeze the bread or even the dough, any of these will work well for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I’ve made this twice now! First time I baked it the same day and the second time I left over night. Both were delicious but the second time was ahhhhmaazzinng!! Such a big hit with my toddlers and family. Seriously so good!
Hey there,
So great to hear! Love that this recipe was enjoyed and thanks so much for making it! Have a great week? xTieghan
do you not need to preheat the pot prior to baking the bread?
Hey Sylvia,
No need to preheat the pot. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Love this bread recipe!
I’ve been using it for years now. One question, if I halve the recipe, any thoughts about how long to adjust the cooking time? It always makes so much, so I thought about just halving it for smaller quantities.
Hey Cede! I would reduce the final cook time by about 10 minutes, but keep an eye on it towards the end of cooking to make sure it’s not burning. The bread will still need a good amount of time to cook all the way through. Please let me know if you have any other questions. so glad you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Can I bake this bread in my pizza oven? If yes, some pointers please.
Thx for your blog, IG and everything else. You help out so many 🙂
Hey there,
Sorry I have never baked this in my pizza oven, so I do not feel comfortable providing instructions. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
I made this today. Mine didn’t rise very much. I measured out 2 teaspoons of yeast from the packet. Should I use the whole packet next time?
Hey Kathy,
Sorry to hear this, what kind of yeast did you use? Yes, I always use the entire packet. Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
Hi! You mentioned that the dough can be left in the fridge for up to 4 days to further develop the flavor. Is there anything that needs to be done over those 4 days? Does it need to punched down or anything? Thanks!!
Hey Gina,
Nope, you can just keep covered in the fridge. I hope you love the bread, let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
I have always been so scared to try to make bread and finally gave it a try using this recipe. It was amazing! I can’t believe how easy it was. My bread did not look as beautiful as Tieghan’s but tasted so delicious. I think in part that I did not refrigerate the dough overnight.
Hey Isabella,
I am thrilled this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! Happy Sunday! xTieghan
Can you use whole wheat instead of white in this recipe?
Hey Jamie,
Yes, that would be fine to do. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Can this be made in something other than a Dutch oven? I don’t have one and I really want to make this!!!
Hey Molly,
You could make this is a exit iron skillet and cover with foil. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi, does the dough in the stand mixer need to come together to form a ball? Mine wasn’t so k added more flour to get the dough to ball up but I hope it doesn’t change the bread or make it too dense.
So easy!! The top of my loaf wasn’t as evenly browned, any suggestions? Also, do you think I could add herbs to the loaf next time?
Hey Liza,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am thrilled that it was enjoyed! Happy Valentine’s Day❤️ xTieghan