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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.
I really want to give this recipe a try but I am curious if I could add seeds, such as pumpkin, flax, sesame? How could I amend the recipe to add some seeds?
Hi Jean! I haven’t ever tried this with seeds, so I can’t say for sure the amount that would need to be used! xT
I’ve made this recipe many times and it’s delicious. For those that have a burnt bottom like I was dealing with, I put the dutch oven on the highest rack then placed a baking sheet lined with foil below and that did the trick!
Question: If I want to add garlic and shredded cheese to this to mix it up a bit, I’m guessing I’d add the garlic in the beginning mixing stage, but at what point should I add cheese and would I need to make any other changes?
Thanks!
Hi Carly! I would add the cheese probably just after the dough ball is formed when mixing everything together, I would mix it all in so it gets fully incorporated into the dough before rising! xT
What if you reg.yeast?
Could you replace the yogurt with sor cream
Hi there! I haven’t ever tried that before so I can’t say for sure! So sorry! xT
I did half sour cream and half yogurt-it worked for me! Turned out DELISH!
Easy recipe. Great flavor. May have over mixed, exterior not rustic and open. Will repeat.
Thank you Tom! xT
Would I be able to cut the dough in half and make two separate loaves? If so, how does that change the baking instructions?
Hi Riley! I haven’t ever tried that before so I’m not sure! So sorry! xT
Must the yeast be “instant” yeast? If not, what adjustments, if any, need to be made for other types of yeast? I really want to make this bread! Thank you.
Hi there! I use instant yeast in this recipe because you don’t have to activate the yeast separately, you can just add it in with the other ingredients and it will rise. If you’d like you can use active dry yeast but you’ll just have to activate it before 🙂 xT
You live in Colorado so is this a
High altitude recipe, or do I have to make HA adjustments? I also live in CO.
Hi Justine! I usually don’t adjust my recipes for altitude too much but I would say when in doubt add a little less flour and a bake for less time! xT
I work for Los Angeles City Fire Department. I love to cook and have used most, if not all, of my fire station recipes from you. Hasn’t failed once! Have you considered making an app through Apple? Also, I’m coming up on 15 years on the job. Any special recipes you’d consider for this? It’s a long standing tradition to cook a meal of “love” for the crew for this chapter in our careers. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Cheers! From me and the LAFD!!!!
I’ve made this several times now and it’s delicious. I halve the recipe since I have a smaller dutch oven and there’s only 2 of us. It’s perfect. I will continue to bake. Thank you!
Hi Sharon,
I am so glad you have been enjoying this recipe, I appreciate you making it so often and sharing your feedback! xx
Hi Sharon, if you half the recipe does the bake time change? Thank you!
Absolutely love this bread. I have made it several times and I will continue to keep making it. The recipe is so easy, I make it with my 3 year old daughter who loves to help me in the kitchen. I have made this bread a few times for family and friend fun occasions too and everyone always asks me where I bought the bread because they love it so much. Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Melissa,
Thanks so much for making this bread and your feedback! Love to hear that you have been enjoying the recipe! xT
The prep/resting time on this bread is actually 5 hours, not 3 (2 hours to let dough rise in bowl, 1 hour for bread to rise in dutch oven, 2 hours for bread to rest after removed from oven). Total time is 6+ hours.
I make this delicious bread often! I love how easy it is and I find is incredibly yummy. Thank you for sharing all that you do.
Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Have a Happy Halloween! 🙂 xT
David Venable, from QVC, published the recipe for his bread many years ago and I’ve been making it and love it. He created it when promoting Dutch ovens. Your version uses more flour and adds honey and I will give it a try. https://www.qvc.com/recipes/dutch-oven-cheater-sourdough.html.
I must edit my own comment to say that your version also uses less yogurt for more flour. Does it have a nice tang from the yogurt do you think? I’m looking forward to trying it. Thanks.
Love this recipe. Can this sit overnight in the fridge more than 1 night?
Hi there! I haven’t ever let it sit that long so I’m not sure! So sorry! xT