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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
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!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Honestly though…it’s doesn’t get better than this bread…with a little salted butter. YUM.
Hi – for the second rise time in the Dutch oven do we cover the dough?
Hi Allison, do not cover the bread for the second time in the oven, you should leave the top off. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Wonderful bread. Sometimes i add poppy seeds.
Wow sounds delish! Thank you Kathleen! xTieghan
Hi again Tieghan, I’ve managed to convert your lovely recipe for my needs and I’m delighted with my very first loaf. My only problem was that it’s so big I couldn’t put the lid on my Dutch oven so the crust was slightly too brown. The texture is excellent though – these are the quantities I used……….350mls warm water, 2 teaspoons instant yeast. 1 tablespoon honey, 650 grams all purpose flour, 1 tablespoon salt, 245 grams plain Greek yogurt, but I’m actually going to halve these quantities for my next loaf and then I’ll be able to bake it comfortably in my Duch oven with the lid firmly in place. Many thanks for a great recipe.
Hi Sylvia! I am so glad you loved this recipe, thank you! xTieghan
Can’t wait to try this recipe!
I hope you love this Thula! xTieghan
Would love to try your recipe, but is it possible to have the recipe in pounds and ounces please? Many thanks.
Hi Sylvia! I actually do not have that information. I think it would be best for you to convert it, as I would just use google to do so. I hope this helps. xTieghan
In (2) it says if you have time punch the down? What is that? and is (2) instaed of (1) or do you do both leave on counter for 2 hrs and then put it in the fridge over night?
Hi Cathy, you should punch the dough down, cover and chill in the fridge overnight. Then bring the dough to room temperature the following morning and rise in size, about 1-2 hour, then bake! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Is it possible to do this with actual sourdough starter? We make our sourdough breakfast rolls already with milk but I love the idea of using yoghurt instead. We just don’t use fast acting yeast because I seem to react to it.
Hi there! I am not sure, but I would think it would work well. I would use 1/4 cup starter in place of the yeast and see how that goes. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Made this today! Amazing!
I lifted the lid too early so my bread came out pale. I used the kitchen towel method to create steam and moved it from the Dutch oven to sheet pan to bake a little longer and it came out perfect
Thank you so much Adlyn!! I am so glad you loved this! xTieghan
Hey Tieghan! Thank you for this awesome & easy recipe. I made this bread yesterday and it turned out subtly sweet like an easter bread or variety challah, but no sourdough kick. I used Fage full fat greek yogurt. Do you have any suggestions? Can I try it without the honey or will that change the recipe?
Thanks!
Kris
Hey Kris! Hmm, I am not sure why it was sweet. Was your yogurt sweetened by chance? I don’t recommend omitting the honey as it is needed to help activate the yeast. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Hope this helps you! Thank you! xTieghan
Do I need to adjust the recipe for cooking in a smaller 4 quart Dutch oven?
HI! I recommend cutting the dough in half as it will rise a lot while baking and it may fill up the 4quart pot too much. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Yummm. Perfect to bring to dinner parties.
Thank you Ross! xTieghan
Sooooooo good! I don’t currently have a dutch oven, but used my cast iron skillet instead, threw in a glass of water when I first put it in for the crustiness, and ooooooo it was perfect!
Thank you Andie! xTieghan
Does it have a true tang or extra sourness I want from my bread? Thank you! I have a sourdough starter and love the boules I make but they are not really sour. I am looking for a ‘cheating’ recipe that will really give that San Francisco sourdough taste…puckering my lips, 😀 (Ok, not that bad, haha!)
HI! It has a nice tang, but not as much as a true san fran sourdough! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan! I’m thinking of adding some olives/herbs to this recipe! Any suggestions re: timing for incorporating the mix-ins?
HI! I would add the mix ins in step one with the flour so that they are throughly mixed with the dough! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Mine is doing final proofing and rise in the dutch oven as I type after overnight in the fridge… It rolled out easy and was NOT sticky. I used Fage greek yogurt and it was sooo thick I had to clean the 1 cup with my finger and plop it in when I mixed it. Will see how it turns out 🙂
I hope this turned out amazing! Thank you for trying to Chuck!