No Knead Rosemary Bread
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A basic, FOOLPROOF homemade bread recipe here! Anyone can make this! And the bread comes out just perfect!
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Bread making has been my jam lately. Sometimes it can take hours and hours on end, but this one here takes just over 24 hours. But, guys, it’s only 15 minutes of hands-on prep work (if that). Then you just let the yeast do its thing in all of its bread glory.
reasons to make no knead rosemary bread
- This really is a no knead recipe. That means less work, less effort. Perfect for beginners and home bakers.
- Does not require anything fancy. No mixer, no bread machine, no starter needed here.
- Great for dunking and sopping. Homemade bread can and should be served warm with all the butter, but really, let’s dunk and sop up all the cozy soups.
dutch oven bread versus skillet bread
Dutch oven bread
A Dutch oven bread is baked with a tight-fitting lid for a crispier crust, similar to that classic artisan bread texture.
Skillet bread
A skillet bread is not covered and will yield a more softer crust. The bread will also be a little flatter in shape than a Dutch oven bread due to its shallow depth.
tips and tricks for success
- Use a cast iron skillet. A cast iron skillet heats evenly and retains heat very well, yielding a much nicer crust than using a traditional baking pan.
- Check for expired yeast. When using expired yeast, the bread will not rise well, resulting in flat, dense bread.
- Use cornmeal. As the dough will be a bit sticky, the cornmeal will help prevent any sticking to the bottom of the skillet.
- A sticky dough is great. Stickiness is actually ideal here, adding just enough flour to work the dough into a round shape. High humidity can also affect the dough’s texture, making the dough even stickier than usual.
- Mix it up. Add leftover fresh herbs such as thyme, rosemary or sage, roasted garlic or freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
- Freeze as needed. Once cooled completely, cover the bread tightly with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, freezing up to 3 months.
what to serve with no knead bread
Tools For This Recipe
10-inch cast iron skillet
No Knead Rosemary Bread: Frequently Asked Questions
A Dutch oven or oven-safe baking pan can be used instead.
1 cup of all-purpose flour can be substituted for whole wheat flour, keeping the rest of the recipe the same.
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent/concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon dried herbs
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.
Yes! Once cooled completely, cover the bread tightly with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Label, date and freeze up to 3 months.
No Knead Rosemary Bread
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary, or more, to taste
- 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- ¾ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon instant yeast
- 1 ½ cups water, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons cornmeal
Equipment
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine flour, garlic, rosemary, salt, pepper and yeast.
- Using a wooden spoon or your hand, add water and mix until a wet, sticky dough forms, about 30 seconds.
- Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature until surface is dotted with bubbles, about 18 to 24 hours.
- Lightly oil a 10-inch cast iron skillet or coat with nonstick spray; sprinkle with cornmeal.
- Working on a lightly floured surface, gently shape dough into a round.
- Place dough into the prepared skillet. Cover with a clean dishtowel and let stand at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with a finger, about 2 hours.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Place into oven and bake until golden brown, about 30-40 minutes.
- Serve warm.
Video
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Does this recipe work with gluten free flour? Thanks
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! Good luck! 🙂
My cast iron says it can only go to 400 degrees…is that ok to use and just bake longer perhaps?
Question. Is there a modification so I don’t have to wait 24 hours for this delicious bread? Like how much more yeast should I use?
Hi! Unfortunately, more yeast doesn’t do the trick. The dough needs that time to rise properly, otherwise you’ll end up with a very dense and flat bread. I did it once letting it rise for 12 hours instead of 24 and while it was ok, it would have been much better if I had waited the whole time. If you do try it differently, please use your best judgement. Hope that helps.
Hi. I did every step as instructed. When I took it out of the bowl before the extra two hours, the dough did not come together. It was extremely liquidity and didn’t shape into a bowl. Was it bad yeast? I just bought it! So sad.
Absolutely fantastic recipe . . . and outcome! I am not a frequent baker, but this is a very easy-to-follow recipe that anyone can follow. And by “follow,” I mean follow as it’s written, and trust that it’ll turn out. Yes, the dough is about as sticky as you can get (that’s the fun, right?), but mixing it all by hand really is the way to do it. Once done, I’d recommend a normal spoon to scrape off the dough before letting it rise for 24 hours.
I let mine rest about 20 hours, and it turned out perfect. In terms of a few of the comments below:
(1) yes, you have to use room temperature water; if not, it will fail to activate the active rapid rise yeast. I’d recommend leaving aside the water in a jug or something, covered, out for a few hours. FYI, my house/room temperature was around 19°C (66.2°F for the Americans).
(2) the cornmeal is used to keep the dough slightly above the bottom of the cast iron pan and lets you slide the loaf out of the pan more easily. So, if you don’t eat corn, no worries; the cornmeal only sticks to the bottom of the loaf and you can easily brush it off before eating.
I put the cast iron pan on the middle rack in my oven, and cooked it for 35 minutes. It was perfect, and both my wife and my 6-year-old devoured this with a pat of butter! I will make this again.
(Final comment: the photograph above does not 100% accurately depict the final product, in that the loaf didn’t come out of the oven glossy or with fresh chopped rosemary. However, I’d think it would be easy to brush some melted butter on the top of the loaf as soon as it comes out of the oven and then sprinkle with the fresh rosemary.)
First Caution: if you are going to use regular yeast, you have to modify the recipe. I found instructions online. It will involves warm water, sugar, more yeast and waiting time. The recipe should mention the difference.
Second caution: if this comes out as well.as mine did, you will be tempted to eat the whole loaf in one sitting!
I baked mine for 30 min in a convection oven in a cast iron frying pan. The crust was crispy and the inside a perfect bread texture. The black pepper gives a nice, subtle bite. I don’t think it needs as much salt as the recipe calls for.
This could not have come out any more perfect!!! Baking bread isn’t a normal thing for me so I was a little nervous when the dough was a bit gloopy. But this bread turned out perfectly and is so delicious. I’ll definitely be making this again.
That was an emoticon 24 hrs. It was watery but rising, sticky but formed a loose ball. I think I read every single review 3x but I finally made it. It’s incredible.
This is just like the picture. Crusty delicious!!!
I’m a first time Bread maker, I followed the directions to a T, it came out perfect. Beautifully crusty on the outside ( just how I like it) soft and spongy inside. I came out better than expected considering my yeast was well past it’s expiration date. I will be making this again only next time I’ll add a little more salt. And maybe make it into Olive bread.
Hello, I don’t eat corn, can I just leave it out or is there something else I can use (like quinoa maybe?)
I just make my second loaf this morning. First one was perfect and this one was even better! I am so so so excited. I never considered myself a baker but this is giving me the itch to do more! My family was impressed to say the least 😀
The bread paired perfectly w/creamy Italian Sausage and Cheese Tortellini Soup. I added mixed olive Tapenade to my bread mixture (about 2 lg tablespoons). The meal was a hit with our guests.
THANK YOU so much for sharing your no knead bread recipe.
This is probably a silly question…but do you bake with the lid on or off? Thanks! Can’t wait to make this recipe! It looks delicious!
No lid necessary, Erica. 🙂
Can you use something else to bake it in?
I made it in a 9.5″ pie pan and it came out great!
So Yummy! We loved this! For everyone complaining about how wet the dough is – Stop it! That’s the way that it’s supposed to be! Every single no-knead bread recipe I have ever used has a higher water content than a loaf of regular bread. It is more tricky to shape, but I tend to go with a rustic look for this kind of bread anyways! If you want a dough thats less wet and easier to form, go with a traditional bread recipe.
I’ve also added a little more flour when forming the ball on my second try and it gave me a fluffier bread with a few air pockets which is absolutely fabulous and rustic looking!
Have made this bread multiple times, always turns out perfectly and always rave reviews! Before putting in oven, I sprinkle top with more chopped herbs (more rosemary, small amount of oregano and thyme as well) and crushed sea salt. Serve sliced with olive oil, truffle balsamic and grated parmesan for dipping. So yummy!
Tried this today – delicious. I have never baked bread before. Simple recipe to follow. I made minor tweaks no rapid rise yeast in supermarket so used ordinary and its still fab
Total flop. I followed the recipe exactly. A total wet mess after 24 hours. Definitely couldn’t form it. And no second rise. Waste of the ingredients. No bread tonight at dinner.
So sorry to hear this didn’t work out for you, Lisa. Did you use active rapid rise yeast within its expiration date? It loses its potency over time and the ability to make dough rise. Yeast packaging has an expiration date and it is best to use it prior to this date for the best results possible.
I got the same results… I’m blaming the yeast as it never even bubbled.
Same results. Wet gloppy mess. Didn’t even bother to bake. Never bubbled. Used rapid rise yeast that was a year from expiration.
Very easy and absolutely delicious! I hot so many compliments. Served warm from the oven with butter…yummmmm
Do you need to add all of the water stated in the recipe? My dough was VERY wet when I made it yesterday. And while it has risen a bit overnight, I just went to shape it into a ball, and it spilled out everywhere. About a quarter of it wouldn’t leave the bowl. I ended up using over a cup of extra flour just to work with it, and it’s still very loose. I probably should have stopped adding water after a cup, but the recipe doesn’t clearly describe how wet and sticky the dough should be, or that you can adjust the amount of water you use to reach that consistency. A little more clarification might help. Was the dough supposed to be sort of loose?
Yes, the recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups water until a wet, sticky dough forms. Meaning, when you press your hand in the dough, it sticks and stretches. When it does release, your hand is still covered in a fair amount of dough.
But as always, please use your best judgment. If you feel that it requires less water, you can certainly add less than 1 1/2 cups water as directed in the recipe.
Hope the bread turned out well for you, Nicole!
This sounds amazing. I’m going to make it for a cookout. Thanks.
Made this bread twice now. DELICIOUS. The 2nd time I proofed the yeast in the water which I used hot tap water. I only had traditional yeast. I had to add some extra water and flour but that could have been my measuring. I go by what it looks like. Raised 14 hrs. Then about 3 in the frying pan because I had to run an errand. It turned out great!