We have been working on a no-knead bread recipe that we can make with minimal effort and few ingredients. This bread is SO much better than any store bought bread we’ve ever tasted, and it costs less than $1.50/loaf to make. We’ve had success baking this in our tiny propane oven in a 12” or 10” cast iron skillet, as well as a 5-quart cast iron Dutch oven. We’ve made this bread with olive oil or with butter. Butter is always better, as they say, but the olive oil is fine too, and maybe a smidgen healthier!
Ingredients
2 ¼ teaspoon instant yeast (or 1 package)
1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 cups warm water
4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon dried rosemary, plus more for sprinkling
2 teaspoons fine salt
3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided (substitute butter if you prefer)
1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 cups warm water
4 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon dried rosemary, plus more for sprinkling
2 teaspoons fine salt
3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided (substitute butter if you prefer)
Directions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine yeast, sugar and warm water. Add half the flour and stir with a wooden spoon. Add the dried rosemary, salt and remaining flour and stir until combined. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about an hour.
- Brush or wipe 1 1/2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter over the bottom of a 10 or 12 inch cast iron skillet. Lubricate your hands with a little olive oil before shaping the dough into a disk in the skillet. Don’t worry if the dough doesn’t cover the entire bottom of the skillet…it will once it rises again. Cover the skillet with a clean kitchen towel and let rise for another hour.
- With 10 minutes left on your dough rising, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Drizzle additional olive oil (or butter) over the top of the bread. Cut an X shape in the top of the dough with a sharp knife. Sprinkle a teaspoon to a tablespoon of additional rosemary leaves on top.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Then, rotate 180 degrees, and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Recipe Notes
- If you don’t have instant yeast, you can always substitute the same amount of active dry yeast. Simply add the active dry yeast to warm water and let it proof for 5 minutes with the sugar.
- We frequently make this with 1 cup of whole wheat flour and use unbleached white flour for the remainder.
- This recipe works great without rosemary for a plain white loaf, or add different spices like Mrs. Dash or Garlic powder as you prefer.
- We use this as a pizza crust recipe as well. It will make about 3 thin pizza crusts, or 2 if you like a thicker crust. Simply let it rise and then spread it out on your pizza pan and build your pie. (You can divide and freeze the dough if you don’t want to make all the pizzas at once)