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Jeff’s No Knead Bread Recipe

Several week ago, I teased out an upcoming recipe for no knead bread.  Well, here it is 🙂

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Jeff's No Knead Bread

This recipe is courtesy of Jeff, a reader and avid home cook in Los Angeles.  Jeff first sent me this recipe back in 2014 after he discovered Kitchen Konfidence via a link on How Sweet It Is.  Quick sidebar, if you’re not familiar with Jessica’s blog, I would highly recommend you head on over sometime soon, and check out her recipes.  Everything Jessica cooks up looks so tasty.  I want to make and eat ALL the things.

Ok, so back to Jeff’s bread.  The recipe starts with a mix of flour, yeast, salt, vinegar, beer and water.  Everything is casually tossed into a bowl and mixed with a fork until a shaggy dough comes together.  The dough then sits for 18 to 24 hours.  This extended rise time really improves the yeasty flavor of the bread while saving you the trouble of kneading the dough.  After a few additional folds and another rest, the bread is cooked in a dutch oven until gloriously golden.  I mean just take a look at the loaf above.  It really does look profesh.  This always surprises me when I pull the pot out of the oven.  I think to myself, “Damn, I just made that!”  I’ve been baking this bread frequently since 2014, and now it’s time for me to share 🙂  Continue reading for Jeff’s recipe.

Jeff's No Knead Bread Ingredients

Bread Dough

Jeff likes to use Corona Extra in his dough.  I first started  making this bread with Corona, and it’s definitely a good pairing.  I’ve also tested other beers, and found that other light bodied beers work well too.  I would urge you to try out different beers in this recipe.  Each one will change the flavor just slightly.

Risen Dough

Formed Dough

Sliced Bread

A big thanks to Jeff for testing this recipe countless times to achieve perfect results!!  And for sharing it with me back in 2014.

Jeff's No Knead Bread

Jeff's No Knead Bread Recipe

by Brandon Matzek
Recipe sent to me by reader Jeff! I've adapted the recipe slightly in the wording, but kept it pretty true to Jeff's original recipe.
4.66 from 47 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients
  

  • 15 ounces (3 cups) all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast (I used SAF)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
  • 15 grams (1 tablespoon) distilled white vinegar
  • 85 grams (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) beer (I used a Ballast Point beer here)
  • 198 grams (3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) water

Instructions
 

  • In a 2 quart Pyrex measuring bowl (or large bowl), combine flour, yeast and salt. Pour vinegar, beer and water over the dry ingredients, then, using a fork, mix thoroughly until a shaggy dough forms. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and let sit at room temperature for 18 - 24 hours. The dough should rise to the 7 cup mark on the bowl.
  • Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured work surface, and sprinkle with a little extra flour. Using your hands, gently pat the dough into a rectangle approximately 10" wide by 8" high. Sprinkle with flour as needed if the dough is sticking. Gently fold the dough over itself like folding a letter. Turn 90 degrees, gently pat to a rectangle and fold again. Then shape the dough into a ball by pulling edges into middle. Place dough in the center of a large sheet of parchment paper, then lift and lower into a 4-quart cast-iron dutch oven. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise for 2 hours.
  • Set an oven rack to the middle position. Uncover the dough, sprinkle the surface with a little flour, and using a sharp knife, make 3 parallel slits across the top of the dough about 1/2-inch deep. Cover the pot with its lid, and place in the cold oven. Heat the oven to 425°F, and when this temperature has been reached, let cook for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes have elapsed, carefully remove the lid and continue to bake until the loaf is a deep brown (about 30 minutes longer). Using the parchment overhang, carefully remove the bread from pot, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely (about 2 hours).
Tried this recipe?Tag @brandiego on Instagram so I can check it out!

Here are some fun recipes on Kitchen Konfidence to use up this delicious, fresh bread:

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Avocado Toast 5 Ways

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Hard Boiled Egg Toast Harissa Butter

Walnut Ricotta Crostini with Arugula and Soft-Boiled Eggs

Walnut Ricotta Crostini with Arugula and Soft-Boiled Eggs

Summer Squash Crostini

Zucchini Crostini

Roasted Pecan Butter, Honeycomb and Sea Salt Toast

Roasted Pecan Butter Toast

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Daniel Wells says

    4 stars
    Brandon, what am I not getting about “no-knead” breads? I tried this recipe and it is very good, but I just can’t help thinking it would be even better and faster made traditionaly. Do people really not have 10 minutes to knead bread?

    Not trying to sound snarky, but I really think I must be missing something.

    Love your blog

    Reply

    • Brandon Matzek says

      Thanks Daniel! Longer fermentations can actually produce a tastier finished bread (depending on what flavor you’re going for). So I personally like the no-knead method, because it’s easy, foolproof and results in a super tasty bread (here enhanced by beer). Here’s an interesting article on slow bread: http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2015/10/no_knead_vs_traditional_bread_is_a_false_dichotomy_you_should_make_slow.html Also, the act of kneading is simple, but it does require some skill and knowledge to know when to stop (recipe times can be unreliable given all the variables possible). Practiced bread bakers can recognize by touch and feel. My recipe here bypasses all of that, making it more accessible to the home cook.

      Reply

    • Nancy Martin says

      A) some of us have hand problems that prevent us from kneading.
      B) some of us were made to knead for HOURS by our mothers who taught us to make homemade bread
      C) I never turn down a good recipe! Can’t wait to try it.
      Thanks. NM

      Reply

  2. sippitysup says

    I’m back in Los Angeles from Nicaragua and heading to Florida tomorrow. I’m spending my one morning home to catch up on my favorite blogs. I’m so glad I did. It’s been ages since I made this bread recipe and it’s terrific. I’ve done it without the beer and it’s “yeastier” with it. So don’t skip that step folks! Thanks for the reminder. I think I’ll make loaf when I return. GREG

    Reply

    • Brandon Matzek says

      Welcome back!! I’ve been following your travels on IG. Looked like paradise! Yeah, the beer is key here. Really adds some nice flavor. Thanks Greg!!

      Reply

      • Brandon Matzek says

        I’m not 100% sure, because I’ve only ever made this with white vinegar. I wouldn’t use balsamic, but you could try it with the red wine vinegar.

        Reply

    • Brandon Matzek says

      Salt can kill yeast if an excess amount is added; however, here, the ratios work well. Salt can also slow the growth of yeast, but given the really long resting time here, it doesn’t matter.

      Reply

  5. Dana says

    Do you need to do any knock downs during the 24 hour rise? Or do you just let it go? And can this be doubled? or should I just make each loaf single?

    Reply

    • Brandon Matzek says

      No knock downs needed during the 24 hour rise. I actually haven’t tested a double batch, but I know things often go awry when I try to double a baking recipe. Might be best just to do one loaf at a time. Enjoy!

      Reply

  7. Lynnette says

    This is the recipe developed by Cook’s Illustrated several years ago, specifically by Kenji Alt-Lopez now of Serious Eats. I think they deserve a shout out for such a delicious recipe.

    Reply

    • Brandon Matzek says

      Interesting! Well I know Jeff has done a lot of testing of his own, so I’m going to give him the credit. But good to know! Cook’s Illustrated and Kenji are both great resources.

      Reply

    • Jeff Winett says

      5 stars
      Totally correct about shouting out that Cooks/Kenji came up with their version of upping this awesome bread, originally made famous by Jim Lahey. So many brilliant folks out there. My tweaks/streamlining could never match the invention of this bread….I’ve just taken some of my own liberties in the prep 🙂

      Reply

  11. Dana says

    5 stars
    I made this bread it was perfect and I saved some for pizza dough that was killer too!!! Thanks… for your tips.

    Reply

    • Brandon Matzek says

      Haha yes!!! This is a recipe for people who don’t usually make bread 😛 Comes out perfect ever time.

      Reply

  14. Syl4 says

    Hi Brandon,
    I don’t eat much bread, but I eat lots of crusty bread crust!!! Do you think I could make it either flatter or narrower so that there is more crust and less bread inside? Still want it to be nice and brown like yours, though.

    Reply

    • Brandon Matzek says

      Hmmm, I’m not sure that would work here. One key element of this recipe is to cook the loaf in the cast iron pot, so the dough can only get so flat and narrow. Perhaps you could cook smaller loaves? Definitely decrease the cook time.

      Reply

  17. Jeff Winett says

    5 stars
    Might I add 2 additional tweaks to this recipe that have come about over the obsession I have for this bread, and the years I have been making it? Since I shared my recipe with you Brandon, this bread is even easier and more successful in it’s preparation. I no longer use a fork to mix the ingredients together. I use a portable Kitchen Aid type of mixer, but with only one of the beaters. On a low speed, this method mixes the ingredients into a dough….in a snap! But I’ve also noted the next day, that the dough will have risen a bit higher within my 2 quart Pyrex, versus when I’ve used a fork.
    And lastly, I now like to fully chill the risen bubbly dough before forming the ball. After half a day of chilling, or overnight, I find the dough typically will need no additional flour when forming. It’s also easier to shape into the ball. No additional time is needed for that 2 hour rise, even though the dough is chilled.

    Reply

    • Brandon Matzek says

      Thanks for the added tips Jeff! Can you hold the dough in the fridge for a day or two before finishing?

      Reply

      • Jeff Winett says

        5 stars
        That was a very intuitive question on your part, and I am happy to have been the obsessive one, so I can answer your question. After I discovered that chilling will make the dough easier to work with, as well as needing little (if any) extra flour, I did lots of experimentation with time in the fridge. Based on some of the cookbooks that have no-knead breads, I’ve gone as long as 6 days of letting the dough sit in the fridge. I served that bread to guests, and one felt that the bread had an added dimension of flavor, but between me and you, I felt that it was too long of a stint in the fridge. The bread did not rise quite as high, and believe it or not, the color of the raw dough itself was slightly “golden”. The chilling part is done every time at this point, and chilling over night, or for a couple of days will yield perfect results. The bare minimum of fridge time for me is at least 6 hours, so the dough will be chilled through and through, and have that aspect of being easier to form. Hey, if you want to try something outrageous, you can cold smoke the flour, before creating the bread. O.M.G.!!!

        Reply

        • Brandon Matzek says

          Jeff!!! Thanks for the quick and detailed response :). And I’m definitely giving that smoked flour variation a try.

          Reply

  23. Francisca says

    5 stars
    That bread looks so irresistible!
    I think making bread is so relaxing and, I have to agree with Megan {Country Cleaver}, it’s rewarding too!
    Thanks for sharing this recipe! I’ll give it a try and I believe that it’s going to be the best no-knead bread I have ever tasted!

    Reply

  24. Samantha says

    5 stars
    I just made this bread, it is really good! I was surprised at the chewy yet tender texture – and the crust is just how it looks in your photos, brown and crunchy! Just in case anyone is wondering, if they don’t have a cast iron dutch oven…I made mine in a ceramic covered baking dish, and it was fine. I also used 1/2 spelt flour, and that was fine too; I still got the nice air bubbles and stretchiness in the dough…maybe the long rising time helps with that? Anyway, thanks so much for posting this recipe, I’ll be making it again and again.

    Reply

  25. Rob says

    I’ve been making Lahey’s no knead bread since 2008, but it started in 2006. I also did this version from Cooks Illustrated with the beer. It’s my favorite go to recipe, and now I do sourdoughs. This recipe has the dough final proof in the CI Dutch oven and into a cold oven. Never triEd this. I always preheated the Dutch oven to get good oven spring. This way is safer, not dealing with transferring the dough into a hot DO.

    Reply

  26. Kathryn Waterman says

    4 stars
    I made this bread yesterday and it turned out absolutely incredible! I used Guiness Blonde for the beer. Thank you so much for this recipe. I had a 6 quart dutch oven and that worked fine. I just sort of pushed in the parchment more around the dough.

    Reply

  27. D. Smith says

    4 stars
    First time on your site. Bread looked great and I’ve made a version of beer bread in the past but yours looks and sounds better. I’m curious — with all the fruit flavored beer now, has anyone tried using any of those? And if they did, was the bread good, better, or don’t do that?!

    Reply

    • Brandon Matzek says

      Hello and welcome! I’ve yet to try a fruit flavored beer with this recipe, but I’m thinking it would work. Please let me know if you try it. Thanks!

      Reply

  29. Sara @ Cake Over Steak says

    Hey Brandon, I just made this today, but unfortunately I don’t think it came out quite right. (I haven’t tasted it yet – it just came out of the oven.) When I had to form the “ball” before putting it in the dutch oven, it was very sticky and droopy, even after working it on the floured surface. And now that I took it out of the oven, it doesn’t seem to have risen to the height of yours, and it seems a little burnt on the bottom. I’m wondering if I needed to add more flour to the dough to make it less sticky before baking it? My kitchen is pretty warm and it was very humid yesterday when I mixed together the dough, so I’m wondering if that had something to do with it. I wasn’t sure if I should add too much flour to it, and I was also a little worried about over-kneading it. I’d like to try it again at some point, so I’d love to hear your thoughts on what might have gone wrong for me. Thanks!

    Reply

    • Brandon Matzek says

      Hey Sara! So sorry this didn’t work out for you. Let’s try to trouble shoot. After the long rise, the dough will be sticky, but the addition of a little flour should firm it up a bit (the flour you sprinkle on the work surface and the dough). You want the dough to be tacky, but not sticky. So if you find the dough is really sticking to the work surface or your hands while you are folding and turning, sprinkle a bit more flour. Kneading is not needed here. Also what pot did you use? I’ve never had the bottom of the loaf burn on me. It will get crunchy, but not burnt. Perhaps place the pot higher up in the oven?

      Reply

      • Sara @ Cake Over Steak says

        Hey Brandon! I used my enamel/cast iron dutch oven. I had to put my pot a little lower in my oven to make it fit, and the bottom of my oven is definitely quite a bit hotter than the top. So that probably had something to do with it, and I might have just had it in too long because it took a while for my oven thermometer to reach the right temperature. But that could have been a fluke. So who knows! But it was still delicious and I still ate the whole thing – I just avoided some of the more burnt spots. If I try it again I’ll let you know how it goes!

        Reply

  30. Lianab says

    5 stars
    I just tried this (50 mins out of the oven – couldn’t wait) and it was perfect! I mixed In the kitchen aid with the dough hook till it came together. I actually threw it all in (plus squirt of honey) and went to add the last ingredient – beer only to find we had none, so rang Hubby & let it sit like that for a couple of hours til he got home. Next day it wasn’t as wet or hard to manage as described so mine isn’t as holey as the pictured but the texture and crust is to die for. Used a cast iron based tagine pan and heated it first & easy to gently place the baking paper in from the chopping board it was sitting on. I put my oven on 250c out of habit then checked on it after 10mins uncovered and it had that wood oven char, so covered again for the next 15 mins w oven off (oven was still 170degrees )when I took it out. Sprayed oven w spray bottle of water 3 times – when covering and uncovering. Now after all my fix ups I’ll have to try again to see if it could possibly be better As written and if not I’ve got this to remind me what I did lol.

    Reply

  31. Shanna @ Pineapple and Coconut says

    5 stars
    We love this bread! I am no stranger to yeast baking, and had been wanting to get back into making bread. I usually don’t have any issues here with dough rising. My first batch of dough didn’t rise at all. It was really weird. I was thinking either my yeast wasn’t as fresh as it could have been ( expiration date said Oct 2019) or maybe the beer I used wasn’t the best one to use ( super hoppy IPA). I tried it again with fresher yeast and same beer since I only wanted to change one element at a time to see which was the culprit. It rose but not as high as I would have liked. It came out tasting amazing, but a baby loaf. Third time was the charm and I used a different beer ( Mirror Pond Pale Ale) and SAF yeast instead of Red Star AND I upped the amount of liquid just a bit more since it is very dry here in Vegas ( no humidity) and we have a little bit of elevation. I used 3 ounces of beer and 7 ounces of water. It more than doubled in size and baked up beautifully. Yeast baking can be very temperamental depending on factors like environment – especially humidity and altitude. Overall and amazing bread, crazy easy to make and I will be trying again with the IPA. The flavor of the bread is so good and goes amazing with clam chowder!

    Reply

  32. Scott Nolan says

    5 stars
    Hi Brandon,

    Great recipe. Can’t wait to try it this weekend. I do have a question regarding the yeast however. You mention instant, instead of active dry. Active dry is usually mentioned in all no knead recipes I’ve seen. Apparently, it’s more suited to the long, slow rise.

    Is there a reason you’ve used the instant over the usually used active?

    Thanks, Scott.

    Reply

    • Brandon Matzek says

      Hi Scott, I specifically use SAF Instant Yeast here, the yeast originally recommended by Jeff. This bread comes out perfect each time! If you try it with active dry, please let me know how it turns out!

      Reply

    • Brandon Matzek says

      I’ve yet to test this recipe with those vinegars, but I’m sure it couldn’t hurt! Please let me know how it turns out. Thanks!

      Reply

      • Nicole says

        Update: I tried out with Apple Cider Vinegar and also ended up leaving the bread to rise for 30 hours and it turned out totally great. Thanks for the yummy recipe. 🙂

        Reply

  34. Leslie K. says

    5 stars
    This recipe is fantastic! So easy and quick, and always turns out perfect! Thank you so much for sharing!

    Reply

  35. Monica says

    Maybe a silly question but what does the vinegar do? Is it for the sour note(like sourdough?) or is it for fermentation? Just so curious! Thanks. I will follow this recipe today.

    Reply

  36. Kirsten says

    Hey Brandon,
    This recipe sounds great! I’m going to give it a try. Do you have any thoughts or recommendations on subbing or adding some spent grain flour? I’ve been experimenting with using spent grain from my boyfriend’s homebrew lately!
    Thanks so much!
    *I’m also at altitude in Denver, if that makes a difference.
    All the best,
    Kirsten

    Reply

    • Brandon Matzek says

      Hey Kristen!! I’ve never worked with spent grain flour before, so I’m not 100% sure how it would work with this recipe. I did some googling and it seems like you can replace up to half of the flour in a recipe with spent grain flour. I would start low and work your way up. Please let me know how this works for you!

      Also, I’m not very practiced with altitude baking. This recipe was tested in San Diego (sea level), so keep that in mind.

      Reply

      • Kisten says

        Thanks so much for the reply! Luckily home brewing puts off a lot of spent grain, so I have LOTS of it to experiment with. I think I’ll give this the ol’ college try! All the best.

        Reply

    • Brandon Matzek says

      Hey, thanks for the feedback! This recipe was sent to me by a Jeff, a Kitchen Konfidence reader, so I’ve given him the credit here. There have been a number of other comments regarding this, including one from Jeff, so please check those out 🙂

      Reply

  39. Becky says

    I think I may try this recipe for the weekend and saw someone post a picture of a bread they made recently that was topped with caramelized onions which I think would sound amazing with the beer in this recipe. Do you think I would top the bread with the onions at the end when you take the lid off the cast iron dutch oven?

    Reply

    • Brandon Matzek says

      Hi Becky! I’ve never done something like that before with this bread, but I think it could work. The bread is usually fully puffed up by the time you take the lid off, so it should have enough structure to hold the onions. You could also try finely chopping them and mixing them in during the folding stage before the second rise. Please let me know how this turns out!! Thanks, Brandon.

      Reply

  40. Toshiko says

    5 stars
    Hi Brandon, I 1st tried this recipe about a year ago and have been making it regularly since, it’s that yummy! Thanks so much! The crust sings the bread song as it starts to cool, love that, super crispy for a day. And lightly toast a slice, drizzle with EVOO, S&P and top with a fried egg — perfect breakfast!

    A few comments for your readers if I may. I put my pizza stone on a rack below the bread (not under the pot but on a separate rack) to keep the bottom crust from getting too thick and hard. I use Sam Adams Boston lager and apple cider vinegar. Tastes great! I cap the bottle of beer with a baggie and rubber band — I can get two loaves; the 2nd rises/tastes the same even after the beer has been in the fridge for a week. That was a nice surprise lol

    I use a big silicone spatula to pull the sides of the dough up over itself several times – once when I wake up and again a couple of hours before it’s ready for its final rise in the pot. This gives me a nice round, slightly tacky dough ball that barely needs shaping for its final rise. And I think it helps with the line up of the gluten for a very nice crumb structure with rarely a gaping hole.

    Here’s what I wonder: Have you or any of your readers tried replacing all of the water called for by the recipe with additional beer? I’m so curious, but haven’t tried it, yet.

    Reply

    • Brandon Matzek says

      Hi Toshiko, I’m so glad you love the recipe! I enjoy dipping this bread in soup during the colder months 🙂

      Thanks for sharing your experience and tips! I haven’t tried replacing all of the water with beer, but please let me know how it turns out.

      Reply

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