Crusty, airy, bakery-style bread in your home kitchen? Yes. You. Can. This dough takes 5 minutes to stir together, and from there, time does the work. If you love a rustic boule for dipping in your soup or toasting and slathering with butter and jam for breakfast, this recipe is for you.

Jim Lahey's no-knead bread on a cooling rack.

** Note to My Readers ** This was the 5th recipe I posted on this blog, way back in 2006. I’ve since updated it with new notes and photos.

Last Sunday evening, wanting to make a dent in a large bag of pizza flour* I had purchased a few months ago, I mixed up a batch of Jim Lahey’s famous no-knead bread dough (recipe below). The following day, after an 18-hour rise, I proceeded with the recipe, turning the dough out onto a floured work surface, folding it into a rough ball, then letting it rise again in a cornmeal-dusted towel. Two hours later I set it seam side up in my screaming hot Dutch oven and baked it.

What a treat!

It truly has been years since I made this recipe, and I had forgotten about all of the joys: the very basic mixing process, which requires no stretches and folds, the very basic shaping process, which requires no skill or practice, the simple trick of baking the loaf seam side up, making scoring unnecessary, removing the lid of the Dutch oven to reveal a rustic, cornmeal-crusted boule, slathering a slice of the chewy, crusty bread with salted butter.

All for what feels like impossibly little effort! If you’ve spent any time toiling over a loaf of sourdough bread, making Jim Lahey’s bread will feel like a breath of fresh air.

*It’s this Petra 0102, which I wrote about over here. Note: JL’s bread is equally delicious with bread or all-purpose flour, too, so don’t feel the need to order a 27-lb bag of Petra! (Although I do love it so.)

Why This Recipe Works

  1. Time. This recipe calls for a tiny amount of yeast — just 1/4 teaspoon — and a very long slow rise, during which time, gluten develops as well as flavor.
  2. Baking Method. This dough bakes in a Dutch oven, covered first, then uncovered. When the pot is covered, water in the dough evaporates and transforms into steam. Both the carbon dioxide gas in the dough and the steam push against the gluten structure, causing the dough to spring. During the last 15 minutes of baking, when the lid is removed and the bread is baking in dry heat, the gelatinized surface of the dough dries out, transforming into a crackly crust. The cornmeal helps, too. Read more about this baking method here: How to Make Crusty Baguettes at Home.

How to Make Jim Lahey’s No-Knead Bread, Step by Step

First gather your ingredients: flour (bread or all-purpose), salt, instant yeast (SAF is my preference), and water:

The ingredients to make Jim Lahey's no knead bread on a counter top.

Combine the flour, yeast, and salt:

A large glass bowl filled with flour, salt, and instant yeast aside a liquid measure filled with water.

Whisk to combine, then add the water:

Water added to a large glass bowl filled with flour, salt, and instant yeast.

Stir until you have a sticky dough ball:

A mixed ball of dough in a large glass bowl.

Cover the bowl. At this point, you can leave the dough untouched for 18 hours. Or, if time permits, in 15 to 20 minutes, you can perform one set of stretches and folds: simply grab an edge of the dough using a wet hand and stretch it up and in. Repeat this 8 to 10 times, grabbing a different edge each time. I find even performing just one set of stretches and folds gives my dough the teensiest bit more strength and ultimately a bit more loft.

Compare the difference between this dough after 18 hours, which experienced no stretches and folds:

Jim Lahey's no-knead bread dough after an 18-hour room temperature rise.

And this dough, also after 18 hours, which experienced one set of stretches and folds:

Jim Lahey's no-knead bread dough with lots of bubbles on top after an 18-hour room temperature rise.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface:

Jim Lahey's no-knead bread dough after a long 18-hour rise, turned out onto a floured work surface.

Then fold it into a rough ball:

A shaped round of dough, ready for a 2-hour room temperature proof.

Lightly dust a tea towel or flour sack towel (I love these Flour Sack Towels) with cornmeal and place the shaped round cut side down on the towel. Sprinkle with more cornmeal:

A shaped round of dough on a tea towel sprinkled with cornmeal.

Incidentally, this is the cornmeal I buy:

A bag of stone ground yellow corn meal.

Wrap into a bundle and set in a small bowl (an 8-inch banneton or Pyrex bowl or anything similar) will work. Set aside to rise for 2 hours.

A tea towel folded over a loaf of bread dough in a banneton.

Forty-five minutes before you plan on baking, place a Dutch oven in your oven and preheat it to 450ºF. I’ve used my 5-Qt Lodge and my Challenger Bread Pan here with success.

When you are ready to bake, open the towel, and remove the bowl.

A round of dough in a towel lined banneton, covered with cornmeal, read to be baked.

Lay a round of parchment over the top of the dough and lay one hand on top; then slide your other hand underneath the towel, and carefully flip the round onto the parchment, so that the seam side is up. (Note: The seam will be hard to see, but it will open up in the oven.) This will make a mess of cornmeal everywhere… simply sweep it away. I love these parchment rounds for both pizza and this bread.

A round of Jim Lahey's no-knead dough on a circle of parchment paper, covered with cornmeal, ready to be baked.

Remove the Dutch oven from the oven and set it on a cooling rack. Remove the lid and carefully lower the bread, parchment paper and all into the pot:

Jim Lahey's no knead dough in a cast iron skillet lined with parchment paper.

Cover the pot and transfer to the oven for 30 minutes. Then remove the lid:

Jim Lahey's no-knead bread after a 30 covered bake in a Dutch oven.
Jim Lahey's no-knead bread after a 30 covered bake in a Dutch oven.

Return the pan to the oven for another 15 minutes or until browned to your liking:

Just-baked Jim Lahey's no knead bread in a cast iron skillet on a cooling rack.

Transfer bread to a cooling rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Jim Lahey's no-knead bread, just baked, on a cooling rack.
A loaf of Jim Lahey's no-knead bread on a cooling rack.

The bread made with half bread flour and half Petra 0102:

Jim Lahey's No-Knead Bread, sliced on a cutting board.

The no-knead loaf will feed a crowd but should you find yourself with leftovers, it makes delicious toast and freezes beautifully:

A toasted slice of Jim Lahey's no-knead bread.
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Jim Lahey’s No-Knead Bread

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Description

Adapted from Mark Bittman’s “The Minimalist” column in The New York Times: Dining In November 8, 2006 / Recipe from Jim Lahey

Notes:

Flour/Salt: I’ve adjusted the recipe by adding a touch more salt than suggested in the article and converting the recipe to grams. In the years since this recipe has been published, Mark Bittman has updated his recipe to add grams, and his quantities are slightly different than mine. The key here is to use roughly an 80% hydration dough, so regardless of how much flour you use, be sure the water amount is roughly 80% the amount of flour. Similarly, the salt should be roughly 2 to 3 % the weight of the flour, which for this recipe is 7 to 11 grams.  

Time: Be sure to read the recipe through entirely before endeavoring to make this bread: you need 12-18 hours initially in rising time and 2 more hours subsequently for a second rise.

Equipment: You’ll need a lidded vessel to bake this loaf. I use my 5-qt Lodge Double Dutch Oven for this one. Parchment paper is helpful as well or transferring the dough from the towel to the preheated Dutch oven. 

Ingredients

  • 385 grams (about 3 cups) bread flour, plus more for dusting
  • 1 gram (¼ teaspoon) instant yeast
  • 11 grams (about 2 teaspoons) kosher salt
  • 308 grams (about 1 5/8 cups) water 
  • Cornmeal, wheat bran, or oat bran as needed

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the water, and stir until blended. The dough will be sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest for 12-18 hours at room temperature. (Note: Optional Step: If time permits, 15 to 20 minutes after you cover the bowl, perform one set of stretches and folds: simply grab an edge of the dough using a wet hand and stretch it up and in. Repeat this 8 to 10 times, grabbing a different edge each time. I find performing a set of stretches and folds gives my dough the teensiest bit more strength and ultimately a bit more loft. See photos in the post above.)
  2. After the 12 to 18 hours, or when the surface of the dough is dotted with bubbles, lightly flour a work surface and place the dough on it. Sprinkle a little more flour on the dough and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for about 15 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, lay a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth) on a counter or tabletop in a draft-free area. Generously coat it with cornmeal, wheat bran, oat bran, or any combination of the three. After the 15 minutes, using as much flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to your fingers and the work surface, quickly shape the dough into a ball and place seam side down in the center of the prepared towel. Dust with more cornmeal, wheat bran, or oat bran. If the towel is large enough, fold the sides up over the bread so that it is completely covered. Otherwise, cover it with another towel. Let rise for another 2 hours. (I like to set my towel-wrapped dough into a bowl or banneton to provide a little more support during these 2 hours.)
  4. Forty-five minutes before the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 450°F. Place a 6- to 8-quart heavy-covered pot (I use this Lodge Double Dutch Oven) in the oven while it heats. When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven. Slide your hand under the towel and turn the dough over into the pot, seam side up. This is tricky — I find that parchment paper helps: open your towel, lay a sheet of parchment paper over the dough, place your hand on the parchment paper and carefully flip the dough over so that the seam side is up and the dough is resting on the parchment paper. Use the overhanging parts of the parchment paper as handles, then lay the bread, parchment paper and all, into the Dutch oven. 
  5. Cover with the lid and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until it sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from oven, and turn out onto a cooling rack. 
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 45 minutes
  • Category: Bread
  • Method: Dutch Oven
  • Cuisine: American