Easy No Knead Bread Made With Olive Oil in a Dutch Oven

You don’t need any bread-making experience or to be home all day to babysit your bread. All you need is a bowl, a wooden spoon, a dutch oven, and plenty of time (it rises while you sleep!) and you too can be eating this yummy no knead bread tomorrow.

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Is there a better kitchen smell than bread baking in the oven?  Maybe coffee brewing, or cookies baking…those are great, but for me it’s definitely bread.  I don’t make bread very often because I’m usually not able to be home all day kneading and proofing, stretching, and folding.  If you can relate, give this recipe a try. Very little active time is needed in the kitchen and you still get the wonderful experience of a homemade loaf. This recipe produces a crispy, crunchy artisan bread for the not-so-experienced bread baker.  Now doesn’t that sound perfect?  Olive oil bread takes a few basic ingredients and turns them into the most delicious crusty bread that can be made with very little effort.  That’s the dream, right?  Fresh, homemade bread that can be made without much active time in the kitchen.

What Is No Knead Bread?

While many bread recipes involve a lot of kneading and proofing and rising and proofing again, this one requires no kneading. Yep!  It’s the easiest bread you’ll ever make!  The most effort you’ll put in is mixing to combine the flour, water, yeast, olive oil, and salt, and the strength it takes to transfer your Dutch oven into the oven.

After a hands-off first rise (and only rise!) on the countertop, a quick moment to transfer the dough to the Dutch oven, and a bake in the oven, you get to enjoy your own homemade loaf of bread.  The result: a perfect crust, soft and warm insides with great flavor.

Ingredients for Easy No-Knead Bread

• All-purpose flour
• Active dry yeast
• Luke warm water
• Sea Salt
• Extra Virgin Olive oil

How To Make No Knead Bread

1. Mix. Whisk together the flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. Stir in a bit of room-temperature water and olive oil into the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon until the dough starts to form. It’ll look a little bit weird at first, but trust me it will all come together.
2. Let the dough rest. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a loose lid and let it just sit on the counter at room temp overnight, for 12-18 hrs. Longer is better. Just forget about it until morning.
3. Fold the dough. Dust the top of the dough with flour and fold the dough over four times. Let it rest for 1-2 hrs.
4. Preheat your Dutch oven. Line your Dutch oven or big oven-safe pot with parchment paper, although you don’t have to. The dough shouldn’t stick if properly preheated. Place the Dutch oven in a 450 degree F oven for 30 minutes.
5. Bake. Remove your Dutch oven. Dust the dough with flour and shape it into a ball. Add your dough, cover with the lid, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for another 10-15 minutes until the top gets a beautiful golden brown. Cool bread on a cooling rack before slicing.
6. Time to Eat! Get ready to slice into this warm homemade bread and eat it with your next meal!

Different Variations for My No Knead Bread Recipe

• Fresh Rosemary pairs perfectly with olive oil to make a delicious rosemary bread, you can add some directly to the dough.
• Add some sliced black olives or green olives to the loaf.
• Try substituting some of the all-purpose flour for whole-wheat flour for a more rustic and hearty loaf.

How to Serve No Knead Olive Oil Bread

• Make some slices toasted with butter or olive oil and salt and serve with scrambled eggs, as a dipper for soup, or with your favorite pasta and sauce.
• This bread makes the most tasty grilled cheese sandwiches.  Crispy, crunchy, and cheesy…yum!
• Speaking of cheese…we like to top slices with a little bit of whatever shredded cheese is in our fridge, a sprinkle of parmesan, and a little salt-free seasoning like Trader Joe’s 21 Seasoning or Mrs. Dash and then put the bread slices on a baking sheet under the broiler until the cheese is melted and starts to bubble.  This only takes a few minutes and is the perfect side dish for soup in the wintertime or a big salad in the summertime.
• Top toasted slices of bread with a little pasta or pizza sauce and some mozzarella cheese and bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes to make mini pizzas
• For breakfast, this bread is really tasty with a little bit of jam or jelly.
• We also like to make this bread into garlic bread – spread slices with a little butter or drizzle with a little olive oil.  Top with fresh minced garlic or garlic powder and a little parsley. (Fresh is best, but dried works in a pinch.). Toast it under the broiler for a few minutes until the bread is toasty and serve it with pasta or soup.
• Slices of Olive Oil Bread make the perfect base for a bruschetta, or grilled zucchini topped with tomato sauce –  This is a great, light summer meal with a glass of wine and a big salad.
• Wrap it in a new dish towel and give it as a gift to a friend, trust me they will love it!
• Use stale bread as a topping on French onion soup
• Make tomato, basil, and mozzarella sandwiches
• Let it dry, cube it, and use it in your favorite strata recipe