How to Make Healthy No-Knead Bread with Basically No Effort
This no-knead bread is really quick and easy. It is perfect for first time bread-makers or those who are short on time. It’s very hands off, takes 90 minutes start-to-finish, and is a wholegrain bread that is low in gluten if you choose to use spelt flour.
I grew up with the smell of freshly baked bread. My mother did 90% of the cooking in our house, but my dad was just as talented in the kitchen. As a mathematician, he particularly excelled in baking.
Both my parents love to bake fresh bread, and I remember few moments in my childhood where we ate shop-bought loaves.
As they grew short of time as careers progressed, they invested in a bread machine, and it was magical to watch them fill it with simple ingredients in the evening, and then wake up the following morning to the smell of fresh-baked bread wafting lazily up the stairs to greet us.
Bread makers are amazing things, but I have few single-use items in my kitchen, and I love to save space on counters and in cupboards where I can, so I haven’t had one for many years. Instead, I make my bread by hand or with my beloved stand mixer (no amount of small counter space would make me give that up!), and it can take time.
Time I don’t always have.
Until I discovered no-knead bread.
We are talking zero effort: a rough measuring and a brief mixing of a handful of ingredients, then covering a bowl, dumping out its contents into a loaf tin, and baking. Zero effort.
The best bits:
- no kneading (BEST bit), super hands off baking
- 90 minutes start-to-finish, no lengthy rises (only 20 minutes each)
- easy to double-batch and make 2 loaves with the same amount of time and energy
- made with only 6 recognisable ingredients, wholegrain, and containing no sugar, preservatives, E numbers, or vegetable oils!
- delicious, soft, sandwich-ready bread
And the smell that fills your house as it bakes! There’s no aroma quite as lovely as the delicious earthy, satisfying, warming scent of no-knead bread as it cooks.
Try it. You may be surprised!
- 450 g (2 3/4 cups) wholemeal spelt (or wholewheat) flour
- 1 tablespoon dried yeast
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 100 g (1 cup) oats
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- up to 500ml (2 cups) warm water
-
Mix everything together in a bowl until it forms a soft, but not sticky dough, adding water as needed. Cover the bowl and leave in a warm spot for 20 minutes. Dump into a lightly greased 900lb (2l) loaf tin and leave for another 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas 6. Sprinkle with some extra oats if you like. Bake for 45-50 minutes, then allow to cool before cutting.
Curious what I do allow to take up precious space in my kitchen? These are the 8 kitchen items I just couldn’t do without!
Hi, this recipe sounds great but I don’t know what dried yeast is. Is that the same as instant yeast? What I have in my fridge is quick rise instant yeast. Thank you, Valerie
Hi Valerie, yes – dried yeast is instant yeast or “fast-action” yeast. 🙂
I haven’t made this yet . Does it have to have yeast? Is it good for toasties?
Thanks
Yes, it needs yeast as that’s what helps it rise. I happily use it for toasties, sandwiches, etc. It’s not shaped like a sandwich loaf you would get in a shop, but works just as well and tastes lovely!