No Knead Recipe Variations
| Menu of No Knead Videos: | |
| ► Cranberry-Pecan | ► Seeded Sour |
| ► Parmesan-Olive | ► Steel Cut Oats |
Here are some of my favorite No-Knead bread recipes. Each is distinctly different from the others, touching on some of what’s possible with this simple and hugely time saving bread baking method.
(Note: If you’re brand new to no knead bread baking, I strongly encourage you to give the basic no knead recipe a try first before moving into the variations.)
In each of the videos you will see I’m using sourdough starter as the leavening agent. The use of sourdough starter is usually my preference in baking but as the written instructions indicate, you can just as easily substitute instant yeast for the starter by mixing 1/4 teaspoon of instant yeast in with the dry ingredients and leaving out the sourdough starter entirely. It’s that simple. I don’t want to see anyone deprived of the luxury of this bread experience if instant yeast is your preference for leavening.
As always, feel free to play with different flour mixes and ingredients to come up with your ultimate bread masterpiece.
Please leave your comments, questions and experiences at the bottom of the page.
December 14th, 2007 Update: Check out Kendra’s recipe for cinnamon raisin bread below. It sounds awesome. Thanks Kendra!
Also, see the post by Joanne Polayes with her variation of the cranberry pecan recipe.
July 2008 addition: Definitely check out Carolyn’s No Knead Sourdough Lavender Bread. Wow, well done Carolyn!
Jan. 27 2009 addition: For a great looking focaccia recipe, see Hedy’s post. And a little above that, Toni offers her focaccia variation which includes whole grains.
Feb. 9, 2009: See a Newfoundland favorite by Janet Kelly. Thanks Janet!
March 31, 2009: Donna Wakefield has discovered that baking with keifer for both leavening and flavor produces excellent bread. Her posts start here and continues above under her name (“Donna” and “Donna Wakefield”).
Dec. 22, 2009: Mike Owens suggests this no-knead variation: “I blend up some frozen spinach with the water and add to the flour. Then when I fold in thirds I add some grated Gruyere cheese to each fold and I do the trifold twice. It is fantastic. Hope others like it as well. Makes my lunchbox ham sandwiches more interesting.”
Aug. 1, 2010: Couldn’t resist adding this email from my new best friend 
. It includes some great no knead recipe variation tips…
“Hi Eric,
Ever since I found your website a couple years ago, we have not bought store bread (except for burger buns and pitas). Baking bread is a complete joy for me: making it is fun, seeing the results is amazing and the reactions I get from those I share it with are gratifying. Our “daily bread” is the regular sourdough (but I add 1 tsp.poppy seeds). The olive parmesan loaf is a special treat for when we have guests (my siblings love this one especially – we’re of Greek descent =)) – but I usually add a head of mashed roasted garlic to it.
I have even created my own sourdough KNM variation that I thought I’d share with you. Feel free to post it, if you’d like. It’s the basic NKM sourdough with 1/4c. chopped, pickled jalepenos and about 5 oz. shredded cheddar cheese mixed in. I was selling them to a neighbor for awhile, but then she started a weight-loss program that forbid bread (scary, huh?).
I currently take care of my elderly mother full-time, but all this bread-baking has led me to seriously consider baking as a career. I fondly imagine my own little bakery someday.
You have changed my life, Eric. Bet you don’t hear that everyday, but it’s true. Thank you.
- Elise Davies“
Jan 1, 2011: Check out Bill Burk’s variation using 7 grain cereal. Makes an excellent sandwich bread.
Feb 27, 2011: Michelle Kaptor’s Cherries and Chocolate No Knead recipe looks like a winner.
Sep 9, 2011: Thanks Lisa K. for this gem - Black Russian no knead. Based on a bagel recipe, it’s as intriguing and exotic as its name.
Oct 17, 2011: Like Chocolate… a lot? Chocolate no knead recipe with great tips. Thanks Bart!
Mar 9, 2012: Here’s another Chocolate Cherry Sourdough version from Bradley that looks like a winner
Cranberry-Pecan Extraordinaire (makes 1 loaf)
1/2 cup (2 1/2 oz.) whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups (13 oz.) all purpose or bread flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup dried sweetened cranberries
1/2 cup pecan pieces
1 1/2 cups purified water
1/4 cup sourdough starter or 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
(Read paragraph near top of page for instant yeast version of this recipe)
- Combine the flours and salt
- Mix the starter into the water until mostly dissolved
- Mix the water/starter solution into the dry ingredients
- Mix in the pecans and craisins
- Cover bowl with plastic at let sit at room temperature for 18 hours
- After 18 hours turn dough onto well floured surface and gently flatten enough to fold dough back onto itself a couple times to form a roundish blob. Note: This folding stage can be accomplished within the bowl, speeding up the process even further and leaving less of a cleanup.
- Cover blob with plastic and let rest 15 minutes. During this rest period, coat a proofing basket or towel lined bowl with bran flakes.
- Gently and quickly shape blob into an approximate ball and place in proofing basket or bowl.
- Cover with a towel and let rise for 1-2 hours depending on room temperature.
- As gently as possible, flip the dough into a Dutch oven or ceramic (e.g. La Cloche) baker preheated to 500F degrees and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 15 minutes at 450 degrees. See Great No-Knead Baking Techniques for more tips.
- Allow bread to cool completely before slicing and eating. Warning: this most difficult step requires superhuman discipline and restraint.
You may have to adjust the baking times and temperatures to adapt to the various weights and materials of different baking containers.
Seeded Sour (makes 1 loaf)
This recipe holds a solid spot on my “all time favorites” list. It is adapted from the George’s Seeded Sour recipe in Nancy Silverton’s Breads from the La Brea Bakery book.
1/4 cup (1 oz) rye flour
1/2 cup (2 1/2 oz) whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups (13 oz) all purpose or bread flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 1/2 tsp. quinoa
3 1/2 tsp. millet
2 Tbs. amaranth
1/2 Tbs. poppy seeds
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup sourdough starter or 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
2 Tbs. yogurt
Seed Topping Ingredients:
1 Tbs. amaranth
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 1/2 Tbs poppy seeds
2 Tbs. anise seeds
1 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
Combine all the dry ingredients (except the topping ingredients) and then add to that the combined wet ingredients.
The rest of the baking steps are the same as those listed above for the Cranberry Pecan bread.
As shown in the video, I coat the proofing basket with the combined topping ingredients so they stick to the dough during the final rise.
Parmesan-Olive (makes 1 large loaf)
This recipe makes one amazing loaf of bread. It’s great for special occasions, and considering the price of ingredients, you may want to reserve it for special occasions. Use fresh parmesan cheese and it’s likely you will not find this loaf’s equivalent in any bakery. They would have to charge too much!
1/2 cup (2 1/2 oz.) whole wheat flour
2 2/3 cups (13 1/2 oz.) bread flour
1 tsp. salt
7 oz. grated fresh parmesan cheese
2/3 cup pitted kalamata olives (cut in half lengthwise)
1 3/4 cup purified water
1/4 cup sourdough starter or 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
Follow the same steps as those listed above for the Cranberry Pecan recipe. Combine the dry ingredients (including the cheese) then add to that the combined wet ingredients and then stir in the olives. The ingredient measurements are a little different than usual as the cheese is salty to start with and the dry mix takes more water than usual.
Here’s a video from Breadtopia visitor, Archer Yates… Nice!
Steel Cut Oats (makes 1 loaf)
It’s amazing what the addition of a mere half cup of steel cut oats can do to enhance and vary the quality of a basic loaf of no knead bread. During the long fermentation period, the grains soften and swell to give the bread a wholesome and satisfying flavor and texture.
Simple enough to whip together in a heartbeat and interesting enough to become a regular in your no knead rotation.
3/4 cup (3 oz.) whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (3 oz.) steel cut oats
2 1/4 cups (10 oz.) bread flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup firm sourdough starter or 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
Pictured here: Awesome steel cut oats no knead by Breadtopia reader Marianne Preston
Another Breadtopia reader, Allan Castine, offered this…
In my last e-mail to you, I mentioned that I had made your steel cut oats bread recipe with mostly excellent results. My only concern, as I told you, was that the bread was a bit bland for my particular taste.
I made the recipe again yesterday with a couple of alterations:
I added an extra 1/2 teaspoon of salt and, following a suggestion from a friend of mine, I lightly toasted the oats in a dry saucepan over medium heat before adding them to the flour mixture.
The results were great. The bread was very tasty, i.e., not bland.
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3 cups flour
1 teaspoon yeast (more yeast needed when vinegar is used)
1 1/2 cups pickle juice (a little water may be added if needed for leftover flour)
1 teaspoon salt (a little less than the basic recipe, you get salt in the pickle juice)
Bake according to basic recipe. 450. Dutch oven. 30 w/ lid 15 without. Allow to cool. Awesome with corned beef or a Reuben.
Although the Dutch oven is supposed to replace the usual bain Marie by retaining humidity, I sometimes mist my no-knead dough just before I put the lid back on the pot and return it to the oven. It gives a different texture to the crust – one which I frankly prefer.
Has anyone tried no-knead bread using oat or wheat bran?
I put some wheat bran in mine. I used about 1/4 c. It turned out very well.
Thanks. I’ll try it in my next batch.
My third loaf of the olive-parmesan bread is now finishing up in the oven. It truly is an outstanding recipe! I’ve been using 4 ounces (before pitting) of chopped oil-cured olives and about 4.5 ounces of supermarket parmesan grated on the fine side of a 4-sided grater. Fermented from 8 to 18 hours, shaped and placed in covered cast iron Dutch oven for 45-60 minutes, then into a cold oven set to 425. Start timing when oven reaches 425. Bake covered for 30 minutes at 425, then uncover for 30 minutes more. My wife could eat that bread with every meal! Next time I’ll try your 500/475 regime. Many thanks for a great site…and products.
For the steel cut oat recipe,
-add 1 heaping tablespoon of flax seed meal
-add 1 heaping tablespoon of wheat germ
-substitute 1 oz. rye flour + 2 oz. whole wheat flour instead of 3 oz. whole wheat flour.
-add maybe a little more water…
-and enjoy
I need a bit of help. I’ve been doing the sourdough no-knead for quite a while with great success. But today I hit a bump when I did a walnut raisin variation. I know the starter was good because I used it for 2 batches, my second was a rosemary loaf that went great.
For the walnut raisin batch I substituted balsamic vinegar for reg. vinegar, and used molasses in place of 2 Tblsp. of the water.
I also used 3/4 cup of walnut pieces and 1/2 cup of raisins.
I waited 18 hours but it never rose, at all. No oven spring. It was a very yummy brick. What do you think caused the problem?
I think I’m getting the hang of the. Sesame , Spelt and Parmesan Olive
Hi Eric……..
Finally got around to making a loaf of your Parmesan-Olive bread. The recipe should be banned. Ohhhhh my, good doesn’t describe that bread, more like obscene would be a better fit. Ohhhhh my, that single loaf of bread must have set be back $23-$24; that is obscene. To spend that kind of money on one loaf of bread. I wonder how the same recipe would turn out using Pecorino Romano, because that could bring the cost down substantialy; I’d imagine. No wonder I’ve never seen a loaf of bread like that in any bakery. What would they need to charge?
Anyway, on to another topic, as a child growing up in a predominately Jewish neighborhood, I would find myself in the local Jewish bakeries in my area. Cutting to the chase as they say, there was a certain bread that became my hands down favorite. It was called “Corn Bread”, otherwise known as Jewish Corn Bread. I’d like very much to duplicate that bread; having done a bit of research on the subject, I’ve learned that this bread has no corn in it whatsoever. I’ve also learned that it is in the Rye bread family; do you have any information about this bread?
peace
Jay J. Schneiderman
How about kneading the no-knead dough? Would that make a difference? Or have we really been kneading for thousands of years while it isn’t needed? What is the difficulty about kneading? I know my bread attempts didn’t work until I tried the no-knead recipe…
Hello Eric,
I am making a loaf of spelt bread today…the dough is very wet and so in order to be able to stretch it out as you demonstrate in the video, I have had to add a generous amount of flour…why is this?
An why do we stretch it out instead of kneading? Does it amount to the same thing…?
carol
A series of stretch and folds amounts to the same thing as kneading.
Next time you may have to make the initial dough stiffer by adding more flour to start with so it’s not so wet when it comes time for the stretch and folds.
I have had excellent results with no knead, , multi-grain, sour dough, in both AZ and CA at altitudes around 3500′ to 3800′. However I am now in NM at 7000′ and I have not been able to get the same results using the same approach as before. My bread does not rise properly after the usual 11 hr proof period (used to prepare in morning and bake later that evening) then placing in the rising basket it stays dense and does not bake inside even after 60 min in the oven. I reduced the sour dough starter from 1/2 cup that I used before to 1/3 cup to see if it was rising and falling to fast at these higher altitudes but that did not change anything. Has anyone had luck at this high altitude? What is your recipe what else did you have to change
…and a top shot…:)
Here’s today’s version – Bill Burk’s NKB adapted with Bob’s Red Mill 10 Grain Cereal. I mixed the dough as directed, then let it sit for about 12 hours at room temp. I did two tri-folds according to the recipe, rested the folded dough on the bench for about 15 minutes, roughly shaped and then placed in my parchment-lined bowl. The final proof was about 2 hours covered with a flour sack towel. I preheated my cast iron Dutch oven and baked the bread as directed. I was delighted with the wonderful aroma while the bread baked and pleasantly surprised when I removed the top of the Dutch oven and saw the impressive oven spring (I imagined since the dough was much stiffer and less sticky due to the grains, it would be denser than the original recipe; hence I expected it to be flatter:)
It is still cooling so if I get a chance to snap a photo prior to the bread being devoured I will post it later.
I’m really having such fun with these recipes – keep up the great work!
Thanks for your kind words Eric. Was thinking to add some chopped red onion next go around since it would add a little sweetness and the colors would amazing. The sweet corn sounds pretty incredible though!
Here’s the inside…yum!
Awesome bread, Lisa. I gotta try it.
A really good bakery in our area makes a jalapeno and cheese sourdough that’s also amazing. They include whole kernels of sweet corn that works extremely well.
Here are some photos of the jalapeno cheddar bread I made today. I served it with black bean soup for supper and it was awesome!
Hi, Eric and everyone! I am loving all the great ideas and helpful advice on this website. I have been using a 1 – 2 – 3 sourdough recipe that involves no kneading, which I tripped over online recently, but decided to try the famous No Knead bread for the first time. I mixed up the dough last night, subbing 1/4 c. each whole wheat and rye for the bread flour. 11 hours later I flattened the dough into a rectangle and topped with 2 seeded, chopped jalapeno peppers, which I folded in. I gently flattened the folded dough and added 5 oz. of extra sharp cheddar cheese and folded the dough again. I then allowed the dough a 15 minute bench rest before proofing in a bowl lined with parchment for about an hour. I transferred the bread on the parchment to my preheated cast iron dutch oven and baked according to the original recipe. All I can say is O.M.G. The bread is gorgeously browned, caramelized beautifully. It sang loudly when removed from the oven and I can hardly wait for it to cool. Thanks to the two posters who did this before me for giving me the courage to try it. I have to say that I was getting very nervous when I was folding in the peppers and cheese and the dough kept ripping…but it didn’t seem to matter in the end. Just had to share!
Eric
You have a real winner here .I have made this bread twice and it is now one of my and my wife’s favorits very easy to make and what an awsome tasteing bread .We make it at least once a week
Hi I love your website and have learned so much since I started baking bread 6 months ago. I made my first ever sourdough loaves yesterday using my first ever sourdough starter which was fun. I’m trying to access the recipe for the link to Bill Burks version of NK bread using seven grain cereal but the link doesn’t seem to work. Is anyone else having this problem? Any suggestions would be welcome. Thanks
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for bringing that broken link to my attention. It should be working now. You might have to refresh your browser first.
Now on to the other broken links…
Cheers.
I tried this recipe recently with very good results using starter (great crust and texture), but the crumb has a slightly bitter taste. I had the same steel cut oats for breakfast and realized they are the likely source of this. Is this normal?
Is it possible to us more whole grain flour in this recipe instead of
2 and 1/4 cups of bread flour? Is there a whole grain bread flour?
thanks you
mjm
Hiya. I made the Seeded Sour today (with yeast instead of starter) and no proofing basket. I lightly sprayed one side of the dough with Pam and then inverted it on the pile of seeds for the crust (towel folded it for the 2 hour rise). It looked great, but as I cut into the bread the seeds popped off. I think I might add a bit of the anise and fennel to the inside next time, and skip the outside seeding. Delicious bread. Thanks for the recipe!
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