Y’all. I may have just accidentally reignited my bread obsession. No-knead breads have been a favorite of mine for quite some time because A) they’re easy and B) the long fermentation of the dough produces a really lovely and complex flavor. But I’ve always liked my bread to have a lot of texture. I like a lot of little bits and pieces in my bread. So this week I experimented with my basic No-Knead Bread and added a variety of seeds and grains from my pantry. The Seeded No-Knead Bread that resulted is absolutely ah-maz-ing. I’ve got my third batch brewing on my countertop as we speak.
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Small Batch No-Knead Bread
This time around I made a half batch, or a mini-boule, because I find these no-knead breads to not have a super long shelf life. They start to get that “yeasty” smell fairly quickly, so I’d rather make a small batch and have fewer leftovers. If you prefer, you can easily double the ingredients below and then just bake for 30 minutes with the lid on the dutch oven and about 15-20 minutes after removing the lid.
What Kind of Seeds Can I Use?
For my mix of “seeds” I used ground flaxseed, chia, and hemp. I also made a batch using uncooked quinoa in place of the flax and that worked just as well! So, you can probably play around with the seeds depending on what you have on hand, as long as you keep the ratios the same.
All-Purpose or Whole Wheat Flour?
And lastly, I know you’re wondering if you can just use all whole wheat flour instead of a mix of white and whole wheat and the answer is that if you do it will greatly affect the texture of this bread. No-knead breads can be even more finicky with whole wheat flour than regular kneaded yeast breads. While you can make a no-knead whole wheat loaf, most people add extra wheat gluten to help strengthen the dough, support the extra weight, and prevent having a super dense loaf. So, do I suggest it? No. Unless you have some wheat gluten handy.
Seeded No-Knead Bread
Servings 4Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp rolled oats ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds ($0.16)
- 1 Tbsp hemp seed hearts ($0.17)
- 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed ($0.04)
- 1/2 cup warm water ($0.00)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour ($0.08)
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour ($0.10)
- 3/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp instant yeast (or bread machine yeast) ($0.02)
- 1/2 cup room temperature water ($0.00)
Instructions
- Place the oats, chia seeds, hemp hearts, and flaxseed in a small bowl. Add 1/2 cup warm water and stir to combine. Let the seeds soak for 1 hour.
- In a separate large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, salt, and yeast. Stir until very well combined. Add the soaked seeds and then stir until they are as combined as possible (the mixture will be fairly dry). Add about 1/2 cup water, or just enough to form a sticky dough. The dough should be wet enough that there is no dry flour left on the bottom of the bowl, but not so wet that it appears slimy. It should be sticky to the touch.
- Cover the bowl of dough loosely with plastic and let it sit at room temperature for 12-18 hours. If you can not tend to the dough within 18 hours, you can press “pause” on the fermentation by transferring the bowl to the refrigerator.
- When you’re ready to make the bread, the dough should have expanded and have an almost fluffy appearance. Sprinkle it liberally with flour and scrape it away from the edges of the bowl. Turn the dough over on itself in the bowl a few times, adding more flour as needed to keep it from sticking to your hands, until it forms a smooth ball and is no longer quite as sticky.
- Transfer the ball of dough to a piece of parchment paper and let it rise for one hour. About half way through the rise time, place a Dutch oven, with its lid, into your oven and set it to bake at 425ºF. Allow the Dutch oven to preheat inside the oven for 30 minutes.
- Once the dough has risen a bit on the parchment (it will tend to spread out and not so much up), it’s time to bake. Carefully remove the Dutch oven from the oven, remove the lid, and then lift up the entire piece of parchment with the dough and place them inside the Dutch oven. Place the lid back on the Dutch oven and carefully return it to the hot oven.
- Bake the bread in the Dutch oven for 30 minutes, then carefully remove the lid and bake for another 10 minutes so the top can brown. When finished baking, carefully pick up the parchment to lift the bread out of the Dutch oven and allow the bread to cool slightly before cutting and serving.
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How to Make Seeded No-Knead Bread – Step by Step Photos
Because these seeds absorb a LOT of water, we want to soak them first to make sure our bread dough gets all the moisture it needs. So, in a small bowl combine 2 Tbsp rolled oats, 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed, 1 Tbsp hemp hearts, and 1 Tbsp chia seeds.
Add 1/2 cup warm water and stir to combine. Let these guys sit for about an hour…
After they soak up all that water they’ll be like a gelled mass. Pretty cool.
In a separate large bowl combine 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp instant yeast or bread machine yeast. Yes, only 1/8 tsp. Since it sits for so long that little amount of yeast has time to reproduce and turn into a lot of yeast. Stir these dry ingredients together until they’re very well combined.
Add the water-soaked seeds to the bowl of dry ingredients and stir them together as much as possible (this helps break up that gelled mass).
Add about 1/2 cup room temperature water, or just enough to form a sticky dough. The dough should be wet enough so that there is no dry flour left on the bottom of the bowl, but not so wet that it looks slimy. No-knead doughs do better when they’re a little on the wet side. Loosely cover the bowl and let it sit at room temperature for 12-18 hours. Remember, if you need to let it sit for longer than 18 hours, you can “press pause” on the fermentation by placing it in the refrigerator.
After 12 hours or so, the dough should have puffed up and taken on a sort of light, fluffy appearance.
Sprinkle a liberal amount of flour over the fluffy dough (because it’s sticky, remember?) and scrape it away from the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough over on itself a few times in the bowl, adding more flour if needed to keep it from sticking to your hands, until you can form it into a smooth ball. It might still be just a little sticky, but not so much that you can’t work with it.
Transfer the ball of dough to a sheet of parchment paper and let it rise for one hour. Sometimes I sprinkle a little cornmeal on the parchment first because it makes the bottom extra crispy, but this isn’t required. While the dough is rising, place your Dutch oven in the oven and set it to preheat to 425ºF. Let the Dutch oven heat with the oven for at least 30 minutes.
Once the Dutch oven is preheated and the dough is risen, carefully remove the hot Dutch oven from the oven, remove the lid, and then lift the entire piece of parchment with the dough into the Dutch oven. Put the lid back on top and then place it back into the hot oven. Bake the bread in the Dutch oven, with the lid for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and let it continue to bake for 10 more minutes to get nice and brown on top. Once golden brown remove the Dutch oven from the oven and lift the parchment with the bread out. Let the seeded no-knead bread cool for a few minutes before serving.
I don’t know if there is a joy any more simple than freshly baked bread smeared with butter. ❤️
This Seeded No-Knead Bread is my new love. Thanks to all those moisture loving seeds, the dough is soft, moist, and tender!
What size Dutch oven do you recommend for these “mini” loaves? I’m planning to use my large Dutch oven like I use for a full sized loaf, but am curious if these loaves could bake in a smaller one. One of my older family members struggles with the heavy weight of the big dutch oven and we’re looking into some of the smaller ones for some recipes.
We just used our regular 5qt dutch oven for the smaller loaf, which is linked under the Equipment section of the recipe card. As you will see in the step-by-step images, unlike some bread recipes, this one does not continue to spread and fill up whatever container you put it in by the time it’s ready for the oven. I would guess (but not certain!) that this recipe would fit into any dutch oven with at least a 2 qt capacity. Since most dutch ovens typically hold between 5-7qts, I would suggest getting something in the 2-3 qt range to use when making smaller or half-batches of recipes so it doesn’t end up being too small and lose functionality. ~ Marion :)
Could you throw this into a bread machine?
We haven’t tested it in a bread machine and therefore can’t give you direction. XOXO -Monti
Thank you for the recipe. I don’t have a dutch oven. How can I make it without that?
It won’t turn out quite the same, but you can bake it on a baking sheet. I suggest lightly brushing the surface with water before baking.
How much wheat gluten do I add when only
using whole wheat flour?
Unfortunately, I haven’t tried this method myself, so I can’t offer a suggestion.
Ok, my first attempt came out OK. (enough butter and honey will make anything taste good). But I have a few questions. First, can you substitute bread flour for the all purpose flour? Second, when you say sprinkle liberally does that mean the outside of the doughball shouldn’t stick to your hands? What about the inside of the dough ball? How well does this recipe scale up? Four servings is kind of small and if I’m making bread I’d rather have two loaves or one big loaf.
Hi Carol! Bread flour should work well for a recipe like this, but you may need to use more water as those higher protein flours can sometimes absorb more than all-purpose. And yes, sprinkle liberally is just so it doesn’t stick to your hands, but you want the rest of the dough to still be fairly loose and moist so it can expand easily (a dough that is more dry will be more stiff and probably turn out more dense). The recipe scales up great as long as you make sure you’re using a Dutch oven that is big enough to hold the larger loaf. :)
Is there a typo n the recipe? 1.5 cups water is listed twice.
You soak the seeds in ½ cup water, then add another ½ cup water to the flour later. :)
I love making no knead bread and was excited to try a seeded version. I didn’t have hemp hearts, so I subbed sesame seeds. I also added a tsp honey and a splash of olive oil – usually include sugar & oil in bread. It’s delicious! I figured I’d be the one eating it since it’s so healthy but my family loved it too. That said, could I double the recipe for a larger loaf? And it proofed just fine but didn’t bake as tall as your photo – should I have sliced the top before baking? Thanks for another great recipe Beth!
I don’t slice the top of mine, so it’s hard to say without being there to see the process why yours didn’t rise quite as much while baking. You can try slicing to see if that helps. :)
I was looking for a recipe similar to the bread at the bakery near my workplace, since I wouldn’t be able to get there often while working from home. I don’t have a cast iron Dutch oven so I used the Corning Ware Dutch oven that my parents received as a wedding gift 50 years ago. The first time, the bread wasn’t quite cooked so now I bake it with the lid on the entire cooking time. It works perfectly. I prefer it over the white version, and my mom does too, and she doesn’t like anything if it seems remotely healthy. 😂 My boyfriend is a very healthy eater but very picky about quality and taste, so the fact that he likes it is high praise. After I started making this bread, I discovered that I can’t eat dairy, eggs, legumes, or barley. It was difficult to adjust, except for bread. I already had this recipe, which is perfect. I love this bread!
I followed the recipe exactly but mine was very puddle-like on the second rise time. I let it go a full 18 hours and it was in a warm area (top of the fridge). I don’t have a Dutch oven but warmed a roasting pan with the oven preheating, and can definitely tell it helped with the crust texture. I’m sure a regular Dutch oven would be better but I’m happy with my quarantine results.
Love your recipes! If i don’t have whole wheat flour can I use all white flour?
Yes you certainly can use what you have on hand.
I would love to make this during quarantine, do you think I could use a glass loaf pan lined with parchment paper and bake? if not, could I use parchment paper and a cast iron pan since I don’t have a Dutch oven? Thanks!
Yes or you can try the sheet pan method Beth outlines.
Thank you! I ended up baking in a covered pot and it came out amazing! I used a blend of dried quinoa, flax, and chia seeds. I wish I put cracks on top for texture but still came out amazing! Worth the wait
Oh no! I don’t have a Dutch oven. Can I make it una regular cast iron?
Yes or you can try the baking sheet method.
I used different seeds when I made this. I just used the seeds I happened to have in my kitchen — sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and caraway seeds. They didn’t really absorbed any water when I soaked them, so I ended up needing to use a little more flour than called for. But it came out great — very tasty! I think the caraway seeds added a lot of flavor.
I saw on your other no-knead bread recipe that you use a 5.5 quart dutch oven. How do you think it would compare to using a 4 quart dutch oven?
Yes, this is a smaller loaf, so it will definitely fit in a 4 quart Dutch oven. :)
I started making this yesterday and just finished eating this for breakfast! I subbed hemp hearts and flax seeds for quinoa as I had some in my pantry. Also since I’m leaving for a few days and didn’t want to buy a whole bag of whole wheat flour, I just put the same amount of oatmeal in a food processor. I also made it into rolls. This was perfect and so easy!
Hello!
Any help for elevation? I have been making this bread for quite some time, but not sure how I should adjust since I just moved to Denver. Thoughts?
You should be just fine with this recipe Shannon. I’m in Colorado as well and have had great success with this recipe and no adjustments.
Turned out amazing! Great flavor and texture and SUPER EASY! I turned to this recipe after investing A LOT of time in a couple of loaves of sourdough that didn’t quite turn out. It was such a relief to make a good loaf with a fraction of the work.
Hi Beth. Do you think this recipe would work for rolls? I’m looking for a seeded rolls recipe. I have made this recipe before, but not rolls.
Yes, I think that would probably work! :)
Looks amazing and I’m hoping to make it. Do you think it would work in a 7 qt cast iron dutch over? Thanks!
Yes, that should still work. Mine is a 5 qt, so a 7 qt won’t be excessively larger.
I just found your site, and am sifting through all the good vegetarian recipes. About your no-knead bread: how tall does the loaf get? I know, odd question. I wonder if it would be possible to bake in a cast iron skillet? We are planning to live on a boat, and the gas oven won’t fit a dutch oven (too tall). I can use a cast iron skillet, and I have a lid for it.
The whole process sounds perfect for boat cooking!
I would say that you want at least 8 inches of room in the skillet between the bottom and the lid. :)
Think this is something a rice cooker/slow cooker could handle? I really want to try this but I don’t own a Dutch oven ^_^
I’ve never tried baking bread in a rice cooker or slow cooker, so I’m not sure. :) You will need to finish it off in a dry oven to get a brown crust, though.
Hi! Is there any way to make this work with a regular bread pan instead of a dutch oven?
You can bake this without a Dutch oven, but it does impact the texture, especially of the crust. The Dutch oven holds in the steam and also surrounds the bread on all sides with close radiating heat, so it does make a difference.
Be still, my heart! This looks exactly like the bread I have been craving for so long! Any idea how well this would freeze after being baked and completely cooled?
Very well! :)
Hi Beth,
Can you use regular active dry yeast and let it rise even longer? I don’t have any quick rise on hand.
You need to use instant or “bread machine” yeast because these don’t need to be dissolved in water before adding to the dough, like active dry yeast does. So it’s not about the rise time, but it’s about how and when the yeast is added.
This looks like a really workable recipe. I would like to try it with a gluten free flour mix which contains sorghum, millet, brown rice flour, arrowroot and soy flour. Would this work with the long rise, and can I substitute cup for cup measures? I don’t like changing a recipe someone has taken the time to develop but a family member has recently entered the world of gf and finding tasty bread recipes is our biggest challenge so far.
Gluten is what gives this bread strength to hold its shape, so I’m not sure how it would work with gluten-free flour. Unfortunately I’ve never experimented with gluten-free flour blends. :(
Hi, do you use whole wheat bread flour or whole wheat pastry flour?
Just regular whole wheat flour (not pastry).
Is there any way to fast forward the rising process?
Nope, unfortunately this one needs to take its time. :)
This bread is great! I’m a new convert to the full on Forkish/Lahey lifestyle now, but I don’t think I would’ve ever gotten into it without you posting the original no knead and various other bread recipes over the years. Do you think the bread could tolerate more seeds, or is this about as much as it can handle? I too love my bread about as crunchy and textured (and packed with nutrients) as it can be.
Thanks for all the recipes!
You might be able to squeeze in a bit more! :)
I have a bread machine and was wondering if this could be done in the machine on the dough cycle…what modifications do you think I would need to make, I have a hard time getting the 12 hour rise time due to work.
I’ve never used a bread machine, but since this dough doesn’t need to be kneaded, I don’t think it will work quite the same. You don’t have to let it rise exactly 12 hours, it can be 12 to about 18 and if you start it the night before you can put it in the fridge before you go to work to slow it down until you get home from work. :)
Hey Beth! Would whole wheat flour work just as well?
Hi Skylar, I don’t suggest using all whole wheat flour for this recipe because it will produce a really heavy dense bread. I talked a little bit about that in the last paragraph of the intro if you want more details. :)
I made this bread this week and it was delicious! I make no-knead bread quite often, and the seeds definitely improved the taste. Thank you for sharing!
I tried the all-white flour version first because I haven’t made bread in a long time! It worked perfectly, so I’m baking the seeded version today. I’m also glad I read the introduction to the recipe: I found out I can substitute quinoa for the hemp seeds, which makes this recipe even more budget-friendly for me since I have all the seeds on hand! Thanks!
I live in a 95 year old building and it’s freeeezing in here in the wintertime. Any tricks for getting the dough to keep fermenting when the room temperature is too cold?
It will still ferment at cooler temperatures, but it will just take longer. :) So you may want to go closer to 24 hours or so. It may take some experimenting.
Ohhh, I think that was part of my problem. Next time I will let it rise longer when its cold in the house.
Great recipe. Appreciated the detailed instructions. I used different seeds such as chopped sunflower. Also tripled the amount of ingredients to make it more worthwhile. This is a great recipe to use as a base. Next time I will add more spice such as ground anis and fennel or caraway to give it a bit more flavour. I like the consistency of the bread, equally good for breakfast with jam or with cold cuts or cheese, very versatile.
This sounds wonderful, Beth! Since I live at high altitude in CO, I’ve never tried my own bread. I’m a little worried about the bread rising properly. However, I’m going to give it a try. Thanks for this recipe!
Can this bread be frozen? I’d love to make up a few smaller loaves and freeze them. Also curious if this would work in a crock pot?
I’ve never tried baking bread in a crock pot, but you probably won’t get a nice brown crust in a crock pot like you would in the dry heat of the oven. Yes, you can freeze this bread. :)
This recipe looks like a winner!! Just wondering what size dutch oven you used? I have a 3 qt and a 7 qt.
Since this is a smaller loaf I think it would fit nicely in a 3 quart Dutch Oven. I’m not sure what size mine is, but it’s probably somewhere around 4-5 quarts.
Lovely simple recipe., and the yield is perfect for a small family. Looks like a perfect opportunity to stick in a sheet pan of veggies to roast simultaneously with the bread. With the lidded dutch oven method to protect the bread from any temperature change caused by opening the oven briefly to add or remove other items, it should work perfectly to multitask. Start first thing in the morning (I’m up before 6) and bake in time for dinner! This would also work well by starting the bread the night before and putting it in the fridge first thing in the morning to slow down the rising. Can’t wait to try it!
What can I use if I don’t have a dutch oven? Can I make this in a loaf pan?
A trick I learned from http://nokneadbreadcentral.com/ is the poor man’s Dutch oven. Simply invert another bread pan of equal size over the one holding the dough and secure it with large binder clips. It really works!
You can, but it doesn’t turn out quite as nice (I’d actually just bake it on a baking sheet as a round boule rather than in a loaf pan). The thick Dutch oven really transmits the heat nicely and makes the loaf puff up really fast, and creates a SUPER crispy crust.
Your points are well taken, Beth!
This looks so delicious. And love the tip about soaking the seeds first so the bread won’t get dry :)