Overnight Bread

Bread up close on a cutting board with jam.

5 from 9 votes

Overnight bread is made with four ingredients, no kneading and ready to bake overnight. Crispy golden outside, fluffy soft inside.

Prep Time5

Cook Time40

Rise Time12

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegan

Servings:

Author: Bailey Rhatigan

Equipment

1- 4 Qt Dutch Oven with lid Or something similar

Ingredients

3 cup all purpose flour
¼ tsp yeast *see notes
1½-2 cup warm water *see notes
1½ tsp salt
1 tbsp all purpose flour or corn meal to sprinkle the raw dough with

Instructions

Make sure you have a ceramic or cast iron 4 qt dutch oven with an oven safe lid. If you don't, I have linked a perfect one here. This one is almost identical to the one I have. They are great for baking and for soups, you will find a lot of use with this.
In a large ceramic or glass bowl, add the flour, yeast and salt. Whisk really well to ensure everything is evenly mixed. Next, get warm/hot water from the faucet or microwave the water you have for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Slowly pour it over the flour mix. Start with 1.5 cups, you may need more as you mix since flour absorption can vary greatly.
Using a wooden spoon or spatula, slowly mix everything together. Be sure all of the flour mix is soaked up and mixed in. You can press the spatula down on the flour mix to help absorb everything. You may need to add a little bit more water at this step since brands of flour can vary greatly! I would recommend less than 1/4 cup at a time, mixing and then deciding if you need more. Max would be 2 cups (which is what I typically need)
Dough should be sticky, but not too wet. It should hold together somewhat well, not crumble apart. A good in between is perfect, be sure to look at the photo of my dough to compare.
Cover the glass/ceramic bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Make sure there is no air leaks. Leave in a warm area for at least 12 hours or overnight. The dough will double inside and appear humid in the bowl.
When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 450º. Place the dutch oven, without the lid on in the oven to heat up while the oven is preheating.
While the oven is preheating with the dutch oven in it, sprinkle a little flour over the dough, pull it out of the bowl, turn it upside down and fold it like an envelope. This just means to form a ball shape by folding the edges into one another (see photo for example).
Pull the dutch oven out, sprinkle a little corn meal or flour on the bottom of the pot. Pick up the dough and gently place it in the pot. Cover it and place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes take the lid off of the dutch oven with oven mits, carefully and cook uncovered for another 10 minutes or until the top of the bread is golden in color. Let the bread cool a bit before slicing.

Notes

*active/instant/dry/fast acting yeast

*water needed will vary, read the instructions in step three carefully. You will start with 1.5 cups and may need more, up to 2 cups max.

Nutrition