No-Knead Cast Iron Bread Recipe – 4 Simple Ingredients for a Perfect Crusty Loaf

This no-knead cast iron bread is made with just 4 simple ingredients and zero fuss. Perfect for beginners, it delivers a crusty, artisan-style loaf with minimal effort—no mixer or kneading required!

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 45

Resting time 8

Total Time 8 50

Course Breads

Cuisine Italian

Servings 10 Slices

Calories 1375 kcal

Equipment

1 Bowl with lid
1 Measuring cup
1 Spatula

Ingredients

3 Cups Flour
300 ml Warm Water
1 tsbp Salt
1 tsbp Instant Yeat

Instructions

Preparing the Dough

Mix all the ingredients in a ceramic or glass bowl until the dough comes together, less than 1 minute.

Resting

Cover with plastic wrap or a clean cloth.Let the dough rise for at least 8 hours — the longer, the better. If you live in a cold area, let it rest for 12 to 24 hours to allow for proper fermentation.
After it has fermented, remove it from the bowl and place it on a clean surface sprinkled with a bit of cornmeal (optional, but gives that perfect finishing touch).
Let the dough rest again for 1 hour, covered. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 300°C with a cast iron or ceramic pot (with lid) inside.

Baking

Remove the pot from the oven, add the dough, cover it, and bake for 30 minutes.Remove the lid and let it brown for another 15 minutes — in the video, it browned enough in the first 30 minutes, so I only left it for 5 more minutes.
Remove from the oven and let it cool — this last step is very important, do not slice the bread while it’s hot.

Video

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