Fear not the yeast! For so long, I was intimidated by baking with yeast and once I tackled it, I realized it wasn’t so bad after all. If you’re not comfortable working with yeast, perhaps this recipe for No Knead Parmesan & Garlic Bread will help you ease into it. This happens to be the easiest yeast bread recipe I’ve ever worked with… and it’s foolproof every time! The best thing about this recipe is that you can customize to your tastes to make it with various herbs and seasonings.
The Almost No Knead Bread was what I made awhile back. This time around I incorporated some additional flavor with the use of Parmesan cheese and dried herbs (oregano and thyme.) I must say that it’s just as easy to impart some flavor but still is a great bread without.
This bread does require some patience though, so don’t plan on having bread the same day you make it. If anything, allowing enough time for this bread to proof and rise is the most challenging… but your patience is definitely worth it.
What makes this recipe so easy? Well, it entails combining bread flour, yeast, salt and warm water. You can then add your choice of cheeses and dried herbs. Mix it up and let it rest with the help of your Instant Pot.
After that, the dough rests a bit at room temperature while the oven preheats. The last leg of the process is just baking the dough in less than an hour. So tackle that yeast and get to baking!
No Knead Parmesan & Garlic Bread
recipe adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
No Knead Parmesan & Garlic Bread Ingredients
- 3 cups bread flour or all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
- 3/4 tablespoon of kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups warm water or whey from strained IP Yogurt
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
No Knead Parmesan & Garlic Bread Recipe Instructions
- Plug in the IP with insert set in place.
- Combine all the above ingredients in a large bowl. The dough will be shaggy and messy, which is exactly what you want. Transfer the dough into the IP.
- Press YOGURT on the IP.
- Press ADJUST on the IP until display reflects 24:00 and LESS.
- Use the “-” on the IP until display reflects 3 hours.
- Secure the lid of the IP. No need to set the lid to either sealing or venting. No pressure cooking will be involved in this recipe.
- The display will reflect 3:00 (the number of hours you initially set) and will begin to countdown to 0 minutes.
- When the IP beeps after proofing your dough for 3 hours, place a five-quart dutch oven into your oven and preheat to 450 degrees for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, transfer your proofed dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with a tea towel. Allow dough to rest at room temperature while your oven and dutch oven preheats.
- After your oven has preheated for 30 minutes, the dough should have doubled in size.
- Carefully remove the pot from oven. Holding the parchment your dough was sitting on, turn over and dump the dough into the hot pot. Shake the pot to even the dough out. Cover and bake the bread for 30 minutes. Uncover the bread and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the crust is beautifully golden and middle of loaf is 210F.
- Remove the bread from the pot and let it cool on a wired rack.
Do you need to use bread flour?
You can use either bread flour or all purpose flour
I only have a 6 qt. is that big enough?
Yes – I used a 6quart Instant Pot but have also proofed dough in my 3.5quart Instant Pot
I don't have a yogurt setting on my IP. Suggestions?
I don't have experience with proofing the dough in an IP without a Yogurt button… but hopefully someone can chime in. Otherwise, I've previously used my oven and even the microwave to proof dough. The key is a temp stable environment for the dough to rise properly…
only 1/4 tsp instant yeast?
Yes – only 1/4 teaspoon of yeast, which is consistent with the original recipe from Jim Lahey in which this has been adapted from (link provided within the post above)
thank you.
if you were to proof dough in the oven, what temperature do you use?
If proofing in the oven, I preheat my oven to 200 degrees… and then turn it off. I place the bowl with my dough in the preheated oven, covered with a tea towel. Ideally, the best proofing temp is around 160-200 degrees.
Does the tea towel need to be damp? Do you spray the Dutch oven?
Tea towel does not need to be damp – I use a dry, clean tea towel to cover the dough while the Dutch oven pot is preheating in the oven…. and the dutch oven is not greased, not sprayed with any cooking spray. The dough is simply placed into the hot preheated pot before baking in the oven. You can place a piece of parchment in the dutch oven before putting in the dough if you are concerned of any sticking
The yogurt setting has four temperatures. Low, med, high, and custom. Which temperature setting do I use?
You can select low or high – the difference is how quickly it will be proof up. Low = 3-4 hours; High = 2-3 hours
I don't have a dutch oven. Do you think I could use a pizza stone? I'm guessing the hot pan is important.
Any covered bakeware that is able to withstand the high temperature can be used. A pizza stone is not covered, which will affect the bread texture. Having the dough covered allows it to have the correct crisp crust and tender crumb on the inside.
Can I put baking sheet in IP so that the transfer process to the oven goes easier?
I haven't found a baking sheet that could fit in the IP… and ideally you will need to use a piece of covered bakeware to bake the dough in the oven. To make it easier to transfer to/from the IP, you can place a piece of parchment paper in the IP and/or the covered bakeware.
Could this be converted to non Instant Pot method but just proofed and baked in the oven??
Here is the link to the same recipe made in the traditional way, without the Instant Pot. Notice, the Instant Pot only serves as a vessel to proof the dough – everything else is the same: https://www.whatscookinchicago.com/2011/04/no-knead-parmesan-herb-bread.html
My dough was very sticky. It stuck to the instant pot and the parchment paper. Did you spray anything with cooking spray or lightly coat with oil?
Yes, you can coat the Instant Pot or parchment paper set inside the Instant Pot if you are concerned with the stickiness
Can this recipe be doubled?
Yes, this can be doubled if you have an 8 qrt Instant Pot, otherwise it may not proof and fit in a smaller one
How can I save this recipe to Pinterest?
If you hover over any image, a Pinterest icon will appear in the upper left hand corner for you to click & save to Pinterest
This is my favorite bread ever. Thank you!
Help! My bread didn’t rise! It was sticky when I put it in the Instapot. It came out of the instapot still sticky and approx the same size as when I put I it in. It didn’t rise at all under the towel. I used the yogurt-medium setting. Any idea what could have gone wrong? It smells delicious, but is a short, round stump rather than a loaf of bread!
Could this bread be made using gram (chickpea) flour? I have friends who love bread, but who are gluten intolerant. I’d appreciate any comments/thoughts/ideas! Thanks
Is it necessary to transfer the dough to the baking sheet? Could you just let the dough sit in the instant pot after the proofing ends, before moving to Dutch oven? I made it as written, but was wondering if that step was necessary. Thanks! Very delicious bread-my husband said it was the best bread he’s had in a while!
It worked in my IP Duo Mini 3 qt! Thanks for the recipe.
It worked in my IP Duo Mini 3qt! Thanks for the recipe. Smells great already and I haven't baked it yet.
Delish – absolutely delish! Made this for dinner tonight and I cannot wait to enjoy leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Thanks for a great-tasting crockpot recipe!!
Your post excite me too cook beef. I really like it. Thank you for this recipe, hope I’ll be able to cook something like this sooner. I can’t wait until the weekend. Looking forward for more great stuff here. More power!