Yeasted bread has never been easier. This simple method produces the most beautiful and crusty cranberry nut no-knead bread with very little hands-on work! If you’re new to working with yeast, reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
I originally published this recipe in 2017 and have since added new photos and a few more success tips.
“Homemade bread” and “easy” are terms that don’t typically go hand-in-hand. When you think of homemade bread, you think difficult, right? This recipe, however, will completely change that thought. I realize that’s a pretty big promise, but I’m confident your perception of homemade bread will switch from “nope! too much work” to “wow, I CAN do this.”
One reader, Kris, commented: “This is an excellent recipe—bread made easy. Delicious bites full of flavor from the cranberries and walnuts. Will keep this forever. ★★★★★”
Another reader, Linda, commented: “This recipe is fantastic. The bread had a wonderful crust and great flavor. The instructions were super thorough at explaining everything for a novice bread maker. ★★★★★”
Why You’ll Love This Cranberry Nut No-Knead Bread:
- Just 7 simple ingredients
- Hardly any hands-on time
- Variety of textures: crispy crusty exterior, soft and chewy interior, and plenty of dried cranberries and nuts in every slice
- An egg-free baking recipe and dairy-free recipe
- Tastes incredible warm with a swipe of honey butter.
This bread, like my homemade artisan bread, seeded oat bread, pizza bread, asiago-crusted skillet bread, and olive bread, has all the bells and whistles of a fresh-from-the-bakery cranberry nut bread, and takes very little effort. If you are new to working with yeast, or simply feeling a little lazy, this recipe is for you.
Making this loaf will leave you plenty of time to loaf around. 😉
Just 7 Ingredients for This Cranberry Nut Bread
You don’t need a lot of ingredients to make homemade bread, and you might already know that if you’ve tried this sandwich bread recipe. You only need 7 ingredients to make this bread:
- Flour: Flour gives the bread its structure. You can use all-purpose or bread flour. I typically reach for bread flour because it yields a slightly chewier bread.
- Salt: Pick up some coarse sea salt; I find the flavor is lacking with regular table salt.
- Yeast: You can use instant or active dry yeast, but I highly recommend an instant (aka “rapid rise” or “quick rise” yeast). I always use Platinum Yeast by Red Star, which is an instant yeast with dough improvers. You don’t need much here—only 1/2 teaspoon—because of the long rise time.
- Nuts: Walnuts or pecans—baker’s choice!
- Dried Cranberries: I love the chewy texture of dried cranberries here. Don’t use fresh or frozen cranberries, because this dough is too wet. Raisins would work too, or try chopping up dried apricots or dates.
- Water: I normally encourage you to use warm liquid with yeast because it helps the yeast work faster. For this recipe, you want the water to be about 95ºF (35ºC), because we’re encouraging a nice slow rise to build flavor. An instant-read thermometer takes the guesswork out of this.
- Honey: Honey adds flavor and helps give the bread its springy, sponge-like texture.
By the way, if you enjoy honey in your homemade bread, you’ll love this no-knead honey oat bread because the flavor really stands out. The process is also very similar to today’s easy bread recipe. And both breads are delicious warm or toasted and topped with this easy homemade honey butter.
Overview: 5 Steps to Make No-Knead Bread
This no-work, no-knead, professional-bread-at-home concept originated with Jim Lahey of Sullivan Street Bakery in NYC. It’s all very basic ingredients, but his method is unique, which includes an 18-hour rise time. 18 hours?! Yes! Don’t be nervous, this 18 hours gives the dough a chance to ferment. And the fermentation time requires absolutely nothing from you. Just set it on your counter and forget about it until the next day. We use this same method for homemade English muffins. In both recipes, the magic happens when you’re not looking!
Step 1: Stir ingredients together. Don’t even break out your mixer.
This will be a super sticky dough. Remember, do NOT be tempted to add more flour. It will stick to your hands. That’s nothing a quick wash can’t fix!
Step 2: Cover the dough and ignore it.
Let the dough rise at room temperature for 12–18 hours. This recipe is very forgiving. Any normal-ish room temperature is fine. You’ll know that the dough is finished rising when it has about doubled in size and air bubbles have formed on top. Like this:
Step 3: The dough will still be super sticky after rising. That’s ok! Using lightly floured hands, form the sticky dough into a ball and place on a large piece of parchment paper. Score the top with a sharp knife, kitchen shears, or bread lame, then allow to rest for 30 minutes.
Step 4: Preheat a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven. You’ll bake the bread in a pre-heated (super-hot!) Dutch oven, which helps form a crusty exterior. If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can use any oven-safe heavy-duty pot with a lid.
Step 5: Bake for about 35 minutes. For an accurate doneness test, the bread is done when an instant-read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195°F (90°C).
FAQ: Why Bake No-Knead Bread in a Dutch Oven?
Baking the bread with the lid on traps steam inside the pot, creating that perfectly crisp crust. A lid is the secret to this bread recipe’s success! You won’t regret picking up a Dutch oven.
No Dutch oven? No problem.
While baking the bread in a Dutch oven is key to this bread’s texture, you can get around it. Instead, place the rounded dough on a parchment paper-lined or generously floured nonstick baking pan. No need to pre-heat the pan like you do the Dutch oven. While the oven preheats and the scored loaf is resting, boil a kettle of water. After the oven is preheated, place scored dough/baking pan on the center rack. Then place a shallow metal baking/roasting pan or cast-iron skillet (I usually use a metal 9×13-inch baking pan; do not use glass) on the bottom oven rack. Carefully and quickly pour 3–4 cups of boiling water into it, and then quickly shut the oven door to trap the steam inside. The steam helps create a crispier crust. This is exactly how I bake 4-ingredient artisan bread.
Step 6: Enjoy a slice of warm, fresh bread you won’t believe you made from scratch.
This lightly honey-sweetened cranberry nut bread is fabulous for breakfast, toasted with butter or honey butter. Or serve it alongside a charcuterie board with a soft cheese like brie or goat cheese, or this white cheddar cranberry pecan cheese ball (yum!).
This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Red Star Yeast.
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Crusty Cranberry Nut No Knead Bread
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 20 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf; 10-12 servings
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Yeasted bread has never been easier. This simple mixing method produces the most beautiful and crusty cranberry nut no-knead bread with very little hands-on work! If you’re new to working with yeast, reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
Ingredients
- 3 cups + 2 Tablespoons (390g) bread flour or all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed
- 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt (I find the flavor lacking with regular table salt)
- 1/2 teaspoon Platinum Yeast from Red Star instant yeast
- 3/4 cup (95g) chopped walnuts or pecans
- 3/4 cup (105g) dried cranberries*
- 1 Tablespoon (21g) honey
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) warm water (about 95°F (35°C))
Instructions
- *No need to grease the bowl, and do not use a mixer in this step because the dough is too sticky for a mixer.* In a large bowl using a silicone spatula, stir the first 5 ingredients together. Mix the honey and water together, then pour on top. Mix to combine. (Note that in the video below, I add the honey to the dry ingredients instead of mixing first with water, but you can do it either way.) The dough will be very sticky; don’t be tempted to add more flour, you want a sticky dough. Gently shape into a ball as best you can.
- Cover tightly. Set on the counter at room temperature (honestly any normal room temperature is fine) and allow to rise for 12–18 hours. The dough will double in size, stick to the sides of the bowl, and may have air bubbles on the surface.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using lightly floured hands, shape into a ball as best you can. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Transfer the dough to a large piece of parchment paper. (Large enough to fit inside your pot and one that is safe for high heat. I use this parchment and it’s never been an issue.) Using a very sharp knife, kitchen shears, or a bread lame, gently score an X into the top. Place the ball of dough + parchment inside a bowl so the dough doesn’t spread out as it rests. Cover dough lightly with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 minutes.
- During this rest, preheat the oven to 475°F (246°C). (Yes, very hot!) Place your Dutch oven (with the lid) or heavy-duty pot in the oven for 30 minutes so that it’s extremely hot before the dough is placed inside. After 30 minutes, remove the Dutch oven and carefully place the dough inside by lifting it up with the parchment paper and placing it all—the parchment paper included—inside the pot. Cover with the lid.
- Bake for 25 minutes with the lid on. Carefully remove the lid and continue baking for 8–10 more minutes until the bread is golden brown. How to test for doneness: Give the warm bread a light tap. If it sounds hollow, it’s done. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant-read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195°F (90°C).
- Remove pot from the oven, carefully remove the bread from the pot, and allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing.
- Cover and store leftover bread at room temperature for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The dough takes up to 18 hours to rise, so this is a wonderful recipe to begin 1 day ahead of time. To freeze, bake and cool the bread, wrap in a layer of plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, and then allow to come to room temperature before serving. You can also freeze the dough. Mix the dough together as instructed in step 1. Wrap the sticky dough in lightly oiled plastic wrap and place in a freezer-friendly container. Thaw at room temperature, then let it rest/rise as instructed in step 2. Proceed with step 3 and the rest of the recipe.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowl | Lodge Cast Iron Dutch Oven or Le Creuset Dutch Oven | Parchment Paper | Bread Lame | Instant-Read Thermometer | Cooling Rack
- Dutch Oven: Use a 5- to 6-quart (or larger) Dutch oven or any large oven-safe pot with an oven-safe lid. If your Dutch oven is smaller than 5 quarts, you can halve the recipe (instructions remain the same, just halve each ingredient) or make the dough as instructed in step 1, shape the dough into 2 balls instead of 1 ball, and bake them one at a time in your smaller Dutch oven. While the 2nd dough waits, lightly cover and keep at room temperature. The bake times in the recipe above (25 mins and then 8–10 mins) will both be a little shorter for the smaller loaves.
- No Dutch oven? See post above for alternative.
- Flour: You can use either bread flour or all-purpose flour here. Bread flour will produce a slightly chewier bread. Feel free to substitute up to 1 cup (around 130g) of the flour for whole-wheat flour. Do not use all whole-wheat flour, as the bread will taste quite dense and heavy.
- Yeast: If you don’t have instant yeast, you can use active dry. I’ve never had a problem using active dry yeast in this recipe, and with no other changes needed. Works wonderfully!
- Cranberries: Dried cranberries (or raisins) are best for this wet dough. I do not recommend frozen or fresh cranberries.
- Parchment Paper: If your parchment paper has a maximum temperature that’s lower than the temperature called for in the recipe, bake the bread at that temperature. Bake the bread a little longer to compensate for the lower temperature.
- Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
- Recipe adapted from Red Star Yeast, method originally from Jim Lahey.
Reader Comments and Reviews
This looks amazing, thanks for sharing! I can’t find Platinum yeast, do you think the Red Star Active Dry would work?
Hi Ana, Active dry yeast works also but the rise time will be longer. Enjoy!
This was SO easy and beyond delicious.
My NEW ALL TIME FAVORITE GO TO BREAD RECIPE❤️❤️❤️❤️
I’ve shared your recipe with so many people, I’ve got terrible arthritis in both hands/all fingers but thumbs. I used to love to make homemade bread like my mom used to do (for 12 kids she made bread twice a week while working as a RN the night shift) due to pain in fingers I was unable try o knead bread as required do this recipe is perfect. Today I’m baking a variation of the bread: green Olive, skillet roasted (3 heads) coarsely chopped garlic and rosemary. It’s in the oven baking as I type this. Thank you again so much for sharing this lovely recipe.
Hi! I just made the dough and left it to rise!! I subbed dried cherries and hazelnuts! However, I just realized that my dutch oven is 3 quarts… do you think that will work ok? Thank you!
Hi Sasha! That size is a little too small. I recommend halving the loaf and baking it in 2 sections for a shorter amount of time.
Love the crust and the moist filling, but I find it too salty. Perhaps next time I’ll try without adding salt.
Hi. Is it possible to bake the bread in loaf tin? I made it using the ‘No Dutch oven’ method and the taste is really good.
Hi Swetal, you could certainly try a loaf pan. The bake time may vary depending on its size.
I love the crust in this amazing bread! My Dutch oven is 2 1/2 quarts and I first made it with 1/3 of dough. Next I made it with remaining 2/3 of dough and Dutch oven is plenty big enough.
I love This recipe. I’ve not had a whole lot of luck in the past with yeast breads. But I’ve made two different loaves successfully now (cranberry pumpkin seed, and cinnamon raisin)and they both turned out great! My question is can regular yeast be substituted for quick rise yeast? If so, what quantities? Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe, Amy! You can use active yeast instead of instant, see recipe note #3.
I LOVE this bread. I wanted it to rise higher to use for sandwiches. I have a 5.5 qt Dutch oven. Can I increase the yeast or should I increase everything by 1.5?
Hi Alison! Without testing anything myself, I can’t confidently give you accurate predictions or advice. Let me know if you try a taller loaf!
Hello! Just a few quick questions as I’m in the middle of your recipe! I did the NYT no knead bread recipe that you mentioned last week and really wanted to try a similar one with add ins, super excited to see the end result of this! If you don’t mind, here are my quick questions:
-the NYT recipe calls for some gentle folding over of the dough after 18 hours. Is that not necessary here? Only shaping into a ball?
-I didn’t use parchment paper or grease on the NYT recipe and didn’t seem to have any problems, but do you recommend it here because of the honey/add ins giving it a stickier texture?
-I only have an oval casserole dish, can I use a stainless steel pot with a lid to achieve the round shape or is that material not recommended?
Thank you so much!
Hi Allegra! Happy to help. (1) Yes, that’s correct. Just form into a ball and let it rest. (2) This dough/baked bread will stick unless parchment paper or a greased pan/pot is used (3) As long as it’s oven safe, it should be great. Enjoy!
I just made a batch of your Homemade Artisan Bread (3 1/4 c flour, 2 teaspoons instant yeast). Now I’m getting ready to make your Crusty Cranberry Nut No Knead Bread (3 c +2T flour, 1/2 teaspoon yeast). My question is why is there so much less yeast in the Crusty Cranberry Nut bread – the flour amounts are almost the same? Just want to make sure I’m not reading things wrong! So excited to bake these up! Thank you.
Hi Jan! This bread rises for 18 hours while the other bread only rises for 3 hours. That’s why there is a difference in the amount of yeast.
I’ve made this bread many times since first trying it in January, and it’s been delicious every time. Definitely a new favorite! I just noticed I was out of parchment paper (except for a small sliver). Do you know whether putting the dough in the Dutch oven without parchment would cause it to stick?
Hi Sarah, you can simply grease the dutch oven instead.
Very good but seems a little salty – would cutting the salt effect the recipe in any way?
Also seemed like a small amount of yeast – bread is quite dense – would a bit more yeast throw off the recipe??
Thanks for trying the recipe! The amount of yeast is ideal for the prolonged rise time at room temperature. Feel free to increase the amount or adjust the salt if you prefer! I usually use table salt.
what would happen if I made this with frozen crandberries instead of dried??
Hi Kris, Unfortunately I haven’t tried this bread with fresh or frozen cranberries. If you wish to try it I don’t recommend thawing the frozen berries. Let me know if you try.
Hi Sally,
Can this be made in a crockpot ?
Hi Karen! I haven’t tried it. Let me know if you do!
Love this and all of your recipes. If I make it without the nuts and berries to just have some good crusty bread will the bake time be different?
So glad you enjoy this no knead bread! Same bake time if you leave out the add-ins.
Hi, can I use sugar instead of honey? Thank you.
Yes– same amount.
Made it!
First time making bread and it was easy, super delicious and beautiful!!
Thank you so much!!
Hi!
This recipe looks lovely. I only have a 3.5 quart dutch oven-could I just half the amount and put in two separate loaves?
Let me know what the adjusted cooking time would be also!
Yes. It’s hard to give an exact bake time, so simply bake until golden brown. Give it a light knock with your knuckles– if the loaves sound hollow, they’re done!
Delicious! I used dried tart cherries because that’s what I had (I gave them a 5 min soak in boiling water first). I omitted the nuts but might try them next time. Outstanding!!
Do you know what the calories would be per slice? This is my Tuesday reward bread when I get home from Weight Watchers
Marvelous recipe! Sally, you have rekindled my love of bread baking. I’m wondering if this recipe would work for a wonderfully crusty roll, maybe cooked (with little parchment squares) in a muffin pan covered with a foil tent?
I’m so happy you enjoy this recipe, Lisa! I have never tried making rolls in a muffin pan with this dough. If you try it I suggest you use the water bath method as described in the post above in the section. “No Dutch Oven? No Problem.” Let me know how they turn out!
I have NEVER commented on a recipe before and I have made a lot of different foods. However, I just had to here. Never made bread before. This could not have been more simple! I added brown and golden raisins, walnuts and dried apricots. Absolutely delicious and beautiful. I have shared this with family and friends.
I’m thrilled that you tried making bread for the first time and enjoyed it so much, Rita! Thank you for taking the time to comment 🙂
One question – Do I put the Dutch oven in for 30 minutes while the oven is coming up to 475 or after the oven hits 475, then put the Dutch oven in for 30 minutes? Thanks Steve
Hi Steve! After the oven has pre-heated.
I love the fact that you put all ingredients in grams. Thank you so very much.
Omg. My husband loves the walnut raisin from Costco ( a tad expensive and not always on shelf). Tried 2 other recipes and saw yours for another “go”. I am so glad that I did. Your instructions are very easy to follow. I even bought a Dutch oven. Results- Perfection. So much so loaf gone in 24 hours. I only had two slices. Made another one today. Thanks so much. I did pecans with cranberries. So good. I will try others on your site.
Easiest, Best Bread Recipe
I can’t believe how simple and delicious this recipe is. Thank you!
I’m one of those weirdos who learned to make bread early on and have always enjoyed making it! I love your recipes due to the simple fact you nice you understand the rules- it’s soooo much fun to break them all. Thanks for so many resources to experiment with.
I am very much a rookie in the bread making department so I followed this recipe to the letter. Wow! What an amazing result. You could have used my loaf for the pictures. Absolutely delicious and even better when you slice it and toast it. Up next…jalapeño and cheese loaf.
I loved this bread…I used bread flour, cranberries, hazelnuts, some orange zest and golden syrup instead of honey…and it was amazing. Thank you for sharing your recipe