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, 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: 20 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. 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.) Place the ball of dough + parchment inside a bowl so the dough doesn’t spread out as it rests. Using a very sharp knife, kitchen shears, or a bread lame, gently score an X into the top. 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.
Hi! I love this recipe alot! I wanted to know how can I make this in bulk to for my family.
Hi Marvette, we recommend making individual batches of the dough instead of multiplying the recipe.
This is the first no knead bread that has ever worked for me! Left out the walnuts and added the juice and zest from one orange (reduced the water by 1/4 cup) and it was so delicious. Besides being a super easy and awesome recipe on its face, I think this will be a great base for other savory ingredients like cheese, jalapeños, garlic, sun dried tomato and herbs <3!!
Hi! going to try this out this weekend. My question is, would this be considered a sourdough loaf due to the 18 hour fermentation? Thank you!!!!
Hi Olivia, this is a yeasted dough, even with the long rise time. We hope you enjoy it!
My dough seems to be rising too quickly. Can I put it in the refrigerator?
Hi Jamie! This dough shouldn’t more than double in size – it should level out after a while.
Hello! Loved this! I used kosher salt and thought it lacked flavor as you mentioned. If using diamond brand kosher, you think 4 tsp would be enough? Thank you!
Hi Lauren, I know it makes sense to double it when using diamond brand kosher but I really do think that would be too much. I would try 3 or 3.5 teaspoons.
I love rustic cranberry pecan bread – can’t wait to try this! Are the dried cranberries sweetened? (I’ve tried to find unsweetened dried cranberries but so far, no luck)
Hi Noreen, We usually use Craisins in this recipe or a similar brand. They’re usually sweetened which is fine in this bread.
This bread is so good! Crusty on the outside and soft on the inside.
I recently bought Costco cranberry walnut bread, and thought I would like to try this myself and came across this recipe. Very excited to try making it! Quick question, could some fresh OJ be added along with orange zest for the combination of orange flavor? Also, I am an extremely novice baker , actually one level below novice! Thank you so much
Hi Kate, you could add orange zest to the dough. And perhaps replace 1 Tablespoon of the water with fresh orange juice. We have not tested this, but that is what we would try first.
I have a problem with my bread, it always burns on the bottom I use a cast iron dutch oven. I have lowered the temp I use the suggested high temp parchment paper, I try to follow directions, please help!!!
Hi Eileen, If the bottom is getting too hard/burnt, try lowering your oven temperature by 25 degrees and lower your oven rack as well. The bake time will be a bit longer since you lowered the oven temperature. Thanks for giving this a try!
I’m going to add to what many folks have already said, “This bread is easy and absolutely delicious.” I make all of my own breads and when this one came up on Instagram I knew I had to try it immediately. Unbelievable! Thank you1
Another very successful baking project thanks to your clear & concise instructions! I love it when you say things like, “honestly, any room temperature is fine”. Makes me calm & able to confidently carry on. This cranberry nut bread is going to make regular appearances in my house!
Thank you, Sally & team.
I just inherited my Grandma’s 100 year old Dutch oven and used this to test it out. First time baking bread without a machine and first time using a Dutch oven. The recipe was super easy to follow and the bread is absolutely delicious!
Hands down the best bread I’ve ever made! I’ve made tons of quick breads, I’m great at Bagels and during the pandemic made a lot of no need crusty French breads. I added some cinnamon and orange zest to this recipe. It is so very delicious! Thank you!
Can I use King Arthur GF flour to make this?
Hi Lisa, we haven’t tested it, but let us know if you do.
I have made this bread twice now. It is really good but my only quesions is, why is the bottom of my bread burning? I make and bake it exactly as instructed. Not sure what is happening.
Hi Karen, If the bottom is getting too hard/burnt, try lowering your oven temperature by 25 degrees and lower your oven rack as well. The bake time will be a bit longer since you lowered the oven temperature. Thanks for giving this a try!
Why only have a teaspoon yeast? I do one like that but plain white bread and needs 2 teaspoons
Hi Chantal, we only use 1/2 teaspoon of yeast here, since the bread has such a long rise at room temperature.
Would there be any benefits to doing a few stretch and folds in 30 min increments after the long 12-18 hr rise or would this negatively affect the final result?
Hi Bijan, we don’t recommend extending the rise time past the 18 hours here, or the dough could over proof and collapse when bake. It’s really developed to be a no-knead, hands off recipe so no need to add in any additional steps. Hope you enjoy it!
For the cranberry nut no knead bread, if you cannot have nuts what adjustments would you make?
Hi Cara, you can simply omit the nuts. Enjoy!
Perfection! As all your recipes are. I really did think my dough was too wet, even compared to yours in the videos, but all went well, and it’s the best bread I’ve made in my Dutch oven. Outside wasnt too tough and bottom didn’t burn. I cooked the time you said, and I feel so blessed to have this bread on a beautiful fall day in Montana! I’ve shared your website with my mom, who now bakes off of it, and my grown son has been baking off it too! Thanks so much!!
Blessings to you all for helping us all cook/bake!
I substituted garlic and rosemary in this recipe(which I make all the time and love!) But my parchment paper stuck this time? Any ideas why?
Hi Cynthia, make sure you are using parchment paper that can handle high heat. If you try this again, lightly flour the parchment paper or lightly flour the bottom of the dough before placing on the parchment. You could also use cornmeal for this too. Hope this helps!
Can’t wait to bake it, I just put the dough together! Am wondering: I’d love to use this bread for turkey sandwiches. Can I bake this in a 9 inch loaf pan? If so, should I bake at the same temp and for the same time? Thank you!
Hi Kathy, You could certainly try a loaf pan or two. The bake time may vary depending on its size.
What temperature do I set the oven to for the no knead Cranberry bread?
Thank you for all the great recipes!!
Hi Janet, see step 4: “During this rest, preheat the oven to 475°F (246°C).” Hope you enjoy the bread!
Sally can I cook 2 loaves at one time in the oven? Not sure if it effects the oven tempeture the more items you cook at one time in the oven.
Hi Linda, you can as long as the loaves can fit on the same rack without touching one another. Otherwise, it’s best to bake them separately.
This recipe calls for “1/2 teaspoon Platinum Yeast from Red Star instant yeast.” Is this correct?
Yes. Or any instant yeast. Active dry can also work.
This is an outstanding autumnal artisan loaf! We’ve now tried with butter and cream cheese. Hard to decide which is better. I’m thinking it would make a great ham or turkey sandwich with honey mustard. May try that tonight.
I loved the idea of this recipe and tried it. I must have done something wrong although I read through the recipe several and followed it exactly – the greaseproof paper stuck to the bottom of the load, cannot get it off, and the bread did not rise like yours. I did proof the yeast. HELP!!!
Hi Janet, it sounds like your dough could have benefitted from a little extra flour. That would help with the rise, and it could have just been too sticky in the first place. (Why it stuck to the parchment.) So sorry you had trouble with it.
I loved this recipe. I make it for my mom. The second time I made it, however, the bottom of the loaf is a little burned. Moreso where the cranberries are exposed. Tips? Maybe make sure the cranberries are more
Wrapped up in the bread?
Hi Melisss, If the outside is getting too hard/burnt, try lowering your oven temperature by 25 degrees and lower your oven rack as well. The bake time will be a bit longer since you lowered the oven temperature. Thanks for giving this a try!
Hi I really like this idea for bread. Can I replace the nuts with the same amount of pumpkin seeds?
Hi Geraldine, absolutely! Same amount of pumpkin seeds.
Should I soak the cranberries briefly before adding to the batter? Or will that make the batter too wet?
Hi Kathy, it’s not necessary for this bread.
Awesome, thanks! Can’t wait to make it!
Some Dutch oven does not recommend pre heating. How to fix the problem?