No Knead Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Baking bread has become one of my favorite things to do during quarantine and my favorite bread recipe is for no-knead bread.

This bread has a crispy light crust on the outside and is light and fluffy in the middle. I plan on making other variations of this bread in the next couple of weeks. Once you get the basic concept of this it’s really easy and you can experiment with different types of flours and adding other ingredients to the bread. 

History of No-Knead Bread

No-Knead Bread was created by Jim Lahey, owner of Sullivan Street Bakery in New York City. Mark Bittman is the one who published his bread recipe in the New York Times.  It’s a very easy and basic bread recipe that anyone can easily master. 

Dutch Ovens

The dutch oven acts like a vessel and creates steam inside so the bread will bake. It also helps the dough turn a golden brown color. I tried doing this before without heating the dutch oven and the dough didn’t even turn a golden brown color. I learned that the hard way!

My favorite brand of the dutch oven is from Lodge (Amazon Link). It’s fairly reasonably priced.

Use parchment paper (Amazon) to protect your dutch oven from turning brown on the inside and to help you lower the bread inside the oven. The dutch oven will be hot during this step and it is very important to protect yourself from burning. 

Grocery List

Here is the basic rundown of what is needed for this dish. I’ve also included substitutes that can be used if you do not have any of these items. 

Flour - No-Knead bread is made with all-purpose flour and can also be made with whole wheat flour. I have not tested this recipe with gluten-free flours or other flours simply because I do not need to. I don’t have any food allergies to worry about. 

Yeast  - Active dry yeast.  Make sure the yeast isn’t expired or the bread won’t rise!  Check the expiration date on the back of the jar or package. 

Warm Water  - between 105 to 110 degrees. I just let my faucet run until the water i s warm enough and measure out 1 ½ cups. Test the water with a thermometer to make sure it is warm enough but that is not necessary. When I first started bread baking years ago, I would wonder why my bread wasn’t working and it was because I was using cold water. Oops. lol 

How to make No-Knead Cinnamon Raisin Bread 

Measure out warm water and add the yeast to the water. Let the yeast sit in the water until it becomes foamy.

Mix the dough: Combine the flour, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, and raisins in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Pour in water and continue stirring until the dough has formed. I like to use a spatula for this. 

Let it Rise: Once combined, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap or set a towel over the bowl;  let sit on the counter overnight.

Preheat Dutch Oven: When the dough is done rising and ready to bake, preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Stick a 6-quart enamel coated cast iron Lodge Dutch Oven (or similar) in the oven for about 30 minutes to heat.

Shape Dough: Flour clean countertop or surface. Remember this is no-knead!  Dump the dough onto a floured surface and shape into a round ball.

After the dutch oven has preheated, take the dutch oven out CAREFULLY  with some oven mitts or hot pads. Note handles will be extremely HOT!

Place the ball of dough in the dutch oven and cover with a lid.

Bake at 450 degrees F for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes until done. Bread will be golden in color.

Instant Pot No-Knead Bread

Did you know you can bake bread in your Instant Pot? I had no idea either so I had to try it. Since you use a dutch oven to create steam to bake the bread, the same type of method can be used in your Instant Pot.

• Grease a baking dish that will fit into your Instant Pot.
• Mix the ingredients for the dough together and add it to the greased baking dish that will fit into your Instant Pot.
• Place a trivet into your Instant Pot. Pour 1 cup of water into the Instant Pot. and lower the dish onto the trivet.
• Use the Yogurt setting for an hour to let the dough rise. After the rise time is complete, cover the dish loosely with foil and use the Manual/Pressure Cook button to select a 45 minute cook time at high pressure. Once the cook time is complete, allow a natural release of pressure.
• After pressure has released and the valve has dropped, carefully remove lid and lift the baking dish out of the Instant Pot. Remove the foil.

How to Store No-Knead Bread

If you wrap up bread in plastic wrap or a freezer storage bag it will get soggy pretty quick. Storing the bread in the fridge will make the bread dry out. The best ideal way to store bread is by using a ceramic bread box. The microwave can also be used as a place to store your bread.

Other Recipes You Might Like

2 Ingredient Dough

Beer Bread made with 2 Ingredient

Pasta E Fagioli 

Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana 

Garlicky Shrimp Alfredo 

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*If you make this recipe please comment and rate the recipe below to let everyone know how it is, or tag me on Instagram! If you want to upload a photo you can do that on Pinterest. Just find the post for it.