One of the best things about owning an Instant Pot is that it makes bread-making a breeze. No-knead bread recipes are great for those who don’t have time to spend in the kitchen but still want a delicious fresh loaf. Today, I’m going to show you how easy it is to make no-knead rosemary bread right in your Instant Pot!
My no-knead bread recipe made in the Instant Pot! I’ve been hinting at this recipe for a while, and I finally got it up.
I know I’ve been a broken record about the whole Instant Pot thing, but I promise it’s worth it. I use mine at least a few times a week. And, now that I’ve figured out how to make bread in it, I know that number will only increase.
Have you ever had no-knead bread before? This is based on the famous NYT bread recipe, using whole-wheat flour, fresh rosemary, and flaky sea salt. If you’ve ever eaten at Macaroni Grill and know their rosemary bread, that was my inspiration.
BL and I used to eat there all the time in graduate school in Stockton, CA and would easily down a loaf of bread while we waited for our pasta meals. Yes, I’ve been in love with carbs pretty much my entire life!
To proof the dough, you will use the yogurt setting in your Instant Pot as a continuous warm spot that allows the bread to proof in a fraction of the time.
The Instant Pot just saves you time, but it’s not a necessary thing. Original no-knead bread recipes take hours to proof overnight and using the Instant Pot cuts that prep time in a third. You can start homemade bread at noon and have it warm and ready-to-eat for dinner that night.
However, in the spirit of being a kinda-sorta-minimalist, I will continue to provide stove-top alternatives for those who don’t want yet another thing in their kitchen and prefer to use the old method.
As with most bread recipes, you’ll need bread flour along with either whole-wheat flour or all-purpose flour.
Bread flour contains more gluten than all purpose flour and is essential for making chewy bread with texture.
You’ll also need salt, fresh rosemary and water. I use instant yeast for this recipe over regular yeast. Since you are only proofing for a few hours, you’ll want to make sure the yeast is fast-acting. You should be able to find the yeast next to regular yeast in the grocery store!
You’ll need a glass bowl large enough to fit in the Instant Pot. Instead of using the inner pot that the Instant Pot comes with, you’ll remove that first and place a heat-resistant bowl, like a glass bowl on top of a trivet.
You can use the rack that came with your Instant Pot, or a large mason jar top turned upside down. You can see this in the photos and in the video in the recipe card below.
Once your Instant Pot is prepped, mix together the flour, salt, yeast and 2 tablespoons of the fresh rosemary in the bowl. Add in the room temperature water and mix with a spatula or wooden spoon until just incorporated, taking care not to over mix. This yeast mixture will be very sticky and shaggy, like the photo above.
Cover the glass bowl with plastic wrap and place on the trivet in the pot. Cover, press the yogurt button to turn on the yogurt setting and turn the vent to “venting”. Set for 4 hours to proof. When the dough is done proofing, it should be double in size. If not, proof another 30 minutes.
Now you are ready to bake. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and place a dutch oven with a lid in the cool oven to warm up. This helps the bread get a crispy, exterior crust.
Turn the proofed dough out onto a lightly floured counter and gently shape into a ball. I do this by pulling a corner up and to the center of the dough, then turn and repeat with the remaining 3 corners. Then I flip the dough over and shape into a smooth ball– this technique helps to stretch the dough one last time before baking and provide height and structure.
Brush the dough with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and the remaining fresh rosemary. Let stand on the counter while the oven is preheating.
Carefully remove the hot dutch oven from the oven and uncover. To prevent sticking, I like to place the dough ball on a piece of parchment paper; this also gives you a handle with which to place the dough into the hot dutch oven.
Gently place the dough ball into the dutch oven and cover with the lid. Place back in the oven and cook for 30 minutes, covered. Remove lid and bake for an additional 15 minutes until golden brown.
Remove bread from oven and let cool completely before slicing with a sharp knife and serve.
Store leftover bread in a plastic bag, a bread box, or wrapped tightly in plastic wrap.
If you’re not going to eat the loaf in 2-3 days, the best option is to freeze it for later. You can do this by wrapping the sliced bread in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil and place in the freeze for up to 3 months.
If you don’t own an Instant Pot, you can proof the dough on a warm spot on a counter until it has doubled in size, roughly 12-18 hours.
Before you add the dough to the bread pan, you want to make sure the bread baker to be piping hot when you put the dough in for the ultimate crust. I like to use either my dutch oven or this la cloche bread baker.
Here are a few tips to making this recipe if you want crusty, bakery bread in just 4 hours.
I prefer to use chopped fresh rosemary. I haven’t tried dried rosemary in this bread recipe yet, but I recommend going for the fresh kind instead. Listen, I know it’s another ingredient you have to purchase, but the difference in taste between fresh and dried rosemary is night and day to me.
Don’t like rosemary? Swap it out for fresh thyme or other fresh herbs. Or, you can also skip the rosemary altogether!
If you have any rosemary leftover, use it to make this sweet and spicy nut mix.
See that gorgeous golden crust? It’s so delicious on its own, dipped into soups or made into sandwiches. Some of my favorites are this tempeh bacon BLT or just a simple vegan grilled cheese. My family and I love this bread paired with my Tuscan Kale Soup or my Slow-Cooker Tomato Basil Soup.
So yum!
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I hope you enjoy this rosemary bread as much as we do. If you try it, make sure to come back, leave a comment and rate it. Your feedback helps others and seeing you make my recipes makes my day!
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No Knead Whole Wheat Bread made in the Instant Pot! Want crusty, bakery bread in just 4 hours? Then you’ve gotta save this recipe!
2. After that, place a trivet on the bottom of the Instant Pot, I used the top of a large mason jar turned upside down. Then, place the trivet directly onto the heating unit, as shown in the photos and the video– you will remove the inner cooking pot for this recipe
3. Next, cover the glass bowl with plastic and place on the trivet in the pot. Then, turn on the yogurt setting and turn the vent to “venting”. Set for 4 hours to proof.
4. When the dough is done proofing, it should be double in size. If not, proof another 30 minutes.
5. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and place a dutch oven with cover in the cool oven to warm up.
6. Turn the dough out on a floured counter and gently shape into a ball. I do this by pulling a corner up and to the center of the dough, then turn and repeat with the remaining 3 corners. Then I flip the dough over and shape into a smooth ball– this technique helps to stretch the dough one last time before baking and provide height and structure.
7. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and the remaining rosemary. Let stand on the counter while the oven is preheating.
8. Carefully remove the hot dutch oven from the oven and uncover. Gently place the dough ball into the dutch oven (I added a piece of parchment paper to prevent sticking) and cover. Place back in the oven and cook for 30 minutes covered. Remove lid and bake an additional 15 minutes until golden brown.
9. Remove bread from oven and let cool completely before slicing and serving. Cover any leftovers, which should last for 2-3 days.
No Instant Pot? No problem. First, make the dough as directed, then let proof in a warm spot for 12-18 hours until doubled in size. Then, bake as directed.
*Bread flour will provide more structure, but all-purpose flour will work in a pinch!
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This recipe was first posted in 2014 and updated in 2021.
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(82 comments) leave a comment
Hello, I live in a RV so I don’t really have a oven, but I do have a IP/airfryer. How can I do the final baking ( highest temp 400) with the airfryer? Tank you for your advise.
Hi Kay, I’m not sure how that would work in an air fryer. I haven’t tried it before and not sure if that temperature is high enough.
I don’t have a trivet like that! Will I cause a disaster if I place the bowl directly on the bottom of instant pot?
I’d recommend using the lid of a mason jar to create space between your glass bowl and the heat.
I have whole wheat pastry flour. Do you think that would work if I only used this instead of using bread flour?
Hi Shannon, it won’t give the same structural integrity as bread flour as pastry flour has less gluten. You’ll still get bread, but it won’t rise as high as this recipe.
I don’t have a glass bowl large enough to cover with plastic. Can i skip the plastic part?
The last time i made it it was delicious but the bread rose and stuck to the plastic paper…
The plastic helps from the top of the dough becoming hard, but should be ok to skip!
Hi how can I proceed if I don’t have quick acting dry yeast, just regular yeast? Sorry all I can find in quarantine
Hi Chandler– should still work, but you will likely need longer proofing time.
Wondering if I can use one more cup of all purpose flour instead of whole wheat flour. The stores are out of all flour (due to quarantine) and it’s all I have.
Yes!
Making this right now! I do wonder if I could use a silicone top/cover on the glass bowl instead of plastic wrap. Any thought on that? I assume it would be safe but I wasn’t sure. I have worked hard to phased out single use plastics. Thanks! Love all you do and the knowledge you spread.
I don’t see why it wouldn’t work as long as it’s heat safe? Let me know how it turns out- would love not to use plastic wrap for this recipe!
I wanted to try and make this for my infant daughter. Has anyone tried the recipe with no salt?
All store options are just too high in salt/sodium.
I made this recipe often for my son when he was ~8 months and omitted the salt. It def. lacks flavor for adults, but my son didn’t know the difference! It also freezes well; slice the bread, freeze them, then toast as needed!
No, yogurt setting, what other setting can I use?
Hi Julie, the keep warm setting should also work here.
I am doubling this recipe so I can show off my favorite bread to the in-laws (I have made this Rosemary bread with Bread flour instead of Whole Wheat at LEAST nine times in the past three months – my husband and I LOOOOVE it). With doubling the recipe and moving from a 2qt cast iron with lid to a 5qt cast iron with lid, what would the cook time adjust to?
Hey Shawna- I’m not sure as I haven’t done it. It will depend on how deep the bread is. I’d recommend increasing cook time to 10 minutes, and checking from there. It may take a few times to troubleshoot. However, you should be able to double the recipe, then halve the dough and cook in two separate containers.