This no knead artisan bread is made with sweet honey and delicious oats! No overnight rising, no kneading, soft and fluffy on the inside with the perfect crispy crust. Follow my Pro Tips to make the perfect loaf at home!

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Honey Oat is one of my favourite no knead bread variations – hands down! It’s just a little bit sweet with delicious fibre-filled oats, and it’s so hearty and filling. We love to use this slightly sweet artisan bread for sandwiches, but it’s also delicious alongside soups, stews and chili! You’re going to LOVE it!
If you’ve never made homemade bread before this no knead bread is the perfect recipe to start with! I’ve already shared my favourite Quick and Easy No Knead Crusty Bread with you before, along with this Quick and Easy Whole Wheat Artisan Bread that we absolutely LOVE. If you want to make your own crusty bread at home, just follow my pro tips below! 
No Knead Artisan Bread Baking Tips
Pro tip#1: Preheat your Dutch Oven Preheat your pot before baking for a loaf that’s fluffy and soft on the inside and has the perfect crispy crust. This bread is baked in an oven-safe Dutch Oven pot which traps in steam, making the crust of the loaf extra crispy. Pre-heating the pot before baking helps make the crust even more crispy and golden brown! If you’re looking for a great Dutch Oven pot, I will tell you that it’s one of the best investments you can ever make for your kitchen. Mine is a total beauty from Le Creuset (affiliate link) and I use it at least weekly throughout the entire year for soups, stews, sauces, curries, and of course for baking bread (if you want my original Dutch Oven Crusty Bread recipe, find it HERE!). A pot like this one is definitely a financial investment for your kitchen, but considering how much I use mine and considering its high quality, it’s definitely a worthy investment. I’ve also used similar cast iron pots from other brands, like THIS ONE from KitchenAid and THIS ONE from Lodge Cast Iron (both affiliate links) if you’re looking for something a little less expensive but still high quality that will work just as well.
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Pro Tip #2: Stir, but don’t knead! Working this dough as little as possible will create a loaf that’s got a shaggy exterior and an interior with lots of bubbles. If you shape the loaf a little bit more with your hands and roll it around into a tighter ball, the interior will be softer and the outside will be smoother with fewer cracks. Both techniques work well and it’s up to your personal preference! Kneading BEFORE the first rise is NOT necessary, and kneading AFTER the first rise can actually cause the loaf to become dense and flat as it bakes, which nobody wants!
Pro Tip #3: Shape your loaf firmly but gently and dust the top of the loaf with flour. Creating a round shape will help the loaf bake evenly and dusting the top with flour will create that gorgeous, bakery-style appearance that everyone loves! Working this dough as little as possible will create a loaf that’s got a shaggy exterior and an interior with LOTS of bubbles. If you shape the loaf a little bit more with your hands and roll it around into a tighter ball, the interior will be softer and the outside will be smoother with fewer cracks. Both techniques work well – it’s up to your personal preference!
Looking for even more delicious bread recipes? You’ll love this Best Ever Cinnamon Raisin Bread, or this No Knead Jalapeno Cheese Artisan Bread!

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I hope you love this honey oat no knead artisan bread as much as we do! Let me know in the comments below, what’s your favourite homemade bread recipe? I’d love to know!!
KITCHEN PRODUCTS I RECOMMEND:
Looking for even more delicious bread recipes? You’ll LOVE these:
- Garlic Butter Dinner Rolls
- Healthier Cornbread
- Pumpkin Cornbread Muffins
- Easy No Knead Artisan Bread
- Easy No Knead Cinnamon Raisin Artisan Bread
- No Knead Honey Cranberry Walnut Artisan Bread
- Best Ever Easy White Sandwich Bread
EASY NO-FAIL HOMEMADE BREAD RECIPES AND BAKING TIPS
Get my easy no-fail bread baking e-cookbook!
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Honey Oat No Knead Artisan Bread

Recipe: Ingredients
- 3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup oats
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast instant or rapid rise yeast also works
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 cups warm water just above room temperature
- more flour for shaping the loaf
Recipe: Instructions
- Start with a large bowl and a wooden spoon, and add your flour and oats to the bowl, and stir them together.
- Measure the yeast and add it to one side of the bowl. Measure the salt and add it to the other side.
- Using a wooden spoon, stir the yeast into the flour on its side of the bowl first and then stir the salt into the flour on its side of the bowl. This will prevent the salt from mixing directly with the yeast. Give the whole mixture a few good stirs to make sure everything is combined.
- Measure the water. Make sure the water is just above room temperature; water that is too warm or too cold can kill the yeast and prevent the bread from rising at all. Add the honey to the water and stir to combine.
- Pour the honey/water mixture in and stir with a wooden spoon. The dough will be rough and a bit sticky, but that's normal.
- Stir until all the flour is moistened. This is not normal bread dough (there's no kneading involved in this recipe), so you don't need to be too concerned about the appearance of the dough at this point. Just make sure the ingredients are combined well.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap. It's a good idea to ensure there's adequate space left in the bowl for the dough to at least double in size. Place the bowl in a warm, draft-free place and let it rise for about 1 and a half hours.
- After the dough has risen, preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Place your Dutch oven with the lid on in the cold oven and let it heat up with the oven. If your dutch oven is black on the inside, set your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit instead of 425.
- Place a piece of parchment paper on the counter and dust it with flour. Rub flour on your hands and scrape the dough away from the sides of the bowl, gathering it in your hands as best you can (it may feel kind of strange and not at all like regular bread dough) and forming it into a circular loaf on the parchment paper. Don't worry if it still looks a little rough in places. This lends to the rustic look of this loaf.
- Once you have it shaped, the dough needs to undergo a short second rise. The goal is to handle the dough as little as possible at this stage because any amount of tugging at the rough can cause it to deflate after it has undergone its second rise. The next few steps will help prevent this. But don't worry if it deflates a bit. This bread dough is pretty forgiving.
- Sprinkle a little bit of flour over the top, along with some oats, and loosely cover it with a clean kitchen towel. The flour you sprinkle on top also prevents the towel from sticking to the dough so when you take it off at the end of the rise, it doesn't disturb the dough and wreck the rustic shape you've created. Let the dough rise for about 30 minutes. Your oven will also be preheating during this time (and so will your pot).
- Remove the preheated pot from the oven and transfer the dough into the pot as carefully as possible by handling only the parchment paper. Place the lid on the pot and return it to the oven for 30 minutes. Don't open the oven during this time, and certainly don't take the lid off the pot; the crispness of the crust develops because of the steam that builds up in the pot during this 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes have passed, remove the lid from the pot and continue baking for another 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes have passed, remove the pot with bread from the oven and place the bread on a wire rack to cool. You'll probably hear the loaf crackling as it cools - this is normal.
- If you can, resist the urge to cut into the bread until it has pretty much cooled completely. The bread continues to bake on the inside even after it has been removed from the oven and cutting it too early could result in the inside becoming gummy or rubbery.
Recipe: Notes
No Knead Bread Troubleshooting Tips:
- If your dough seems too fluid after the first rise, simply add 1/3 cup of flour to the top of the dough and mix it in, shaping the loaf into a round shape to rise again while the oven pre-heats.
- If your loaf falls or flattens during the second rise, simply re-shape before baking into as tight a ball as possible (creating surface tension should prevent the dough from falling).
- Add 1 tablespoon of Vital Wheat Gluten to the dough with the flour to create a very voluminous dough that rises beautifully every single time and isn't too dense.
- If the bottom crust of your bread burns or becomes too hard or tough, it's likely that the bottom burner of your oven is too hot OR you're using a pot that's black on the inside (these conduct heat more efficiently than one that's a light colour on the inside). Try lowering your oven temperature by 25 degrees, using the convection setting, or using a different pot that's light in colour on the inside.
- Use an oven thermometer to make sure your oven temperature is correct. If your oven runs hot, lower the temperature of your oven by 25 degrees to be sure you don't burn the bread.
Recipe: Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.

Is this bread usually very dense? Made it twice now and it’s quite heavy.
I’d recommend following the troubleshooting tips and tricks in the recipe notes, but for a dense loaf I’d suggest adding one tablespoon of Vital Wheat Gluten (Bob’s Red Mill makes a good one). It will lighten up the loaf immensely and give it a beautiful texture. Hope this helps!
My husband loves this bread! The only problem is my bottom crust is super brown and almost burnt. I’ve adjusted the temp and baking time but still super brown and overly tough. Is this just an artisan characteristic or can I change something? I just cut it off and we eat away! 😊 thank you!
I’d recommend lowering the temperature even more…to about 400 degrees and also moving the rack away from the burner in your oven, if possible. If your dutch oven is black in colour (on the inside) this can cause burning as well. If so reduce the temperature by another 10 degrees. Happy baking ☺️
I doubted when the dough was so wet; but it came out good!
Thanks Mars!🙂
Question. When you move the dough to the pot to bake, do you leave the parchment paper on?
Yes, I use the parchment to transfer the dough and then to take out the bread. Happy baking ☺️
Love this bread recipe! I made it at least once per week and it comes out perfectly every time! Thank you!
Thanks so much for your feedback Stefanie!!
We love this recipe!! We make it at least once a week, I followed one of the recommendations in the comments and let it rise for about 10 hours and use less instant yeast.
Thank you!
You’re welcome Stefanie! Glad you like the recipe so much!🙂
What size Dutch oven did you use?
I used a 7,25 qt but it will work in a 6 qt as well. Enjoy! 😊
Made this bread today ! Absolutley delicious, and the kitchen smelled amazing while this was baking . I did substitute 1/3 of the all purpose flour with Oland wheat flour .
What a great recipe . Thank you !
Thanks so much Val!!🙂
My most favorite “no worry” bread. I’ve made it twice. Comes out perfect every time! Love, love, love!
Thanks so much Candace!! So happy to hear that!
Can I use a 3 quart Dutch oven for this? Should I cut the recipe in half? This recipe looks incredible! I can’t wait to try it.
Yes, if you halve the recipe! Happy baking☺️
The parchment paper stuck to my bread!!! Suggestions!
As the recipe says, you should add a generous dusting of flour to your parchment paper before putting the bread on it! Happy baking!☺️
How long is the second rise
As the recipe says, 30 minutes. Happy baking! ☺️
Which oats are best for this recipe? Quick oats, old fashioned, steel cut? Does it matter?
I’d recommend quick or old fashioned.
Why do so many bread recipes say stir with a wooden spoon? Does it have to be wood and if so why?
Not really, you may use a sturdy spatula although a wooden spoon is a good, sturdy utensil for bread making. Happy baking!☺️
I made your whole wheat no-knead bread in an enamelled cast iron Dutch oven, followed the recipe exactly, and it looked perfect, except the bottom crust was too tough to chew, even hard to slice through. Any idea what went wrong?
There are several things you could try and I recommend reading the recipe notes (at the bottom of the recipe card) for all of my troubleshooting tips and tricks. Happy baking ☺️
Can you make the dough the night before? I know it’s not called for, but to help with time I was wondering if it was possible.
Thanks 😊
Yes, you can, just make sure you leave it in the fridge overnight. Happy baking ☺️
My bread turned out a bit flat and didn’t seem to cook all the way. The dough was very sticky when I took it from the bowl to the parchment paper. Also I didn’t use Saran Wrap to cover the bowl I just put a towel over it – does that matter?
This is my first stab at making bread, so any tips on what I could have done would be great!
As the rise is quite a short one, the Saran Wrap helps a bit. However, there are several things you could try and I recommend reading the recipe notes (at the bottom of the recipe card) for all of my troubleshooting tips and tricks. Happy baking ☺️
Hi, can I use quick oats for this?
Yes, definitely!
Yeast is in short supply during Covid. Your other recipes use 1/2 tsp and require a 12-18 hour first rise.
Will that technique work with this recipe too?
I’m on a roll with your bread recipes and want to try every one!
Yes it will!! Just follow this recipe changing only the amount of yeast and let it rise for 12-18 hours like the other recipes indicate. Then bake as directed! Enjoy! 🙂
I just mixed all the ingredients and my dough is like a thick pancake batter. I am wondering if I should add just a bit more flour before setting it aside to rise.
If the dough is fluid then yes, definitely add some more flour, about 1/4 cup at a time or less just until a sticky dough forms.
My first attempt in making homemade bread. It came out perfect. I added 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds.
I didn’t use a Dutch oven,
Oddly. Enough I used an old fashion black roasting pan, worked just as good.
Very delicious,thanks.
Thank you Sandra!! Happy it turned out perfectly!🙂
Was your roaster like the enamelled ones with the little white spots? I was wondering if I could sub for Dutch oven.
I used one of those for years making this bread and it worked great! I’d recommend lowering the temperatude by 20-25 degrees since these types of roasters are dark in colour and conduct heat very well! Happy baking! ☺️
Could I use self rising flour for this?
No, you need all purpose flour.