This delicious, incredibly easy No-Knead Rosemary Parmesan Bread recipe is the perfect place to start your bread-making journey. Delicious golden crust, big beautiful artisanal-style holes in the crumb, and incredible taste. This is such a delicious and easy bread recipe! I promise, once you try it and see how easy it is, you’ll never want to buy bread from the store again!

Picture this: It’s a snowy Colorado night in late November. You have a steaming hot pot of homemade chili on the stove. A tall glass of red wine in your hand. And, what’s this? Delicious, homemade fresh rosemary and parmesan bread, piping hot from the oven, on the table. It’s not a dream my friends, this happened at my house, on a weeknight, just this past week. And it can happen to you too.
Intimidated by making homemade bread? Don’t be! If you haven’t hopped on the no-knead bread consider this your sign.
What Makes This Parmesan Rosemary Bread So Great?
- This is a super duper EASY bread recipe. Seriously - no kneading, no stand mixture needed, only a few minutes of active effort. Just a handful of ingredients. This fresh rosemary bread recipe is incredible and can easily be made on a busy weeknight.
- Perfect textured yeast bread with minimal effort. I’m talking a golden, crispy crust, and a moist interior with artesian-style holes in the crumb.
- Incredible taste. This bread base without the rosemary and parmesan is delicious, but these two add-ins make it a phenomenal, extra special savory herb and cheese bread.
- The cheese! Parmesan cheese bread is a great way to experiment with cheesy bread. It’s not too melty and adds an incredibly rich and slightly salty taste to this easy yeast bread.
- A longer rise time makes this rosemary parm bread pretty hands-off. But it also allows the flavors to really develop over time, yielding a truly delicious taste. I’ve even let it rise for as long as 24 hours and it’s turned out beautifully.
- Warning: when baking this rosemary and parmesan bread, your house will smell incredible. And likely, your friends and family will fall to their knees to thank you for serving them such a delicious masterpiece. This bread is so good and so easy, you’ll never want to buy bread from the store again!
What’s In It?
I love homemade bread not only for its taste and texture but for its minimal ingredients and add-ins. This bread requires just a few ingredients, most of which you probably have on hand.
- Instant yeast - you only need ¼ of a teaspoon for this recipe - this is not even a whole packet, so you can make tons of bread with just one envelope of instant yeast!
- All-purpose flour - you can use bread flour too, but all-purpose flour seriously works beautifully here.
- Fine sea salt, to bring out the taste
- Rosemary - you can use dried or fresh, or a combination (dried in the dough/fresh sprinkled on top, which is what I did here.)
- Parmesan cheese - the cheese in this rosemary parm bread gives it a slightly saltier taste and sharper flavor.
How To Make Rosemary Parmesan Bread
Ok. Making this rosemary parmesan bread is really really easy.
- To start, just mix the flour, yeast, sea salt, and rosemary together. You don’t even need to mix the yeast with water ahead of time since it’s instant.
- Add the warm water and mix your dough until just combined. This dough will seem a little dry and shaggy, which is just as it should be. Don’t worry about how it looks at this point - just let it be and do it’s thing.
- Cover the bread with a clean tea towel and let it rise at room temperature for 12-18 hours. Note: While you’ll get amazing results even with a 12-hour rise, the longer the rise time, the longer the flavors have to blend together. This means that you’ll have a richer-tasting bread, and the texture will be better the longer you let it sit.
- Once the bread has risen, shape it into a ball. Place a piece of parchment paper on the counter, lightly dust it with flour, then place your dough on top. Lightly flour the top of the dough, then tuck the sides under the dough to form a ball. Cover the dough again and let it rise while your oven preheats.
- Place a dutch oven, or a baking dish in your cold oven and set it to 450 degrees. Allowing the cooking vessel to heat with the oven helps to give your bread rise a boost.
- Once your oven has preheated, carefully remove your dutch oven or baking dish. Using your hands, lightly brush the top of the dough with ½ tablespoon of olive oil. Then, holding the edges of the parchment paper, carefully lift and lower the dough ball into the hot dutch oven or baking dish. Finally, sprinkle the parmesan cheese, and chopped fresh Rosemary over the top of the dough, cover the bread with the lid of the dutch oven, and place it in the oven.
- Cook the bread for 30 minutes, covered. Then remove the lid and cook it for an additional 15 minutes, or until the bread develops a deliciously golden, crispy exterior.
- Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool on a cutting board or a wire rack for 30 minutes before slicing and serving. (It’s hard to wait that long!!
FAQ/Tips For Success
- Can I substitute the flour? Yep! Try it using bread flour, whole wheat, or even a combination of the two.
- Will all-purpose flour work as well as bread flour? Absolutely. Many recipes push using bread flour, which has its merits. Bread flour does allow the bread to hold its shape and rise slightly better. But I’ve always made this with regular all-purpose flour and it comes out spectacular every time so don’t worry about getting fancy.
- This bread is super forgiving - if the dough is too wet, just add a bit more flour. Too dry? Add a bit more water. It’s going to be a bit looser and shaggier than other bread doughs and that’s ok. It’s what makes it so easy to rise.
- Can I make patterns in the bread? Absolutely! Before the bread is ready to go into the oven, just use a sharp knife to score the bread to make a pattern.
- Do you have to use a dutch oven? Absolutely not. Many bread recipes will call for a dutch oven to replicate the steam ovens at bakeries. However, you don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars to have delicious bread. You can place a pan of water below a baking dish or sheet in the oven to create a steamy environment. Or, you can try this trick from Bon Appetit and use a roasting pan to mimic the effects of a dutch oven.
- Want easy bread for days? - Here’s a great tip if you want to save yourself some time and are looking to either feed a crowd or have homemade bread on hand at the ready: Make a double, or even triple batch of this dough, allow it to rise, then pop it in the fridge. It will keep for about three days and you can take out portions to use as you need it. Fresh, rosemary and parmesan bread on demand!
Did you try this easy No-Knead Rosemary Parmesan Bread? Let me know what you thought in the comments! And don’t forget to tag me on Instagram @frontrangefed!
More Delicious Bread Recipes To Try
- Homemade Pita Bread
- Cinnamon Raisin Bread Recipe
- Apple Bread With Cranberry & Walnuts
- Easy Moist Pumpkin Bread
- The Best Cornbread Recipe
No-Knead Rosemary Parmesan Bread Recipe
Ingredients
- ¼ teaspoon instant yeast
- 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsps sea salt
- 1 ¾ cups warm water
- 1 ½ tablespoon dried or fresh rosemary
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, finely shredded
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Make the dough - Mix the flour, yeast, sea salt, and rosemary together in a large bowl. Next, add the warm water and mix until just combined. The dough will be shaggy and rough, but that’s ok.
- Leave the dough in the mixing bowl and cover it with a tea towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature overnight, or 12-18 hours. The longer the rise, the better the flavor and texture.
- Once the dough has risen, shape it into a dough ball. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a piece of lightly floured parchment paper. Sprinkle some additiona flour over the top of the dough and shape it into a ball by tucking the edges in under itself. Use a little extra flour if the dough is too sticky or hard to handle. Loosely cover the dough ball with a tea towel and allow it to rest while the oven heats.
- Place a dutch oven or pyrex baking dish inside a cold oven and preheat the oven to 450 degrees, allowing the dutch oven/baking dish to heat up as the oven preheats.
- Once the oven reaches 450 degrees, carefully remove the dutch oven/baking dish. Remove the tea towel from the dough ball and lightly coat the top of the dough with the ½ tablespoon of olive oil. Sprinkle the top of the dough ball with shredded parmesan and some freshly chopped rosemary. Holding the edges of the parchment paper, carefully lower the dough ball into the dutch oven. Cover the dutch oven with it’s lid and bake for 30 minutes. (If you’re using a baking pan without a lid, just use aluminum foil.) Then carefuly remove the lid and bake for 10-20 minutes more, uncovered, until the crust is a crispy golden brown.
- Remove the dutch oven/baking dish from the oven, and carefully lift the break out using the ends of the parchment paper. Allow the bread to cool on a cooling rack or cutting board for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Rise time can vary - the minimum rise is 12 hours, but you can let it go to 18 for optimal flavor. Remember - longer rise= better flavor and texture!
- Make ahead - you can make the dough and let it rise for your desired time, then put it in the fridge to pull out when you need it. It will keep for 3 days in the fridge.
- Freezer friendly - cooked bread will keep for about 3 months in an airtight container in the fridge.
- All-purpose flour works just fine here, but if you’re intent on using bread flour, knock yourself out.
- Use instant, or rapid-rise yeast, and make sure it isn’t expired!
- You can reduce the salt by 1 tablespoon if you’d like, or if you’re on a salt-restricted diet, especially since the parmesan cheese adds a touch of salt.
- Don’t worry too much about how the dough looks. It will be a bit shaggy and rough, but when it bakes, it turns into a beautiful smooth loaf with lots of great holes in the crumb!
- No dutch oven? No problem! Use a baking sheet covered by a roasting pan, or simply place a pan of water below your baking bread to create a steamier environment for your bread to bake in.
- Allow the bread to cool for at least 30 minutes after removing it from the oven, as the flavor will still be developing. I know it’s so hard to resist tearing into that deliciously smelling, fresh out of the oven bread, but the wait is worth it!
Mary
Tried this last night and it was so good!! I let my bread rise for a full 24 hours and the flavor was incredible. Will make again!