No Knead Honey Oatmeal Artisan Bread

I’ve been SO excited to share this recipe with you all ever since my mama made it for me. As many of you know, my lovely mama moved to Chicago last year after living on the west coast and she, of course, brought all of her incredible recipes with her.

When I used to visit my mom we’d spend time doing what we both love the most — cooking up nourishing meals and creating some amazing baked goods. I remember the first time she made this beautiful honey oatmeal artisan bread and I knew this would become a staple. We would toast it up with a little butter and flaky sea salt, or build delicious sandwiches with these perfectly thick, chewy slices of bread.

The best part is that this no knead bread uses super simple ingredients and is basically fool-proof. If you’ve never made homemade bread before, this is the absolute best recipe to start with. Check out all of my tips and trick throughout the post, and enjoy a fun baking project with the people you love. Let me know how it goes in the comments, plus your favorite ways to use this wonderful bread!

Why you’ll love this honey oatmeal artisan bread

This artisan bread recipe is the perfect project for bread-baking beginnings. It’s called “artisan bread” because it’s meant to be more rustic and imperfect than a traditional bread loaf, which is what makes it so unique and beautiful! This bread is:

So easy to make without any kneading required, so you won’t even need a stand mixer!
Made with simple ingredients and kitchen tools
Deliciously hearty and perfectly sweet thanks to the oatmeal and honey
Incredibly soft and fluffy on the inside with a golden, crispy, chewy crust
Amazing served as toast, dipped into your fav soups, and used as sandwich bread

Basically, this is everything you could ever want in homemade bread and you’ll feel so accomplished when you make it!

Ingredients in the best oatmeal artisan bread recipe

You’re going to love how simple the ingredients are for this lovely no knead artisan bread. This bread is egg-free, easily made dairy free, and naturally sweetened with a little honey! Here’s what you’ll need to make it:

Flour: we’re using bread flour in this recipe to give this bread the perfect fluffy texture.
Oats: rolled oats help to give the bread a nice hearty chew.
Seeds: you’ll add roasted sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds (or both) plus flax seeds to the dough, then a few sunflower or pumpkin seeds on top.
Baking staples: you’ll need salt and rapid rise yeast, which is also known as quick rise yeast, to help the bread rise.
For moisture: we’re adding both water and milk to the dough to give it just enough moisture. Feel free to use regular or dairy free milk. You’ll also need a little olive oil.
To sweeten: as I mentioned, this bread recipe is naturally sweetened with honey.

Can I make it gluten free?

Unfortunately, no, I cannot recommend a gluten free flour substitute for this recipe.

How to measure flour properly

While the most accurate way to measure flour is to weigh it, many baking recipes are much more forgiving and won’t require a scale. Get all of my tips and tricks for measuring flour accurately here! This will ensure that your bread comes out nice and fluffy instead of dense.

The best yeast to use in this recipe

As I mentioned, you’ll want to use a rapid rise or quick rise yeast in the bread recipe. Rapid rise yeast doesn’t have to be “proofed,” so you don’t have to wait until the yeast “activates” before continuing with the recipe. In this honey oatmeal artisan bread, you’ll simply:

Mix the yeast with the rest of your dry ingredients.
Heat up the milk and water until they reach 115 degrees F, then mix in the honey and olive oil.
Mix the dry and wet ingredients together until they’re just incorporated.

That’s it! No proofing required. The rapid rise yeast will activate (rapidly) when mixed with the warm milk/water mixture and will interact with the sugars in the honey to activate.

Tips & tricks for baking honey artisan bread

Do not overmix. When combining the wet and dry ingredients together, be careful to not overmix the dough. Overmixed dough will lead to a dense bread loaf.
Let the dough rest. After letting the dough rise for 2 hours, you’ll dump it out onto a well-floured surface, turn it over 8-10 times, and shape it into a ball. You’ll then want to place the dough ball into a bowl lined with parchment paper, cover it with a warm towel, and let it rest again for about an hour. Don’t skip this part! It is essential for the texture and lovely pockets that will bake up in the bread.
Heat your dutch oven. Before adding the bread dough to your dutch oven and baking it, you’ll want to heat it up in your oven. Place the dutch oven in your cold oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (the temp you’ll bake the bread at). Heating up the pan FIRST ensures that the bread has what’s called an “oven spring,” which is the additional burst or rise that occurs in the bread right when it gets into the oven before the crust starts to form.
Bake it with the lid on. You’ll want to bake the bread in your dutch oven with the lid on first so that the bread is able to steam a bit while it’s baking. This will give the bread that wonderful, crispy crust.
Let it cool before cutting. Like almost every baked good, make sure you let the bread cool for 1 hour before cutting into it so that it retains its shape.

Our favorite ways to enjoy this bread

I mean, can you really go wrong with freshly baked bread? I think not. Here are a few of the endless ways you can enjoy this beautiful honey oatmeal artisan bread:

Storing & freezing homemade artisan bread

To store: it’s best to store no knead artisan on the counter. Once the bread is completely cool, wrap it in plastic and store at room temperature. If the weather is hot or humid, it’s best to store the bread in the refrigerator.
To freeze the bread: wrap it in plastic wrap, then seal it in a bag, making sure to get all the air out of the bag. You can also wrap the bread in plastic and then wrap it tightly in foil. Bread should last 3 months in the freezer. Once ready to serve, unwrap the bread and thaw at room temperature.

More bread recipes you’ll love

Get all of my bread recipes here!

I hope you love this no knead honey oatmeal artisan bread! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!

No Knead Seeded Honey Oat Artisan Bread

Total Time 3 hours 35 minutes

Beautiful no knead honey oatmeal artisan bread recipe made with simple ingredients for an easy bread recipe you’ll bake again and again. This wonderful homemade artisan bread is soft and fluffy on the inside with the perfect golden crust. Enjoy this delicious bread toasted with your fav toppings, dipping in soups, or making sandwiches!

Ingredients

Dry ingredients:
3 1/4
cups
bread flour
½
cup
rolled oats (or use a hot cereal blend such as Bob’s Red Mill 5-grain hot cereal)
2 ½
teaspoons
rapid rise yeast (also known as quick rise yeast)
1/3
cup
roasted sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds (or a mix of both!)
2
tablespoons
flax seeds (not flaxseed meal)
1
teaspoon
salt
Wet ingredients:
1
cup
water
½
cup
milk of choice (I use dairy free milk)
⅓
cup
honey
1
tablespoon
olive oil
Additional:
A few tablespoons extra flour for shaping
1
tablespoons
sunflower or pumpkin seeds for on top of bread

Instructions

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, yeast, sunflower seeds, flax seeds and salt.
In a microwaveable bowl, add water and milk and heat up for 1 minute until slightly warmer than bath water or approximately 115 degrees F. Stir the honey and olive oil into the water/milk mixture once warm. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until just incorporated, do not over mix.
Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours or until doubled in size.
After the dough has risen, place it on a well-floured surface and sprinkle it with a little flour. Using a scraper (or your hands is fine), fold dough over about 8-10 times and then flip over and shape into a ball. Place dough in a parchment paper-lined large bowl and cover with a warm towel. Allow the dough to rest again for about 45 minutes to an hour.
Right around the 30 minute mark of your dough resting, place a 4 to 6-quart Dutch oven with lid on in the cold oven and preheat to 425 degrees F and allow the pot to heat up in the oven for 20 minutes. Once the oven has preheated all the way, remove the pot from the oven and immediately add the parchment paper with the dough to the hot pot (be careful as you do this!). Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon extra sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds, then cover with the lid and bake for 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes, remove the lid from the pot and return to the oven, uncovered. Bake for 10-15 more minutes until bread is nice and golden on top to your liking. Allow bread to cool for an hour before slicing. Makes 1 loaf, about 12 slices. This bread is great when toasted and served with butter and a little salt. I love it for dipping in soups and making sandwiches too!