Easy No-Knead Bread Recipe with Dates & Cashews

Easy no-knead bread recipe with a crunchy crust and a subtly sweet and moist inside. Homemade bakery style bread with so little effort – this will become your new favorite time-saving recipe for fresh bread!

I love any recipe that finds shortcuts for spending less time with the actual baking process, leaving more time to do other stuff besides cleaning a million pots and pans after following fifteen different steps to make a simple bread.

While this easy no-knead bread recipe will take a full 24 hours to make, it will be the simplest, easiest and most gorgeous bread you will ever make. Seriously, you will not regret trying this one. The idea of a no-knead bread is awesome: you get to skip the annoying kneading part completely, and let time do the trick for the dough.

Basically you just mix all ingredients in a bowl, let it sit on your counter for 24 hours and then bake it. Really, simple as that. And the result is so great:  just imagine the scent of freshly baked bread, with that perfectly crunchy crust and an almost juicy, sweetly flavorful inside. All that lovely yum with little to no effort.  It really tastes and looks like those artisan breads you see at fancy bakeries – guaranteed to elicit lots of oohs and aahs from anyone you serve this bread to.

And if you’re worried about this bread tasting like your grandmother’s date cake, fear not, it won’t. The dates give the dough some extra moistness and just a subtle hint of sweetness, not too much. As for the cashews, they add some nice texture to the bread as well, and you can use whatever nuts that you love.

Easy No-knead Bread Recipe with Dates & Cashews

INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped dried dates
• 1/3 cup roughly chopped cashews

INSTRUCTIONS

1. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nuts and dry yeast, mix thoroughly. Add water and mix just until well combined. If the dough seems too dry and hard, add-1-2 tablespoons of water. The dough should be loose and soft but not too liquidy to handle.
2. Add the dates and swirl to distribute evenly. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and leave in room temperature for 24 hours.
3. Place dough on a floured surface and fold once in half over itself. Sprinkle lightly with flour and cover with a kitchen towel, let sit for 30 minutes.
4. Set the oven to 425 F and place a cast iron or enamel pot in the cold oven to warm up for the 30 minutes that the dough will rise.
5. After 30 minutes, place the dough into the hot pot and put the lid on. (If using a cast iron pot, brush the inside lightly with oil before putting the dough in it.) Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake for additional 10-15 minutes or until the top of the bread is golden brown in color.
6. Take the pot from oven and remove the bread. Cover with a kitchen towel and let cool slightly before serving.