No Yeast Bread with Herbs and Cheese
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Are you looking for a delicious loaf of bread without yeast? I have a no-yeast bread recipe that makes a soft yet satisfyingly dense loaf – it’s perfect for when you want a loaf without waiting around for the yeast to rise. You’ll be amazed at how straightforward and reliable this recipe is. Plus, it’s ready in just an hour, using just five staple ingredients! Let me show you how it’s done.
I’ve been making variations of this bread recipe for years. You might remember my whole wheat Irish soda bread from way back — this recipe is based on that one. It’s incredibly easy to make and welcomes different add-ins, so it never gets boring. This cheese and herb version just happens to be my favorite.
What I love about this no-yeast bread is how much flavor you get with so little effort. The golden crust is flecked with crispy, baked-on cheese, and inside you’ll find a dense yet soft crumb that’s begging for a swipe of butter. With just five pantry-staple ingredients and about an hour of mostly hands-off time, you can pull this beauty from the oven and feel very proud of yourself.
What to serve with this easy no yeast bread
This bread is great sliced thick and used for hearty open-faced sandwiches. But I love it best with soups, stews, and chilis. Here are a few of my favorite dunk worthy recipes:
WATCH: How to make bread without yeast
Easy Bread Recipe (No Yeast)
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups buttermilk (see notes)
- ¼ cup melted butter
Herb and Cheddar
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1 ½ tablespoons Italian seasoning (or favorite dried herbs)
Olive and Feta
- ½ cup chopped black olives
- 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 2 teaspoons rosemary
Oat and Honey
- ½ cup oats (save a few to sprinkle on top)
- ¼ cup honey
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. (Use a bowl that is bigger than what you see in the video!)4 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Pour the buttermilk and butter into the bowl and mix with a wooden spoon.2 cups buttermilk, ¼ cup melted butter
- Add the cheddar cheese and Italian seasoning and mix until they are incorporated. (You can skip this step for a plain version or add either the olive and feta or oat and honey variations.)1 cup grated cheddar cheese, 1 ½ tablespoons Italian seasoning
- Dump the dough onto a sheet of parchment paper and shape it into a ball with your hands. Using the parchment paper, lift the dough and place it into a pot. Score the top with a knife (this is so that the bread cooks properly), and put the lid onto the pot.
- Bake the bread for 45-55 minutes. When it's cooked, the crust will be golden brown, and the bread will sound hollow when you knock on the top. Lift the bread out of the pot using the parchment paper, then wait 30 minutes before slicing it.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
I made a half of recipe with cheese and Italian seasonings. I heated the pot. I baked 30 min covered and an additional 10 uncovered. Looks and smells wonderful.
I mean this is so easy and it is so darn good! Gonna have my teens give it a go next to add to their cooking skills.
Baking intimidates me but wanted to bake a simple bread. I made it to instructions with cheese and herbs, it turned out perfectly! First time ever baking bread at 67 and was pleasantly surprised! Thank you and Happy Holidays dear!!@
You need to get the correct amounts for the ingredients. Read your instructions about the buttermilk.
We’ve reworded the instructions for the buttermilk so hopefully they’ll be more clear now. Thank you for letting us know that the instructions were a bit confusing.
You don’t have to heat your pot when the oven is pre-heating? Just put the dough in a cold pot and then into preheated oven?
That’s how I do it for this recipe. If I’m making sourdough, I preheat the pot. But not with this one.
It is not required to remove the lid to brown the top?
I don’t!
I halved the recipe and for whatever reason it was very sloppy. I added an extra cup of flour, but it still didn’t want to hold form. I have a baking right now so I don’t know the results but it just seems so weird.
Baking recipes can be a bit tricky to cut in half. I hope it turned out in the end for you!
Delicious! I added cheddar, pepperjack, the recommended seasonings and green olives. My husband loved the bread! I did take the lid off 10 minutes before the bread was done and the loaf had a perfect, crispy crust! Thanks for the recipe! I will be making this again, and again, and again! 🙂
I’ve been exploring no yeast breads recently including various beer breads. I’ve really been enjoying the journey and it is so much easier when you need something easy and quick. I really enjoyed this bread. I made the herb-cheddar three times now and I would like to add my 2 cents worth to this recipe. I will explain my reason for the 4 instead of 5 star review on the recipe as is. First, I tried a mild cheddar and the second time I used an extra sharp. I felt like it just did not have enough of a herb-cheesy taste in it’s original configuration either time. Third time I used an extra sharp again but doubled both the cheese and the herbs. That hit the sweet spot for me. I’m a little more partial to bold flavors so the third time ranks a 5 star review with those changes. My second comment is that if you want to make this a bit easier, add and blend the herbs and the cheese with the dry ingredients before adding any buttermilk or melted butter. SO MUCH EASIER to mix up. Very hearty loaf, great with soups, stews, chili or just about anything else substantial.
TL:DR- Double the cheese and the herbs, add/mix both of those to dry ingredients before adding any of the wet ingredients
Hi there i dont ,have butter so only option would be i can use oil for this bread recipe
We haven’t tried it with oil, but it should work just fine!
Thank you! Followed the recipe exactly, PERFECT. It was a rainy day, and the combination of lentil soup and this delicious bread was amazing!
I halved the recipe, used sharp cheddar and diced Pueblo green chiles for add-ins, baked in a buttered loaf pan 30ish minutes. Served with green chile chicken corn chowder. Delicious accompaniment. Will make again, trying different herb/cheese combos. Thanks for the inspiration—this is a great base recipe for savory quick bread.
This is a great base recipe for savory quick bread that I’ll use again with other add-ins. I halved the recipe, but added a bit more buttermilk after mixing the batter because it was pretty dry (probably 2-3 TBSP; just eye-balled it). I added chopped roasted Pueblo chiles (no “Italian seasoning,” whatever that is), along with the shredded cheddar, and baked it in a buttered loaf pan for 30ish minutes. Perfect accompaniment for green chile chicken corn chowder. I look forward to trying it with fresh herbs and other cheeses. Thanks for the inspiration!
Hi Debra, Italian Seasoning is pretty much of a kitchen staple of mixed dried herbs. The standard mix is usually something like this: Marjoram, Basil, Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, Savory, and Sage. It can be found in any American market and all of the major spice producers make a version of it. The above list is what McCormick has on their label. Some spice makers have a couple of more additions, some not as many. But as long as you have the majority of those dried spices together, you will be okay and can make your own at home. I remember a long time ago, pizza places would have the table shakers of Parmesan, Red Chili Flakes and Italian Seasoning on every table to add to your pizza as you saw fit. Now you usually just see Parm/Chili.
I’m hoping to make this recipe tonight with dinner. Would it work well with whole wheat flour? Would I need to make any adjustments?
Thank you!
We have a whole wheat soda bread recipe here, and the ingredients are very similar. You could use that one but add in some of the extras (like cheese and Italian seasoning) that are in this recipe.
We love this bread! It was quick and easy! I will be making it again!
Amazing! I’ve always been hesitant to use my dutch oven for baking bread but no more. I actually used bread flour I had to use up, otherwise followed exactly and it’s delicious.
I am a bread snob and this was fabulous, easy and my new go to. I made the cheddar/herb.
Thank you for sharing!!
Easy peasy and super delicious. I made herb and cheddar and olive, garlic and feta. Yummy