Enjoy a crusty, fluffy, and incredibly flavorful loaf with this No Knead Skillet Bread, effortlessly filled with marinated olives and garlic. It’s simple to make and irresistibly delicious!

Overhead shot of baked bread in a skillet.

If you’re a bread lover who craves freshly baked goodness without the hassle of kneading, this No-Knead Skillet Bread is the recipe you need! This simple, flavorful homemade bread is crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, and studded with savory olives. With just a few basic ingredients and a cast-iron skillet, you can easily create a delicious loaf that will impress everyone, including yourself!

Why We Love This Recipe

Perfect Texture: Achieve a delicious texture with a soft, fluffy interior without kneading.
Adaptable: This recipe includes marinated olives and garlic, but you can easily swap and customize it by incorporating other ingredients.
Effortless: This bread recipe requires minimal effort, making it a perfect choice for bakers of all levels.

A shot of ingredients needed to make skillet olive bread.

Ingredients For Skillet Bread

For the dough: lukewarm water, yeast, all-purpose flour, and salt.
For the filling: olives, herbs, and garlic.

How To Make No Knead Skillet Bread

As championed by the authors of Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, in a nutshell, this Skillet Bread is just a batch of straightforward dough.

Start by combining lukewarm water, yeast, flour, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the olives, herbs, and garlic and let the dough rise for 1 hour.
Coat a 10-inch skillet (a 12-inch skillet works, too) with olive oil. Shape the dough into a disk, transfer it to the skillet, and let it rest for 30 more minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Drizzle the dough with olive oil, sprinkle it with salt and parsley, and bake for 30 minutes or until browned.
Invert and cool completely on a rack before cutting and serving.

Close-up shot of sliced No Knead Skillet Olive Bread.

Tips For No Knead Skillet Bread

Mixing the Dough: When combining the ingredients, the water should be warm but not hot.
Flour: I have only tested this recipe with all-purpose flour and haven’t tried it with other types of flour.
Resting and Rising: After mixing the dough, cover it with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and let it rest in a warm spot to double in size.
Baking Time and Temperature: Every oven is different, so keep an eye on the bread towards the end of the baking time to ensure it doesn’t overbake.
Cooling and Serving: Once the bread is baked, transfer it to a wire rack to cool. Allow it to cool completely before slicing into it. This helps the bread retain its structure and moisture. To maintain the ideal texture of your bread, it’s crucial to remove it from the pan promptly after baking. Allowing the bread to remain in the pan can result in wet and soggy bread.

Recipe Variations

Herbs and Seasonings: Add dried herbs like oregano, rosemary, or basil to the dough for extra flavor.
Cheese: Mix in grated or crumbled cheese such as cheddar, Parmesan, or feta for a savory twist.
Sun-Dried Tomatoes: Incorporate chopped sun-dried tomatoes for a tangy Mediterranean flair.

Overhead shot of a round loaf of no knead skillet bread.

What To Serve With Freshly Baked Bread

Spread it with butter, dip it in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, sop up some tomato soup or chicken noodle soup with it, grab an heirloom tomato salad, or do what I do: break off a chunk and inhale it as is.

More Bread Recipes

ENJOY!

Prep Time 1 30

Cook Time 30

Resting Time 10

Total Time 2

Ingredients

▢ 2 cups lukewarm water, about 105˚F
▢ 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
▢ ½ tablespoon salt
▢ 4⅓ cups all-purpose flour, divided
▢ 1 cup garlic and basil marinated olives, drained, herbs and garlic reserved
▢ 1 teaspoon garlic powder
▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
▢ coarse salt
▢ dried parsley

Instructions

In a large mixing bowl, combine water and yeast. Add 1 cup of flour and salt; stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
Stir in the olives, herbs, garlic, and garlic powder.
Add remaining flour, one cup at a time, stirring until thoroughly combined. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm spot to rise for 1 hour.
Add a tablespoon of olive oil in a 10-inch to 12-inch cast iron skillet; using a napkin or your fingers, coat the bottom and sides of the skillet with the olive oil.
Flour your hands; remove the plastic wrap and using your hands, transfer the dough to the prepared skillet and shape it into a disk. Cover with a kitchen towel and let stand for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400˚F.
Drizzle remaining olive oil over the top of the bread and sprinkle with salt and parsley.
Score the top of the loaf with a knife and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top is nicely browned.
Remove from the oven, turn the bread onto a wire rack, and let it cool completely before cutting and serving.

Equipment

Video

Notes

The olives sit in a liquid with garlic and herbs; reserve as much of the herbs and garlic as possible when draining. Alternatively, add your own garlic and freeze-dried basil to the dough.
If you can’t find the specified olives, use whatever marinated olives you can find. Then, you can add garlic, dried basil, or other herbs.
Dough Mixing: Use warm, not hot, water to combine the ingredients. Excessive heat can harm the yeast.
Flour: This recipe has been tested with all-purpose flour.
If you do not have a cast iron skillet, use a stoneware baking dish instead.
It is crucial to remove bread from the skillet when it comes out of the oven because it will get moist and soggy if left in the skillet.

Nutrition

Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: bread recipes, skillet bread

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