Easy Pumpkin Shaped No-Knead Dutch Oven Bread Recipe

This pumpkin shaped no-knead Dutch oven bread recipe is incredibly easy to make. It’s perfectly golden on the outside, soft and flavorful on the inside. And the fun pumpkin shape makes for a beautiful Thanksgiving presentation!

Often we think homemade means a ton more work. But I promise you – this artisan no knead bread recipe is incredibly easy to make!

This bread recipe requires no mixer, no kneading, and hardly any shaping involved. It’s the perfect “set it and forget it” kind of bread. But your family and friends will think you spent days creating the perfect loaf of bread.

And did I mention it tastes delicious?! But besides the taste, I think the appearance is my favorite feature of this pumpkin shaped no-knead Dutch oven bread recipe! And it can make a beautiful side for any Thanksgiving gathering.

Let me show you how to create the best pumpkin shaped bread for your family and friends this Thanksgiving!

No Knead Bread Ingredients

I’m guessing you already have everything you need in your kitchen to make this delicious bread. The four ingredients you will need are — water, yeast, flour, salt.

• Warm water: I used a cooking thermometer to measure the temperature of the water, so grab yours if you have one. The water should be between 105-110°F — which will feel quite warm but not hot to the touch.
• Active dry yeast: You will need less than a packet of dry yeast – only 1/2 teaspoon.
• All-purpose flour: If you have a kitchen scale to weigh your flour, great! But if not, no worries, just be sure to spoon the flour into your measuring cups (instead of scooping the cups into the flour) to make the floor measurements are more accurate and you have enough flour.
• Sea salt: This ingredient is great for bringing out all of those delicious flavors in the bread.

No Knead Bread Tools

How To Make No Knead Bread

Here are the three basic steps for how to make no knead bread:

1. Mix the bread dough. Whisk together the dry ingredients, add the warm water, then stir everything together until no flour streaks remain. The dough will look quite loose and shaggy and won’t hold its shape well — which is the look you want.
2. Let the dough rise. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rest at room temperature for about 5 to 18 hours. The longer it rests, the more flavor and better texture it will have. After a long rest, the dough should be risen and have bubbles on top of the dough.
3. Shape the dough. Dust a clean surface with flour. Dust your hands with flour as well. Using your hands, a wooden spoon or a bowl scraper, scoop out your dough onto the floured work surface. View your ball of dough as having 4 corners. Using a bench scraper or your hands, pull in each corner to gather into a round ball, creating a seam on top. Turn it over so the seam is now on the table and with your hands, continue to gently reinforce the round shape, by cupping your hands around the dough, and turning it several times.
4. Proof the dough. Transfer the dough ball onto a proofing basket seam side up, or on a piece of parchment paper seam side down and then transfer it to a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 45-60 minutes in the fridge or even overnight.

How To Create Pumpkin Shaped No Knead Dutch Oven Bread

Now comes the fun part, preparing the dough to bake in the pumpkin shape. If you are not interested in creating the pumpkin shape, you can just skip down to baking instructions.

Flour the top of the proofed and chilled loaf. Place 4 strings, about 2′ long, of baker’s twine, on top of the dough – creating 8 sections like pizza slices. Gently and swiftly flip the loaf over onto a piece of parchment paper, removing from proofing bowl.

Knot the ends of each piece of twine together on top of the bread. Just don’t pull too tight as you’ll restrict the loaf from proofing in the oven and it may crack. You definitely want to give the bread a little breathing room. Trim the twine.

Optional: Score each divided section as desired with a bread lame. You can keep it simple by just scoring one simple vertical line in each section, or add the gentle side strokes.

Now let’s talk about how to bake the no knead bread.

How To Bake No Knead Bread

1. Heat oven and Dutch oven. Place the Dutch oven inside of your oven, then set oven to 450°F. Wait for 20-30 minutes for the oven to heat, while the dough continues to rest.
2. Bake. Very carefully, use oven mitts to remove the preheated Dutch oven from the oven. (The oven will be extremely hot – be careful!)  Lift the edges of the parchment to carefully transfer the dough ball (along with the parchment paper) to the Dutch oven. The paper makes it easier to remove the bread when finished baking as well. Cover with the Dutch oven lid and bake for 25 minutes. Then carefully remove the lid and bake for 8-12 more minutes, until the crust of the bread reaches your desired level of golden brown. The bread will sound hollow when you tap it.
3. Serve. Remove from the oven by carefully lifting up the edges of the parchment to transfer the bread to a wire rack. Let it cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting. If you created the pumpkin shape, cut off the twine with scissors and place a cinnamon stick in the center to mimic a stem. Then slice the crispy crust, serve and enjoy!

And that’s it! Now you have a delicious loaf of homemade bread your whole family can enjoy!