Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: I absolutely adore the fresh, earthy, piney taste of rosemary, especially when combined with salty Parmesan cheese!
Texture: The bread develops a wonderfully crisp, rich crust, while the inside is light and tender.
Ease: Ridiculously easy.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe: The dough comes together in a matter of minutes and using the cast iron pan means no shaping. Not to mention it creates a beautiful crust!
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Bread really doesn’t need to be intimidating or complicated, which is why I love to share recipes like this super easy No Knead Rosemary Parmesan Skillet Bread!
It’s so simple, and the perfect beginner bread if you’ve never baked your own bread before.
There’s nothing like a loaf of fresh-baked bread, warm from the oven! The smell is absolutely intoxicating. I think I was born to bake bread. It’s one of my very favorite things to do.
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How to Make No-Knead Rosemary Parmesan Skillet Bread
Which Yeast Should I Use for Skillet Bread?
- No Knead Rosemary Parmesan Skillet Bread utilizes a shortcut ingredient: instant yeast, also called rapid rise or quick rise yeast.
- One of the three should be available at most grocery stores or you can buy my all-time favorite yeast on Amazon.
- These types of yeast are specifically formulated to allow you to skip proofing (aka the step where you combine the yeast with warm liquid for 5 minutes). You can add instant yeast directly into the mix with all of the ingredients.
What if I Only Have Active Dry Yeast?
If you don’t have or can’t find instant yeast, you can easily use active dry yeast instead at a 1:1 ratio. Add it right in with the dry ingredients like instant yeast, but just note that the dough will take about 20% longer to rise.
Alternatively, you can speed up that rise time slightly; simply combine it with the warm water and a pinch of the sugar called for in the recipe, and allow it to proof until it becomes bubbly (about 5 minutes) before adding into the bowl with the other ingredients. Learn more about the different types of yeast, and how to substitute yeasts, here.
How to Tell When Dough Has Risen
- After mixing, place the dough in a lightly oiled mixing bowl or directly into the oiled skillet.
- I like to take a picture of the dough before rising, so I can compare to see how much it has risen later.
- Cover the bowl or skillet loosely with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free location.
- The amount of time the dough will take to rise depends on your kitchen environment.
- Ideal rise temperatures are between 80°F and 90°F.
- Lower temperatures will require more rising time; hotter temperatures will require less rising time.
- The dough is done rising when it’s about doubled in volume and puffy.
Can I Mix Up the Toppings?
Absolutely! Feel free to add different herbs and spices, change up the cheese, and experiment with adding other toppings. Crumbled feta or goat cheese, torn fresh mozzarella, olives, cherry tomatoes, or fresh garlic cloves are all delicious touches. Homemade everything bagel seasoning also adds a fun flavor.
How to Serve No Knead Rosemary Parmesan Skillet Bread
- Serve alongside a delicious soup, like my Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Dip the bread in oil & balsamic
- Slather with butter
- Serve with pasta
- Or any other way your heart desires!
More Recipes You’ll Love:
- Garlic Knot Rolls – soft, fluffy, and drenched in garlic butter!
- Copycat Olive Garden Breadsticks
- Red Lobster Homemade Cheesy Garlic Biscuits
- Homemade Hawaiian Rolls
- Ultimate Dinner Rolls
- Focaccia Bread
No Knead Rosemary Parmesan Skillet Bread
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Ingredients
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 package) instant yeast
- 2 cups lukewarm water (about 100°F)
- 4 1/2 cups (574 grams) all-purpose flour,
measured correctly - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast and water. Add half the flour in and stir with a wooden spoon. Add the rosemary, salt, and remaining flour and stir until combined. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. Or, you can let the dough rise in the skillet (next step).
- Brush 2 tablespoons olive oil over the bottom of a 10 or 12-inch cast iron skillet. Sprinkle the dough and your hands with flour before shaping it into a disk. Dough will be sticky, it doesn’t have to be perfectly shaped. Place in the skillet, cover loosely, let rise until puffy, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Drizzle additional olive oil over the top of the bread. Slash the dough with a sharp knife to create an X shape. Sprinkle with rosemary leaves. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle all over with the Parmesan cheese. Return to oven and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Recipe Notes
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This post was originally published in 2016 and has been updated with additional baking tips. Photos by Jess Larson.
It’s 11:30pm in Sacramento and I am finishing “another” piece of this Rosemary and Parmesan bread and butter. I am still in awe that I made it myself. My cast iron skillet is a six inch and not big enough for this recipe. I used a very old original Fire King Bowl that belonged to my mother. That 50 plus year old bowl did a bang up job. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Wonderful!! 🙂
I have made this a few times, however, I make it as a plain white bread. I round up the salt as I like a bit more salt in my bread, and use a few pieces of butter instead of the oil. I bake it in a well-buttered cast iron dutch oven. It turns out so light and the crust is lovely & crispy. Thanks for sharing!
Wonderful recipe … I put 1/4 cup of parmesan in the bread dough itself along with the rosemary, let it rise 10 hours, and baked as directed … success!! Thanks for the inspiration!
Hello,
I’ve made this bread once before, came out really nice, the bread risen nicely and had a lovely crust.
Made second time, adding by Parmesan to the dough. It didn’t rise at all, neither after first time proove.
Put into oven, as instructed, the and it’s just didn’t bake. It’s was flat as pancake and row inside. Had to bin it.
Just made the second batch, followed the recipe to the latter – came out like a thick flatbread, dry as a rock,
What may happened, why it did not work anymore??
Hello!
Thank you for the recipe!
I want to add chopped black olives in this recipe, how and when do I have to add?
Today was the first time I made this! It was soooo good! Wonderful recipe, really easy! I add garlic along with the rosemary. I also put the parmesan inside the bread instead of the top. Add a little extra olive oil to skillet to give a little extra crunch. My family loved it. I served it with my Zuppa Toscana. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Yum!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Me again! The bread was gone before recess, which meant some people didn’t get any, so I felt I had to commit to making more tonight. Some people confessed that they kept coming back for more. Many requests for the recipe. Happy to promote Tessa and Handle the Heat.
Bravo! I just took this out of the oven and slathered the crunchy end with butter (Of Course!) and it was all it promised to be. This bread came out absolutely perfect, outside golden and crunchy and inside tender and fluffy. I let it raise longer than the hour (about 1 1/2) because I didn’t have a warm enough spot at first. I used freshly grated parmesan cheese and it melted and hardened nicely. The dough was VERY sticky. I was tempted to add more flour, but I didn’t. I will definitely will make this again. I frequently bring in baked goods to work (school) and can’t wait to bring this tomorrow. Thank you, Tessa
So glad to hear that, Kate! Especially that you didn’t add more flour 😉 Happy baking xo
Whipped this up last night, looking for a quick white bread for my family for the week (or at least the first few days of it). I love bread baking, and love dabbling in new recipes from time to time. This is a keeper. I left the dough quite sticky, so tacky that I couldn’t properly score it without it sticking to the knife. I threw some foil over it for the last 10 minutes or so that is was baking, so it was perfectly golden. It’s phenomenal! Also, I minced about 6 cloves of garlic into the water/yeast. Seriously, delicious! Thanks!
can this be made entirely by bread machine?
Its snowing & was in the mood for bread with our soup. What a great way to spend the days indoors. Smelling wonderful homemade bread baking.Thanks for sharing a great recipe. turned out wonderful & the instructions were so easy to follow. I have iron skillets so this was just the right recipe to try. I saw so many great reviews. so I decided to give it a try. Glad I did. I will be making this again. I had rosemary & parm on hand so thats what I chose . Perfect for a great snowy day indoors. Happy & Cozy
Delicious! I’ve made it a few times, but have yet to do anything different…like a different herb or add garlic. If I wanted to add garlic (which I do), how would I do that. I love to cook, but am fairly new to baking.
Regards,
Pamela