Air Fryer No Knead Bread

• servings: 6 servings
• active time: 10 minutes
• total time: 3 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients

1½ cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon instant yeast

¾ cup water (room temperature)

Directions

Form the dough: In a big bowl mix the flour, salt, instant yeast and water into the bowl and using a spatula or a wooden spoon, mix it until well incorporated. The dough will be sticky and shaggy.

Allow it to rise: You’ll want to cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit on your counter or inside your unheated oven for 2 to 3 hours. During this time, the dough should double in size. ***Use insert cake pan and Yogurt setting in Instant Pot for rising, cover with crock pot lid - reduces time to about 30 minutes***

Preheat the air fryer: Place a 6-inch round pan into the basket of your air fryer. Preheat the air fryer to 400°F for 20 minutes with the pan in it.

Shape the dough: Meanwhile, flour your hands really well and also sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough. With your floured hands gently remove the dough from the bowl and roughly shape it into a ball. Take the ball of dough and place it over a piece of parchment paper. Transfer the dough with the parchment paper into a bowl and cover with a dry, clean kitchen towel until the pan has been preheated. Carefully, remove the pan from the air fryer basked, then lift the parchment paper and drop it in the pot, with parchment paper and all. You can also score the top of the dough with a sharp knife. This will not only make your bread look pretty, but it can also prevent it from cracking. Carefully cover the pan with aluminum foil, tightly seal the edges, and place the pan back into the air fryer basket, shut the lid, and then it’s bake time.

Bake the bread: Bake the bread for 20 minutes then open the basket and carefully remove the foil. Close the basket and bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown. The bread is cooked when it sounds hollow when you tap it. I turned the bread upside down after 5 minutes to allow it to brown on the bottom too (as seen in the video) but this is totally optional.

Notes

RECIPE NOTES:

1. Do not refrigerate the dough as it rises. It needs a warm environment to rise, either on the counter or proof it in the oven. If your oven has a PROOF function, then go ahead and use it!

2. Want an easy way to know if your bread is done? Take the bread out of the air fryer pan, turn it upside down and give the bottom a firm thump with your thumb, or a knock and if it sounds hollow it’s done.

3. I used a 6″ round prepared pan, but had room for a 7 or 8″ one which I would recommend. If using an 8″ pan then go ahead and double the recipe.

4. This bread can dry out a little easily so it is best to store it tightly wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container to preserve it longer. You can store it like this for about 3 to 4 days right on the counter or freeze it for up to 3 months.

Cheri's Notes:

February 2022: Made this and also used the Instant Pot yogurt setting to speed up the rising (updated instructions above). Had delicious homemade bread on the table in about an hour. The 18-hour bread is still the best but this is a pretty close second and an excellent option when I want bread but forgot to start it the night before. Used the insert cake pan for the bread to rise and parchment paper straight into the main pot for the baking portion. The only issue was that since I cooked straight in the main pot, I pushed the foil loosely around the top of the bread and it did get a little too dark in some spots. Need to reduce the final bake without the foil to just 5 minutes or so (updated).

Nutrition

• Calories: 120 kcal
• Total Fat: 1 g
• Saturated Fat: 1 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
• Sodium: 391 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 25 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1 g
• Total Sugars: 1 g
• Protein: 4 g