Seeded Oat Bread (No Kneading!) – Sally’s Baking Addiction

This seeded oat bread is crusty on the outside, chewy on the inside, and has the most delicious crunch in every bite, thanks to all the seeds. This is a hearty loaf that can stand up to any meal, from thick and chunky stews to delicate poached eggs. You’ll use an easy no-knead method to make this yeast bread, which produces a beautiful homemade loaf with minimal hands-on work.

This recipe is brought to you in partnership with Red Star Yeast.

You know those gorgeous seed-encrusted loaves of bread you see in bakery windows?

The kind that look like they took ages to make, and you wonder how much kneading, shaping, and work went into just 1 loaf? Well, you can make those same beautiful seeded loaves right at home, with hardly any work involved. No kneading, no complex shaping, no mixer needed.

Yes, this crusty, chewy, golden brown, seed-speckled oat bread doesn’t require any complicated work.

This bread, like my homemade cranberry nut bread and olive bread, will convince anyone that you either bought it from a bakery or spent all day in the kitchen making it—which of course you didn’t. Don’t feel like you have to let them in on our little secret. ????

Hearty Homemade Bread for Beginners

This texture-lover’s seeded oat bread recipe is based off of my homemade artisan bread, a wonderfully easy and widely popular no-knead bread that’s used by both beginners and experts.

If you’re nervous to try homemade bread, this recipe is a great introduction. Even though the recipe is easy, the bread does NOT skimp on flavor. It’s just a simple way of baking homemade bread inspired by the no-knead technique originating from bread expert Jim Lahey.

Here’s why it’s so simple:

• Only 7 ingredients (including water!)
• Absolutely no kneading (just like homemade English muffins!)
• Zero complicated shaping
• No mixer required
• 90% of the time is totally hands off
• Dough can rest in the refrigerator for up to 3 days—a great make-ahead recipe
• Can bake in a dutch oven or on a baking sheet

The trick is giving the risen dough a rest in the refrigerator. The cool air slows the fermentation process and helps develop better flavor.

Grab These Ingredients:

Here’s why each ingredient is so important:

1. Bread Flour: While you could use all-purpose flour in this recipe, I strongly recommend using bread flour. Bread flour produces a stronger, chewier bread and that makes a big difference in an artisan-style loaf like this oat bread.
2. Oats: Oats provide a little wholesome texture. As the dough rises, the oats soak up some moisture and expand. Whole rolled oats are best, but you can use quick oats if needed.
3. Salt: I recommend using coarse sea salt because I find the bread’s flavor lacking with regular table salt.
4. Instant Yeast: I always use Platinum Yeast by Red Star, which is an instant yeast (aka “quick rise” yeast). 1 and 1/2 teaspoons is a little less than 1 standard packet. (If using active dry yeast, there are no changes needed to the recipe. The rise time may just take slightly longer.)
5. Seeds: Pumpkin, sunflower, and flax seeds are all highly nutritious—they’re pretty much superfoods. I love that these 3 types of seeds vary so much in size and texture, but if you’d like to change up the types of seeds in this mixture, go for it. I use a medley of seeds in this multigrain bread, too.
6. Honey: Honey helps give this bread a springy, spongey texture. It also adds a little sweetness, but we’re using half as much honey here than in my honey oat bread recipe, so the bread isn’t super sweet.
7. Water: You’ll also need a little warm water to bring all the ingredients together.

Let Me Show You How to Make This Seeded Bread

The full written recipe is below, but use the following explanations and step photos to help you get started. Bring the dough ingredients together as instructed in the recipe. At first the dough will seem very dry and shaggy and you’ll question if it will even come together. It will. In fact, the dough is a little sticky after it has been thoroughly mixed:

Let it rise. Cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature for about 3 hours. Notice that the dough rises OUT more than it rises UP. That’s ok.

You can move on to shaping and baking the dough, but for best flavor, I strongly recommend refrigerating the risen dough, even if it’s just for a couple hours. I usually refrigerate it for 12 hours.

After the dough rises and rests in the refrigerator, use generously floured hands to shape the dough into a round boule or ball-like shape.

Use a Baking Sheet or Dutch Oven

Baking the seeded oat bread in a covered dutch oven traps steam inside the pot, creating that perfect crispy crust. If you plan to bake a lot of bread in the future, you won’t regret buying a dutch oven. If you don’t have a dutch oven, a nonstick baking sheet is best. (I use a baking sheet in the video tutorial below. And even have a trick for creating a steamy oven!)

1. Baking Sheet: If you’re using a baking sheet, dust the pan with cornmeal and/or a little flour. Place the dough on top, cover it, and let it rest as the oven preheats. You will find these detailed instructions in the recipe below, along with my optional steamy oven trick for a crispy crust in step 10. (Adding boiled water to a pan beneath the baking bread. Works great!)
2. Dutch Oven: Place the empty dutch oven with lid in the oven as it preheats. Place the ball of dough on high-heat-resistant parchment paper (I use this parchment paper) and then fit it inside a bowl. Cover and let the dough rest as the oven preheats, then place it (with the parchment) in the hot dutch oven before baking. You will find these detailed instructions in the recipe Note below.

Whichever baking method you use, don’t forget to add seeds/oats to the exterior of the dough (I usually just press them on). And make sure you score the dough with a bread lame or sharp knife before baking. Scoring allows the wet, airy dough to “breathe” as it expands and bakes.

Baking sheet method:

Dutch oven method:

The bread is unbelievable when it’s fresh from the oven—warm, crispy, crusty, soft, and loaded with texture inside and out!

What Do I Serve With Seeded Bread?

Honestly, it’s fantastic plain, with a swipe of butter or a dip-dish of olive oil. The bread would also be delicious paired with homemade basil pesto or homemade honey butter.

But I especially love serving this seeded oat bread alongside a soup, like this creamy chicken noodle soup or homemade alphabet soup. It also gives phenomenal texture to grilled cheese sandwiches, and makes a hearty base for creamy smashed avocado and soft eggs.

If you manage to have any leftover, make use of the stale bread in this easy breakfast casserole!

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