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:
- 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- Salt: I recommend using coarse sea salt because I find the bread’s flavor lacking with regular table salt.
- Instant Yeast: I always use Platinum Yeast by Red Star, which is an instant yeast (aka “quick rise” yeast). 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.) I use more yeast in this recipe compared to my cranberry nut bread and jalapeño cheddar bread. Why? Those doughs rest and rise at room temperature. However, for more flavor and just as much rise, I use more yeast and let this dough rest in the refrigerator.
- 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.
- 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.
- Water: You’ll also need a little warm water to bring all the ingredients together. I use cool, room temperature water in olive bread and artisan homemade bread, two other no-knead doughs, but with the addition of oats today, the yeast has to work harder, and warm water helps it work quicker.
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!)
- 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!)
- 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 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!
Yeast Bread Success Tips
If you’re a bread beginner, reference this Baking with Yeast Guide for helpful, easy-to-understand answers to many yeast FAQs. And/or get on the fast track to baking bread like a pro with my free Beginner’s Guide to Yeast email series.
No Knead Seeded Oat Bread
- Prep Time: 4 hours
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours (includes slight cooling)
- Yield: 1 loaf; 10-12 servings
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Follow this easy no-knead recipe for a hearty loaf of homemade seeded oat bread. Review Notes before beginning. If you’re new to working with yeast, reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
Ingredients
- 3 cups (390g) bread flour (spooned & leveled), plus more as needed for shaping and pan
- 2 teaspoons (about 6g) Platinum Yeast from Red Star instant yeast
- 1 cup (85g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- 1/4 cup (30g) unsalted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- 1/4 cup (30g) salted or unsalted sunflower seeds
- 2 Tablespoons (18g) flax seeds or sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoons coarse salt
- 2 Tablespoons (43g) honey
- 1 and 1/2 cups (360ml) warm water (about 95°F (35°C))
- optional: cornmeal for dusting pan
Topping
- 1 Tablespoon (5g) old-fashioned whole rolled oats
- 1 Tablespoon (8g) pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
- 1 Tablespoon (8g) sunflower seeds
- 1 teaspoon flax seeds or sesame seeds
Instructions
- Watch the video below before you begin, and let that be your visual guide for this recipe.
- In a large un-greased mixing bowl, whisk the flour and yeast together. Add the oats, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, and salt and whisk to combine. Mix the honey and water together, and then pour over the dry ingredients. Using a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, gently mix together. The dough will seem dry and shaggy, but keep working it until all the flour is moistened. If needed, use your hands to work the dough ingredients together. The dough will be very sticky. Shape into a ball in the bowl as best you can. (Tip: Stir dough by hand. Dough is too sticky for a mixer.)
- Keeping the dough in the bowl, cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and set on the counter at room temperature (honestly any normal room temperature is fine). Allow to rise for 3 hours. The dough will just about double in size, stick to the sides of the bowl, and have a lot of air bubbles.
- You can continue with step 5 immediately, but for absolute best flavor and texture, I strongly recommend letting this risen dough rest in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours and up to 3 days. (Even just a couple hours is good!) Place covered dough in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The dough will puff up during this time, but may begin to deflate after 2 days. That’s normal and nothing to worry about.
- Lightly dust a large nonstick baking sheet (with or without rims, and make sure it’s nonstick) with a little flour and/or cornmeal. Using generously floured hands and gentle pressure so as to not deflate the dough too much, shape the risen dough into a ball. (I just do this right inside the bowl it’s in, or you can do this on a lightly floured work surface.) Dough is very sticky.
- Transfer ball to prepared baking sheet. Mix topping ingredients together. Sprinkle on top of dough, and if the seeds aren’t sticking, press them into the dough as best you can. Loosely cover and allow dough to rest for 45 minutes. You will bake the dough on this prepared baking sheet. See recipe note if you want to use a pizza stone or dutch oven.
- During this 45 minutes, preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C).
- When ready to bake, using a very sharp knife or bread lame (you could even use kitchen shears), score the dough with a slash or X about 1/2 inch deep. (“Score” = shallow cut.) If the shaped loaf flattened out during the 45 minutes, use floured hands to reshape.
- Place the shaped and scored dough (on the flour/cornmeal-dusted pan) in the preheated oven on the center rack.
- Optional for a slightly crispier crust: Place a shallow metal or cast iron baking pan or skillet (I usually use a metal 9×13-inch baking pan) on the bottom oven rack. Carefully and quickly pour 3–4 cups of boiling water into the shallow pan. Quickly shut the oven to trap as much steam inside. The steam helps create a crispier crust.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. If you notice the exterior browning too quickly, tent the bread with aluminum foil. How to test for doneness: Give the warm bread a light tap. If it sounds hollow, it’s done. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant read thermometer reads the center of the loaf as 195°F (90°C).
- Remove the bread from the oven and allow to cool for at least 10–20 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Store leftovers loosely covered at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The dough can sit in the refrigerator for up to 3 days (step 4), so this is a wonderful recipe to begin ahead of time. You can also bake the bread, allow it to cool, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving. You can also freeze the dough. Complete the recipe through step 5. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-friendly container. Freeze up to 3 months. To bake, allow dough to thaw overnight in the refrigerator, or for 2–3 hours at room temperature. Continue with step 6, including allowing dough to rest for 45 minutes before baking. Keep in mind that the bread tastes a little heavier after freezing/thawing the dough and then baking it.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Silicone Spatula or Wooden Spoon | Baking Sheet | 2-cup Measuring Cup | Bread Lame | Instant-Read Thermometer
- Flour: For absolute best flavor and chewy texture, I strongly recommend using bread flour. You can use a 1:1 substitution of all-purpose flour in a pinch with no other changes to the recipe. I recommend avoiding whole wheat flour in this dough; however, if necessary, you can replace up to 1 cup (about 130g) of the bread flour with whole wheat flour. The bread will taste a bit heavy.
- Yeast: I always use Platinum Yeast from Red Star, an instant yeast. You can use any instant yeast in this dough. If using active dry yeast, the 1st rise time is usually slightly longer, about 3.5–4 hours. Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.
- Salt: Use a coarse salt, such as coarse sea salt, in this bread. I find the flavor slightly lacking when using regular table salt. If you only have table or fine salt, reduce to 1 and 1/2 teaspoons.
- Seeds: Feel free to use more/less of a particular seed you love, or skip any seeds if you wish. Around 1/2 cup of larger seeds and 2 Tablespoons of smaller seeds is ideal. I usually use unsalted pepitas and salted sunflower seeds. Salted or unsalted are fine, but I don’t recommend 1/2 cup of salted seeds, so if you want to use salted, use 1/4 cup of salted and 1/4 cup unsalted. If you want to add poppy seeds, replace 1 Tablespoon of flax seeds/sesame seeds with poppy seeds. Or just use 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds and skip the flax/sesame.
- Using a Dutch Oven: You need a 6-quart or larger dutch oven or any large oven-safe pot with a lid. Prepare dough recipe above through step 4, including refrigerating the risen dough for at least 12 hours. After refrigerating, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using lightly floured hands, shape into a ball as best you can. Doesn’t have to be perfect. Transfer dough to a large piece of parchment paper. (Large enough to fit inside your pot and one that is safe under such high heat. I use this parchment and it’s never been an issue.) Lift the parchment paper and dough up and place it all into a large mixing bowl. Cover dough lightly with plastic wrap and leave alone for 30 minutes. During this 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 425°F (218°C). Place your dutch oven (with the lid) inside for 30 minutes so that it’s extremely hot before the dough is placed inside. After 30 minutes, sprinkle seed topping all over dough. Using a bread lame or sharp knife, gently score a 1/2-inch-deep slash or X into the top. Remove the dutch oven from the oven and carefully place the dough inside by lifting it up with the parchment paper and placing it all—parchment paper included—inside the pot. Cover with the lid. Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on. Carefully remove the lid and continue baking for 10 more minutes or until the bread is golden brown. You can test for doneness exactly how you would in step 11 above. Remove pot from the oven, carefully remove the bread from the pot, and allow to cool on a wire rack for 10–20 minutes before slicing/serving.
- Using a Pizza Stone: If you want to bake your bread on a pizza stone, place pizza stone in the preheating oven. Remove hot pizza stone, dust with cornmeal or a little flour, and then transfer shaped and scored dough to hot pizza stone and bake as directed.
- No Nonstick Pan? If you don’t have a nonstick baking sheet, line it with parchment paper instead. Coat with a dusting of flour and/or cornmeal before placing the dough on top. Parchment paper can burn, so it’s best to check the box to see how much heat yours can tolerate. Lower your oven heat if necessary, and bake the bread for longer until it’s golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.
Hello! I currently have this dough chilling in the refrigerator and I don’t think it’s sticky enough. Do you think it will still work out? I spoon and leveled my flour, maybe the oats soaked up too much water. Should I add more water or leave as is and hope for the best?
Hi October, if the dough is already mixed and resting, we wouldn’t add more water. It may bake up a little more dense but will still be delicious!
I have been making bread for about a year now and this is not only delicious, but ever so easy to make. My family loves it and it is hands down better than any store bought loaf.
This was delicious. Thank you
Great easy to follow recipe and the bread turned out great. It’s very hearty and filling, I love it as toast. Do you have the nutritional info for this?
We are so happy you enjoy this recipe, Gayathri. We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I started this recipe yesterday and finished by baking today. It’s dense, but very delicious! I did add about 20 minutes to the time, and tented the loaf with aluminum foil. Would I make it again, ABSOLUTELY!! Adding this recipe to my fav file!
I love your no knead recipes! I made cranberry pecan and added a dash of cinnamon, then using that basic recipe I made golden raisin, walnut, rosemary. After that I made the olive bread! All are amazing! I’ve just printed the seeded oat bread recipe!
Is there a way on your site to just search for you no knead recipes?
Hi Liz, we’re so glad you love these! Here are more of our no knead recipes.
My go to bread….just love this <3
And it makes a great gift too!
Just tried this recipe and it was the first time I ever made bread! Turned out so crispy, tasty and my home smelled amazing! Definitely a great start to making bread. Had a couple of slices with strawberry jam and it was a perfect combination
I followed the recipe to a “T” (used cast iron Dutch oven) and it looked like all your photos. So beautiful. Crunchy but not too hard on the outside and a wonderful flavor. My only problem was that the center was a trifle underdone despite sounding hollow. When I make this again, would you recommend that I increase the temperature to 450, or keep the temperature the same but increase the baking time………or?
Hi Pam, so glad you enjoyed this one! If the middle was a bit underdone, we’d recommend an additional minute or two in the oven (rather than a higher temperature).
I love this bread! It is dense, but I prefer my bread that way. Love it for toast. I see some comments about it being gummy and I will say I’ve made this a few times now, and it is never done in 40 minutes. I end up having to bake for at least 60-70 minutes before the internal temperature reaches 195.
I have this loaf in the oven right now, where it’s been for the past 70 minutes. It still doesn’t sound hollow…! My oven runs a bit cool, but I don’t usually need to double recipe times! I’ve tented it, so at least the crust isn’t burning. We shall see…
Thank you for this recipe. It really works well. I do have one question, your recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of yeast or 6 g. 2 teaspoons of yeast actually is quite a bit more than 6 g (Probably closer to 9g). Can you please clarify as to which measurement you recommend? I do love the bread though.
Hi Sue! We consistently measure 2 tsp yeast to be about 6g. Are you using dry instant yeast?
Actually yeah I’ve found this also – I use dried instant\easy yeast and 2 flat teaspoons always ends up around 8g but tbh I tried both 6g and 8g to see and it didn’t make any difference to the loaf.
I had the same issue. I went with 6g, and it proofed fine.
This turned out amazing! Will be making again and trying some of your other bread recipes soon!
My husband and I made this recipe. It was very easy to follow. We will definitely make it again in the near future. Absolutely delicious!
I can’t find the video mentioned in step 1. I don’t see it in the post above the recipe or below the recipe like the step says.
Hi Mollie! The video tutorial is just below the recipe and instructions, and just above the notes section.
Love it! Tiny bit gummy, but that’s okay. It came out pretty good! Next time I’m going to add a bit more salt and walnuts Mmmmm. I wonder if I can make little round buns out of the dough.
Started the 3 hour rising for a second time and baked. Turned out great!
Was so excited to try this; however, even with following recipe exactly, the bread came out gummy and so heavy. Added a little baking time, but having trouble even cutting the loaf. High altitude here, but didn’t make any changes. Any suggestions?? Ready to try again!
Hi Kris, We wish we could help, but we have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I mixed this up last night, put it in the fridge, but it didn’t raise at all. Can I do anything to salvage it?
Hi Sally, did you let it rise at room temperature for 3 hours first? There won’t be too much change in the refrigerator from that. Maybe a little rise, or even deflate. That’s normal. Right now, you can take it out of the refrigerator and let it rest at room temperature for about 1 hour.
I tried this loaf about a week ago and it was delicious!
I have my next one in the fridge tonight and I’ll bake it tomorrow! The bread is not an airy bread, but the flavor is wonderful. Makes great toast and my kids used it for sandwiches.
Thank you Sally! Next week I’ll try your artisan bread!
❤️
I mixed it up today.It’s in the fridge and will be baking it tomorrow! Can’t wait for the house to smell amazing!
Any idea about the nutritional information for this bread?
It turned out perfectly!
Delicious and easy!
Wonderful recipe that was written perfectly! Very easy to follow. Delicious with dinner and even better as toast in the morning!
Delicious! Have to hold back from eating it all! Great recipe and easy! I baked it in my cast iron Dutch oven.
I want to try this recipe but living in Colorado, every recipe needs an adjustment. Since you have mentioned that the oats soak up the water & high altitude baking always needs extra, does that mean that I will need to add even more because we are adding oats?
I am thinking I will stick to the seeds and skip the oats but will that give the bread enough body and crunch? Thanks!
I wish we could help, but have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I really love the recipe and the taste of the bread. Unfortunately it turned out very dense and not fluffy at all. I followed every step of the recipe (even rested the dough in the fridge for over 24hours). What could I do different next time?
Hi Deb! This isn’t meant to be a fluffy bread. It’s definitely on the more dense and hearty side. Make sure to handle the dough with care to leave the air bubbles in tact.
Thank you so much, I really enjoyed making this.. I made a double batch and let it bake a little about 20 minutes more. It turned out perfect. Next will try in a Dutch oven. Found a used one on Amazon for $45. Cast Iron.
This is the best bread and hold it moistness for several days!!
HELP! I watched this video twice, and followed the receipt to a T! The bread came out of the oven as hard as a rock. What did I do wrong?
Hi Kay, I wonder if you over-baked the bread? It’s a denser style bread due to the oats and seeds packed inside, plus the no knead technique. Not light like a sandwich bread. Did you add any more flour to it?
I love this bread! It’s easy to make and delicious. The first loaf was a bit dense so I made it again weighing all the ingredients instead of measuring, and letting it rise 4 hours before refrigerating. It baked beautifully and was less dense. So good toasted and with honey on it. The loaf disappeared quickly!
I made this bread yesterday and it is so easy and so delicious! My adult son was home for three weeks during Christmas and he made bread several times a week. When your email came titled bread for beginners, I had to give it a try. I’m certainly glad I did!! Thank you!