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.
Can you leave the dough out overnight to proof?
Hi Kim, This dough should not be left out at room temperature overnight.
This is not only the easiest bread but the most delicious bread I have made!
I love artisan breads and this recipe does not fail, as well as the oats helps cut down on the gluten!
I did not have bread flor, but I was able to convert A P flour by exchanging 1 tsp flour with 1 tsp gluten (for each cup of flour) and the bread came out absolutely gorgeous and delicious!
Sally, your recipes rock!
Thanks so much for sharing!
I would need to make two smaller loaves. Would I bake them at the same temp and what would you suggest for baking times since the dough would be making two loaves? Thank you.
Hi Baker, same temperature, but we’re unsure of the exact bake time for two smaller boules. Keep a close eye on them, and an instant-read thermometer is helpful for determining doneness. Hope you enjoy the bread!
This recipe is amazing – it is excellent toasted with goat cheese and tomato or goat cheese and cucumbers…. goes with anything!! And it was so easy to make!
First time baker and this loaf was amazing. Thanks, will make it again very soon. Looking at your other recipes and deciding what to make next!
This bread is much-loved in our house, and I also love the way you specify gram weights in addition to cups. Could you please do the same for the salt in this and your other no knead bread recipes? We don’t get kosher salt in the UK and I don’t otherwise know how its coarseness compares to coarse sea salt we get here. But a gram weight for the salt would level the playing field so to speak. Thanks!
Perfect every time.
I love this bread! The first time I made it, I followed the recipe exactly. The second time I substituted about 3/4 c. whole wheat flour for some of the bread flour, and as you stated, it made the bread a little heavy, so in the future, I will not use whole wheat flour in this recipe. We love the bread with soup and it makes terrific toast. Thanks, Sally, for your great recipes.
Can you split the dough in half- two loaves?
Hi Cheryl, you could make two smaller loaves from this dough if desired.
Hi thank you for sharing this recipe, I was craving a seedy bread so made yours. I’ve made 2 other types of artisan breads and this was not sticky, I spooned and leveled the bread flour and made sure the yeast was still good. Also made sure my water cooled to 95°F but mixing it with a spatula, wasn’t working. I had to use my hands to get all the flour and ingredients incorporated. It’s sitting covered now, it’s 71°and sunny today, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed it will rise. My previous no knead breads have been sticky and I’m thinking it needs the moisture for it to rise correctly. Any advice? Should I sprinkle it with water or just leave it be and wait and see? Thanks
It sounds like your dough may be a bit too dry. Did it look like the photos and video above?
No, that’s why I asked bc it was not “very sticky” as you noted it should be. It did still rise but then I let it chill air 17 hrs then rest for 45 before baking. It was pretty dry and dense but it looks great. We will eat it with dinner tomorrow. What do you suggest if this happens next time I make it? I’m thinking it’s the Oats that did it. I only had 1/2 old fashioned so used quick Oats for the other half since you said it was OK. I’m thinking they soaked up the moisture. What would I do differently next time to combat this issue? Thanks!
I would add a little more water, such as 2 Tablespoons, or reduce the flour by 2 Tablespoons. Either would help.
This bread is amazing!! By chance do you have nutritional information or calorie count? Thanks
Hi Karen, 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
When using the Dutch oven method, is the pan of water necessary during baking?
Hi Carolynn, no need to use the boiling pan of water if using a Dutch oven. The closed pot does all the work for you!
Hi! I was wondering if this could be made into rolls? IT reminds me a bit of these muesli rolls I got at Breads Bakery in NYC I’ve been trying to recreate.
Best,
Emma
Hi Emma, You can make smaller rolls. Bake time and yield will depend on the size you make them. Bake until the crust is golden brown and when you tap the loaves, they will sound hollow when done. For a more accurate test, the bread is done when an instant read thermometer reads the center of the rolls as 195°F (90°C).
This recipe is the same as one on Red Star yeast website……
Hi Jane, correct! You can see at the top of our post that this recipe is brought to you in partnership with Red Star Yeast. If you scroll to the bottom of the recipe on Red Star Yeast, you can see that the recipe is attributed back to our site. Hope you’ll give this one a try!
Hi! Can maple syrup sub for the honey?
Hi Betsy, Yes, maple syrup can be used instead, or even brown sugar.
Jane, Can this bread be made Gluten Free? I love Bob’s Red Mill One to one GF flour, but I’m not sure it’s the best for this bread. If you have made it GF, can you suggest a GF flour to use?
My sunflower seeds and pepitas are both salted. Do you think it would be okay to use them and reduce the actual salt (2 tsp) that’s called for in the recipe?
We fear that may still be a bit too salty. Removing the salt from the bread will take away from the flavor of the bread itself. If you can, we’d recommend half salted, half unsalted seeds. Hope you enjoy the bread!
I’ve made this two times and it’s amazing!! Curious if anyone has tried subbing spelt or whole wheat flour with any success?
Hi sally! My loaf for the seeded bread is currently in the fridge. I was wondering if the dough could be left out longer than 45 minutes prior to baking? I’m going out but want to bake it later when I’m home.
Hi Christie! I wouldn’t leave the dough out longer. It would be better to extend the refrigerator time to fit your schedule.
You think this will work in a rectangular bread pan? Thanks!
Hi Sue! We would make our multigrain sandwich bread or this honey oat bread instead.
Love this recipe but wondering how to substitute either spelt or einkorn flour? Can you let me know if you have that and also some einkorn and spelt bread recipes?
Hi Lisa, we haven’t tested this bread, or any of our bread recipes, with spelt or einkorn flours, so we’re unsure of the results. It would likely take some tweaking, as it may not be an easy 1:1 swap. Let us know if you decide to do any experimenting!
Sco d time around using 1/2 organic einkorn flour. We love it and so does our digestive system .
What is the nutrition factors?
Third time is a charm ! I made this bread 3 times now and the first 2 times the bread was heavy and did not rise as well. Was the weather too cold ? too rainy? or maybe my yeast was different than the one suggested- which I use this 3rd time. Anyway, I love that bread because of not kneading it ( my hands don’t always the strength I want them to have) , with cheese and a glass of wine, this is perfect.
A comment regarding the yeast amount: 2tsp of yeast , is not 6g. The yeast packet lists 21 g, and it was barely 2 tsp. So I just put the entire yeast packet.
I’m so ready to make the olive bread now.
Hi Geneviéve! A standard packet of yeast should be 7g, a little over 2 tsp. The set of three packers is 21g. Hope this helps! Glad you enjoyed the bread.
My bread seemed a little dense and heavy, is that normal? I followed exact instructions .
Hi Candice, This is a denser bread and not expected to be light inside, due to the oats and seeds packed inside, plus the no knead technique. Make sure to handle the dough with care after it rises to maintain all the air bubbles inside. Hope you still enjoyed the bread!
Could this be made with a whole wheat flour? Thank you
Hi Candace, we 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.
the more we switch to oats based recipes from too much carbs and gluten, the better … ideas that make oats recipes tasty are welcome !
turned out beautifully! so easy and looks and tastes awesome. Sally’s website always has excellent recipes. Thank you!
Can this bread be baked in an Emily Henry Bread Pot?
Can’t see why not!
No Knead Seeded Oat Bread
I was really excited about trying this bread but it did not turn out as expected! It didn’t seem to rise as much as it should have so it was very heavy and hard to slice and of course lost a lot of seeds when I sliced it. I did not let it sit in the refrigerator for days as you suggested but I did put it in fridge for 3 hours. This is not the first time I have made bread but I will admit I am not a bread baker. Do you have any idea what happened or is this the way it is supposed to be?
Hi Edie, did the dough double in size prior to baking? The photos above should be helpful. This type of bread does not rise much during baking, and it is a denser style bread due to the oats and seeds packed inside, plus the no knead technique. Did you add any more flour to it, and did you spoon and level to measure? Adding too much additional flour to the bread can cause it to become dry/hard. Let us know if we can help troubleshoot further. Thank you for giving it a try!
Can this recipe be used in a 9×5 loaf pan? If so, how would cooking instructions change?
Hi Christine! We would make our multigrain sandwich bread or this honey oat bread instead.
Great Recipe!