You know what everybody needs? Bread. Lots of bread. Only problem is, there aren’t many great low sodium options when it comes to buying a great rustic loaf in the store. Enter the Low Sodium Crusty Bread – it is great as a side with stew or chili, for fancy grilled cheese, and for french toast. Oh and it will absolutely complete your breakfast because it makes the best toast.
I have adapted this bread from a recipe at Simply So Good. The original is amazing, but has 4,000 mg sodium in the loaf. Simply omitting the salt from the recipe yielded a loaf that was – let’s face it – less than satisfying. So I tinkered a bit and was able to come up with a loaf that has roughly 55 mg in the loaf and just as yummy as the original.
This bread is very adaptable – try adding herbs, dried cranberries, or fresh jalapenos to the dry ingredients to mix it up.
So, how easy is this bread? You start by whisking together some dry ingredients in a bowl.
Then you add the wet ingredients and whisk until you get a shaggy dough. You don’t have to worry too much about the consistency – this recipe is very forgiving. If your dough is a little more wet than the photo below, it will still work just fine.
Now just cover the dough and set the bowl aside. Go shopping. Go to work. Take a nap. Do whatever you like for the next 8-24 hours. Once the dough has risen, just bake and enjoy.
Easy Crusty Bread
This overnight bread is a great low sodium alternative that your whole family will love.
SODIUM COUNT: 55.7 mg in the whole loaf, 7 mg per serving
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp quick-rise yeast
- 2 Tbsp dry milk powder
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups water
Instructions
- In large bowl, whisk together the flour, yeast, and dry milk powder.
- Add the oil and water to the dry ingredients. Whisk until combined. You should have a loosely formed ball of dough.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for at least 8 hours. The dough can also be mixed up the day before and allowed to rise overnight.
- When dough has finished rising, preheat oven to 450°F.
- Place dutch oven with lid in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- While the dutch oven is preheating, place the dough in a ball on a floured surface.
- Once the dutch oven is preheated and the dough has rested for 30 minutes, drop the dough ball into the dutch oven and bake with lid on for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue to bake the bread for 15 more minutes.
- Remove the bread from the oven and let cool on a cooling rack for 10-15 minutes before cutting.
Notes
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION Yield: 8 servings, roughly 3.5 ounces each
Sodium: 7.0 mg, Calories: 205.0, Total Fat: 3.9 g, Saturated Fat: 0.6 g, Cholesterol: 0.2 mg, Carbohydrates: 36.4 g, Fiber: 1.3 g, Sugar: 0.7 g, Protein: 5.3 g
I’m making this today for my thanksgiving stuffing. Added onion and garlic powder, poultry seasoning and celery seed. It smells wonderful!
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Great idea! I love it for stuffing, but haven’t added those seasonings to it beforehand. Happy Thanksgiving😊
Finally a good crusty bread! just trying my hand at bread making and this made it so easy. We both loved it, will be so good with soups and stew. Will be making it later with the seasonings.
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So glad you liked it! It also makes excellent French toast if you have any leftovers. 🙂
What size Dutch oven?
The one I use is about 5-6 quarts, but you could go a bit smaller. I have read similar recipes that say you could use as small as a 3 quart dutch oven, though I have not tried it.
Hi,
Can I use a bread maker for this recipe?
Hi Ange – I’ve never tried it so I can’t say for certain. I don’t think you would be able to get the same crusty texture in a bread machine that you do in a very hot oven. I have another recipe for bread (Favorite White Bread) which works well in a bread machine. You’d need to adjust the recipe (cut it in half), which works well for my mother-in-law (she makes it regularly in a bread machine).
This is one of my new go-to recipes! I make it at least once a week. My 9-year-old son is on a low-sodium diet, and he loves grilled cheese made from this bread and some Muenster cheese I found that’s not too terribly high in sodium. His grilled cheese sandwiches definitely have a more gourmet look to them than the standard fare! 😊
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I have some dough resting at home right now for this bread. 🥖 It is one of our favorites and I’m glad to hear that you and your son ❤️ it too.
My dutch oven is stainless steel – not cast iron. Will the bread stick to the bottom of the pan when I go to take it out? Should I grease the bottom of my pan before putting the bread inside?
I haven’t tried baking it in my stainless pan, but I don’t think it will stick. If you are worried about it, I would try putting parchment paper in the bottom of the pan. I have baked it with and without parchment paper and it works great both ways. When I greased the pan, it smoked a bit, but that could be because of the type of oil/fat I used. From what I have read online, you can use any type of pan that can take the heat (including stainless). Sticking has never been an issue for me, even though it seems a little counter intuitive.
UPDATE – I made this bread in my stainless pan without greasing the pan or using parchment paper. It worked great. I had no issues with it sticking to the bottom of the pan and tasted great.
I don’t have anything like a dutch oven. Will this work uncovered on a sheet pan? Also, I just joined the Low Sodium Club. I am so glad to have found your excellent resource. Keep on tinkering!
I haven’t tried it on a sheet pan, but think the recipe is pretty forgiving. I have read that other people make crusty bread with anything that can stand the heat. That includes a sheet pan with an oven-safe bowl to cover it, or a baking dish with tin foil to cover it. If you don’t have an oven-safe bowl to cover the bread with, try tin foil. I would avoid touching the foil to the bread so that it has room to do its thing.
If you put a metal pan with boiling water at the bottom of the oven, it will give you a good crust.
I’ve really been enjoying this bread but can I use a different oil? I just learned olive oil isn’t the best with my medication.
Yes you can use a different oil, melted butter, or omit it entirely (you’d probably need to add a little more water to get the dough to the right consistency). This recipe is pretty forgiving. I’m really glad to hear you are enjoying it!
Hello,
I was wondering where I could find the milk powder? Or if I’m able to omit it entirely?
Thanks
The powdered milk should in the baking aisle of your grocery store. I just bought some today and it was right beneath the cocoa and chocolate chips. I would not advise leaving it out since the bread is terribly bland without it. If you can’t find powdered milk, you can replace the water with milk and it should work okay. I haven’t tested that with this recipe so I can’t guarantee results, but I’ve done it with other bread and it’s been fine.
Hi, not the OP, but I have a milk allergy, you should be able to substitute 1/2 cup milk (or in my case milk alternative) and 1 cup water, for the water and milk powder for similar flavor profile.
Is it ok to use bread flour for this this recipe?
I haven’t tested it with bread flour, but it should work just fine.
Yes, I used KA Bread Flour, followed the recipe otherwise and it turned out great!!1
I wonder if it would come out as great with a loaf pan, I think I’ll try it..
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I wanted to double-check that this recipe calls for only 1/2 tsp of yeast. That seems like so little.
Yup – 1/2 teaspoon is correct. It is very little but it works out.
Thanks! I’m looking forward to it. I’ve been baking a lot of salt-free English Muffins with sourdough discard and using 1.25 tsp yeast plus the sourdough, so I’m used to more rising power, but I haven’t been letting it sit for 24 hrs.
Yeah that is why this one works out – so much rising time. 🙂
Thanks so much for this recipe. I’ve been making your 45 minutes dinner rolls weekly for years, but when all of our stores ran out of yeast the last few months I figured I’d need to conserve my yeast supply. This recipe has become my new go-to, and it’s delicious!
I’m happy to hear that you like it! I make it frequently – our teenager looooves it.
This is the best bread with no sodium. So crunchy and delicious and so easy to make especially if you do it overnight. Thanks for sharing. I am going to try some more of your bread recipes. I love bread!
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So glad you like it! We love it too. In the winter I often make several loaves a week. We really like it for French toast and stuffing too.
Can you use whole wheat flour instead of all purpose white flour?
I haven’t tested it entirely with wheat flour. I have tried it with about 1 cup of whole wheat flour and the rest white. That turned out really well. If you use all whole wheat flour it may end up more dense and possible more crumbly, but I can’t be certain since I haven’t tested it.
Where does the 55mg sodium come from?
It comes from the powdered milk. This also brings some flavor; without it the bread tastes very flat.
Kathy, have you tried making baguettes with this dough?
BTW, for most of my no-salt baking I’m now using 3/4 tsp yeast per 1.5 lb loaf (3 cups flour).
I have not tried using it for baguettes so I’m not sure how that would work.
Made this bread for Christmas dinner. It was wonderful and so easy! I sliced it up and put the extra in the freezer and pull some out when I’m going to have some. Makes great toast and is wonderful grilled. I am getting ready to start my next loaf . It will be something I make all the time!
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So glad that you like it! We make it all the time as well – especially through the cold months.
If anyone needs a dairy-free version of this, I’ve had success with subbing coconut milk powder in equal measure. There’s no sodium in the brand of coconut milk powder I have, though there is a bit of saturated fat if you’re keep a close eye on those numbers.
In step 6. Do round up the dough before putting in the oven.
Yes. In step 6, you form the dough into a ball.
I make this bread all the time. Recently I started adding garlic powder, onion powder and whatever Italian spices I have – basil, oregano, rosemary , marjoram etc… Delicious.
I made this with two substitutions (because that’s what I had in my pantry):
* 1 tsp active dry yeast vs. instant
* powdered buttermilk vs. powdered milk
The resultant loaf was denser than I expected. Would either substitute lead to less rise or maybe my technique?
What are the dimensions (diameter and height) of your loaf?
Hmmm, I don’t think either of those would have affected the density. My loaf is usually about three inches high and perhaps 7-8 inches across. Sometimes I will increase the yeast a bit (depending on what time I get it mixed up), so perhaps you could try adding a touch more yeast to get a bit more rise.
What temperate should the water? Recipe sounds good.
I usually stick with cool to lukewarm water. As long as you stay below the max temperature for your yeast, you will be good. (Yeast packaging will give a temperature range, usually up to 110F or 115F.)
I recently stumbled across your site, and your recipes seem wonderful! I don’t know what I did wrong, but I’m so sad that that mine came out pretty flat and the outside was somewhat hard. After reading the recipe I noticed that I did not place the dough in a ball on a floured surface before putting it in the pot. Also my Dutch oven is bigger, it’s 6-8 quarts. Could either of these have affected my outcome?
Hi there. I don’t think that the larger pot would make a difference. I’ve used several different sizes with success.
Letting the dough rest & rise before you put it in the pan may very well make a difference.
Something else that might make a difference is if your dough was a little wet. If that was the case, you may want to try to add a bit more flour when you mix it.
Good luck!!
Thank you for your suggestions. I will add a little more flour as the dough was pretty wet. I’ll also let it rest and rise a little longer.
Hi I love your bread recipes. 2 questions. If I want to flavor bread with spices how much do you recommend and when do I put it in the dough? And lastly how do i store it since I shouldn’t eat it all in one sitting lol. Same questions for your dinner rolls as well. Thank yoy.
I make the crusty bread recipe all the time . I use spices in mine – garlic powder , onion powder , basil, oregano, parsley & rosemary . If I measure them I believe I use about a 1/4 tsp each but sometimes I just sprinkle it in. I slice my loaf up and then store in freezer , taking out some when I’m going to have some . Can thaw quickly in microwave or set out . I love the flavor the spices give it .
Thank you for responding, Sue! I agree with everything she said. For shorter term storage, I usually refrigerate it. Technically, refrigerating bread will make the bread stale faster, but it can also slow mold growth. I err on the side of refrigerating in an air-tight bag.
Thank you for responding Sue and Kathy.
Kathy, refrigerating is always bad for bread, whereas freezing does no harm. Even if the loaf is fresh, you’re better off slicing then freezing. Just pop it in the toaster or toaster oven frozen and it’ll seem like fresh.
Thank yoy for that info about freezing as well.
Baked this bread by doubling the ingredients and temperature settings, baked 35 minutes with the dutch oven lidded, baked 20 minutes with the lid off. Came out great, internal temperature 200F, beautiful crumb and wonderful crust. Just as an FYI, I live in Central Texas, elevation 600 ft and it’s January.
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Jack, you baked at 900 degrees?
Thanks Craig. Baked this bread by doubling the ingredients and but using the recipe’s temperature settings, baked 35 minutes with the dutch oven lidded, baked 20 minutes with the lid off. Came out great, internal temperature 200F, beautiful crumb and wonderful crust. Just as an FYI, I live in Central Texas, elevation 600 ft and it’s January.
Hi Kathy, my first try didn’t rise much, so I used 3/4 tsp yeast on the second and it rose twice as much. I also didn’t have any powdered milk, so I used powdered buttermilk, and that seemed to work out fine. I also added a grilled and chopped onion and a few raw chopped spring onions for flavor and that helped a lot to overcome the lack of salt.
Hi if I don’t use powdered milk would there be a problem? My mom can’t have any salt what so every
The bread will bake okay, but it won’t taste quite as good. You might consider adding some herbs to help elevate the flavor.
Love this recipe, however the name of the site being sodium optional, I assumed there would be a measure of salt that is optional.if I wanted to ad a hint of salt for Flavor, how much should I add?
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That would depend entirely on how much sodium you can have in your diet. I have seen similar crusty bread recipes that use up to two teaspoons of salt in a similar size loaf. That would add a total of 4800 mg sodium, or 600 mg per serving. You could always add salt to this recipe (with the dry ingredients) if your diet/sodium restrictions allow it. You’d just have to do the math to make sure it lines up with your specific goals. A half a teaspoon of salt would add 1200 mg, a full teaspoon would add 2400 mg, and so on.
Any thoughts on using whole wheat flour or at least a mix of it??
I attempted to make this bread. I’m not sure what I did wrong, but it was very dense and didn’t rise much. I followed the directions as stated in your recipe. Could I add more yeast possible to make it rise more? I’d like to try again because of how much everyone loves this bread.
Thanks,
Linda
Hi Linda. Yes, increasing the yeast should help. But before you try that, I’d recommend testing your yeast to make sure it is still active if you haven’t already. (Put 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast + 1 teaspoon of sugar + warm water in a bowl and wait 10 minutes. It should be very foamy. If not, you should replace your yeast.)
I have made this several times and really enjoy but have questions: (First time, it had lots of air holes, but not as much when made other times)
1) how dry or wet should dough be after mixing ? What is a “loosely formed ball”
2) how do you form a “ball” without over-handling it ?
3) how much should it raise ? what is the optional time frame and actual appearance in bowl ? (I’m not sure if raised enough or too much)
4) when you pull raised dough out of bowl, how to form ball to put on floured surface and not end up kneading it from forming the ball?
5) the “ball” has flattened during the 30 minute wait time for Dutch oven to heat up. How to transfer that flatter piece to the Dutch oven ?
6) will it raise more in the oven when baking ?
Thanks for your help for me to get this process right.
1) the dough should be a little on the wet side – more wet than you’d want it to be if you were going to knead it.
2) I don’t worry at all about the shape whey it’s it the bowl. When I get it out of the bowl, I use a silicone scraper and sprinkle a little flour around the edge of the bowl. I scrape the whole lump of dough out onto a piece of parchment paper. Then I use my hands to gently fold any odd edges under. It will deflate some, but should rise again in the oven. It does not need to be a perfectly round ball. Rustic is fine, and that way you handle it less.
3) it should be doubled in size. How long it takes will depend on the temperature of your house, the brand of yeast you’re using, etc. I find it very forgiving. Usually if I mix it up the night before I want to make it, that timing is right.
4) see #2
5) put the dough on a piece of parchment paper. Transfer the dough by lifting the parchment and placing it in the pan. You shouldn’t have to touch the dough at all at this point.
6) yes
Is there a sourdough version of this? If not how can I make it a sourdough?
I’ve never tried this as sourdough. I’d suggest looking for a sourdough recipe and simply omitting the salt. The starter will bring enough flavor that you probably wouldn’t need to tweak it more than that to make it low sodium and still have it taste pretty good.
When you eliminate salt in a bread recipe, you also have to reduce the amount of yeast because salt affects the rise. For example, if the recipe calls for 1 1/2 tsp of yeast, cut it back to 3/4 tsp
This recipe, as it is, is really a tasy bread. Myselfk I would love to convert to sourdough. If one is done well, please share. I’ll do the same if ine work out well. Thank you. Have a Wonderful and Safe Holiday Season.
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Good morning Kathy & Happy New Years Eve !
I really hope you’re able to answer my question ASAP 😊. BTW…my husband & LOVE your collection of low sodium recipes & we are incredibly grateful that you share your gift of baking & cooking!!! I’m a former professional chef from many years ago. And I’m very confident in the kitchen (I’m still just as passionate about the industry as I ever was). But baking & cooking without salt is a challenge (at least it has been for me)…
So I’m cooking a beautiful prime rib dinner for our New Year’s Eve dinner at home tonight,and we LOVE bread so I’m interested in baking this recipe. My QUESTION (finally getting to it-I apologized), I’ve got “Dried Buttermilk Powder “ but I do not have dried milk powder. Can I use what I’ve got? We live in the country and I really do want to drive into town.
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Hi Lisa! Yes, you can absolutely use dried buttermilk powder. I use it sometimes and it works fine. Happy new year!
Amazing recipe! I let the dough rise for 8 hours and got a nice dense crusty bread. I will go for 12 hours next time, excited to see the difference.
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Can you use yogurt in place of milk powder? More specifically almond milk yogurt?
I haven’t tested that, so I’m not sure it would work. The milk powder is to boost the flavor, so technically the bread will work without it, but it won’t taste as good.
Just wondering if you have a focaccia recipe.
No, I don’t. Sorry!
I love this recipe! It’s very difficult to find low sodium bread. The one I’ve found in NYC is hard to come by and is expensive. I’ve made bread in the past with and without bread machines. This recipe is easy and doesn’t require too many ingredients or processes. The hardest part is waiting for it to rise. I’ve made some modifications; I used 2 cups of bread flour and one cup of wheat. When baking, I had to cut the 15 min without lid to 5 minutes. Came out perfectly brown and crusty!
Thank you, this bread will be a staple in my home.
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Could I successfully make this recipe with gluten-free flour?
Thank you for your time.
I have very little experience baking with GF flour, so I can’t say for certain. My guess is that you’d be better off starting with a gluten free recipe and pulling out the salt. Best of luck!