Joanne Lee Molinaro’s No-Knead Rice Bread (Bap Bbang | 밥빵)
Active dry yeast: 2.25 tsp
Brown rice syrup (or sugar): 1 tbsp
Cooked rice (white, brown, or a mix): 70 g
All purpose flour: 370 g (plus more for dusting)
Toasted sesame oil: 1 tbsp
Sea salt: 1 tsp
This easy no-knead rice bread recipe, baked in a Korean clay pot or Dutch oven, yields a loaf that’s crunchy on the outside, tender inside, and made with leftover rice.
Excerpted from The Korean Vegan: Homemade: Recipes and Stories from My Kitchen, Copyright © 2025 by Joanne Lee Molinaro. Published by Avery, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.
In my first book, I included a recipe called Dolsot Bbang (Stone Pot Bread, page 61) for my mom, who always says she wants to bake bread but claims it’s too hard. Dolsot Bbang required minimal kneading, which is often the most difficult part of baking bread.
Well, if it’s possible, this bread recipe is even easier than that one, because there’s no kneading involved! You literally just mix all the ingredients together, wait a long time, stuff the mixture into a ddukbaegi (Korean clay pot) or Dutch oven, and bake it until it’s golden brown and glorious. And glorious is truly what this bread is—it’s gloriously easy, it’s gloriously flavorful, it’s gloriously crunchy, and it’s gloriously tender. The cooked rice gives it a softness that’s unreal, whether you eat it right out of the oven or the morning after. So, if you are like my mom and terrified of making your own bread, definitely try this recipe. And, if you’re like me and you have a little more experience with bread baking, do not turn your nose up at this no-knead recipe: It’ll come in handy when you are feeling a little too tired to do much more than stir.
- In a very large bowl, whisk together the yeast with 360 ml warm water (100–110°F) and the brown rice syrup. Set aside until the yeast foams, about 10 minutes. (If it doesn’t foam, the yeast is dead—start over.) Add the cooked rice, flour, sesame oil, and salt. Stir with a wooden spoon until a scraggly dough forms.
- Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or lid and set aside in a warm place. Let the dough rest for 2 ½ to 3 hours, or until it doubles in size.
- Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 4 hours (optional but adds flavor).
- Remove the bowl from the fridge and let it come to room temperature. Meanwhile, place a medium ddukbaegi (Korean clay pot) or 3.5-quart Dutch oven in the oven. Preheat to 450°F.
- While the oven preheats, lay a large sheet of parchment paper on your work surface. Sprinkle one side with flour. Scoop the dough onto the floured section, then roll it onto the unfloured side so the dough rests floured side up in the center of the parchment.
- Once the oven is hot, wait 10 minutes, then carefully remove the pot. Place the parchment and dough into the hot vessel. Score the dough lengthwise (about 5 cm long, 1 cm deep). Cover with the lid and bake until golden brown, 40–50 minutes.
- Remove the bread from the oven and rest 10 minutes before lifting out. Keeps 1 day at room temperature or up to 5 days refrigerated.
