Dilly Parmesan Bread

This dill Parmesan bread is a no-knead batter bread, which means you skip the hardest part of bread baking entirely. The dough is too wet to knead, and that’s by design. You beat it smooth with a spoon, let it rise once, stir it down, and pour it into a springform pan. That’s it.

Two tablespoons of dill weed and half a cup of grated Parmesan go directly into the batter, giving every slice a savory, herbal flavor from the inside out. More Parmesan gets sprinkled on top before baking, forming a crispy, salty crust that shatters when you tear the bread apart.

The batter goes into the pan without a second rise. Baking it immediately after stirring down gives the bread its characteristic dense-yet-tender texture with irregular air pockets throughout. Nearly an hour in the oven turns the crust deeply golden.

Chef Tips

• Water temperature matters. Too hot (above 115°F / 46°C) kills the yeast. Too cool and it won’t activate. Use a thermometer if you’re unsure.
• Beat the batter for a full 2 minutes. This develops enough gluten structure to give the bread body without kneading.
• The springform pan makes removal easy. A regular round pan works too, but grease it well since batter breads stick.

Variations

• Add 2 cloves of minced roasted garlic for a dill-garlic Parmesan bread.
• Swap dill for fresh rosemary (2 teaspoons, chopped) for an Italian-leaning herb bread.
• Brush the top with garlic butter instead of plain melted butter before adding the Parmesan topping.