My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make
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This is the no-knead bread recipe my mother has been baking for 45 years. Start to finish, it can be ready in three hours. It bakes in well-buttered Pyrex bowls — no need to preheat a baking vessel for this recipe — and it emerges golden and crisp with a soft, tender crumb. 🍞🍞🍞🍞🍞
When I tell you that, if forced, I had to pick one and only one recipe to share with you that this — my mother’s peasant bread — would be it, I am serious. I would almost in fact be OK ending the blog after this very post, retiring altogether from the wonderful world of food blogging, resting assured that you all had this knowledge at hand. This bread might just change your life.
The reason I say this is simple. I whole-heartedly believe that if you know how to make bread you can throw one hell of a dinner party. And the reason for this is because people go insane over homemade bread. Not once have I served this bread to company without being asked, “Did you really make this?” And questioned: “You mean with a bread machine?” But always praised: “Is there anything more special than homemade bread?”
And upon tasting homemade bread, people act as if you’re some sort of culinary magician. I would even go so far as to say that with homemade bread on the table along with a few nice cheeses and a really good salad, the main course almost becomes superfluous. If you nail it, fantastic. If you don’t, you have more than enough treats to keep people happy all night long.
The Magic of the Peasant Bread
So what, you probably are wondering, makes this bread so special when there are so many wonderful bread recipes out there? Again, the answer is simple. For one, it’s a no-knead bread. I know, I know. There are two wildly popular no-knead bread recipes out there.
But unlike the others, this is a no-knead bread that can be started at 4:00pm and turned out onto the dinner table at 7:00pm. It bakes in well-buttered Pyrex bowls — there is no pre-heating of the baking vessels in this recipe — and it emerges golden and crisp without any steam pans or water spritzes. This is not artisan bread, nor is it trying to be. It is peasant bread, spongy and moist with a most-delectable buttery crust.
Genuinely, I would be proud to serve this bread at a dinner party attended by Jim Lahey, Mark Bittman, Peter Reinhart, Chad Robertson, Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. It is a bread I hope you will all give a go, too, and then proudly serve at your next dinner party to guests who might ask where you’ve stashed away your bread machine. And when this happens, I hope you will all just smile and say, “Don’t be silly. This is just a simple peasant bread. Easy as pie. I’ll show you how to make it some day.”
Peasant Bread Variations
Once you master the peasant bread, you can make any bread your heart desires — this simple no-knead bread recipe is the foundation of many of the other bread recipes on this site, namely this hugely popular overnight refrigerator focaccia and this simple homemade pizza dough. It’s even the inspiration behind this sourdough focaccia and this sourdough sandwich bread and this simple pita bread recipe.
The below post is organized as follows:
- How to Make Peasant Bread, Step by Step
- The Best Way to Store Bread
- Peasant Bread Dinner Rolls
- Peasant Bread Sandwich Bread
- How to Add Seeds and Nuts to Bread Dough
- How to Make Gluten-Free Peasant Bread
- How to Coat the Loaves in Seeds
- How to use Whole Wheat Flour
- How to Bake the Peasant Bread in a Dutch Oven
Many more variations on the peasant bread can be found in my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs:
Bread Toast Crumbs
Love the peasant bread? There’s now a book filled with 40 simple bread recipes plus 70 recipes to use up every crumb of every loaf you bake.
How to Make Peasant Bread, Step by Step
First: You need yeast.
This is the yeast I buy exclusively: SAF Instant Yeast. Instant yeast can be whisked into the flour directly without any blooming or proofing. If you want to stick to active-dry yeast, there are instructions in the recipe notes on how to do so. Red Star yeast is great.
Whisk together flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast. Add lukewarm water.
Mix until you have a sticky dough ball. Let it rise for 1.5 to 2 hours…
… or until it looks like this:
Punch down the dough using two forks.
Then split the dough down the middle again using the two forks.
Because this is a very wet dough, it must be baked in an oven-proof bowl. I am partial to the Pyrex 1L 322 size, but any similarly sized oven-proof bowl will work.
Butter the bowls well; then transfer half of the dough to each prepared bow.
Let the dough rise again until it crowns the rim of the bowl, about 30 minutes.
Transfer the bowls to the oven to bake:
This bread is irresistible when it’s freshly baked, but it also makes wonderful toast on subsequent mornings as well as the best grilled cheese. It’s also my favorite bread to use for these egg salad sandwiches and for this no-tuna “tuna” salad.
The Best Way to Store Bread
If you want to store the bread at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, I think the best method is in a ziplock bag. I’ve tried other eco-friendly options, but nothing seems to keep bread freshest — the crumb the softest — better than a ziplock bag. You can re-use the bags again and again.
If you intend to keep the bread for longer, I would freeze it. I often slice bread as soon as it cools completely, transfer the slices to a ziplock bag, then freeze. This way, I know the bread was frozen at its freshest.
A ziplock bag will not prevent the crust of bread from turning soft, which is why I suggest always reheating day-old bread. I use a toaster at breakfast for slices of bread, and I reheat half or quarter loaves in the oven at 350ºF for 15 to 20 minutes when serving for dinner.
Bread revives so beautifully in the oven or toaster.
No-Knead Dinner Rolls
To use the peasant bread dough to make rolls, simply divide the dough into smaller portions and place in a buttered muffin tin as in these No-Knead Thyme Dinner Rolls (pictured above). This recipe for no-knead buttermilk pull-apart rolls is also based on the peasant bread as are these brioche pull-apart rolls.
No-Knead Sandwich Bread
To make sandwich bread, multiply the recipe below by 1.5 and bake the bread in two buttered 8.5×4.5-inch loaf pans.
Made with half all-purpose flour and half King Arthur Sprouted Wheat Flour, these seed-coated sandwich loaves (pictured above) have a soft and light crumb. I really like KAF’s sprouted wheat flour, which is made from white whole wheat berries that, when sprouted, yield a creamy, sweet, milder-tasting flour. You can use 100% all-purpose or bread flour for an even lighter loaf or your favorite whole wheat flour in place of the sprouted wheat flour.
How to Add Nuts and Seeds to Bread Dough
To add seeds and nuts (or dried fruit and cheese), simply stir them into the dry ingredients. This recipe for Quinoa-and-Flax Toasting Bread will offer guidance on how much to add.
How to Make a Gluten-Free Peasant Bread
Making gluten-free peasant bread (pictured above) unfortunately isn’t as simple as swapping in gluten-free flour for the wheat flour. But the process and recipe is still super simple — in fact, because there’s only one rise, many people find the gluten-free peasant bread to be even simpler than the original. Find the recipe here: Gluten-Free Peasant Bread
How to Coat the Loaves in Seeds
To coat the peasant bread in seeds, as pictured above, simply coat the bowls with everything bagel seasoning or with dukkah or sesame seeds or whatever seed mix you wish. The seed-coated loaves look so beautiful, and it’s amazing how much the flavor of the coating permeates the loaves. Find the recipe here: Everything Bagel Seasoning Peasant Bread
How to Use Whole Wheat Flour
To use whole wheat flour in the peasant bread, simply replace as much as 50% of the all-purpose flour with your favorite whole wheat flour: I like KAF’s sprouted wheat flour, and I’ve been loving the Cairnsprings Mill Trailblazer stone-milled flour. With the Trailblazer, I can use up to 75% of it in the peasant bread, and it yields a beautiful, chewy texture as well as a lovely flavor and aroma.
When using whole wheat flour, you may have to use more or less water — there is no rule as to how much more or less, and it will take some trial and error to get right because all flours absorb water differently. When I use KAF sprouted wheat flour, for example, I don’t change the water amount at all. When I use the Trailblazer flour, on the other hand, I reduce the water by at least 50 grams.
If you’d like to learn more about whole wheat flour and stone-milled flours, read this: Easy Sourdough Bread (Whole Wheat-ish)
How to Bake the Peasant Bread in a Dutch Oven
If you’re looking for more of a crackling crusted boule (characteristic of a loaf of sourdough bread) as opposed to the buttery crispness of the peasant bread, you can bake the peasant bread dough in a preheated Dutch oven.
There are detailed instructions below the recipe in the notes section, but one thing to keep in mind before you begin is dough hydration. The peasant bread is a very high hydration dough, meaning there is a lot of water relative to flour. Because baking the peasant bread in a Dutch oven will require some handling of the dough — to shape it into a round and to create some tension — you may want to reduce the water from the start. Consider holding back 20-30 grams of water to make the process more manageable for you.
My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make
- Total Time: 2 hours 27 minutes
- Yield: 2 loaves
Description
Notes:
The bread:
This is a sticky, no-knead dough, so, some sort of baking vessel, such as pyrex bowls (you need two 1-qt bowls) or ramekins for mini loaves is required to bake this bread. See notes below the recipe for sources. You can use a bowl that is about 2 qt or 2 L in size to bake off the whole batch of dough (versus splitting the dough in half) but do not use this size for baking half of the dough — it is too big.
Peasant Bread Fans! There is now a book: Bread Toast Crumbs, a loaf-to-crumb bread baking book, filled with tips and tricks and answers to the many questions that have been asked over the years. In the book you will find 40 variations of the master peasant bread recipe + 70 recipes for using up the many loaves you will bake. Learn more about the book here or buy it here.
Ingredients
- 4 cups (512 g) unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
- 2 teaspoons (10 g) kosher salt
- 2 cups (454 g) lukewarm water (made by mixing 1.5 cups cold water with 0.5 cup boiling water)
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) sugar
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) instant yeast, I love SAF Instant Yeast, see notes below
- room temperature butter, about 2 tablespoons
Instructions
- Mixing the dough: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast (I love SAF Instant Yeast). Add the water. Mix until the flour is absorbed. (If you are using active dry yeast, see notes below.)
- Let it rise. Cover bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to rise for at least an hour. (In the winter or if you are letting the bread rise in a cool place, it might take as long as two hours to rise.) This is how to create a slightly warm spot for your bread to rise in: Turn the oven on at any temperature (350ºF or so) for one minute, then turn it off. Note: Do not allow the oven to get up to 300ºF, for example, and then heat at that setting for 1 minute — this will be too hot. Just let the oven preheat for a total of 1 minute — it likely won’t get above 100ºF. The goal is to just create a slightly warm environment for the bread.
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Grease two 1-qt or 1.5-qt oven-safe bowls (see notes below) with about a tablespoon of butter each. Using two forks, punch down your dough, scraping it from the sides of the bowl, which it will be clinging to. As you scrape it down try to pull the dough toward the center (see video below for guidance). You want to loosen the dough entirely from the sides of the bowl, and you want to make sure you’ve punched it down. Then, take your two forks and divide the dough into two equal portions — eye the center of the mass of dough, and starting from the center and working out, pull the dough apart with the two forks. Then scoop up each half and place into your prepared bowls. This part can be a little messy — the dough is very wet and will slip all over the place. Using small forks or forks with short tines makes this easier — my small salad forks work best; my dinner forks make it harder. It’s best to scoop it up fast and plop it in the bowl in one fell swoop. Some people like to use flexible, plastic dough scrapers for this step.
- Let the dough rise again for about 20 to 30 minutes on the countertop near the oven (or near a warm spot) or until it has risen to just below or above (depending on what size bowl you are using) the top of the bowls. (Note: Do not do the warm-oven trick for the second rise, and do not cover your bowls for the second rise. Simply set your bowls on top of your oven, so that they are in a warm spot. Twenty minutes in this spot usually is enough for my loaves.)
- Bake it. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375º and bake for 15 to 17 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and turn the loaves onto cooling racks. If you’ve greased the bowls well, the loaves should fall right out onto the cooling racks. If the loaves look a little pale and soft when you’ve turned them out onto your cooling racks, place the loaves into the oven (outside of their bowls) and let them bake for about 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.
Notes
- The bowls: The cheapest, most widely available 1-qt bowl is the Pyrex 322. Update: These bowls are becoming harder to find and more expensive. As a result, I’m suggesting this cheaper option: the Pyrex 3-piece set. You can split the dough in half as always (see recipe) and bake half in the 1-quart bowl and half in the 1.5 quart bowl. The loaves will not be the same shape, but they will be delicious nonetheless.
- Yeast: I buy SAF Instant Yeast in bulk from Amazon I store it in my fridge or freezer, and it lasts forever. If you are using the packets of yeast (the kind that come in the 3-fold packets), just go ahead and use a whole packet — It’s 2.25 teaspoons. I have made the bread with active dry, rapid rise, and instant yeast, and all varieties work. The beauty of instant yeast is that there is no need to “proof” it — you can add the yeast directly to the flour. I never use active-dry yeast anymore.
- If you have active-dry yeast on hand and want to use it, here’s how: In a small mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar into the water. Sprinkle the yeast over top. There is no need to stir it up. Let it stand for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the mixture is foamy and/or bubbling just a bit — this step will ensure that the yeast is active. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. When the yeast-water-sugar mixture is foamy, stir it up, and add it to the flour bowl. Mix until the flour is absorbed.
- Troubleshooting: You can find step-by-step video instruction here.
- Several commenters have had trouble with the second rise, and this seems to be caused by the shape of the bowl they are letting the dough rise in the second time around. Two hours for the second rise is too long. If you don’t have a 1-qt bowl, bake 3/4 of the dough in a loaf pan and bake the rest off in muffin tins or a popover pan. The second rise should take no more than 30 minutes.
- Also, you can use as many as 3 cups of whole wheat flour, but the texture changes considerably. I suggest trying with all all-purpose or bread flour to start and once you get the hang of it, start trying various combinations of whole wheat flour and/or other flours.
- The single most important step you can take to make this bread truly foolproof is to invest in a digital scale. This one costs under $10. If you are not measuring by weight, do this: scoop flour into the measuring cup using a separate spoon or measuring cup; level off with a knife. The flour should be below the rim of the measuring cup.
- Here’s a printable version of this recipes that’s less wordy: Peasant Bread Recipe, Simplified
- How to Bake the Peasant Bread in a Dutch Oven: Preheat a Dutch Oven for 45 minutes at 450ºF. Dust a clean work surface with flour. After the first rise, turn the dough out onto the floured surface and shape it into a ball: I like to fold it envelope style from top to bottom, then side to side; then I flip it over and use the pinkie edges of my hands to pinch the dough underneath and create some tension. Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment paper. Let rest for 20 minutes. If you feel your dough is spreading too much you can lift up the sheet of parchment paper, dough and all, and place it in a bowl of a similar size. After the 20 minutes, transfer the dough, parchment paper and all to the Dutch oven. Carefully cover it. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover. Bake 15 minutes more.
- To bake the peasant bread in a loaf pan: If you are using an 8.5×4.5-inch loaf pan or a 9×5-inch loaf pan, you can bake 3/4 of the dough in it; bake off the rest of the dough in ramekins or other small vessels … the mini loaves are so cute. You can also make 1.5x the recipe, and bake the bread in 2 loaf pans. If you have a large loaf pan, such as a 10×6-inch loaf pan, you can bake off the entire batch of dough in it. For loaf pans, bake at 375ºF for 45 minutes.
- How to Bake at Hight Altitude:
- First try the original recipe as written (preferably with a scale). You may not need to make any adjustments. One commenter, who lives at 9200 ft finds the original recipe to work just fine as is.
- If the original recipe doesn’t work, try adding a little bit more water because it rises fast and it is so dry: about a quarter cup for every 512 g of flour.
- Try decreasing the yeast to 1.5 teaspoons.
- If your dough is especially gooey, try decreasing the water by 1/4 cup. But, if you aren’t using a scale, my first suggestion would be to buy a scale and weigh the flour, and make the bread once as directed with the 2 cups water and 512 grams flour, etc.
- Punch the dough down twice before transferring it to the buttered Pyrex bowls. In other words, let it rise for 1-1.5 hours, punch it down, let it rise again for about an hour, punch it down, then transfer it to the buttered bowls.
- Variations:
- #1. Cornmeal. Substitute 1 cup of the flour with 1 cup of cornmeal. Proceed with the recipe as directed.
- #2. Faux focaccia. Instead of spreading butter in two Pyrex bowls in preparation for baking, butter one 9×9-inch glass baking dish and one Pyrex bowl or just butter one large 9×13-inch Pyrex baking dish. If using two vessels, divide the dough in half and place each half in prepared baking pan. If using only one large baking dish, place all of the dough in the dish. Drizzle dough with 1 tablespoon of olive oil (if using the small square pan) and 2 tablespoons of olive oil (if using the large one). Using your fingers, gently spread the dough out so that it fits the shape of the pan. Use your fingers to create dimples in the surface of the dough. Sprinkle surface with chopped rosemary and sea salt. Let rise for 20 to 30 minutes. Bake for 15 minutes at 425ºF and 17 minutes (or longer) at 375ºF. Remove from pan and let cool on cooling rack.
- #3. Thyme Dinner Rolls
- #4 Gluten-free
- #5. Everything Bagel Seasoning Bread. Simply coat the buttered bowls with Everything Bagel Seasoning. Watch a how-to on Instagram Stories here.
- #6: Whole Wheat Peasant Bread. Use as much as 50% whole wheat flour. I like King Arthur Flour’s white whole wheat flour (see this post) or sprouted wheat flour (see this post).
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 32 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
6,387 Comments on “My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make”
This is the best news I’ve had all year!! A No Knead bread!!! For some reason I kill dough 🙁 My sister thought I was crazy but allowed me to do the final forming of one loaf. Hers was large & plump after baking. Mine..was pitiful and she watched over me the whole time lol!!
Question: Could you use a buttered spatula to plop each half of the divided ‘dough’ into it’s bowl?
Mary, you’re not alone! Bread is a menace to so many people. You can definitely use a buttered spatula. Good luck with it!
Is it possible to cook this in a bread pan instead of a bowl? Or would it come out differently??
Annie, yes! I would use about 3/4 of the dough in the loaf pan — the whole batch of dough is too big for one loaf pan. With the remaining dough, you can bake off mini loaves in muffin cups or ramekins. Hope that helps!
I just used this dough as a pizza crust it was by far the best pizza to come out of my oven. I used only half the recipe..let it do its first rising in the bowl then oiled a pizza pan really good, plopped the dough in the pan, oiled my hands and pressed the dough out. llet it rise again..then prebaked in a 425 oven for 10 min. Remove from oven and add your favorite pizza toppings..return to oven to brown crust..DELISH
Oops forgot to add that I found this recipe about 2 months ago and have made it at least 25 times. I have made cranberry walnut bread..cinnamon raisin bread, for these sweet breads I add about 2 Tbsp extra sugar in with the flour…oh by the way I always get 2 loaves I keep one and give the other to friends or family. One of the best recipes I have come across…Thank You
Sandy — so wonderful to hear this! I love the sound of all of your variations, and I love that you always give one loaf to friends or family. I am making some this week to give as gifts to my neighbors because we’re moving soon :(. Thanks for writing in!
Can you make this with rye flour; we just love rye and pumpernickel bread. Thanks
Hi! I tried this recipe today and I’m not sure whys, but my dough didn’t rise that well. I did use active dry yeast however, and did the mixture of hot water and cold water. I also let it rise for 2 hours. And I cut the recipe in half cause I didn’t want to make so much bread. On those details, could you help me figure out why my dough didn’t rise ? Thanks!!
Maggie — A few questions: Did it rise the first time? And did you wait to let the water-yeast mixture get foamy? And just to double check: you did 1/2 cup hot water and 1 1/2 cups cold water? Let me know and I’ll brainstorm a little more.
Hi Alexandra! I tried it again, but with more of my instant yeast and it rose this time! The bread turned out wonderful and super light so I think the problem was with my yeast!
Great recipe! I was wondering if I could let the first rise be as long as 5 hours? I have an event to go to and I wa wondering if I could just leave my dough for the first rise?
Thanks!
Maggie, hi! So happy to hear about the success with the bread! Now, as for your second question, I think 5 hours is a little too long. What will happen is that the dough will rise and probably collapse on itself after five hours, which affects how it will rise again and how it will ultimately bake. So, if you are going to let it rise for as long as 5 hours, I would cut the yeast back. Maybe just use a heaping teaspoon? The other option is to let the dough rise in the fridge if you have space for the bowl. If you do this, don’t cut back on the yeast. Hope that helps!
I have never baked a bread in my life, tried pita once but was a disaster! 🙁
This recipe being a no-knead and all the amazing responses are inspiring me to try this one. Gonna try this for sure and real soon because I am already dreaming about honey and cinnamon bread.
Plus, thank you for the amazing tips about yeast and flour substitutions.
I will be using a microwave for baking this. Do you suggest any change in the measurements or the temperature for baking in microwave?
Charul — I am intrigued about baking in the microwave! Have you baked breads or other goods in the microwave before? I have no idea how to advise re times and temperatures in the microwave as I have only used it for popcorn and reheating 🙂 But I’m not afraid to experiment! And the pyrex bowls would work in the microwave. Let me know how it works out — I am so curious!
Hello! I’m on mobile and the rest of the comment pages won’t open, so I’m sorry if you’ve answered this question already. Is it possible to bake the bread in a 2L bowl in one batch instead of splitting it into two 1L bowls? (I’m in need of a particularly large loaf of bread!)
Sasha — hi, I emailed you, too, but I think 2L is too small for the whole batch. Try 3/4 of the dough in the bowl, and then make mini loaves in ramekins or muffin cups. Hope that helps!
I’m an intermediate dessert baker, but I’ve never tried my hand at bread – I’ve always preferred the quick satisfaction of a cake or a cupcake to the waiting time associated with bread. Thought I’d put my prejudice aside and try this recipe. I’m so glad I did! The wait time only amplified the anticipation! The house smelled wholesome and “home”-y instead of decadent and vanillin. It turned out absolutely perfectly. I made it for a family dinner but, with their numerous “taste tests” and “quality inspections”, barely any of it made it to the table. I can’t wait to try different variants – maybe some rosemary and olive next time. I used entirely bread flour and it turned out amazingly well, but I might give one of your recommended variations a go next time. Thanks for this excellent recipe!
Oh, a pic of my finished product, if you’re interested 🙂 https://instagram.com/p/cWDlU_BrDA/
So happy to hear all of this! Loved seeing your pic on Instagram. Thanks so much for sharing! Isn’t there something magical about bread baking?
Yes! I’ve been having so much fun and this recipe has been the launchpad 🙂 Making it again today, after repeated requests!
I made this and put it into smaller glass bowls, hollowed them out and used them as bread bowls for soup. FANTASTIC!!!!!
Awesome! Love this idea.
Can this recipe be doubled? If so are there any tweaks that need to be made or does it need to rise longer?
Love this tried it just as is and Husband ate a loaf the other we picked at throught the week and then I made croutons out of it (cubed with a little EVOO drizzeled sea salt and ground rosemary… Delish)
Tonight …. ground rosemary and some added sea salt flakes in and on top of the loafs… and it’s AMAZING!!!
So happy to hear this! Love the idea of seasoning it with rosemary and sea salt. And yes, it does make fantastic croutons! Thanks for writing in!
I NEVER leave comments but I decided I couldn’t make this bread again today without telling you my thoughts:-) I was a caterer for many years, so I’ve made and bought thousands of different breads.
This is my all-time favorite bread recipe! Yes, it’s divinely simple to make, but the quality of the crunchy, buttery crust makes it a homerun in every circumstance. I’ve made it a dozen times in the last 3 months. I usually bake 1/2 the recipe in a Pyrex bowl, and the rest in tiny ramekins–which produce 6 little “loaves”— guests cannot stop oohing and awwwing about this bread. The second day is not nearly as good to eat by the slice– but sliced thin for a sandwich is great. Next day bread is fabulous for toasting, making French toast and the yummiest croutons!
Thank you for posting this family recipe– it has become our family recipe!
Becke — I am so happy to hear all of this! I just want everyone to have this same experience and reaction, because when it comes out right, it is just as you say: everyone oohs and aahs over it. I love making mini loaves, too…such a treat with soup or salad. And you are right — the bread has to be toasted on the second day or used for paninis, French toast, croutons, etc. I am so happy your family approves, too.
I have tried for 2 days to get this bread right but it doesn’t bake any higher than the last rise which is right to the top of the bowls. When it bakes it shrinks down instead of rising up.I think I am misreading the directions. Do you punch it down then use the forks to loosen the sides? The directions say “using 2 forks punch down the dough”. The bread tastes delicious but I would like it to look like your pictures.
Hey Maggie, sorry you are having trouble with this recipe. Let’s see, what size bowls are you using? And what kind of yeast are you using? Are you getting a good first rise? How long is the first rise taking? When you “punch” down the dough, you do it with the two forks — I kind of poke the dough initially with the forks to deflate it, and then I use the forks to loosen the dough from the sides of the bowl and deflate it further. Hope that makes sense. I need to make a video of this.
I use 1 1/2 qrt bowls. I just bought 2 new ones at a thrift shop that are the same size but rounder and a bit higher. They look smaller but they aren’t. I think this might help. I am using Fleishman’s quick rise yeast but I still soak it in the water. My first rise is good. Maybe I am not deflating the dough enough. I have another batch rising right now so I will see if the new bowls make a difference.
The new bowls worked better and I had the right consistency. I think I will add just a bit more flour and water to make a little larger batch. Just a little so that both bowls will be full. I am now making this every 2 days…lol
Wonderful to hear this. I love that you are making this all the time. Thanks so much for the update!
I’m making this tonight. I added a packet of farmers market dried dilly dip mix and it smells delish! The kids are asking what the yummy smell is! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
yum!
LOVE this recipe! My entire family (5 kids and their spouses) think it’s the best bread I’ve ever made.
ONE QUESTION: why doesn’t my bread rise on top like yours after it’s baked? my yeast is good and I use the same bowls you do. I let it rise like you did in the 2nd picture (2nd rising) before I put it in the oven. The bread tastes great, but it is flat on top.
I have made this bread a couple of times with the same unsuccessful outcome. I just can’t seem to figure out what I’m doing wrong. I bloom the yeast, my first rise is beautiful as is my second rise, but when it starts baking it falls flat. I half the recipe and bake it in a 1 1/2 quart bowl. I’m sure it must be something I am doing just don’t know what!
Made this today and I swear I found Nirvana! Not the easiest recipe to make but your instructions were excellent. And the bread is some of the best I’ve ever tasted. Thanks for posting it!
Wonderful to hear this! I think it will get easier the more you make it. The instructions are a bit wordy/involved but I do that intentionally because so many people have a hard time with bread. You’ll be making this in your sleep before you know it 🙂
I’ve tried this for the first time. My second rise didn’t do so great but I blame it on using loaf pans on a crooked stove! They’re in the oven now and I’m hoping they’re as good as they smell!
How did they turn out? The second rise might have looked small because the pans were bigger than the bowls I was using. What kind of yeast are you using? And how long did the first rise go? Hope it turned out well!
I made this bread yesterday (August 19, 2013) and your right it is the easiest and most delicious bread ever. Thanks for sharing your recipe. One question why can’t you use all purpose bleached flour?
Thanks again Alexandra!
Wonderful to hear this! Well, I think you can actually use bleached flour — several commenters have had success using it — but I just don’t like the way the bread turns out when bleached flour is used. This might also just be because I am so used to using unbleached flour. I just felt the texture of the bread was affected. The loaves baked just fine, but the taste/texture was different.
I love this bread. I’ve made it several different ways. My go to choice is bread flour because I like it to be chewy like Ciabatta. I usually make it into 8 rolls for sandwiches which are also great split and toasted. I bake them at 500 degrees for 12 minutes and they’re perfect and nicely golden. I’ve also made them using one cup of sour dough starter, 1/2 cup of rye flour, 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour, 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons Vital Wheat gluten, 1 tsp. salt and 1 and 1/2 tsp. of SAF instant yeast and 1/2 cup water. This makes 4 nice sandwich rolls and they’re yummy. I baked them at 500 degrees for 12-13 minutes. Thanks so much for sharing this great recipe. It is SO easy. I mix them before I go to the gym and when I get home they’re ready to shape. I shape then and after my shower they’re ready to bake. 10 minutes tops of my time. Wonderful bread!
So creative! I am so impressed! Love your mix-gym-shape-bake schedule 🙂 I need to get on that same sort of routine. Will definitely be trying this. I still haven’t tried vital wheat gluten. Do you recommend it?
I love this bread. I’ve made it several different ways. My go to choice is bread flour because I like it to be chewy like Ciabatta. I usually make it into 8 rolls for sandwiches which are also great split and toasted. I bake them at 500 degrees for 12 minutes and they’re perfect and nicely golden. I’ve also made them using one cup of sour dough starter, 1/2 cup of rye flour, 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour, 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons Vital Wheat gluten, 1 tsp. salt and 1 and 1/2 tsp. of SAF instant yeast and 1/2 cup water. This makes 4 nice sandwich rolls and they’re yummy. I baked them at 500 degrees for 12-13 minutes. Thanks so much for sharing this great recipe. It is SO easy. I mix them before I go to the gym and when I get home they’re ready to shape. I shape then and after my shower they’re ready to bake. 10 minutes tops of my time. Wonderful bread!
This looks sooo good! And I literally JUST obtained a 1.5L Pyrex bowl today!! I believe I will do the suggested 1 bowl and one 9×9 focaccia. My question, and I apologize if you’ve already addressed this, I haven’t read all comments yet, is this: How about incorporating herbs or cheese or some combination, etc., into the dough prior to rising? Do you think this dough would support that, or is it too light? Thanks for sharing this recipe. I’m excited to try it.
Alexandra,
Everyone is raving about this recipe on Facebook, however, are complaining about your website taking forever to load, in fact after 45 minutes, the pictures are still trying to load. I had to change my browser settings in order to get it to even start to load without timing out. I am a webmaster and believe that the reason for your page being slow is because the pictures are too large. (too many pixels) If you can reduce them to between 75 to 100 pixels each, your page will load so much faster it will astound you. If you do not know how to do this, I would be happy to do it for you, just send your pictures to me and I will reduce them and send them back. No charge, just as a friend. Blessings, Andi J.
Mine loaded quickly.
So happy to hear this — I moved the photos to flickr (something I do all the time now but hadn’t with older posts) this morning…I was having major issues with the site this morning/all day. For some reason there has been a serious spike in traffic today.
Andi you are too kind! Thank you thank you for your nice offer but also for alerting me to this issue. Something was up with my site today — there was a huge spike in traffic (source still undetermined), which was causing the site to run really slowly and was causing particular trouble on some of the posts including this one. Since the end of last year or so I started uploading my photos to Flickr and linking the photos to my blog, which helped with load times dramatically, but I haven’t yet updated all of my old posts with this method. I did so with the peasant bread today and it seems to be helping it load faster. Oiy, technology…it’s not my forte.
Very close to Jennie Grossinger’s challah recipe from “The Art of Jewish Cooking” – only difference is she uses half cup more of flour, 1 teaspoon less of sugar, and 2 beaten eggs. She also does a 3rd rise after braiding the challah.
Very interesting. Now you’ve got me thinking about how I could turn this peasant bread dough into more of an enriched dough like challah. Must try soon. Thanks!
Can you make this with gluten free flours?
@Lisa, I am going to try it, with the gluten free bread flour mixture. It has several different grains so with all, is more like the texture of wheat. Also have to add about 2 teaspoons of xanthan gum.
Has anyone tried it with gluten free flours yet? I am dying to but am not only gluten free but in high altitude and not familiar with high altitude cooking.
I have not I’m afraid. A few commenters have tried using gluten-free flours, but nobody has written in with very successful results 🙁 I will let you know if I make any discoveries.
I really hope the GF version works. My daughter has a wheat allergy and while it’s not serious, we don’t eat traditional bread products. I would love to make a version of this with her 🙂
Amber, I will keep you posted with any g-f version I try, but so far the tests have not been too successful 🙁
Cynthia,
You might check this link out. It’s a recipe for no-knead, gluten-free bread and sounds pretty easy with great feedback, but I haven’t made it yet. Good luck. 🙂
https://glutenfreegirl.com/2007/01/i-am-stubborn-i-dont-give-up/
Thank you, Sarah — I will definitely check this out!
I have not tried making this with g-f flours yet. A few commenters have, however, but nobody has written in with very successful results 🙁 I will let you know if I make any discoveries.
i love this , it is somewhat like the one i have made for years about 30. mine takes a lot longer and much needing. i can not wait to try this. thank you.
Has anyone used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Baking Flour?
I have not but have been meaning to. i have a Hodgson Mills one on hand, but I havent tried that one in this recipe either. Will report back when I do.
Thank-You for the recipe! I always have “heartburn” about buying bread, and don’t have the time to make it. This was perfect! I made the flour mixture 3 cups AP, and 1 cup Semolina. Eating a slice as I type…Yum.
Wonderful to hear this! I love using 1 cup semolina flour or 1 cup cornmeal — it adds such a lovely flavor/color/texture. So glad you liked this!
I wanted to share this is just like my grandmothers reciepe good to see us
Being able to continue to enjoy the good breads Linda
This looks wonderful! My partner and I have recently started getting into the bread-making adventure and are loving it! Your bread looks super easy and tasty, can’t wait to give this a whirl! Beautiful photos too!
Thank you, Gayatri! Let me know if you have any questions. I hope you like this bread as much as I. It’s so easy but always feels like such a treat.
How would I change the recipe if I wanted to incorporate sourdough starter? I was thinking maybe substitute one cup flour with starter and then reduce the liquid? What would you recommend?
Nancy, hi, gosh I don’t know how to advise. Part of me hates to see you waste a precious starter on this recipe. I mean, I absolutely love love love this bread, but part of the beauty of the recipe is that it is so simple. Do you have starter on hand often? Or is it something you are needing to use up right away? If you have time, I kind of think you should make a batch of the bread without the starter so you get an idea of the consistency of the dough, how it rises, and what the finished bread tastes like. But if you don’t feel like doing that, I think your instincts are right on. I would maybe start with just one cup of water, and if necessary add more by the 1/4 cup. Hope that makes sense and helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Is it okay to refrigerate half of the dough after first rise until one loaf is done baking and then bake second loaf? I only have one pan the appropriate size for baking.
Definitely. I wouldn’t refrigerate it much more than necessary — you might get away with refrigerating it overnight, but sometimes it gets a little out of control (especially if the first rise was a long one). But, if you only plan on refrigerating it while the other half rises, bakes, and until the pan is cool enough to handle and clean, you will be good to go!