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.
6,392 Comments on “My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make”
Oh thank you so much for the video tutorial! I’ve been trying to make this bread for some time but have been having problems with the second rise. Now I see the real size of the finished bread and it seems it was alright all along lol. I might need smaller bowls though!
Oh good, glad those helped a little bit. Yes, small bowls (1 qt/ 1 L) are ideal. Happy baking 🙂
Alexandra, Thank you, Thank you. I have tried bread in the past and failed. Your recipe is a definate keeper, I’ve made it twice now, without fail one loaf is gone within 30 minutes of coming out of the oven. I do have a question though. I think this would be great with hamburgers so I would like to try in a Pyrex 300ml (464) bowl. How would this alter the baking time? Thank you so much for this recipe.
LJM
You are genius! I can’t believe I’ve never thought to do this. I have a set of the Pyrex 463 bowls — maybe I’ll experiment tomorrow and get back to you with a precise baking time. But, based on other small-loaf experiments, I would say bake them for 15 minutes at 425, then reduce the heat to 375 and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer. You might have to pop one out of the dish and tap the bottom to see if it’s done. I don’t think the rolls should take more than 25 minutes, but they might.
So happy you like the recipe! Let me know if you have any other questions.
I just made my first batch and haven’t been able to stop eating it!! I was thinking of baking it in a muffin tin for Thanksgiving. Any idea on how the baking time should be changed?
Brilliant idea! Based on other small-loaf experiments, I suggest baking them for 15 minutes at 425, then reducing the heat to 375 and baking for 5 to 10 minutes longer. You might have to pop one out of the muffin cup and tap the bottom to see if it’s done. I don’t think the “rolls” should take more than 25 minutes, but they might. Hope that helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Honestly, the thought of baking bread was intimidating to me. No longer. You explained every step so thoroughly that there was no way for me to make a mistake. While my bread may look different from yours, it still tastes pretty amazing. Thank you!
Wonderful to hear this! What kind of baking dish are you using? I’m sure if you got your hands on some small (1-qt) Pyrex bowls, your loaves would look just like mine.
Alexandra….I did it, played with sizes and got hamburger size roll from the pyrex 300ml. I also used a pyrex 470ml (2 cup) and got perfect size for 2 person serving. That left enough dough for pyrex loaf 1.2qt size great for toaster slices. I can’t thank you enough for sharing this recipe. .
I am so happy to hear this! I still haven’t experimented with this, but I am thinking about dinner rolls for Thanksgiving — either in my small Pyrex (463) or in a muffin pan. I’ll report back. THanks for the inspiration!
How many “muffins” would this bake and how would the preparation change? I don’t own any glass bowls, but I do own muffin/cupcake pans and I would love to give this a go for my husband this weekend with a nice homemade chili!
Tiffany, hi, and so sorry for the delay in getting back to you! I recently made thyme dinner rolls using this recipe. This post should offer some guidance: https://alexandracooks.com/2013/11/26/thyme-dinner-rolls/ You get about 12 to 16 rolls. Hope that helps!
Wonderful to hear all of this — except the sticking in the bowl of course! I have a small blue vintage Pyrex as well. What is the number on yours? I love the shape the bowls give as well.
Love the idea of brushing tops with butter, too….yum!
I will definitely be making this bread tomorrow for my hubby (He is a die hard homebaked bread fanatic). This will be my first experience with making homemade bread!
Good luck! Hope it turns out well for you!
Got a good deal + a coupon for yeast, yea! Bread time 🙂 experimenting with baking methods today, going to try cupcake pans for Thanksgiving… I know you have posted before but couldn’t find it, why unbleached flour? Was it a texture thing? I’ll let you know how the “muffins” work out!
Another Peasant Bread success!! Muffin tins worked perfectly! The dough was just sticky enough to pick up with 2 small forks and plop in, maybe 1/2 – 3/4 full. 2nd rise was beautiful. At your suggestion in a reply, baked at 425 for 15, then 375 for a full 10 minutes – my oven is old and wonky, but at least I know it ALWAYS takes the max a recipe calls for!
Thanks again to you and your Mama for beautiful bread! ♥
Yay! So happy to hear this! I actually have a batch of peasant bread muffins in the oven as I am typing this…I added some chopped thyme, and I’m hoping to sneak in one last post about these dinner “rolls” before Thanksgiving. Thanks so much for writing in! And you are so welcome!
i am very excited to make this bread however am having trouble finding such small bowls thst are oven safe. my qjrstion is instead of splitting the dough in 2 and baking in 2 seperste 1 liter bowls could you leave the dough as 1 and ake it in a 2 liter bowl? if so how much would the cooking rime vary?
Hi Melinda
Just thought I’ll share my experience. I bake this bread in a 2L bread pan every week. Works beautifully. It sometimes it doesn’t rise above the pan’s rim, making the bread less spectacular looking but I don’t mind. Still tastes great. I did not change baking time nor temperature – followed as stated in Alexandra’s recipe.
Simone, thanks so much for chiming in! I sometimes bake my peasant bread in my 2 1/2 qt (which is slightly bigger than 2 L) bowl, and it works beautifully. I keep the time and temperature the same: 15 minutes at 425ºF, then 17 minutes at 375ºF. Sometimes I keep it in for a couple of minutes longer. Hope that helps, Melinda. Thanks again, Simone!
I love this bread recipe! I have used it several times. I usually add some fresh rosemary from my garden and have added parmesan cheese and garlic also and even one time added some sourdough starter to it! YUMMY! Thanks for posting it!
Wonderful to hear this, Leslie! I am so impressed by you and everyone else who is so creative with the add-ins. It’s inspiring!
I’ve just finished making this bread. It is the easiest and most delicious bread I’ve ever made! I’ll never knead bread again! Thank you so much for sharing your mother’s recipe!
You are so welcome! So happy to hear this!
I’m going to make loaves of this bread to give as Christmas presents! Does it freeze well if I want to make the loaves ahead of time?
Deborah, it does freeze well, but I have to admit that it needs to be heated/toasted if it has been frozen. I have this bread in the freezer all the time, but it is in slices, and I use it for toast and paninis, etc. Hope that makes sense. You should try freezing a loaf and see what you think. Maybe I’m being too fussy. I just don’t want to mislead you.
Ooopsss, I think I placed my post in the wrong spot! Sorry. I am interested in high altitude adjustments. I live in Denver at 5,200 feet. THANKS. (sorry for the misplaced posting).
I used to bake a lot of bread years ago but that was at sea level. I have not had any luck at altitude. There are all kids of books on high altitude baking, but I am always looking for a way to adjust sea level recipes so I don’t have to buy a special flour or get a special cookbook. There is a way… I suppose I should try trial and error!
I live in Denver also and I do not change the recipe at all, I simply use Hungarian High Altitude Flour. Turns out wonderfully. I hope that helps.
I made this bread last night and I am SO impressed. Usually when I make bread it’s a 2 day affair (and usually it’s challah so it involves the cumbersome braiding as well). This is literally the easiest bread I’ve ever made and it’s delicious. It’s not like a traditional bread – very spongy – but I ate half a loaf as soon as it came out of the oven! I baked it in a 1.5-qt bowl (mostly because I can’t read directions and all I saw was “no bigger than 2-qt”). It didn’t rise to the top of the bowl but it was still totally fine. I’ll try in the 1-qt bowl next time. I also used instant yeast so I skipped letting the yeast bloom and just added it straight into the dough. Thank you so much for sharing!
Yay! I am so happy to hear this!
I found this site this morning and I just had to make this bread. WOW… It is just like my Grandma used to make. I love it. I can’t stop eating it. (I am going to have to bake more tomorrow.) 🙂 🙂 🙂
Yay! wonderful to hear this!
This is basically the only thing that my husband is allowed to cook and bring to dinners ANYWHERE! He bakes it in cast iron dutch ovens or 9×13 cast iron dish. His favorite addition has been freshly grated white cheddar jalapeño cheese to the dough.
It is the BEST and easier bread, ever. I’ve thought about using cornmeal on the top before baking as we used to do that to the bread at Subway and I loved the extra crunch.
Yay! So happy to hear this, Jen! I have yet to try cast iron…must do so soon. Cheddar and jalapeno sounds unbelievable.
I’m concerned about my bread since it wasn’t sticky at all when first mixed. Admittedly, I had several factors conspiring against me: 6:00am and a half drunk cup of coffee;,a ‘helpful’ two year old who woke up at 5:00 on a Sunday (I told him that only bakers woke up that early, which is how we ended up making bread before the sun came up); older bread machine yeast (it did proof); and poor measuring on my part (again, toddler helping to stir resulted in a floured kitchen and me eyeballing the replacement amount. I’ve added more water to make it sticky and am hoping for the best.
Update 1: after an hour the bread is rising but it looks lumpy.
Update 2: my bowl is 2 qt and according to your directions, too big. Since I’m unsure as to the quality of the bread anyway, I’m going for it (by the way, I am in no way holding you responsible for the outcome of this batch.)
Update 3: I did get a second rise and the bread still looks lumpy. I have thrown caution to the wind and put the whole batch in the 2 qt casserole bowl despite your muffin tin suggestion. Although I’ve now had 2 cups of coffee it is still only 8:30am and the early-rising kid wants more breakfast NOW. (regardless of results will try this recepie again during nap time :-).
Update 4: just turned down the oven and the house smells great. Even if the bread doesn’t turn out, I’m totally enjoying the freshly baked bread smell while watching snow fall through the window. Toddler ate a banana and is playing with trucks and a toy goat under the dining room table. 14 minutes left on the lower temperature. Time for more coffee.
Update 5: The bread is not rising much in the oven. But the house smells even better than 5 minutes ago if that is possible.
Update 6: bread popped out of the bowl as promised and seems sufficiently brown. It is cooling for a bit while toddler tries to poop on the potty.
Update 7: bread is awesome. Likely more dense than the ideal but still good. Despite all my flubs it is still edible and very worth a retry during nap time.
Oh my gosh, you are hilarious. Aren’t two year olds soooo helpful? I don’t know what I would do without mine. OK, a few things, lumpy is ok, so I’m glad you went for it, and you were smart to place the whole batch in the 2-qt bowl. I really need to make a note — I think I did somewhere in the comments but I can’t find it now — but I have been baking the whole batch in a 2-qt bowl, and it works fabulously for me. I do find that with the bigger bowl, the second rise takes longer than 20 minutes — it’s more like 40 minutes. What I should make clear in the notes is that a 2-qt bowl is too large for half of the dough. And it’s actually not too large even for half the dough, but it will produce a flatter final loaf, which is disappointing for some people.
Also, I think we need to hang out. I’ve usually downed half a pot of coffee by 9; toddlers are always under the table usually eating food off the floor, so kudos to your kiddos for playing with toys; potty is a constant source of entertainment. Also, where can I find a toy goat? I need one.
SO happy you liked the bread in the end! Definitely revisit during naptime.
I made the bread and it was perfect through the second rise. I took my tea towel off after the second rise and a tiny bit of the dough was stuck to it. As I removed the tea towel, the dough deflated. I went ahead and put it into the oven and cooked per directions but the bread never rose again while cooking. Has you ever experienced this?
Karina, yes, I have. I actually never cover the bread during the second rise for this reason. Once it deflates, it’s hard to get it back to where it was without completely punching down the dough again and letting it re-rise.
Out of curiosity, what size bowl were you using?
I have to be gluten free. Is it possible to just substitute my gluten free flour to make this? I am just dying to have some good home baked bread. I haven’t had really good bread in about 5 years now. Thank you for any help you can give me. This sounnds so delicious.
Lynn, you can give it a try, but unfortunately few people have had success making this recipe gluten free. I would love to hear how it turns out if you have success. What gluten-free flour do you use? I’m always curious to know what is good. Or do you mix your own?
Hi, I want to make this tomorrow but I don’t have corn meal. Does that matter? It has it in the ingredient list but you didn’t mention it in the instructions? Thanks 🙂
Nope! Cornmeal is only for a variation (see down at bottoms of post) — all you need is ap flour, water, salt, sugar and yeast for the original recipe.
…you could try using slightly smaller bowls so you have soup loaves? 🙂
Yes! Absolutely. This bread bakes beautifully in small vessels.
Hiya! I tried this today with margarine, specifically lacto free margarine as my son is allergic, but it didnt turn out of the bowl 🙁 Would any oils work or do you have any other suggestions? It tasted great just not so good for slicing hehe 🙂 Such a super recipe, i’ve alway struggled with bread, love the fact its no knead too.. amazing! Yay to you and your mum! 🙂
So happy to hear that you still liked the taste of the bread despite the sticking issues. Several commenters have had success using coconut oil. Whatever you use, just be sure to be generous!
Can you half this recipe and make one loaf? There’s just two of us . . .
Yes!
love the recipe but u went into such detail that it got lost simple is better
First time I’ve ever made bread and turned out exactly as described! Was really excited! I swear it’s the best bread I’ve ever had.
I was wondering if you can make it into baguette style loaves with no bowl? Or does the bowl make the magic happen?
Olivia — I think the dough might be too wet to shape into a baguette. Do you have those perforated baguette pans? I think even in one of those, the dough might just flop around. The magic does kind of happen in the bowl, I suppose 🙂 The bowls allow the dough to be really wet and without kneading to bake into really delicious loaves. Hope that helps! Let me know if you make any baguette discoveries.
I just found your website, and I’m so excited to try this bread!!! I’ve had a ‘fear’ of making bread all my life, but this gives me hope 😉 THANK YOU FOR YOUR THOROUGH AND VERY PRECISE INSTRUCTIONS–without them, I wouldn’t have the nerve to do this!!!
Wonderful to hear this; glad you find the precise instructions helpful, too — that was the goal, though some people seem to find it overkill 🙂
I am just wondering why you state in the instructions, Not to use bleached flour? Love your detailed instructions and the videos. They all certainly help a very unaccomplished bread maker.
You definitely can still use bleached flour — many commenters have with success — but I just find that the finished loaves don’t taste as good with bleached flour as with unbleached flour. Hope that makes sense! Let me know if there is anything else.
I am so happy to find this recipe! I always have to call my daughters to get it.. and then I lose it. .now I will have it bookmarked.. We do one more step.. Melt a cube of butter. .real.. no subs.. pour over the top before baking.. oh my! I am making it tomorrow! thanks
Oh yum, Jim, that sounds amazing! That top exposed surface definitely deserves some melted butter 🙂 Thanks for writing in. So glad you have the recipe bookmarked.
Could one use chick pea or almond flour with this recipe? Looks so yummy
I’m not sure it would hold up with chick pea or almond flour. I have a feeling the loaves might be really dense. Have you made bread with exclusively one of these flours?