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.
6,352 Comments on “My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make”
Quick question! If I’m baking in a loaf tin, do I still do the second rise in a round bowl and then transfer it for baking? Or do I do the second rise directly in the loaf tin?
Hi Alex, do the second rise right in the loaf tin. Note: your dough may not fill the loaf pan completely, but as long as the second rise goes for 20 to 30 minutes, it will turn out well. Loaf pans are typically bigger than the 1-qt bowls featured here, which is why I’m making this note. Good luck!
Thanks! I found a lovely vintage 2L pyrex dish (045) and made it in that. The second rise looks a bit weak but it turned out flawless! This is sich a forgiving recipe, I’ll probably make it every weekend now.
So happy to hear this, Alex!
Thank you for the recipe and especially for the videos!! The videos helped so much in the punching down/separating process. I’ve been baking bread like crazy for the past couple of weeks- I’m not even sure why- but this recipe has turned out flawless all 284,346,047 I’ve tried it lol. Even when I got caught nursing the baby and my second rise ended up being too long- the kids still gobbled it up!!! We’ve made turkey sandwiches, pb and honey sandwiches, topped it with plain butter, honey, peanut butter, jams, jellies, a bacon bleu cheese compound butter……my boys keep telling me I’m the best baker in the whole wide world!! You just can’t beat that! I’ll admit, since it’s the hottest week we’ve seen yet this summer I was up at 3 am baking this bread so it wasn’t too hot in the house , just to see my littles’ faces in the morning as they exclaimed “Mama!!! You made more ‘not store bread’ for us???!!!! “. I swear we’ve eaten nothing but bread for the past week— it’s just so good though! Thanks again for sharing!!
I’ve tried this recipe repeatedly and can’t get a good ride at all. Checked my yeast its active – the dough bubbles like crazy! I followed your directions exactly down to the exact Pyrex bowls. Is this recipe affected by humidity??
It can be but how did it turn out for you? If it’s really humid , try cutting back on the water (like 2T less, not a lot). High hydration dough (like +75% ) tend to be real “gloopy” but will still rise normally.
Maybe where you put the dough to rise was too cool–>just let it sit longer if thats the case.
To get a good temp, put it in your oven (covered) and turn the oven light on. It’ll keep it nice and toasty (maybe even too much so) so watch the rise.
Such an easy and DELICIOUS recipe. Thank you!!!!!
Yay!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this recipe! The bread I was buying from my local bakery was going bad before I could eat it all. Now I’m making a half recipe of this about twice a week for a lower price with less spoilage!
I am an American living in Turkey so I’ve been experimenting with this recipe in terms of what I can do with local, easy to find flavors from here. This recipe can take some abuse and still end up perfectly tasty! My favorite variations so far have included:
Adding harissa pepper paste, black olives, finely chopped walnuts, paprika, garlic, cumin, black pepper, and oregano to the bread (to eat with feta cheese and poached eggs on top).
And adding black currents, walnuts, flaxseed, sunflower seeds, a bunch of honey, all spice, and cinnamon for a sweeter bread that is good every way I have thought to try it so far!
This recipe took the fear out of bread for me and actually made me experimental in a way I never felt was possible (for me) in baking. Thank you, thank your mother. This is wonderful 🙂
these variations sound amazing! Thanks for the inspiration!
I can’t thank you enough for this recipe! We make it EVERY week and it’s my go-to for a hostess gift. I wrap it in a pretty cotton dish towel and a decorative jar of homemade strawberry butter… always a hit!
It turns out perfect every time. I’ve baked it in all sizes/shapes of bowls and pans anspd it’s always awesome!
My family and I love this bread, it’s so simple to make and delicious. I’m making some loaves now to go with homeade potato soup yum! Thank you so much for sharing this. I can’t remember how long we’ve been making it but it’s been years! M.
Wonderful bread. Easy to make and so tasty!!! My book is on the way as are the bowls. I have made the bread twice and am not a novice to bread baking. I have yet to be able to separate the dough into two halves and lift in whole pieces to the greased bowls. Any suggestions. All ingredients are weighed and measured correctly with using rising times given. I end up having to scoop out the sticky dough in several pieces into each bowl. Mind you the bread still turns out, but your method would be such a great help and far less messy. Suggestions? Thank you so much in advance for your help.
It can be difficult to lift some high hydration doughs . Try using a dough scraper and your other hand like a “shovel” to lift it into the bowl .
How would suggest storing the leftover?
I’ve made this recipe many times and it’s always a hit. Last night I halved it and decided to be adventurous. I buttered a muffin tin to make individual rolls. I sprinkled some chia and ground flax on the top and they baked up perfectly. I think this is the way I will be making it from now on. I’ll make a full batch next time so I can freeze the rolls. Thank you so much for a great recipe!
Making this bread on our yearly mountain cabin trip has become a tradition. This weekend we’re camping-no electricity and only the campfire and coals to cook over. I’m taking the dry ingredients in a ziploc bag. I’ll add the water and squish it around, and let it rise in the bag, then transfer it to a foil-lined dutch oven and bake with coals underneath and on top. I cannot wait to see how it goes!
Amy??!! How’d it turn out? I’m so curious.
It was great! The 2nd rise probably should have been longer, but the coal’s were ready so I when ahead and baked a little too soon. The “squish-in-the-bag” method worked perfectly well for mixing and the 1st rise. I checked it at 20 minutes and it was pretty pale so I added some coals to the top of the dutch oven and at 40 minutes it was done. I’ll definitely do this again!
SO fun, Amy!! I love this. I totally need to try it. Thanks for reporting back.
OMG! I’m a horrible cook when it comes to bread…but this is Fantastic!
Super easy, I added one extra tsp of salt, cuz, you know, I love salt.
But this is better than any bakery I’ve purchased bread from!
Thank you!
So happy to hear this, Peggy!
Holy crap! I just made this bread, and it is amazing! I’m going to have to restrain myself from eating both loaves right now! Homemade bread and good butter spread are some of my favorite things! I don’t have oven proof bowls, so I just did the second rise in 2 loaf pans, and I didn’t have instant yeast so fast used Red Star active dry yeast, but it was incredible and so easy! I’ve made no-knead bread many times, but never a recipe that is ready this quickly. Three hours and I went from dreams of homemade bread to delicious reality!
So happy to hear this, Eileen!! Nice work with the loaf pans.
Great recipe. The crunchy top and the soft buttery sides make it the perfect snacking bread!! So delicious! I finally invested in a larger mixing bowl because I could never get that last bit of flour at the bottom (deep mixing bowl). Although I have been thinking of adding some locally grown honey to the recipe for extra sweetness. What amount would you suggest? Have never really been one to turn away from the recipe. I am such a stickler for the rules. Haha!
Hi Alexandra, I would like to try out some of the artisan techniques described in your book including the use of a dutch oven. Can you suggest what size dutch oven to try the master recipe in (3qt, 4.5qt, 6qt., 7.5qt.)? Thanks in advance for any suggestions you may have as I don’t want to buy the wrong size! Steven
Hi Steven,
Fun! I would suggest going no smaller than 5 qts to ensure the pan is versatile. I have this double Dutch Lodge pan, which works well for bread, though I don’t use it for anything else. If you are up for splurging on a Le Creuset piece or something similar in material, I think you might find it more versatile for soups, stews, braising, etc. I just don’t do anything other than bread in this pan, which is kind of a shame. It rusts pretty easily, too. In short, I think 5-qt and above are all great options. Good luck!
Don’t you mean no LARGER than 5 qt. My ideal is 4 qt (for a 1.5 lb loaf. 5 qt should be the maximum size to use for one loaf.
Making this bread now 1/2 whole wheat 1/2 white flour with Chia & p pumpkin seed. Ready for some Windy Weather in Miami!! Making lots of loaves, as it’s so delicious, for neighbors & friends. Made in long pate tins.
Oooh, love the idea of long pate tins — so pretty!!
My family raved about this bread. I made it last weekend and am in the process of making another loaf right now. Thank you for sharing it.
So happy to hear this, Erica!
I have made this before and it came out perfect. However, today I cut the recipe in half but it is extremely dense and not cooked completely even though it was browned. I used one-third whole wheat flour and two-thirds white flour and instant yeast. Any ideas on what went wrong?
Too bad! It sounds as though it needed to be cooked longer or cooled longer before cutting into it. I often use half whole wheat (I like KAF’s sprouted wheat flour, see this post) flour and half all-purpose flour, and it is a little denser, but not so dense that it’s not enjoyable. Scroll all the way to the bottom of this post to see photos of half wheat/half white.
Questions: Do you use a scale? Did the dough seem stiffer when you mixed it up? Did you let it rise long enough the second time in the bowls — in other words, was the dough crowning the rim of the bowl? Let me know!
So, has anyone tried the dough in baguette pans? This seems like a super easy recipe for my students to make.
Mine for some reason never looks that wet i tried this 3 tines and failed and im measuring correctly not sure whats going on..
Rachel, sorry to hear this! I think you are probably being a little heavy-handed with the flour. The easiest solution is to use a scale. I know it’s one more thing to get, but they are very affordable. The one I use cost about $13 on Amazon. Once you start baking by weight, it’s hard to go back. BUT, if you don’t feel like investing in a scale just yet, consider measuring like this: setting a measuring cup on the counter, then spooning the flour into it — don’t shake it. Level it off with a knife, then pour into mixing bowl. Let me know how it goes!
Hi Alexandra: Thanks to you I am starting to enjoying baking no-knead bread. LOVE your book as I have tried many recipes from it, such as this master recipe (peasant bread), savoury monkey bread, cinnamon sugar monkey bread, cinnamon swirl bread with raisins, pissaladiere, foaccacia with grapes, light brioche, chocolate-studded panetonne (not perfect as I didn’t have the proper molding but delicious), cranberry-walnut dinner rolls, dark chocolate, honey whole-wheat, oatmeal maple, walnut bread, toasted coconut loaf. I’m sure I’ll try more of the recipes as the weather gets cooler.
In your book’s FAQ section, it mentioned how one can turn this peasant bread into Jim Lahey-style “artisan” bread. Besides heating the baking vessel for 45 min, it called for 20 min for the first rise and then the dough goes into the vessel for baking. Am I misreading the instruction here? I thought the first rise should be at least 1 hour. I’m just trying to get the steps correctly before putting in practice.
Oh my goodness, Christina, nothing could make me happier than to read this! Thank you so much for writing in 🙂 Truly, this means the world.
As for your question, read that paragraph again in your book, and I think you’ll see that it says “while the dough is making its first rise (in a warm spot, but not your oven), preheat a Dutch oven …” So, definitely mix the dough and let it make its first rise as usual, then turn it out onto a floured work surface… then let it rise for another 20 minutes on parchment before baking it. Does this make sense?? I hope so. Please let me know if it does not.
Thank you again for your kind comment.
Thanks to your mother’s peasant bread & your book, I used up my flour quickly, which is a rare occurrence as I usually bake less in the summer. I just thought it’s wise to test your recipes in the summer while it’s easy for the dough to rise.
Thank you, Alexandra, for the quick response.
Sorry I didn’t read your instructions properly. I always have trouble with the sequencing in recipes.
Ok, I think I got it. The first rise (1 hr) is still there except it has to be somewhere else as the oven is needed to heat up the baking vessel. Then the 20-min second rise on the parchment paper.
Can you explain the pitching the dough underneath? Do I just tuck it in?
Also another question about the parchment paper. I take it I place the entire dough along with the parchment paper into the heated baking vessel as it said “lower the Peasant Bread, parchment paper and all, into the pan”.
Does it matter if the tucked in “bottom” should face up or down in the baking container?
No worries at all — those little paragraphs are easy to misread. So, yes, first rise an hour (or longer) but not in oven because oven is being occupied with heating vessel. And yes, 20-minute (or longer) second rise on parchment.
Check out this video for the pinching of the dough: https://www.facebook.com/alexandraskitchen/videos/1330258113675442/ I show how in this video with much smaller pieces of dough, but I do the same process for the whole batch of dough.
And yes, re parchment paper — use the overhanging sides of the paper as handles and lower it into the vessel. The pinched or tucked-under side should be touching the parchment paper and will therefore be down in the baking container. Does this make sense?
Thank you for the confirmation of the timing for the “artisan” style no-knead bread using your recipe. Thank you for the fb video. Now I know the “pinky” “pitching” part. I will report back when I give the “artisan” a try.
I have a question/comment about the “make ahead” of your bread as mentioned in your book. I like the fact of the first rise about 8 to 10 hours but dislike the fact that the 2nd rise is 1-2 hours. Do I have to pay close attention to the timing of the first rise? Is it a bit forgiving with the time?
In comparison, it seems baking the bread on the same day seems to be less troublesome as the 2nd rise is shorter and you are only “locked in” time wise for the first rise (you can’t be out about or must return within first rise). The good thing about the “make ahead” is if you have to go out all of a sudden and you have to leave your dough/bread making for next day. Hope you understand my rambling.
You are so welcome Christina!
In regard to the first rise, yes, it’s very forgiving. For instance, I demonstrated how to make the bread at a cooking class on a Wednesday evening. I took that dough home with me (because I had brought the bread in various stages), but when I got home, I didn’t feel like make it, so I punched it down, covered it with a bowl cover and stuck it in the fridge. I totally forgot to bake it off till Friday! I punched it down, transferred the dough to the buttered bowls and let it rise for a 2 hours or until it was ready to go in the oven. It bakes beautifully.
In regard to you comment: “It seems baking the bread on the same day seems to be less troublesome as the 2nd rise is shorter and you are only “locked in” time wise for the first rise.” Yes, exactly!
“The good thing about the “make ahead” is if you have to go out all of a sudden and you have to leave your dough/bread making for next day.” Yes, exactly! I totally understand your rambling. 🙂
Looking forward to trying this recipe this weekend! Can I use my 3 quart Pyrex bowl, or would that be too big? Thanks in advance.
Go for it! Butter it very well. Let the second rise go a little longer — maybe 30 to 40 minutes (even if the dough doesn’t appear to be making progress), and bake it a little longer, too… err on the side of over-baking because it’s very forgiving.
How should I store this bread? I made a larger 2.5 pyrex bowl (couldn’t find 1qt.) Very good! I wrapped it in parchment and put in a large ziploc. However the next morning the crust is not crusty anymore. Any ideas?
Thank You!
Awesome! Yes, the crust softens on subsequent days, but it toasts up beautifully: sliced in the toaster or in chunks in the oven (350ºF for 15 minutes or so). I store my bread in a bread box. I have two from King Arthur Flour that I love. But when I have excess, I store it in the freezer in a ziplock bag.
Just saw this and can’t wait to get to it. Please let me know any suggestions to make it dairy free.
I think you’ll just need to use a vegan spread to butter the bowls: Earth Balance, I’ve heard, works well. Good luck!
You specify not doing the 2nd rise in the warm oven, may I ask why? I’ve done the 2nd rise in the warm oven without issue.
Also… I can second the storage suggestion of placing the leftovers in a zip lock bag. It toasts up beautifully. I also use it for amazing french toast! It holds the egg nicely without falling apart.
Thank you for this amazing recipe!
Cheers
Hi Charlie,
I suggest this mostly because if you only have one oven, and you let the dough make its second rise in the oven, you can’t preheat it, while it’s in there. Do you have two ovens? Or do you just remove the bowls after 20 min or so and then preheat the oven?
So happy to hear you like this one and have had success with French toast … my favorite!
could I bake this in my mini castiron pans
Definitely! Just be sure to butter them well.
You could just place the bowls for the second rise on TOP of the stove (still covered) while it preheats. That’s my problem as well so that’s what I do. No issues.
Because the essence of this recipe is speed, the second rise need not be long, and therefore done while your oven is preheating.
Not only that, but the dough sometimes dries while being proofed in the oven if it isn’t covered, and has trouble rising. It is best to rise the dough as suggested.
Hi Alexandra!
So excited to finally bake this! I try very hard not to eat added sugar (of any kind) however. Could I take out the sugar, use a 1/4 amount or sub truvia or Splenda? (it’s a blood sugar thing!)
Hi Rachel!
I would simply omit the sugar. It barely makes a difference. I think it helps the dough rise in a timely manner and may help with the browning in the oven, but if you are able to be a little bit flexible with the rises — allowing a little more time for each rise — the sugar is unnecessary. Also consider baking the bread a little longer until it looks evenly golden.
Hi Alexandra,
My hubby is diabetic so I understand how sugar can be an issue. There is only 2 tsp so sugar for 2 loaves. Sugar is needed to feed the yeast which will make the dough rise. Sugar substitutes don’t work for me. I’ve tried the a Stevia but results were meh. I’ve tried coconut sugar and that was ok. Light brown sugar or plain white still was the best. I’ve been baking gf bread so I can tell its chemistry. This is a simple recipe but each ingredient serves a purpose.
With diabetes, 2 tsp of sugar is not the battle worth fighting. It’s all the carbohydrates in the bread. Carbohydrates are what affect bloodsugar — sugar is just one form. If a person with diabetes in your life can manage their bloodsugars while eating bread, the sugar won’t really make a difference.
Agree with Hannah. The yeast needs the sugar. You CAN omit the sugar entirely but it will require more rise time. There are natural sugars in the flour is why you can do this.
Carbs are the issue though. Just substitute whole wheat flour for some of the white. Try 60% UNBLEACHED white flour and 40% whole wheat. Add about 2T of water and follow the recipe.
Thanks for this, Len!
I bake bread all the time. but with ‘strong’ bread flour. I notice you use all-purpose. Do you prefer that? Or simply not see a difference? Also wondering, would it be possible to mix half and half white and wholemeal flours? Or maybe 2 parts white to 1 part wholemeal? Just to give it a bit more texture.
Hi Sharon!
I use all-purpose mostly because that’s what people have on hand, and it works just as well as bread flour — this recipe is all about ease and encouraging people that bread baking is not scary and does not require special ingredients. You absolutely can use bread flour if that’s what you have on hand/prefer baking bread with.
And yes, you definitely can mix half white with half whole wheat. I love King Arthur Flour’s sprouted wheat flour, but use what you like. And I always suggest starting by replacing 1 cup at a time, then increasing from there, but you sound like a pro 🙂 So use what you are comfortable with! Happy Baking!
I made this bread and used my Mom’s pyrex bowls. It was delicious! It made me feel good to be able to use something that she had used to cook with so many times. Thank you for an easy yummy recipe that warmed my heart as well ?
So happy to hear this, Lisa!
If using a 2 at Pyrex, what is the baking time?
Give it about 10 more minutes more at 375, so do this: 15 min at 425ºF, 25 to 27 minutes at 375. It may need more. Don’t be afraid to leave it in longer if it doesn’t look golden enough all the way around — this is a very forgiving bread.
I think I want to try your latest post for sourdough bread, as well as this one, to bring to a party. I’m also thinking of trying the focaccia variation for this bread…just to mix things up 😉 Because I’ll be baking two breads in one day, timing will be my issue. If I took this bread (the focaccia version, possibily) out of the oven in the late morning/early afternoon, will it still be at its peak freshness for dinner in the evening? Or is it best served right from the oven (after cooling, of course)?
Thanks!
Erin, hi, SO sorry for the delay here!!
What did you end up doing? Honestly, it doesn’t get much fresher than same-day baked bread, so if you bake it in the morning and bring it to a party that evening, it will still be super fresh. Bread revives really well in the oven, too, so you could quickly reheat it: 350 for 15 minutes or so. That said, I do find the focaccia stales faster than the other breads … perhaps because it’s thinner? But again, a quick re-heat in the oven usually does the trick. Good luck!