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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.
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 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. It is not artisan bread, and it’s not 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.”
Five Favorite Peasant Bread Variations
- Overnight Refrigerator Focaccia
- Everything Bagel Seasoning Peasant Bread
- Gluten-Free Peasant Bread
- Quinoa-Flax Toasting Bread
- No-Knead Thyme Dinner Rolls
This is the yeast I buy exclusively: SAF Instant Yeast. Instant yeast can be whisked into the flour directly (as you would salt or sugar) without any blooming or proofing. Find it here: SAF Instant Yeast. If you want to stick to active-dry (but don’t! I promise, instant is so easy.) Red Star yeast is great.
Just-mixed dough, ready to rise:
Dough after first rise:
Dough, punched down:
Dividing the dough in half:
As I noted above, this is a very wet dough and 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.
Buttering and filling the bowls:
Dough after second rise, ready for the oven:
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.
Here’s a fun variation: Everything Bagel Seasoning Bread. Simply coat the buttered bowls with Everything Bagel Seasoning.
My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 32 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 27 minutes
- Yield: 2 loaves
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
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.
Vintage Option: The vintage Pyrex #441 bowl is my favorite bowl to bake the peasant bread in — the perfectly round shape of the bowl creates a beautiful round loaf. It belongs to a set of four nesting bowls (also called Cinderella bowls, specifically the Pyrex #441, #442, #443, #444), which I have purchased from Ebay. I absolutely love the set in general, but I love most of all that I can bake the whole batch of peasant bread in the second largest bowl (#443) and half of the batch in the smallest bowl (#441). The set runs anywhere from $35 to $50 or higher depending on the pattern of the Pyrex.
The bread:
This is a sticky, no-knead dough, so, some sort of baking vessel, such as pyrex bowls (about 1-L or 1-qt) or ramekins for mini loaves is required to bake this bread. 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.
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
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 kosher salt
- 2 cups lukewarm water (made by mixing 1 1/2 cups cold water with 1/2 cup boiling water)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast, see notes above
- room temperature butter, about 2 tablespoons
Instructions
- Mixing the dough: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast. Add the water. Mix until the flour is absorbed. (If you are using active-dry yeast, see notes above.)
- 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 above) 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 turn the dough up onto itself if that makes sense. 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.
- 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 make 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
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.
#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.
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: easy, bread, simple, no-knead, peasant
wildbill says
This is such a simple recipe that throws a beautiful fresh bread smell throughout the house and yard. I took photos as I went. They match up perfectly with Alexandra’s….not bragging, it’s testament to how well she writes her recipes. A criteria for me is cleanup. Couldn’t be easier. My yeast expired August 24, 2015! Proofed it and went to work. Looks just like Ali’s! Taste is far better than the breads I can buy anywhere nearby.
★★★★★
alexandra says
So happy to hear this! I am so with you on the cleanup — the entire experience from prep, to cooking, to cleanup plays a role in wether I make something often or not. Thanks so much for writing!
Ronald Bryant says
Please help. When I try to make this it always comes out crumbly and I have to add up to 1/4 – 1/2 cup of extra water and it just does not come out sticky like your video shows. The first time I made it I tossed the batch because I thought I might have measured something wrong. The second batch came out the same way. I followed the instructions to the T and made sure the cold water to hot water exactly. Any suggestions?? I did use unbleached flour but did not use all-purpose flour but bread flower. Will this make a difference?? Thank you
Sherri says
It may be your flour. I have best results when I use about 100 grams whole wheat flour and 300 grams plain flour.
alexandra says
Bread flour will make a difference — it absorbs more water than all-purpose flour, so it makes sense that you needed to add more water. That said, I use bread flour and all-purpose flour interchangeably in this recipe. Are you using a scale to measure the flour?
Christine says
Made this tonight. It was fabulous! I’ve made bread from scratch for 20 years, but this recipe is so simple, practically foolproof, and every bit as good as kneeded bread! Thanks for the recipe
alexandra says
So happy to hear this, Christine!! Thanks for writing 🙂
Anne says
Have you tried to grease the bowls with olive oil instead of butter? Thanks for this recipe!
★★★★★
alexandra says
Yes! Don’t do it! The bread will stick. You definitely need to grease with butter to form that nonstick barrier … not sure why. If you’re looking for a vegan substitute, the vegan buttery sticks or earth balance works well.
Marlene says
I made this last night. While it tasted really good, it didn’t rise much, so it wasn’t nearly as pretty as yours. I think I should have left it to rise longer, which I will do next time. The other issue I had was buttering the bowls. I made sure to butter bowls really well, but it might have been too well! The bread did pop right out, but the bottom of the bread (about an inch) was soggy with butter. Next time I will just use Pam, which is what is always use for bread. But it tasted so good I will definitely try again! Thanks for the recipe.
★★★★★
alexandra says
Hi Marlene! A longer first rise, definitely helps. What size are the bowls you are using? And what material? We’ll get to the bottom of it!
Susan says
Hi Alexandra,
Finally got a chance to bake the bread today. Used a clay bowl that happened to be 1 quart. Perfect! Can’t wait to try some of your other recipes. Thank you.
alexandra says
So happy to hear this, Susan!! Love that you used clay bowls. I’ll have to get myself a pair.
Amy Day says
My first rise went great, but the 2nd rise didn’t get that high… I didn’t know if waiting too long would be a good thing so I just stuck it in the oven. Any thoughts? thanks so much!
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alexandra says
Great to hear re first rise! Question: What size bowls are you using to bake the bread?
Amy Day says
It turned out fabulous, we have been making this every day!
★★★★★
alexandra says
yay! So happy to hear this 🙂 🙂 🙂
Amy Day says
How do you store this bread if not eaten that day? love this recipe by the way! 2nd time making it!
★★★★★
alexandra says
A ziplock bag or other airtight container works best. The curst will become soft on day 2, but it revives beautifully in the oven/toaster. If you plan on storing bread longer than 3 days, I’d suggest slicing it and freezing it.
Claire says
I’ve made this like 6 times now and absolutely love it!! Smells and tastes amazing. Question: would this recipe work if I made it into a baguette shape?
★★★★★
alexandra says
Yay! So happy to hear this, Claire! Regarding baguettes, I think you will find handling this dough a little frustrating. It is so, so wet, so you will need a lot of excess flour to get it into the right shape. What vessel were you planning on baking the baguettes in?
Sarah Showalter says
I have never made bread without a breadmaker (and even that was years ago) but now this is my go-to. I’m making it all the time! (I’ve even done the Holly’s Challah and the quinoa/flax bread!) So, Thank you!
Question…to do the “lukewarm water” trick, do you use “cold” water from the refrigerator? Or just, tap-cold? We have a (Berkey) counter water filter so, I wonder if that’s just luke-warm enough. I’ve tried with 1.5 cups of fridge water + 0.5 boiling and have tried 1.5 room-temp with 0.5 boiling and I don’t see a difference. What do you recommend?
Also, just thought I’d share…my French husband walked by after I had turned the bread out to cool (so it was upside down). He said, “What is this nonsense?” I asked what he meant and he said, “Upside down bread is bad luck in France! Put it right side up!” Ha!
★★★★★
alexandra says
Awww, I love this … where to begin where to begin?? With your French husband, of course 🙂 🙂 🙂 Love this. Not sure I will ever be able to leave my loaves upside down to cool without thinking of this or maybe I’ll never be able to allow them to cool upside down period?? In any case, thanks for sharing.
Regarding your question: I just use cold tap water, but it sounds as though the Berkey works just fine — if it works, use it! I’m a fan of doing whatever works for you 🙂
Mary Allison says
Made this bread last night for dinner. I followed the recipe exactly, except I took the dough and put it in one casserole dish instead of two and sprinkled rosemary on top of dough before putting it in the oven. Next time I would add a little more salt. Other than that, I will definitely make it again. Great texture to this bread without kneading.
alexandra says
Wonderful to hear this, Mary!
Debbie says
My bowls were to big but the bread came out great! I also made cinnamon butter to go along with it all I can say is yum!!
alexandra says
Yay!!
Julie says
I bought my pyrex bowls and just made your bread — wow! SO so good! My 11 year old daughter and I made it together and we are enjoying it so much! Thank you for sharing your special family recipe.
★★★★★
alexandra says
Yay!! So happy to hear this, Julie 🙂 🙂 🙂
Priya says
Can u guide me I followed the recipe to the T but it landed out to be dense
But the taste was there
alexandra says
Hi Priya! Questions: did you use a scale? how did the first rise go? the second?
Teresa Derby says
I’ve heard you can proof bread in an instant pot using either the yogurt or warm settings. Has anyone tried this? I’ve thought about it because the house is cool even in the summer and it makes it more difficult to proof bread.
alexandra says
Interesting! Never tried, but I wouldn’t be surprised. The oven trick (notes in recipe) works beautifully, too.
Evette says
I am so glad to have stumbled across your recipe. My Family absolutely loves when I make your Peasant bread. It comes out perfect every time. Although it it time consuming, the bread it delicious, fluffy on the inside with a slight crunch on the outside. No need to ever add anything on top of it. Thank You!
★★★★★
alexandra says
So happy to hear this, Evette!
Nancy Yee says
Love your peasant bread recipe. I also bought your book! I tried your bread recipe at my daughter ‘s home and the loaves came out just like your pictures.
Today I went to visit my sister in Las Vegas and tried it out on her new oven. I knew there was a problem instantly when after 15 minutes at preheated 450 temperature
the top of the bread was not dark color but pale color looking. I was horrified but then lower the temperature to 375 for the remaining 15 minutes.
I took the bread out of the oven and turned the bread out of the bowel to cool on the cooling rack. The bottom of the bread was beautiful just like my previous baked peasant breads! I first thought I might have forgotten the 2 teaspoons of sugar so I made another batch but used 1.5 quart for the whole recipe. It was the same problem, the top was not browning at 425 temperature according to the preheated oven. I even baked it a 3 minutes longer at 425 and extra minutes beyond the normal 15 at 375! They all tasted wonderful and the bottom were golden color like your pictures. I came to my conclusion that my sister’s new oven was probably not
giving us the current temperature. Tonight I have ordered an oven thermometer for my sister even though she does not think there is something wrong with the temperature of her oven. When the thermometer arrives Saturday via Amazon, we will finally know the problem😢😢 What do you think? Please advise! P.S love your pizza recipe and everybody in my family loves it too.
★★★★★
alexandra says
Hi Nancy! Thanks so much for buying my book 🙂
So interesting to read all of this. One thing I have learned these past few years, baking the peasant bread in various ovens, is that every oven is different, and you cannot rely on the temperature settings. SO happy to hear you bought an oven thermometer: that is the best thing you can do to test the accuracy of your oven. I recently renovated my kitchen and have a fancy Wolf double wall oven, and it is totally inaccurate: often 25ºF – 50ºF off in temperature.
You can try other things, too: baking the bread in the upper-third of the oven, which might help the top to brown… ovens have hot spots, and if you can find it, stick the bread there. You can also turn the loaf out of its bowl (after it finishes cooking that is) and let it bake directly on the rack to help promote browning. You can try baking at that higher temperature for longer (more like 20 minutes as opposed to 15).
Let me know if you have any luck with these suggestions!
Yliana says
I came across this recipe last year and bought the book. My family and friends absolutely LOVE peasant bread. However, in Florida it always baked to perfection. I’ve since moved to Georgia and my first try was a dud! Hard, dense ball. I used the same vintage Pyrex bowl I’d used before. I didn’t change a thing (except for my location, obviously). Any thoughts?
★★★★★
alexandra says
So strange how location affects dough/bread! Questions: 1. Is Atlanta more humid? 2. Are you using a scale to measure the flour? It sounds as though you either need to increase the amount of water or decrease the amount of flour. You could also try extending the first rise to be more like 2-3 hours.
Indra says
I tried this today and it came out beautifully! I made it in a square Pyrex dish and added olive oil, sea salt and rosemary on top. My very first homemade bread 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, I will definetely make this more often. One question though: have you ever tried making it with a different kind of flour i.e. spelt or maybe even buckwheat? If so, does it work and can I usethe same amounts/proportions as in your original recipe?
Greets from Brussels, Belgium
Indra
alexandra says
So happy to hear this, Indra!
I would start by substituting 1 cup of all-purpose flour with 1 cup of whatever other flour you wish to use. From there, see how it goes, and adjust accordingly with more or less flour.
Nora says
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but I have a bread machine and am wondering if this would work or not. The recipe is truly simple, but I would prefer to use the bread machine if I can. Thanks!
alexandra says
I can’t comment because I’ve never used a bread machine. If you have one and know how it works, go for it!
Heather says
For the first time ever making bread, I made your peasant bread today. It turned out perfectly with a golden crispy outside and a soft, luscious inside. The taste and texture is similar to a crumpet. Is that what it should taste like or did I make a mistake? Delicious but different from what I’m used to getting from the store.
alexandra says
Hi Heather! So happy to hear this. The crumb definitely has a spongy texture. Is that what you mean in regard to crumpet-like?
TX Griff says
At age 61 I considered myself a nationally renowned “Not A Bread Baker” kinda soul. I’d tried, gawd knows I tried. But every recipe that came across my kitchen failed in some spectacular fashion or another.
And then came your Mom’s Peasant Bread recipe … and now friends & relatives ask me (okay, there’s usually a little groveling involved, so mebbe it’s more like they BEG me!) to bring bread, or serve bread when they show up. Hubby & FIL a-d-o-r-e this bread and when I have leftovers (rare, but it does occasionally happen) I slice it up to use in an overnight French toast casserole that’s to die for… thank you, thank you, thank you!
I also love the fact that this bread is most excellent for variations on it… add 1-2 tablespoons of Mrs Dash’s Italian Seasoning for a wonderful bread to serve with almost any pasta (warm & buttered) or to make a tremendous garlic bread (slice, butter, add cheese to top before popping it under the broiler). Rosemary & Sea Salt on the top is good, but to ensure all slices have this goodness, I’ve taken to swirling it into my two loaves… scrumptious! And the sweet version contains 2 tablespoons of cinnamon, 1 tsp of nutmeg and 3 tablespoons of brown sugar per loaf.. sliced, toasted and buttered (or, for true decadence, slather with cream cheese), it’s to die for!
I’m proud to have given up my “Not A Bread Baker” title and you are the reason I’ve been able to join the ranks of folks who bake bread several times a week. Many thanks. 🙂
★★★★★
alexandra says
Awwwwww …. so happy to hear all of this! Thanks for taking the time to write/share. Love the sound of all of your variations, especially the rosemary and sea salt swirl. YUM!!
judith judge says
can i use stainless steel bowls or i have a thick white bowl that used to go ona stand mixer coudl i use that
★★★★★
alexandra says
What material is the thick white bowl? I think you can use stainless, though I’ve never tried: be sure to grease very well with butter no matter what vessel you use.
Stephanie Evans says
I ordered my Pyrex 3 piece set of bowls and they just came this evening. Get them now while they are just under $13 instead of paying $50! Amazon prime delivers in 2 days…..Tomorrow I will be trying this bread and I absolutely cannot wait : )
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alexandra says
Yay!! Thanks for the heads up re price … it changes so often!
Sin Yee says
I have never made bread before. Can the recipe be halved to make one loaf?
alexandra says
Yes!
Amyday says
What would happen if I kneaded it?:)
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alexandra says
I think you will find the kneading process with this dough very frustrating, especially if you do it by hand … you will need so much additional flour to make it work.