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.
6,418 Comments on “My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make”
Made this tonight and it was wonderful. Next time I’d love to use wheat flour, would I change anything else to do that??? I also had no idea I could put my Pyrex mixing bowls in the oven. So glad I found this recipe and my hubby was pretty happy too.
Ryane, you can definitely substitute wheat flour, just be warned that th final loaves will be denser and dryer than the loaves made with all-purpose flour. You can of course go for it and all whole wheat, but it might be a good idea to try half whole wheat the first time you try out using whole wheat flour, and see how you like the flavor, and then adjust accordingly. Personally I think 3/4 whole wheat 1/4 all-purpose is the best ratio when whole wheat flour is used in a larger amount than the white. Hope that makes sense!
Been making all sorts of bread for years, in fact my weekend does not feel complete unless I have had a little bake – This has got to be the easiest bread ever in the history of bread making and I urge people that have hesitated making bread, to try it just once. If the 2 forks are a bit hard to manage, try spray oil on your hands or a spatula.
SOURDOUGH NOTE – I had a 100% hydration sourdough starter on the go that needed to be divided/poured off, so I used 1 cup of it in the last batch of this bread (it replaced 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of water from your recipe) – this also made an excellent loaf with heaps of flavour.
Julie — thanks for these tips. I actually have some leftover starter on hand at the moment that I’m not sure what to do with — I am in the process of making a chocolate cherry bread from Metropolitan Bakery, and it called for a starter, but it made too much. You seem to be comfortable working with starters? May I ask some questions? How long will it last? And, I have noticed that separation/division you descibed — should I pour away the liquidy part and discard? Any tips would be much appreciated! Thank you in advance.
I made this last night and even though the house was freezing it turned out great! I baked it in a 1L bowl and it rose beautifully and quickly both times (1 hour first rise, 1/2 hour second rise). I microwaved my bowls before each step so that they would be warm (not hot) and I used the oven trick with a dry towel. It was beautiful and delicious!
I really think some houses can rise bread and some can’t. Bread rises great here but at my old house no matter what I did or where i put it to rise it wouldn’t rise at all.
This is the first yeast bread that has come out correctly for me. My husband even ate it! Thank you for the wonderful directions and photos.
Stephanie, so happy to hear this!
I have made this bread twice and both times the dough wasn’t as wet as it looked. In fact, it wasn’t even moist enough to form a true dough. I double and triple checked my measurements the second time and it still was the case. I just drizzled more water over it until it looked like the dough pictured and it baked up fine. Of course I was cutting the recipe in half both times (because I thought that I didn’t need two giant loaves of bread…..wrong). I made two half recipes two days in a row so I guess I needed that much bread after all! But overall the bread is heavenly. Delicious. The bomb. My boyfriend casually refers to it as “that boss ass bread.” Excellent recipe. So buttery and crispy and lovely. Mine never turns out quite as large and puffy mostly because my container options are limited. Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe!
Michelle — wonderful to hear this… I was worried as I read the first part of the comment. It sounds as though your improvising with water worked out nicely. Glad the boyfriend approves too!
I made this bread the other day and it was fantastic! It was very easy to make and sooo delicious. The only downfall is that it’s so tasty that it’s hard not to eat all of it in one sitting 🙂 From now on I will only make this if i know im having company or feeding lot’s of people – my hips can’t handle the leftovers.
It is absolutely delicious toasted with nutella or jam. It also went really well with creamy soup.
Thanks so much for the recipe!
Becky — SO wonderful to hear this! I love it with all of things you mentioned, too, especially soup this time of year.
What if I wanted to bake one loaf? Have you tried that? I have a beautiful cast iron pot I want to use. What would the cooking time be?
Thanks 🙂
Michelle — I have not tried halving the recipe, but a recent commenter successfully did… though she immediately made another batch bc one wasn’t enough 🙂 Since I have never baked this bread in a cast iron vessel, I can’t say for sure, but I don’t think I would make any adjustment to the time or temperature initially. Maybe after you turn the temperature down to 375º, set the timer for 15 minutes to see how it’s looking, and then make the call on how much longer it needs in the oven — 5 -10 minutes, etc. Hope that helps!
Alexandra, your recipe for your mothers pheasant bread was really great. I made it tonight, and it turned out just like your picture. I will make this again. Thanks so much. Stephanie G
Alexandra, your mothers peasant bread was really good. I made it tonight and it turned out just like your picture. Thanks so much. I will make again soon. Stephanie G
So happy to hear this Stephanie!
Hello! I’m in the middle of making this recipe. The dough has been rising for 2 hours, but it it hasn’t swelled much. I live in Denver, do you know if the altitude could make a difference? It’s also a little chilly in the house, so I set the bowl close (but not too close) to the fire.
**Just a note, I whisked flour, active yeast, sugar, and salt at once, then finally i put in the warm water.
Mary — gosh, I don’t know. I always whisk the water with the yeast (even when I use instant yeast) and sugar and let it sit for 15 minutes or so to make sure that its active but also because I think it helps with the rising. But I think the altitude and the cold weather could be playing a role too. I’m sorry you’re having trouble with this 🙁 If you give it another go, I suggest mixing water with yeast and sugar first and then proceeding with the rest of the recipe.
I made this today, using loaf pans, b/c I don’t own a pyrex bowl apparently. It is WONDERFUL! Thanks so much for sharing!!
DeAnna — wonderful to hear this!
I am making this bread for the first time and I’m so excited. I have never made bread from scratch before I always use a bread machine. I didn’t have the right size bowls so I used a loaf pan and two ramskins. I do have a 2 quart Pyrex glass bowl do you think that would be to big to have the bread come out right? Please let me know what you think. also do you know where you can buy the 1 quart bowls? Well thank you for your tone.
Betty — so happy to hear you improvised with the loaf pan and ramekins. I worry a little bit about the 2-qt bowl being too big but it doesn’t hurt to try. I would bake nearly all of the dough in the 2 qt bowl maybe again with the exception of two ramekins-worth of dough. And a Reader sent along this link where you can buy the bowls: https://www.shopworldkitchen.com/pyrex/mixing-bowl-5302485
You might try amazon and eBay as well. Flee markets are great, too.
I made this bread last week following your recipe exactly and it turned out perfectly! My first attempt ever at baking bread, and thanks to your amazing recipe, it was a terrific success! Today, I decided to experiment a little by adding cinnamon and raisins and using half white flour and half wheat flour. It also turned out perfectly!! I can’t wait to bake more!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
Candice — wonderful to hear this! Love the idea of your variations. I recently made a faux focaccia with the dough — so good! I think this dough is more adaptable than I imagined.
Could you divide it down to 3 or 4 loaves, use smaller bowls and make them into breadbowl size for soup or chili?
Bev — that is genius! Love that idea. I havent tried that myself, but if you can find oven-proof bowls that are in the breadbowl size, then I say go for it. And please let me know how it turns out. But yes, definitely dividing the dough into thirds or quarters will work beautifully.
I made three attempts with this recipe. First batch didn’t rise 3 hrs! Tried md batch yeast proofed well so mixed with flour it was dry so I added about 1/4 c more water to get it wet looking took 2 hrs to rise. 3rd batch I realized my first 2 batches I had switched the proofing suggesting and had 1 1/2 cups boiling water to 1/2 cup cold water! I killed my yeast! Well definitely with the first batch, 2nd and 3rd batch were much more successful!
As I was letting my dough rise though I left bowl over stove top for warmth as I preheated oven but ended up cooking the bottom half of the dough during the first rise!
I was able to cut off the cooked parts and made a beautiful loaf! It’s been a journey to my success but we are enjoying it so much now that I have worked out my kinks I will be making this more often!
Thanks!
JBrad — what a journey! I commend you on your persistence and am just so happy you have worked out the kinks and are now making delicious homemade bread! These sorts of things are always a learning process.
Hi! I baked this today and it was amazing!! I actually did end up using larger bowls (as I didnt realise that the tiny bowls I have were actually 1L bowls) but I still divided the dough over two bowls so my version was a little flatter than yours. But still so good and much better than bread out of the bread machine! I had a bit of trouble getting it out of the bowl though, but I may not have used enough butter. Will definitely make this again soon in the right bowls with more butter and hopefully they will come out perfect then 🙂 As for the quantity, My boyfriend and I finished off one loaf for breakfast, so it’s a good thing the recipe is for two! Thanx so much for sharing this 🙂
MJ — so happy to hear this. And yes, if you don’t use enough butter, sticking can be an issue — I am so liberal with the amount of butter I slather in those bowls…it tastes so good!
Hi- I just wanted to give you an update, as my first attempt was rising in the oven when I posted my comment. The bread turned out FANTASTIC!!! The top was a little on the dry side, that is where it looked like there was too much flour. BUT, my husband gobbled down the top pieces pretty quickly, so it didn’t affect the outcome! 🙂 It was so buttery and moist, and just plain divine! I am going to be making another batch in just a few minutes, thank you for your reply and those tips. I am going to use them this round. 🙂 THANK YOU SO MUCH for this recipe, it will now forever be in my recipe book and I am looking forward to passing the recipe down to my girls. 🙂 Again, HAPPY SUNDAY! 🙂
Oh Jessica, I am so so happy to hear this! Nothing makes me happier to hear you will be passing this recipe on to another generation. Success! Hope you had a great weekend.
Made this bread today….and must admit, I was very skeptical. Boy howdy, am I glad I was wrong! This bread is outa this world!!!! Thanx for sharing…can’t wait till morning so I can slather both sides of a slice and fry it in my cast iron skillet. We like out toast fried. It is such a hearty bread. Again, thank you sincerely, this is my fave bread now. SWGMA
SWGMA — so happy to hear this!
This bread is fantastically easy to make, and makes great garlic bread! I’m serving it tonight with some broccoli cheddar soup, and will be making garlic toast for sure. Yum!
Kelly — wonderful to hear this! Broccoli cheddar soup sounds so good right now…might have to make that this weekend.
I actually had a really hard time with the directions, each step seems to be a paragraph long and contain multiple steps. You mention a second rise in the narrative but never actually say what the process is for it – I missed that while I was making it. Then again, I cook professionally and I am used to very short, concise instructions. I’m going to see if I can go through the whole thing and trim it down into something that I can understand better.
Mine did not turn out at all. I did attempt a gluten-free version because my daughter has Celiac, so that could have had some part to play. I will try and try again until I get it right though!
Baked this bread today and it is so good! My husband and two year old daughter both loved it. I love working with bread dough and finding different recipes and this one is definitely a keeper. I don’t have a Pyrex baking dish so I used 3/4 of the dough in my loaf pan like you suggested and used the rest of the dough to make little buns using my whoopie pie pan. The little buns are perfect for my toddler’s little hands and I have to admit, I ate four of them in one sitting. Lol. They are that good! I also made panini’s with it for dinner tonight and it was just perfect! Thank you for the amazing recipe!
Tanya — I’m so happy to hear this! I know, aren’t the little buns perfect for toddlers and adults alike? We use the bread for paninis all the time — whenever we have leftover chicken or steak or even bacon with cheese and pear or apple. So good! And I’m so happy you like it!
Thank you soooo much for sharing this recipe. I have forever wanted to make/bake homemade bread, but was incredibly intimidated with the usual knead, rest, punch, etc, etc. The pictures and the detailed directions made this extremely easy. I tried it today. Not sure what I did wrong, but my dough was not wet as you described. It turned out fine, the family and I love it. Not to mention how much I loved making it by hand, not machine. I will make it again, as soon as we eat this batch. Thanks again!
Carla — so happy to hear this! Other commenters have had the same issue with the flour. I use a scale and you probably use measuring cups, which is where the discrepancies occur. I’m just happy it turned out well despite the dough not being as wet as the pictures. If you make it again, try measuring 4 scant cups of flour. So happy you like it!
Definately gonna try this recipe for when I’m pressed for time. I recently discovered my dishwasher is perfect for raising my bread dough, thanks to my ingenious sister. After the washer is done and unloaded, I put my covered bowl of dough in and shut the door. The combination of warmth and moistness does an awesome job getting the dough to raise!
Kelley — that is genius! Great tip. Thanks for sharing.
Hi again, thanx for the butter tip, have just baked another two loaves in the right sized bowl this time and with plenty of butter. They exactly like in your picture and they came out of the bowl very easily this time 🙂 Yay!
MJ — Yay is right! So happy to hear this.
Worked perfectly!! Delicious! And I am not a baker, by any means. Thanks!
Erica — so happy to hear this!
Ever make the bread substituting some other oil for butter? One of my kids has a dairy allergy and I would hate for him to miss out! I suppose olive oil would work too?
Amy — I wish I could say for sure about the olive oil, but I can’t…some people have tried using oil vs. butter and have had sticking issues. If you try it, just be very liberal with the amount you lather the bowls with — the bowls need to be well greased to prevent sticking. I hope that helps! Wish I could give you a more definitive answer.
Found this recipe via pinterest – I’ve never made bread before (other than banana bread) – but since I had all the ingredients in the house, I thought I would give it a try – it is wonderful!! the kids love it and me too 🙂
So easy and so cheap to make! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
I found this recipe the other day and am getting ready to make it. Was wondering though, has anybody tried freezing the dough? There are only 3 of us at home and I’m thinking that 1 loaf at a time would be plenty plus I only have 1 bowl that I could use.
Vicky — I haven’t tried freezing the dough, but I think it’s worth a shot. After you punch down the dough (after the first rise), I would wrap one half in plastic wrap and stick it in the freezer. When you are ready to bake it, I would grease your bowl very well with butter, plop in the frozen dough, and let it rise in a warm spot until it’s just below the rim. Report back if this works out for you. The bread does freeze well after you bake it, too. I always slice up one of the loaves and wrap it in plastic wrap and stick it in a ziplock bag. It toasts up really nicely. Hope that helps!
I have to tell you I stumbled across this page a a few months ago and we are sooooooooo addicted to this bread. The taste of the bread is out of this world, and even toasts up nice in the toaster as well with butter and jelly. TY TY TY
Matthew — So wonderful to hear this!
Can’t wait to try the recipe. Unfortunately I don’t have any bowls smaller than 2.5 qt. Could I use round corningware dishes instead?
Bernadette — yes, definitely. Just make sure to grease whatever vessel you use really well with butter, and use your judgement about how high to fil it with dough — you want it about 2/3 filled with dough before it starts making that second rise. I have used ramekins, popover pans, muffin tins, loaf pans, etc. — they all work!