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.
6,428 Comments on “My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make”
I finally tried this last night. I’ve had it pinned for a while. It was so good and easy! We absolutely loved it! Thanks!!
Red Star Yeast is a Product of Mexico. Fleischmann’s is from Canada. Just sayin’
Hi! I can’t wait to make this- but unlike some of the readers I am VERY timid with certain directions…ummm PUNCH with forks? Please help!!!
Thanks!!!
Stephanie — No worries! I totally understand. Ok, basically you’re just going to take your two forks and poke the dough on top to deflate it a bit, and then your’re going to use the forks to pull the dough from the sides of the bowl, which it will be clinging to. And then finally, once the dough is deflated, you will use the two forks to split the dough into two equal pieces. Hope that helps. Good luck with it! Let me know if there is anything else.
This is by far the best-tasting, easiest bread I have ever made. Thank you so much for sharing it, and I appreciate all of the detail in the recipe. I have made at least once a week since I found the recipe on Pinterest.
Kelly — wonderful to hear this!
Hey! I just wanted to update you. After my failed attemp after my sucessful attemp, I tried the bread again and it turned out, and the next time it turned out and then again and again! I make probably 6 loaves a week and my entire family ADORES it! I’ve shared your site with my friends and told them where to get the recipie because they loved it just as much as I did! I haven’t bought store bread in over 2 weeks and if we haven’t finished off the bread in a night I put it in a ziplock bag and the next day I just mist a little bit of water on the bread, pop it in the oven for a couple minutes and it comes out just as fresh! I make some cinnamon honey butter to go with it and its awesome. One day my boyfriend and i actually laid in bed all day eating the bread and when we ran out he actually HELPED me make more!! <— that's a big deal becAuse boyfriend hates to cook lol. 🙂 i LOVE this recipie and if my son and boyfriend love it as well then you must have done well!!! Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!
Shannon! Wonderful to hear all of this. I am so happy you have had success so many times with this recipe. Your cinnamon honey butter sounds amazing, and so love that this recipe was able to get your BF in the kitchen. Amazing. Thanks for reporting back!
will definitely try this!
i have a tip regarding the 3rd stage – what yeast actually need is a moist and hot environment. so try putting a bowl of boiling water in the oven before putting the dough in it. give it a minute or even put the dough and the water together, doesn’t really matter. your dough will rise like you’ve never seen it, i guarantee. the risk with only heating the oven is too much for me and my yeast to live with 😀
MoranSha — wondeful tip! Thanks so much. I’m going to try this.
I am trying your bread for the first time right now and realized there is no oil or shortening in the mix. Is that right? Am hoping so! Thanks!! 🙂
Sue — that is correct!
I’ve made this bread 3 times now after seeing it on Pinterest. Step 1: it is wonderful. Step 2: a variation I tried last time was to put some fresh chopped rosemary sprinkled in after the first rise during the punching phase. I also sprinkled some into the bottom of the bowls before plopping the separated dough into them for the second rise. They turned out pretty well and had a bit fancier look/taste to them in the end.
Melanie — wonderful to hear this! I love rosemary, so this is a variation I will certainly make. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! It’s fantastic, I’ve made it a few times itu grat success! I tried a variation on it, and turned it into a cheesy garlic bread. I was thrilled with how it turned out, a little more dense and very flavourful!
Here is what I did:
– substituted garlic salt for the kosher salt
– used 1 cup whole wheat flour and 3 cups white flour
– added 1 cup shredded old cheddar cheese after I mixed in the yeast mixture, before letting the bread rise
– buttered the baking dishes with a garlic butter mixture instead of regular butter
Amanda — Thanks so much for sharing your variation. Cheesy garlic bread would be a welcomed addition in my house…those are all flavor we all adore. I bet the crust has a wonderful flavor with all of that garlic. Yum!
I am about to try your recipe but I only have bleached all purpose flour should I not use it? I dont bake alot and I guess I never even relized there was a difference in flours lol. The flour worked great for the no fail sugar cookies I made for x-mas :).
Teri — A number of commenters have had success using bleached flour, so I think you are safe to use it. I make that note because the few times I have used bleached flour, I have not had success with it — the texture of the final bread was different, as was the color (paler), as was the taste (not as good). If that’s all you have, go for it, but when you run out, try it again with unbleached flour. Hope that helps!
Saw your post this morning at 8, started the dough at 12, pulled out my loaves at 4. They look as great as yours and smell wonderful! I’ll be cutting into one soon. I used my fireking jadeite bowls, BTW. Thanks!
Bianca — wonderful to hear this! And thanks for the tip on the bowls. Readers are often asking what kind of bowls they can use. Thanks!
This was good to hear that someone used a colored bowl & it worked. My Pyrex bowls were a gift & are blue & I’ve been curious if this works in them.
These ARE as good as they looked. Soooo light and buttery with a lovely crumb. Can’t wait to share with others 🙂
I’ve NEVER made bread before but I tried this one tonight. Your directions were so easy to follow! I even figured out that punching with forks is nothing more then just pushing the dough down with forks and folding it inward:) It turned out perfect and delicious. I ate it warm out of the oven with butter. Thank you so much for posting your mom’s recipe. I will be making this many more times:)
Cindy — so wonderful to hear this! And you are absolutely right about “punching.” There’s nothing to it!
Anyone know of a gluten free versio? Would just switching to gluten free flour work? Maybe add some xanthum gum also?
Meg L — I have tried a gluten-free version, but it was soooo bad. I have been meaning to revisit that experiment. I haven’t had a single commenter write in with a successful gluten-free version. They’ve all been kind of dense and dry 🙁 As soon as I find a gluten-free variation that works, I will be in touch!
I have never baked bread before and was a little scared to try…seemed like it would be too time consuming. I was AMAZED at how incredibly easy this bread was to make and my whole family is in LOVE! It was finished by mid-afternoon yesterday and both loaves were gone by this morning! my second batch is in the oven baking as we speak!
Rhonda — wonderful to hear this!
I’m curious if anyone has had success using a loaf pan. I only have one oven safe bowl; I’m probably going to use the other half in one of my loaf pans and just see if it works. Would like feedback if anyone has it to share. Thanks! (BTW, thanks for sharing the recipe! It looks fabulous.)
Turned out great in loaf pans! Thanks again.
Billie Jo — I was just about to get back to you! I’m glad you had success with the loaf pan. You’ve answered your own question, but yes, many of the commenters have had success using loaf pans. The bowls just give the bread more of a dinner loaf kind of feel. Anyway, sorry I didn’t get back to you in time!
I just wanted to thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. I used two rectangle glass lock and lock containers and they worked great! I have to make another batch tomorrow because my husband is in love with the home made bread now 🙂
Hana — wonderful to hear this!
I just made this bread and had my first piece warm and with some butter and it is awesome!! Can’t wait for my kids to try it, they will love it! Just wondering how you store it? Thanks!
Raquel — wonderful to hear this! If I know I am going to go through the two loaves within 3 or 4 days, then I just store the loaves at room temperature in a ziplock bag. But if I think it is going to take longer, then I slice the loaves up, wrap a bundle of 5 or 6 pieces in plastic wrap, and then stick the bundle in a ziplock bag and store it in the freezer. It toasts beautifully!
This bread was very yummy. I coated the pan with olive oil, sea salt and thyme before I baked it! It turned out really good, but I had a really bad problem with it sticking to the pan after it baked. Any suggestions?
Keri — yes, use butter! Butter is the key to prevent sticking. Olive oil doesn’t work. And don’t skimp on the butter either. It adds flavor, helps with browning and best of all, prevents sticking. Glad you liked it! Love the idea of adding sea salt and thyme.
I made this last week and it’s great! I’m ready to make it now and just realized I am incredibly low on sugar. Has anyone made it without sugar?
Shelley, I haven’t, but I would say go for it or just use a teaspoon or whatever you have. Do you have any honey? Or maple syrup? Since the recipe only calls for 2 to 3 teaspoons of sugar, I think these would make fine substitutes.
My husband and I both love good bread and I know we would have eaten both loaves, so to save our waistlines I halved the recipe to make just one loaf and it worked great! Minor point in favor of making just one loaf – you don’t have to try to split the dough into two portions. I am going to try the “faux focaccia” this weekend – that sounds lush!
India — wonderful to hear this! I hope you like the faux focaccia. I have been making faux ciabatta rolls for sandwiches… will report on those soon. Happy Weekend!
I tried your recipe today, and I have to say that I was very disappointed. I followed your recipe to the nth degree and there is no way you can have a wet dough with only 2 cups of water!!!!! Very disappointed, this is the 3rd recipe I have tried on these blogs and not one turned out. I have been cooking for 45 years and I can’t be that stupid……
Elaine — Look, I don’t know how many times I’ve made this bread, but every time I’ve made it, the dough is wet. We obviously measure flour differently. Here’s some advice: buy a scale, weigh out 1 lb. 2 oz of flour, add 2 cups of water to that mixture, and then report back here on the texture of the dough. I’m sorry my tone isn’t so pleasant, but I don’t like receiving nasty comments when I spend a lot of time in this space trying to explain things very carefully because all I hope is that these recipes turn out well for people who try them. Seriously, nothing makes me happier than when recipes turn out well for my Readers, and nothing makes me less happy when they don’t. If you’ve been cooking for 45 years and are disappointed with what you’ve tried on blogs, then stop reading them.
Thank you so much!! We absolutely love this bread. And it’s so easy!! I make it all the time.
Helen — wonderful to hear this!
i’d always been intimidated by the idea of baking breads of any kind, but now i can have fresh, hot, crusty loaves in no time!
thanks so much for this dead simple and oh-so delicious recipe. =)
p.s. i used all-purpose bleached flour and halved the recipe because i only had one 1.5qt bowl for baking. i needed to add extra water to get everything incorporated, but it turned out fantastic.
Heather — wonderful to hear this! People often ask about halving the recipe, which I cannot believe I still have not tried, and they also ask about bleached flour, so I’m happy to hear you have had success with both. Thanks so much for writing in!
Hi!
LOVE this bread. It is so easy. Can I get some advice though? First time: did not use your mom’s wet towel/oven trick. Dough did rise on 1st step- did not rise on 2nd step (transfer to bowls)
Second Time: Used your mom’s wet towel/oven trick and dough still didn’t rise on the 2nd step (after an hour). What do you think I could be doing wrong or where do you think I could make an adjustment? I also mixed the yeast with the Lukewarm water/sugar mixture and it looks bubbly- although not as bubbly as your picture.
Thanks so much!
Dinine
Dinine — So sorry for this delayed response! I hope we can get to the bottom of your questions. Many people have had issues with the second rise, and I am still a little stumped.
OK, what size bowls are you using to bake off the loaves in? That could be the issue. My bowls are on the small size — 1 qt each — and because they are small, the second rise in the photos looks more dramatic than what it would look like if I were using a 2-qt bowl or even a 1.5-qt bowl.
Also, what kind of yeast are you using? Instant or active dry? And what brand?
I’m glad to hear the first rise is going well. And just to double check, the oven during the first rise is only slightly warm right? In other words, you only preheated the oven for 1 minute total and then shut it off? For the second rise, I don’t cover the bowls. I always just place the dough on my stovetop, which is a nice warm spot, and let it rise for about 20 to 30 minutes, but never for much more because the dough would be spilling over the sides.
Let me know these answers, and I promise I will respond more quickly…it was a busy week!
Hi! I wanted to make the bread in muffin tins like you suggested but I’m not sure how long I should be leaving it in the oven/ at what temp, etc.
Thanks!
Leslie, hi! OK, I would first just make sure the muffin tins are buttered extra well. Don’t fill the muffin cups more than 1/2 to 2/3 of the way up with dough. Let the dough rise in the cups for about 20 to 30 min (this is the second rise we are talking about) or until it is at the rim or has just peeked over the rim. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes at 425ºF, and then 5 to 10 minutes at 375ºF. The total baking time for the mini-loaves should be about 20 to 25 minutes. Hope that helps. Let me know if there is anything else!
Made this bread for dinner this evening..boy is it amazing!!! I definitely will be making it again!
Unfortunately, my issue is the same as DININE’S…My first rise was perfect but 2nd rise was flat.
I divided my dough into 2 quart Pyrex bowls… should I make one loaf only using only one 2 quart bowl ? Do you think that will make the difference?
Looking forward to your response 🙂
Leah, hi! — So sorry for this delayed response! Many people have had issues with the second rise, and I am still a little stumped, so I hope I can help you out.
OK, I think the size of the bowls could be the issue. I mentioned this to Dinine, too, but my bowls are on the small size — 1 qt each — and because they are small, the second rise in the photos looks more dramatic than what it would look like if I were using a 2-qt bowl. How long are you letting the second rise go for? It really shouldn’t take much more than 30 minutes, and my advice would be to just stick the loaves in the oven at the 30 minute mark regardless of how high they appear to be.
Also, what kind of yeast are you using? Instant or active dry? And what brand?
I’m glad to hear the first rise is going well. And just to double check, the oven during the first rise is only slightly warm right? In other words, you only preheated the oven for 1 minute total and then shut it off? I just want to make sure that you are partially baking the dough during the first rise, which some of the first people who tried this recipe had done.
Let me know these answers, and I promise I will respond more quickly…it has been a crazy week!
Would love some advice re: post above. Anyone?
I liked the ‘easy’ part, but once I got started writing down the instructions, it didn’t seem quite so easy.. I’m just an ignorant Ortonville, MI farm boy and we’ll see how this goes…
Jr — don’t be deterred by the instructions! They are a little too detailed but that’s intentional in this post bc bread always gives people issues. Let me know if you have any questions!