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 homemade 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 4:00 pm and turned out onto the dinner table at 7:00 pm. 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 simple pita bread recipe and these no-knead dinner rolls.
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 and sandwiches of all kinds.
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 below). This recipe for no-knead buttermilk pull-apart rolls is also based on the peasant bread recipe.
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 (no longer available unfortunately), these seed-coated sandwich loaves (pictured below) have a soft and light crumb.
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 below) isn’t as simple as swapping in gluten-free flour for wheat flour. But the process is still relatively simple — in fact, because there’s only one rise, many people find the gluten-free peasant bread recipe 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 below, 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’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 the Trailblazer flour, for example, 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 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 onecosts 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.
- #6: Whole Wheat Peasant Bread. Use as much as 50% whole wheat flour.
- 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.
6,584 Comments on “My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make”
You are so right the bread does make great toast!! Another question, have you tried to freeze this bread? Thank you.
Marti, hi! Yes, I have frozen the bread in slices but never as a whole loaf. So, basically, when the bread is completely cool and always on the day that I bake it, I slice it up into slices that are the thickness of toast/sandwich bread, and then I stack about half of the slices or a third of the slices on top of each other and wrap each stack in plastic wrap. Then I place the wrapped pieces in a ziplock bag. Also, though I never have frozen a whole loaf, if you are looking to have dinner bread on hand, I suppose freezing it whole or cut into quarters would be appropriate. Hope that helps!
Thanks for sharing your Mother’s recipe! I always think it is wonderful of people to share their family recipes, because those are the most precious. I can’t wait to try this. I don’t have a round bowl, I will have to get one. I DO have a round Pyrex bowl, but it is one of those blue mixing bowls (with those same flowers on it though, ha-ha!) but I don’t think it could stand the heat in the oven. Anyway, sorry to run on! Thanks for sharing! See you on Pinterest. 😉
Best,
Gloria
Gloria — you are so welcome! Maybe your blue bowl is oven-safe? Does it not say so on the bottom? I hope it is so that you don’t have to buy another. See you on Pinterest!
pyrex bowls (about 1-L or 1.5 L)
what size do you mean 1 qt. or 1 1/2 quart???
I got a set of clear pyrex bowl small, mediucm and large
then I got a nest of 4 bowls that are pyrex there the color ones
thanks for your help want to try this recipe
Faye
Faye — I would use the 1L size which I think is also the 1-qt size. It’s confusing because on the bottom of my 322-sized bowl, it says 1L, but on the website it says 1-qt.
In any case, if you have the 1-qt/1L size, use that, but if you don’t, the 1.5 L size will work just fine too — I have used both. I hope that helps!
I’m really looking forward to trying this recipe but don’t have enough oven-safe bowls. I have 2 glass loaf pans that are 5″x9″. Do you think I could bake the bread in loaf pans?
Beth — yes, definitely. Be sure to butter them well, and you’ll have to use your judgment about when they’ll be ready to go in the oven. The loaf pans are going to be a little large for the quantity of dough, so the dough might only creep up halfway or 3/4 of the way up the sides of the pan before it’s ready for the oven. I think if you place the loaf pans on top of your stovetop during the second rise, and let it rise for about 30 to 45 minutes, you should be good to go. After you make this once, you might try experimenting with 1.5 times the recipe so that the dough fits the pans a little bit better. Good luck with it!
This bread is so good, I love the buttery crunchy crust and the soft center. Both my husband and son gave is double thumbs up!
Thanks for sharing a family recipe.
Adrienne — you are so welcome! So happy that it was a hit with your fam. There is nothing like warm homemade bread.
It is seriously awesome that this recipe is from the Palo Alto Junior League Cookbook. Such humble beginnings for such humble bread.
Looks wonderful too! The no-knead, ready-in-3-hours, spongy-moist-buttery-crust bits convince me that this must be made, soon.
Apologies in advance – this is going to sound rude! I cannot believe I made it down the entire post and no picture was provided of the cut loaf! When you post about bread, the most important part is the crumb, so pls don’t neglect that in the future – ok? Thanks;)
(Again, sorry!)
tj — will add a photo of the sliced bread as soon as I make another loaf
Hello!
First I would like to point out that this was my first experience- EVER- making bread. I cannot knead do to carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis in my spine, so I haven’t been able to have any fresh bread without paying $4 + a loaf. So, not at all, basically.
I made this bread using your recipe, and I added a bit of my own love, as good chefs do. I added a bit of fresh rosemary, a smaller bit of dried, some onion powder, and a touch of garlic powder.
I have to tell you, this is literally the best bread I have ever eaten. It was dense, and moist, and yeasty, and wonderful. I thought I didn’t really like bread my whole life…turns out I just didn’t like bland store bread.
Your bread was so popular in my home, my 11 year old asked for it for snack, instead of the junk food he usually begs for. I can count on one finger the times he’s ever asked for bread and butter. That was it.
My one year old devoured two slices, and he’s so picky at lunchtime these days, it felt like a miracle.
Your mother’s recipe is going to be a staple in my home from this day forth, and I personally want to thank you for the recipe.
Thank you for this deliciousness. 5 Stars!
~Holly.
HollyL — your comment almost made me start crying! I can’t tell you how happy this makes me. I love the additions you made. I cannot believe that in all the years I have been making this bread I have not really branched out with variations…I think it’s about time to start. Rosemary would be so wonderful for the holidays! Also, I can totally relate to the “miracle” of seeing your children eat… I have one very picky eater on my hands. Anyway, thanks so much for writing in.
Just an update…I made the bread again yesterday to take to my father-in-laws 76th birthday party. Once again it was sooo good. This time I measured the flour as I always do dipping my measuring cup into the flour container, loosening it up a big, scooping out the flour and then leveling off the top. I then placed it onto my scale to see how many cups equaled the 1lb. plus 2 oz. your recipe called for. It only took 3 cups to reach that weighted measurement. No wonder it was not a wet dough the last time I made it =) It looked and handled more like your descriptions and pictures this time. Just wanted to let your readers know incase they had trouble. It worked much better for me weighing the flour. Thank you again for your great website!
Jamie — awesome. Thanks so much for reporting back. I am going to make a note in the recipe that a scant four cups perhaps even closer to 3 cups might be more accurate to the amount of flour that the recipe calls for. How nice of you to bake for the party. I hope it was fun, and I hope others enjoyed the bread as well!
This looks similar to a casserole cheese bread that I make which also has a very wet dough and is no knead. Your bread looks delicious – I love the big round shape of it from the pyrex bowl. Will have to give it a go soon
Explody Full — you will love it!
Hi, I just tried this bread today and it was the BEST bread I’ve ever made/eaten! Hubby won’t stop eating it!! I was just wondering how it would go if I made the dough before I went to bed, and refrigerated it to bake the next day. Would it work? Would love to have this bread ready to bake when I get home from work!
Courtney — I am SO happy to hear this. It disappears pretty quickly when it’s warm doesn’t it? I have refrigerated the dough overnight and baked it the next morning with success, but I’ve never waited as long as a full day to bake it off. So, my only worry is that even in the cold of the fridge that it might over-rise. It might be totally fine, but if something were to go wrong, that would probably be it. I would suggest cutting back the yeast just a teensy bit. Maybe do a scant two teaspoons or even 1.5 teaspoons? I’m kind of guessing here, but I think with the long slow rise in the fridge 1.5 teaspoons or a scant two teaspoons might help prevent it from rising so high that it halls on its own. Wish I could offer more guidance. If my fridge weren’t stuffed to the brim right now, I would try this experiment tonight/tomorrow. Report back if you make any discoveries!
I have tears in my eyes just reading this recipe and the glorious comments about this bread. Since my diagnosis about 3 years ago, I have not had a decent piece of bread! Please, please, please will you try to adapt this recipe for gluten-free flours…preferably an excellent gluten-free blend from King Arthur Flour.
You’re in luck! I made a gluten-free variation last year. And I used King Arthur Gluten-Free Flour which I love. Good luck with it! Making G-F bread is a little tricky to get used to at first.
Is it possible to halve this recipe?
Clara — I haven’t tried, but I don’t see why not? Maybe I’ll try this tomorrow morning. I think I mentioned this to someone else, but just make sure you have a small enough bowl to let the dough make it’s first rise in. In other words, don’t stick it in your largest bowl. I know these are vague terms, but a medium-sized mixing bowl would work well. Good luck with it!
Hey, I just made this bread today, and I did end up halving the recipe because I am the only one who will be eating it. It looks like it turned out beautifully! I’m currently waiting for it to cool off so I can try it! I let the yeast, water and sugar bloom for about ten minutes, and let it rise in a warm (but not on) oven for an hour, then on top of the preheating oven for 20 minutes.
I was initially worried that there would be too much dough for the bowl but it ended up filling up the bowl perfectly and rising above the rim much like the pictures above once it started cooking! Best of luck!
I just got a slice and it is suuuuper delicious! Warm, buttery, and yeasty! I will mention that I used two cups of flour because I couldn’t weight it, and noticed the dough looked a tad too dry, and ended up adding two teaspoons of water to the dough. The dough then looked like the proper consistency in the photographs.
Wonderful to hear this, Ashleigh!
Awesome recipe! Mine didn’t rise as much as I think it should have, but tasted great nonetheless! Next time I think I’ll try putting different combos like sunflower seeds and dried cranberries or sprinkle some cheddar on top before baking as it turned out pretty crusty but delicious! Who says you can’t eat well in university?? Thank you so much for posting 🙂
I’m hoping this turns out…I’m having a homemade bread craving. I’m a little concerned though since I just mixed it up, and it’s currently in the first rise stage, but my dough didn’t seem very ‘wet’ in fact I added about a T more warm water just to incorporate the last of the flour at the bottom of my mixing bowl. Anyone else have this problem?
Just saw Jamie’s comment…well, we’ll see what I get with 4 cups carefully measured but not weighed flour. At least now I know for Thanksgiving. Luckily today was my (pardon the pun) dry run.
So another question…..have you ever tried putting into muffin cups for the second rise to make rolls?
Karyl — Sorry I didn’t get to you in time. I just added a note to the recipe about going light when measuring the flour. I hope it turned out well for you. And no, I have never tried muffin cups, but I have baked off mini loaves in ramekins, and I think baking in muffin tins would have the same effect. Just be sure to really grease the muffin tins well with butter, and don’t fill them higher than half way up, and bake them when the dough has risen to the top of the cup. Hope that helps. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi! Maybe this has already been covered in the comments and I just didn’t see it ..but…Can this be baked in anything other then glass? The only oven safe baking dishes I have are cake pans, and I’d rather not make bread in those! lol … I have several regular metal loaf pans, and muffin tins….would either of those work?
MomofSDJ — Hello! I think metal loaf pans will work just fine — somebody commented that they baked the bread in the metal loaf pans with success. My only concern with the metal loaf pans, and the commenter agreed, is that they are a little too big for the amount of dough. This is fine of course, but the bread won’t rise as high during the second rise, and the ultimate loaf will be a little flatter than what you see in the pictures. I don’t think the flavor will be affected much, just the shape and perhaps the texture a teensy bit. I have not tried muffin tins but I think that is a great idea. Just be sure, as with the loaf pans, to really grease them well. Seriously, don’t be shy. Good luck with it!
I am sooo trying this RIGHT NOW! … and if it turns out good, I am making this for thanksgiving!!!!! Ohhhh this is going to be sooooo yummy!!!! Thank you Thank you for sharing!!! 🙂 I’ll let you know how the muffin tins turn out!
MomofSDJ — awesome! Let me know how it turns out.
I’m on the first rise right now, getting ready for the second. I will let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the recipe. It looks delicious.
ReMarkovable — How did it turn out? It sounds as though the first rise was going well?
First ever attempt at bread… But when mine went in the oven it didn’t rise anymore!! Surprisingly it still tastes good… But what did I do wrong??! Definitely want to try again. I used quick rise yeast packet… 🙁
Kristen — I’m happy to hear that the bread still tasted good, but sorry about the trouble with the rises. So, did you let the bread make its initial rise for an hour or an hour and a half or until it had doubled? And then, did you let it rise again in your buttered bowls? If you used larger bowls than the ones I used in the photos, then your loaf might come out flatter than mine, which is totally normal. The key is to have patience especially with the second rise. If you have the time to let the dough rise till it’s just above the rim or at least at the rim of the bowl, then there is a good chance it will puff higher in the oven. Hope that helps. And hope you’ll give it another go!
Hmmm…little confused here. Batter was not wet, loves didn’t rise to much….
I used ‘white whole wheat flour’ so I think that may be the culprit. Hope to give it another shot with white flower.
Going to break into them now, I am sure they will still be delish. 🙂 Thank you for the recipe.
-JM
JM — Yes, white whole wheat flour will bake the ultimate loaf very dense, and it will definitely take much longer to get the same kind of rises. If you want to add some whole wheat flour to the dough, I would start with one cup or two cups, and then add more when you see how that type of dough handles. And, I made a note last night, but if you are not measuring by weight, be sure to measure scant cups — one Reader commented that she weighed her cups of flour and discovered that the way she was measuring three cups of flour would have created the right consistency for the dough. Sorry this didn’t work out for you as you had hoped 🙁 I hope you’ll give it another shot.
I added cheddar cheese and jalapeños. Delicious!
Tricia — Yum! So happy to hear this.
This peasant bread looks amazingly tasty and simple. I will have to try making this soon.
Just wondering if half the dough can be refrigerated to bake the next day. Or, I guess I could make half a recipe.
Maddie — I have never tried this, but I worry a little bit about it over-rising even in the cold environment of the fridge. If you are planning on storing it in the fridge for more than 8 hours (like more like 10 to 18), I would decrease the yeast a little bit — maybe use 1.5 teaspoons? And if it doesn’t look as if it has doubled when you take it out of the fridge, let it rise a little bit longer at room temperature (or using the warm oven trick described in the recipe). I have not halved the recipe either, but I imagine that would work. I have been meaning to try both of these things — halving the dough and refrigerating the dough. Wish I could offer better guidance. Good luck with it. Report back if you make any discoveries!
I just made this and I am making another one because it is SO good and the first one has already been “taste tested” away by everyone lol. I am so grateful to you, thank you for sharing this with us! 🙂 This one is a keeper!!
Oh SaraC, this makes me so happy. I just want the bread to work out for everyone as it has for you! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Made this tonight with dinner and it was AWESOME!!! Love the crispy, buttery outside! My husband said this was his new favorite bread, and he felt like he was at a restaurant 🙂 I made mine in a larger Pyrex bowl, so it was shorter and thinner, kind of shaped like a pie. Tasted SOOO good, and it was so darn easy! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Jennie! Hooray! This makes me so happy. I know, doesn’t homemade bread really make everything seem so special? So glad the husband approved!
Thanks so much for not only the recipe, but also for the detailed pictures. They really helped. I’ve tried a variety of quick homemade yeast breads, and all have been a disaster……until now! I’m absolutely thrilled to report that my dismal bread-making days are over! These 2 loaves turned out delicious! Many, many thanks for sharing.
Tary — I am so happy to hear this! Bread making is so much fun (when it turns out), and it’s so much fun to share homemade bread with others. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
After the first rise and punch down I rolled them into golfball size balls topped with cinnimon and brown sugar and butter. baked about 10 minutes less and then drizzled with a mixture of milk and powdered sugar. just like monkey bread.
Susie, you are genius! I have always wanted to make monkey bread but thought you had to make a special kind of dough. So happy to hear that this dough can be used for monkey bread. Yum! Thanks for sharing.
I halved the recipe because I only had 1 oven safe bowl……I just ate the whole thing:)
Angela — Haha, I love it. I know, it goes down fast, right? So happy to know that the recipe can be halved. Thanks for reporting back!
Making my second batch now. I never thought I could make bread! Thanks so much for sharing your Mom’s recipe. It’s now one of my family’s favorites too!
Amy — So happy yo hear this! Happy Thanksgiving!
Ok I just started this. I did the yeast exactly how you said, and for some reason it does not seem to be foaming, any idea why? Should I do it over?
Camille — So sorry I didn’t get this till now. What did you decide to do? Was the yeast old? My advice would be to check the expiration. If it is old, I would start over with new yeast. What kind of yeast was it? And how long did you let it stand? If it isn’t foaming after 15 minutes, it does worry me a little bit. If the yeast is not expired, however, and you try another packet from the same batch and that one doesn’t foam either, I would just go for it. I hope it works out. There is nothing worse than when recipes don’t turn out. Let me know if I can answer any other questions.