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.
6,417 Comments on “My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make”
I just made this bread….AWESOME!!! Thank you so much for posting the videos on how to do this. They were really helpful. I did want to know why you shouldn’t use bleached all-purpose flour? I have more of that than of the bread flour.
Monica — so happy to hear this! You can use bleached flour — many commenters have had success with bleached flour — but the bread comes out so much better with unbleached flour. It’s really just a matter of taste. Hope that helps!
Can you raise and bake this bread in jumbo muffin pans instead of a bowl? I have pans to make 12 jumbo muffing.
Yes! I added some fresh thyme to the recipe and baked the dough in a 12-cup (not jumbo) muffin tin for Thanksgiving: https://alexandracooks.com/2013/11/26/thyme-dinner-rolls/
Thanks for sharing your mother’s. I am a lazy cook and use my bread oven all the time for bread and pizza dough. I feel like being adventurous and will try your recipe tomorrow as it looks very easy!
Oops my computer posted my note a little too soon. I meant to thanks for sharing your mother’s recipe!
Wonderful! Hope it turns out well for you!
Alexandra, I wrote to you back in November thanking you for this recipe. Since then I have been making this bread several times a week. I use the small pyrex bowls to make hamburger buns, and I have been using pyrex 1.2 qt loaf pans to make the bread so it fits in the toaster (it is wonderful toasted). I also make cinnamon bread by layering the dough with cinnamon sugar to make a breakfast bread. This is the easiest, best bread EVER. Anyone can make it. Thank you again.
So happy to hear this Lynn! I am going to try the cinnamon and sugar layering next time. My daughter is obsessed with cinnamon toast. She would love it if the actual cinnamon were in the bread. yum!
I love love love this recipe!!! I don’t use the pyrex bowls though. Instead I use my dutch oven. I’ve also made variations with fresh rosemary mixed in & I have a loaf in the oven right now with thin sliced garlic. This is definitely a recipe to go into the family cookbook! Thank you for sharing!!
so happy to hear this Gwenn! love the idea of fresh rosemary. Garlic sounds amazing too. yum 🙂
Thanks so much for posting this recipe, made it last night, it was fabulous, I have always made my own bread by the usual method, but this saves so much time, I sprinkled the top with roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds , heavenly, thanks again
Yum! and Yay!
I’ve made this bread twice in the last 3 days. It’s wonderful! The first time my bowls were too large, but it was still delicious. Today, I did one large loaf and it is perfect. No more running to the store to buy bread for dinner! Hooray!!! ♥
Yay! So happy to hear this Anna. Glad you didn’t give up after using the big bowls…sometimes it just takes a little but of trial and error figuring out what bowls/pans work best. Thanks for writing in!
Did the baking time change? Please share details of how long you baked the large loaf at 425 and 375.
I bake the large loaf basically the same: 15 minutes at 425; 17 minutes at 375; and then I check. Sometimes with bigger loaf, I cook it a couple of minutes longer. Sometimes I take it out of the bowl and cook it directly on the rack for a few minutes, too. The larger loaf is more prone to collapsing in the center because of it’s big shape, so a few more minutes of baking is a good idea.
Thank you!!
Thanks so much for this recipe. Ive been threatening to make bread for years, and this excellent tutorial finally gave me the courage. In the last two weeks i’ve made 8 batches, with each becoming easier and better. My family keeps asking for it, I enjoy making it, and its so much more economical than going to the bakery.
Now that I feel confident in the process and results, I get it mixed, pop it in our oven for rising on a proof-mode, and go cut firewood till its ready for dividing and baking. Not bad for a guy who doesn’t bake ! And I love the simple cleanup – no mixer, flour covered counter, or crusted bread pans.
Thank you so much !
Bob, it’s so wonderful to hear all of this. I have said this before, but nothing that I cook makes my family happier than this bread. There is something so comforting about it. I am impressed by your time management, too. I’m going to forward this comment to my husband…he will be inspired. Thanks for writing in!
This WAS AMAZING! EASY, FAST, delicious! As suggested I took it out of the bowls and popped it into the oven for about 5-7 minutes for more browning and crunch. Even 5 days later, it toasted up like expensive, artisan bread, chewy on the inside, CRUNCHY crust! LOVE IT! I will make this every week. The only change I made to the recipe was adding a tablespoon or two of wheat germ and ground flax and I did use bread flour. Again, AMAZING!!!!!! (As testament to the superiority of this easy bread – I have NEVER written a comment on ANY blog before.)
haha, nice! I am very honored to be the first recipient of one of your blog comments and such a positive one to boot…thank you! So happy you like the bread. Love the additions you made. That’s a great way to sneak in a little more fiber and nutrients. Thanks for writing in!
what happens with bleached AP flour? Its all I have right now and I am dying for this bread!!!!!
Sarah you can still use bleached AP flour — many commenters have had success — but I just find the texture and flavor to be not as good when using bleached AP flour. Hope that helps!
Alexandra, thank you so much for sharing your mother’s peasant bread recipe. It turned out exactly like you promised. Your instructional videos made a big difference. I immediately noticed your charming fish-shaped salt pig. I hope you might share how to find one similar. I’ve been searching for one like it, but fear it must be a one of a kind.
You are correct to emphasize “vintage” Pyrex bowls. I am new to your website so I suspect you’ve already discussed the concern with the newer exploding Pyrex. By googling “Exploding Pyrex,” you will find a discussion by Snopes about the change from borosilicate glass (doesn’t explode) to the newer soda lime glass. To be safe, Pyrex made before 1980 appears to be safe to use in the oven.
I wish I had a source, Mary! My husband picked that up on a high school trip to Mexico many years ago. I have looked on Ebay but I haven’t been able to find anything quite like it. It is one of my favorites, too. If I find a soure, I will let you know.
Thanks for the tip regarding exploding Pyrex — I haven’t actually gone into detail with this on the blog, but I have done a little bit of research on borosilicate glass versus the new stuff. Very interesting. It’s unfortunate that they changed the formula. Thanks for writing in!
Hello again, Alexandra. Thank you so much for the information about your husband’s trip to Mexico. I found the cutest wide-mouth fish on EBay. For anyone searching for something like your fish, google “Mexican story pottery”, images. Sprinkled among the pictures are several cute fish. I’m so glad I saw yours.
Thank you again for sharing your bread recipe. I’m making my second batch right now!
Awesome tip, Mary, thanks so much! I just googled what you said and found a fish salt cellar on ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mexican-Story-Pottery-Decorative-Fish-Folk-Art-Glazed-Terra-Cotta-Figurine-/321238127629?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4acb48d40d
So cute! so happy you are liking the bread!
I found your recipe quite some time ago…in the post, you had a link to a source for the Pyrex bowls. I just happened to find it on a day when the bowls were on sale for $1.99 each. I bought 48 of them! I baked bread and gave two bowls to each family at Christmas along with a copy of your recipe. I have used my ‘new’ Pyrex bowls many times and have never had a problem. Do you think I should warn those who received these as gifts that there might be a danger??
I am also interested in seeing if anyone has made this bread ‘gluten free’? I have family members who are on gluten free diets, and have also recently heard that when trying to lose weight (which I am) to avoid wheat. But I am totally addicted to this bread!! LOL! Haven’t bought store made bread in almost four months! Any ideas or suggestions would be very welcome!
Oh my gosh, this is the best thing I have ever read. I actually bought a few bowls at that same price and now wished I had bought more — what a great idea! I just looked — they’re back up to $3.49. I hope your family members liked the gifts and have been making the bread! I love giving these bowls as gifts and have never had a problem with exploding Pyrex, so I don’t think you have to worry in regard to the bowls you gave as gifts. I think with any material like this, you have to be careful about not plunging the hot bowls into ice cold water, but otherwise, I think they can handle the 425ºF heat.
I have not had success yet making this bread gluten free and not one commenter yet has written in with great results, but if I make any discoveries, I will be sure to update this post. And I know, we are totally addicted to this bread, too. I make a double batch twice a week, sometimes more. So happy you like it, too. If you are looking to make it a little bit healthier, you could sub one cup of whole wheat flour or one cup of cornmeal for one of the cups of flour. Thanks so much for writing in!
I have made this several times, and it’s so simple, but so delicious. Thank you so much!!
Wonderful!
I just made this bread tonight and oh my, Thank You! Wonderful texture and taste and oh so easy. I have been making breads at home for over a year now and am a fan of the no knead bread but I must say that I think I have found my new favorite. Awesome!!!!
YOu are so welcome! I’m so happy to hear this!
Im making this recipe as we speak…Im a long time bread maker and am stumped that this recipe has no oil.
Well its finished and I must say…its very delicious. My children asked if Id make it again and I loved not having to knead it…its reminiscent of beer bread with out the OVERPOWERING hop/yeast flavor…I DO like this recipe and will use it often from here on out…Thank you Alexandra s mom, thanks Alexandra!
You are so welcome, Diana! So happy to hear that your children approve, too…they are the most honest judges 🙂
Made this for the first time today. Very easy, Didn’t get it cut in half and plopped in the two bowls as easy as you did but it worked. House smelled wonderful while it was baking. It is great, soft and delicious on the inside and has that little crunch on the outside. Perfect. Direction were terrific. Thank you.
Wonderful to hear this, Chris. Sometimes the dividing and plopping is tricky. I suggest using smallish forks — like salad forks as opposed to dinner forks — or any fork with relatively small tines. The larger dinner forks always give me more trouble.
Loved the bread. Loved the videos especially the one where the kids show up! Great directions. Mine didn’t plop out in spite of loads of butter. I really had to coax the loaves which rather spoiled the shape. Any suggestions? I haven’t searched older posts to see if anyone else had this issue. And, like Leah, I have never posted a comment on a blog. I’m going to make more bread tomorrow. Might put a small piece of parchment paper in bottom of bowls.
Amanda, I am stumped! What kind of bowls did you use? I rarely have an issue when I grease the bowls well. Did you try parchment yet?
Yes, the parchment worked great. I put a strip across bottom and up sides. But I will try again without because I think I may not have cooked first batch long enough which is why it stuck. Definitely ” operator error” and not your terrific instructions.
ok, cool, thanks so much for reporting back! Cooking time may have been an issue. Keep us posted on future experiments 🙂
You’re finished product looks far better, but I am thrilled by the ease of this recipe. Thank you!
I love this bread recipe thanks so much for sharing, do you think it would work in a baguette tin?
Jennie, I worry that the dough is too wet and that it will not hold up properly. Are you talking about those perforated curved pans? I love the idea and it’s worth a shot — i have one of those pans and am tempted to try — but I worry about the dough seeping through the holes.
I have loaf pan stoneware, Could you use these to bake the bread in or is it necessary to always use a glass bowl.
Hi Linda, you can definitely use your loaf pan — just be sure to grease it well. Also, just a head’s up — dont try to bake the whole batch in a single loaf pan. Split the dough between two pans or double the recipe and split the dough between three pans. Hope that helps!
Very delicious and so simple! I have never made bread before but this has begun my bread making journey. Lol. Thanks for sharing.
Yay!
Great recipe make it every it 3 times a week great toasted my husband won’t have shop bought bread now many thanks for the easiest and tasty bread I’ve ever made or tasted
Yay! So happy to hear this!
This recipe sounds fantastic and I would really like to try it. I don’t have Pyrex bowls, has anyone tried baking the bread in a regular loaf pan? thanks D
You can definitely use regular loaf pans. Just a head’s up — dont try to bake the whole batch in a single loaf pan. Split the dough between two pans or double the recipe and split the dough between three pans. Hope that helps!
Would love to make this bread, but do not have any pyrex bowls. I do, however, have a Cuisinart Dutch Oven and wondered if I could use that.
I think that should work just fine. What size is it? And are the sides sloped at all? Hopefully not inward? The key will be to grease it really well, and depending on the size, you might want to bake the whole batch of dough in it at one time (as opposed to splitting the dough in half.) If you do not split the dough, you might need to bake it for a little bit longer so that the center cooks through.
This recipe sounds so easy to make, would it work using soya spread instead of butter though as I’m lactose intolerant? Most bought bread contains milk so I’ve been searching for homemade recipes and this sounds by far the easiest 🙂
I never comment on anything, but I had to say “Thank You!!!!” for sharing this wonderful recipe. I have never made, or tasted, such a delicious bread. Can’t wait to try the variations!
Yay! So happy to hear this!
Would it be possible to make the bread using a bread pan? I really want to try this recipe but I lack a vintage Pyrex bowl!
Yes, absolutely! Don’t try to bake the whole batch in one pan, however. Do 3/4 of the dough in the loaf pan, and then bake off the rest of the dough in buttered ramekins or muffin tins. And be sure to butter the loaf pan really well!
We have a VERY warm to hot south facing window (even on this 4 degree day!) The bread has been doing its first rise for about 15 minutes and is already very noticeably rising. Can it rise too quickly? If i let it sit for 1 hour it will probably be out of the bowl.
Oh no! What ended up happening? I think if your bowl is big enough, you should be ok, or, you could always move the bowl to a cooler location.
I am a first-time-commenter also! I am making this bad right now. I am so excited about it. I fixed it in ramekins and am going to serve it with lasagna. I did do something a little different. Not with the recipe, but the process. After I mixed up the dough I turned it in to a greased bowl to rise. When I punched it down it didn’t stick at all. I also viewed my hands to divide it between the ramekins. It was very easy and plus, the dough gets external butter on it. 🙂 Win win! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!!!!
That is supposed to say buttered…..LOL
My mother always places the dough in a greased bowl to rise! I’ve just gotten lazy 🙂 She swears by the extra butter, too, so I’m happy you took the time to do that. Hope the bread turned out well!
Thankee SO MUCH for sharing a winning recipe and tips (water temp for yeast, how to use the oven for rising) for going to the trouble of making videos too. I have the 2.5L Cinderella bowl and was initially drawn to your recipe because of a pinterest photo showing “my” bowl, but I tried your recipe because I have neck issues and cannot knead bread dough. It worked perfectly in the 2.5L bowl.
Thankyouthankyouthankyou!
You are so welcome! So happy to hear that 2.5L Cinderella bowl worked out well for you — doesn’t it make such a dramatic loaf?!