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.
6,401 Comments on “My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make”
I really love that you added the videos. I’m more of a visual person and you make this look very easy. I can’t wait to try making this. It looks delicious!
I just made this bread. It came out perfect and is “oh my gosh” delicious. When I told my husband I was making bread he gave me the ole side eye as I’m known for my many mishaps when it comes to baking or cooking. If I can make this, anyone can make it. Thank you for posting the recipe & you tube videos. Very helpful!
So happy to hear this, Jenni!
Jenni,
Just dying to know what your husband said after he tasted the bread. I am making it for Thanksgiving.
I am very new to bread making (this is only the third yeast bread recipe I’ve tried) and I just had to leave a comment to thank you (and your mum) for this fantastic recipe! This bread ticked all the boxes: easy, fast, good crust and crumb and wonderful balanced flavor. This will be my go-to bread recipe from now on. Thanks again!
Yay! Wonderful to hear this!
What a fantastic recipe! I tried it yesterday with great success. I did mine with my sourdough starter, I reduced the flour to 3 cups and the water to 1 cup and used 2 cups of my starter. Mmmmm so good. I don’t know if I can ever go back to the kneaded kind of bread now! Thank you for the great recipe and delicious pictures!
Oooh, a sourdough starter… sounds amazing!
Cassandra, when you make sourdough with this recipe do you only use the sourdough starter or do you add store bought yeast also? I just finished making my first sourdough starter and was planning on making a sourdough version of Alexandra’s recipe, which has become a staple around our house. Any pointers would be appreciated!
I am also interested in Brad’s question.
Sourdough is great.
+1
Question about turning this into faux focaccia: Do you let it rise twice, punching down in between like the original recipe, or do you simply let it rise once in the 13×9 pan as the brief instructions state? Trying that one out is a definite, but I don’t want to screw it up! 🙂
Hi Katie! Yes, let the dough rise twice. I just read that variation, and I can see why it would be confusing. So, let the dough make its first rise in the mixing bowl for an hour or hour and a half. Punch it down, then transfer it to the buttered/oiled 9×13 pan. You might find that you’ll need to stretch it out a bit with your fingers, then let it rest for a bit, then stretch it out again — the resting time helps the gluten relax and will allow you to get a better stretch. Let me know if there is anything else!
I made this bread today for the first time, and I actually halved the recipe because I was low on all purpose flour, and it turned out great! The flavor is wonderful, and this bread is super easy to make. I make a white sandwich style bread, and I really thinkthe flavor of this one beats my other one, hands down! The next time I make it, I’ll probably use the whole recipe, but if anyone is wondering, it halved perfectly!
Good to know! Thanks and so glad this recipe worked out for you!
This bread is awesome. It is quite possibly the best bread I have ever made.
This sounds wonderful! Gonna make it tomorrow. Any suggested changes in times or temps for high-altitude prep? At 5,000 ft., baking can get weird.
I made this last night and it was delicious. I purchased a set of Pyrex mixing bowls that are oven proof as well just for this recipe. They worked out perfectly. I didn’t have a great second rise but in reading the comments, I think it was how I measured my flour. I will definitely make it again.
As I am only cooking for two, I had the entire larger loaf left over. I used it to make French Toast for breakfast. It was great! Still have half a loaf to use. Thinking about bread pudding for dinner tomorrow.
Two questions: 1) do you have a recommendation on storing the extra bread to keep it fresh? Perhaps even crunchy? 2) any other suggestions on how you have used this leftover bread?
Just piping in to say that I have the same question about storage. I LOVE this bread, and would like to make it for my family’s Christmas gathering, but will have to travel for that. Does it freeze very well? If so, how would I go about freezing it to capture the best texture? Thanks!
Miranda, once the bread cools down after baking, I slice it up, put wax paper between the slices and freeze it in a ziplock bag. Then I take out one slice at a time or as I need it. The bread freezes incredibly well.
I live this bread. We ate it all in a couple hours the first time I made it. But, eaxh time I make it, it barely rises the second time. I can’t get it to the top of the bowl. Do you think it would help to need it a few times in between rising.
Thanks
REALLY want to try this. Maybe tomorrow if I can get the ingredients. I’m in Scotland and don’t think I’ve ever seen all-purpose flour here, only plain / self-raising / strong bread flour. I’m guessing I’d go with the strong bread flour? Lisa
Hi Lisa,
I’m an American living in Australia and plain flour is the same as all-purpose flour in the US.
Happy baking!
Kelly
We love this recipe so I have taken to doing 2 batches to make 4 loaves at a time… I then freeze them. My problem is they are a bit dry after being frozen, what do you think I should do? Could it be that I use bread flour?
Is there a gluten free version for this bread? Im going to try the regular version first though.
My dad is a baker but I never really tried baking myself. I tried this recipe today for the first time (first time baking bread in fact) and it worked WONDERFULLY! So yummy! My only fail was that I didn’t grease the baking bowls nearly enough. The taste and the texture were spot on, though.
Thank you for posting this! It’s so simple and cheap!
I made this bread today. Loved it! Will most definitely make again and serve to guests! So simple and easy to make and yet so very good. I ate it plain but look forward to pairing it with cheeses, jams, smoked salmon, etc., possibilities are endless. Thank you for sharing!
This was wonderful ,I made it with half spelt flour, i have made the 18 hour no knead breads and this was every bit as good. thanks
I have been using this recipe for a while now. However, it hasn’t turned out as well as described in the article. But I kept using it but making simple changes each time. I’ve finally settled on something I really like. I stir the yeast in the liquid and let it sit for about 15-20 minutes, I combine 2/3 of the dry mix with the wet mix and beat it on high for 5 minutes. I read these 2 things that were posted by a lady who has made bread for 30 years and she swears by them. This time I also added egg. This effort turned out the best of any I’ve tried so far. The texture is awesome; soft and fluffy. By the way, I make sandwich loaves instead of the round loaves described in the article. I know that has no bearing on the outcome but thought I’d mention it anyway.
whats the difference in all purpose bleached and unbleached flour?
im making this as I type!!! The first rise was great!! Waiting on the second, but I believe it is doing the same as yours, Alex!!! My house smells fantastic, roast & trimmings in the crockpot and bread rising!!! My hubby will think he’s special!! LOL!! I’ll let you know how the finished product turns out!!! So easy, hope it works for me!!!
Alexandra this bread is wonderful!!! My bowls were too big so my loaves are smaller in size, but it did raise. And love the texture!!! I wondered if it would be ok as it deflated somewhat when I put the bowls in the oven!!! Definitely making this again and again!!!
My kids and I made this for the first time this morning and it is amazing! My husband and I can’t stop eating it. I think this will be the bread we make from now on – at least several times a week. Thank you so much for such an amazing recipe!
Just made this and it is by far the best bread I have ever made! And probably will be the recipe I stick to using regularly. Made it for dinner but wanted to try it out while waiting for the rest of the meal to be finished. Had to force myself to stop eating it and save room for the main course. Love it, thank you!
I’m totally obsessed with this bread. I make it a lot.
Since I don’t have that size pyrex and don’t need more kitchen stuff, I just used my two regular loaf pans. They work just fine and make nice shaped loaves.
I think next time I make it, I’ll double it and add my third slightly larger loaf pan and see how bigger loaves work. Somehow I don’t think I’ll have trouble getting rid of an extra loaf.
I use regular yeast, and I’ve found I like adding about 2 1/2 teaspoons. I also add about 1-2 tbsp extra water to get the consistency as shown, although I carefully use my yarn (well, kitchen too) scale every time.
Even when it hasn’t risen quite as much, it’s still so delicious. I love it.
Alexandra, thank you so much for sharing this brilliant recipe. I have used it many times with a combination of light and whole spelt flours in place of the usual bread flour. I put the whole thing into one large round pyrex dish. It rises a lot with the first rise but never very much with the second one, so the bread isn’t very high double the first baking time to 40 minutes @ 425 and then lower it to 375 for the final 20 minutes. It is so tasty! It is usually a nutty crunchy crust and bubbly inside. Delicious.
However today for some reason although I thought I did everything the exact same way, two things happened: 1) the crust separated from the rest of the bread while baking and 2) it didn’t fully cook so the bread is sticky and inedible.
Do you have any idea what might have created this?
I have a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish. It’s oblong and I was wondering if this would be sufficient for the entire loaf?
With so many comments I can’t find the one that your mom uses for raising the dough…can you repost it please? Thanks…look forward to making these!
I see you have in one pic what looks like Fire-King Jadeite. Have you ever baked bread in vintage Fire-King bowls? I would like to use mine for this but I am wary.
I love this bread and wasn’t having any issues making it, then tragedy! My husband dropped and broke the large vintage Pyrex bowl I was making it in. I was letting it do the first and second rise in this bowl then picking it up with two forks and depositing the whole thing to cook in a 2.5L heavily buttered bowl for one large loaf. Ever since he broke that bowl I can’t seem to make it work. First I tried a large metal bowl to let it rise in. However when I tried to transfer it to my buttered bowl to cook it stuck to the pan and had to be scraped out. I thought maybe it was the metal. So next I halved the recipe so that I could let it rise in the smaller Pyrex bowls I still had. I let it rise both times in the 2.5 and then baked it in a 1.5L. However, the same thing happened when I tried to change bowls. The dough stuck to the bowl and wouldn’t come out without scraping. much smaller loaf when it cooked! So, if that happens again, can I do a third rise to get it back to where it needs to be? Can I let it rise in a buttered bowl so that it doesn’t stick? Any advice is welcome! Thanks:)
Thanks for sharing your mother’s Peasant Bread recipe! My wife is a great cook and does a great job with anything she prepares. I recently have taken an interest in homemade bread and cinnamon rolls. Tho I ‘d never looked online for a recipe before I was not at all surprised to find that everyone (at least most) postings claim to be the best ever and the easiest. Most I’ve tried are not the best, many are not even that good. Perhaps its the cook, you may be thinking and rightfully so. I do follow directions well and I have experienced perfect results with you Peasant Bread. I use one 9 by 9 pyrex and put in the entire recipe to make one loaf. This recipe will result in a bread that is highly unlikely to ever go stale. It may never even cool to room temperature before it is consumed. ITS REALLY THAT TASTEY! Thanks for sharing!
Einzwie
Thanks for sharing your mother’s Peasant Bread recipe! My wife is a great cook and does a good job with anything she prepares. As for me…I’m not so cheffy, but I can make do in a kitchen if I have a good formula (uh recipe) to follow.
I recently have taken an interest in homemade bread and cinnamon rolls. Tho I ‘d never looked online for a recipe before I was not at all surprised to find that everyone (at least most) postings claim to be the best ever and the easiest. Most I’ve tried are not the best, many are not even that good. Perhaps its the cook, you may be thinking and rightfully so. I do follow directions well and I have experienced perfect results with you Peasant Bread. I use one 9 by 9 pyrex bowl and put in the entire recipe to make one loaf. This recipe will result in a bread that is highly unlikely to ever go stale. It may never even cool to room temperature before it is consumed. ITS REALLY THAT TASTY! Thanks for sharing!
Einzwie