My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
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.
6,427 Comments on “My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make”
I have been reading the reviews on here and as soon as I can find the Pyrex bowl I’ll give it a try. I love the retro stuff so I know I’ll like the bowls no matter what. The bowls I found on ebay are number 441 thru 444 but are they same? They show sizes by qts. what size is the 1l322? Also do you know if the numbers 441 thru 444 are oven proof? I’m a bread baker and can’t wait to try this out. We love homemade bread, maybe too much.
Thanks for the recipe
Sally
I made this bread today, for the first time. Perfection! This was the easiest recipe for bread that I have tried, and I have tried many. I had the size Pyrex bowls that were recommended and my bread came out just perfect. I did turn it out and put back in oven to brown the bottom a bit more as was suggested. I would say to anyone trying this recipe ‘ just follow the directions without making changes.’ Can’t get any better. Thank You, to the original pinner.
Sheila, so wonderful to hear all of this! And great advice to other commenters — thank you 🙂 !
My family just moved to a new city and are temporarily without a car during the day–I have 4 and 2 year old boys and entertaining them without being able to leave the house has been a big challenge. I had the idea to bake bread with them for an activity and I stumbled upon your recipe. We have now made this twice this week! My 4 year old asked if we could bake bread again today :o) Thanks! It’s delicious. Super activity with small children since there aren’t hours upon hours of waiting and no messy kneading :o) My husband has been devouring it. Delicious!
So wonderful to hear this, Brooke! Really, nothing could make me happier. So happy your children and husband approve — what a feat!
I love homemade bread and this looks easy and delicious. Here’s a quick tip to help your bread dough rise faster. Fill a liquid measuring cup with 2 cups of hot tap water, then place in the microwave for 2 minutes. Pour the water into a bowl that is slightly smaller than the bowl that the bread dough is in. Place your bowl with the bread dough into the bowl with the hot water, then cover with a dish towel. The bread will rise perfectly in 20 minutes.
Love this tip! Thank you thank you!
We’ll take a look at the supplement first, before we
get into the additional tips. This is a lengthy process, and the workers tirelessly push the beans around in the sun with
a wooden tool shaped like an upside down letter T.
A job can keep you chained to your desk, with little opportunity
to move around.
I have read this whole page and have learned a lot. However for some reason there is no recipe for the bread. Could you please post it with the reply or e-mail it to me. I have even tried several Pin It sites. Thank you for your time. I can not wait to try this Bread.
Where is the actual recipe???
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Is gonna be again often in order to check up on new posts
Hi there, everything is going well here and ofcourse every one is sharing information, that’s truly fine, keep up writing.
We have recently switched to whole grain breads (store bought). I would love to try and make it if I can fine whole grain flour. Would I use the exact same recipe, or would I have to make some kind of change?
Hi Wanda,
You can use 100% whole wheat flour here, but the finished loaf will be super dense. I suggest using 2 cups whole wheat flour and 2 cups white flour to start, and see how that turns out, then add more flour next time around. Otherwise, I wouldn’t make any other changes.
I’ve been making whole wheat flour loaves and they turned out beautifully. Didn’t have quite the volume of the white bread but the texture was surprisingly fluffy and light. I kept the recipe the same but used 3/4 the amount of wheat flour to white e.g. 3 cups wheat instead of 4 cups white. I tried one loaf using an additional 1/2 cup of white to see if it lightens the loaf but it turned out pretty much the same and slightly more dense, so I would just stick with the 3/4 strategy.
I just discovered this recipe a couple weeks ago and have already made it three times! I’ve been experimenting with adding different herbs to it when I make it. Last time, I made it with rosemary and it was so good! Today, I’m making it with rosemary again and also making a second set of loaves with basil and sun-dried tomatoes! We have a church potluck fundraiser tomorrow, and I have a feeling these loaves are going to be a big hit! Thanks for sharing!! – Jamie
Jamie, it’s so wonderful to hear this! Your variations sound delicious. Hope it was a hit at the fundraiser!
I just tried this recipe. It was perfect, thank you so much for posting this. I could not believe that a bread made in such a short time could turn out so perfect. I will now be making this on a regular basis. It was so easy and your tips all worked out perfectly.
Wonderful to hear this, Mike!
Hello and thank you very much for the recipe and detailed instructions.
Even though the recipe is simple, this was my first time making bread and I measured the water wrong. I had cake batter, not dough, and had no idea how to fix the mess. Baked the goop anyway and the birds really enjoyed the result.
My second attempt went into a 2 1/2 qt bowl as I was pressed for time. Even though I didn’t let the bread rest too much during the second rise, the diameter was still too wide to bake thoroughly. It was in the oven another 20 minutes out of the bowl, but the center is heavy and dense. Surprisingly, the crust never burnt and it is quite good.
I can’t wait to try this again, with smaller bowls, and would like to add some crushed rosemary.
Thank you so much.
Add 3 to 4 clove minced garlic and you will think you’re in heaven! I am so glad I found this recipe! I love making bread but this is so easy! I like it in a popover pan or loaf pan…I make the recipe 1 3/4 times the original. I have the Paprika app so this makes it easy… 3 1/2 C flour and all other ingredients are 1 3/4 – cups, tsp and Tblsp.
Fantastic! I’ve never heard of the Paprika app — going to download it. Very cool. Thanks!
Yes, thanks for the Paprika app info. I never heard of it either, but it is very useful.
Wow, I’d never have thought of baking bread in a Pyrex bowl myself. I’m going to try this the next weekend because your photos of the bread is sooooo tempting!
The Pyrex bowls you have pictured are actually the White Lace set of nesting bowls with the numbers 322, 323, 325, 326. This is not a Cinderella set. The Cinderella set of bowls it a little bit oval in shape and has pour spout / handles on the sides. They didn’t make this clear White Lace pattern in a Cinderella set, only in the nesting set. The Cinderella bowls that these clear White Lace nesting bowls coordinated with were called Colonial Mist and alternated in color 441, 442, 443, 444 (white, blue, white, blue).
https://www.corellecorner.com/pyrex-pattern-profiles/106-colonial-mist-compatibles-1983.html
Cette difference dwell egalement au niveau des accessoires livres avec l’appareil
lors de son achat.
Thank you for your efforts I’ll try this recipe
So, I thought I’d post my results from making this for the first time. I did half the recipe (b/c I have a phobia about using more than 2 cups of flour in a recipe), and all I have are two 2L glass bowls, so I wasn’t expecting much. One of them is shallow and more like a casserole dish and the other is one of those pampered chef bowls that has a top with a spout and handle. I have the regular active yeast so I mixed that w/ sugar and followed the recipe. It made a fairly firm dough but after I let it rise it became that soupy consistency. I put it in the pampered chef bowl. I didn’t know how high it would ultimately rise so I buttered it around the 1.5L mark since it was only a half loaf. Imagine my delight when I pulled it out of the oven and it plopped out on the cooling rack looking EXACTLY like the picutre. Like…a…BOSS.
LOVE this recipe. I’ve been on a quest for an easy recipe to start making regular loaves of bread and this one is the winner. Yay peasants!
You are hilarious, I loved loved loved reading this. So happy this worked out for you. I have totally baked this in a large pampered chef liquid measuring cup with spout and handle…too funny.
Hi!!!
I was so all over this recipe and when I baked exactly to your directions the bread wasn’t cooked through! So sad. I’ll try again, but any thoughts on the temperature I should be using instead?
Oh no! What size bowls were you using? How long did each of the rises go?
I’ve been making your bread for over a year now. It’s always a littlr different but always amazing. Today I was making some for a bbq. It rod beautifully and I was so excited. Then my oven didn’t light. But I love a hood challenge and was able to cook it on the grill (my grill has a temperature gauge on the front). It worked!!! I had to keep a much closer eye on it than when it’s in then oven, but, it worked and I think thr bread was actually crunchier. Thanks!!!!
Wow, amazing! I am so impressed. Good to know this can be done!
I made my first 2 loafs of the Peasant bread and I gave one to my mother. We absolutely love it. I made 2 more loafs and I eat them with melted butter. OMG ts heavenly. Im gonna make my third batch tomorrow. Thanks so much for sharing. Is so simple to make. Love it, love it, love it.
wonderful to hear this, Linda!
The recipe link seems to be broken or missing. I have made this before and it was so good and I want to make it again but there’s no recipe. Help!
Look below the still shots, above the videos.
I’m just trying this recipe today with my daughter. I got a little thrown off by the flour measurement because I was already at 1 pound, 6 oz. with only 3 cups of flour. It still seemed very wet, so I added another half cup of flour at the end. It’s still rising, so I’m not sure how it will turn out! I’ve read that it’s best to go by weight rather than measurements, but now I’m confused. The weight seemed way off. Help!
Ali, so sorry for the delay here! I am perplexed. Have you tried again? Did you tare the scale to make sure the bowl wasn’t being weighed, too?
Hello,
I have a question about the Peasant Bread recipe. If I wanted to use your recipe above for a large loaf, what size bowl, what temp for oven and how long to bake, please?
Sometimes, we just want one large loaf instead of 2 small mini (Pyrex #441 size) ones.
I hope you reply!
Thanks!
Hi Donna!
Use a bowl about 2 qt in size. I would keep the time about the same: 425 for 15 minutes, then at 375 for at least 20 minutes. It may need five more minutes. At the 20 minute mark, turn the loaf out onto a cooling rack. Tap the bottom and if it feels soft, place the whole loaf (out of the bowl) onto the oven rack and back for another five minutes. Hope that helps!
Let me know how it turns out!
Your thoughts on trying this recipe with C4C?
Kathleen, I still haven’t tried C4C here! I will let you know as soon as I do.
I made this today and it’s ALL gone, between the boyfriend and I. Super easy, super delicious, and perfect on an early fall morning. Thank you.
Wonderful to hear this, Dottie!
love this bread and make it all the time but it never looks like the photos,
I just discovered the US cup size is different to Australia. Is it possible to get the amount of water you use in grams.
Thanks
Sure thing: 478 g. Let me know if there is anything else!
Thanks the consistence is better but still having problems with my second rise I use a Pyrex 322 and 323H and a 2L. I think the next thing is to find a good yeast I can get locally. Also it is just starting to warm up here so it could be the weather. The bread still tastes great even if its not raising like it supposed to.
How long is your first rise going for? Is the dough doubling on that first rise? Are you doing the warm oven trick to let the dough rise? We’ll get to the bottom of this! 🙂
Glad to hear the bread is still great despite the issues.
Thank you so much for this easy detailed instructions, i surely appreciate this and i will be making this , and this would be my home bread now, easy and home made oh since thanksgiving is coming and the holidays by then i probably would have memorized the instructions Thank you very much I appreciate this one.
Wonderful to hear this!
I found this recipe on Monday Sept 28th 2015 and I have made 5 loafs ! My family and I love it!!! Thank you for sharing this with all of us ! I am going to try a garlic and Rosemary and see how it turns out 🙂
Wow, you are amazing! I love hearing this.