My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make
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This is the no-knead bread recipe my mother has been baking for 45 years. Start to finish, it can be ready in three hours. It bakes in well-buttered Pyrex bowls — no need to preheat a baking vessel for this recipe — and it emerges golden and crisp with a soft, tender crumb. 🍞🍞🍞🍞🍞
When I tell you that, if forced, I had to pick one and only one recipe to share with you that this — my mother’s peasant bread — would be it, I am serious. I would almost in fact be OK ending the blog after this very post, retiring altogether from the wonderful world of food blogging, resting assured that you all had this knowledge at hand. This bread might just change your life.
The reason I say this is simple. I whole-heartedly believe that if you know how to make bread you can throw one hell of a dinner party. And the reason for this is because people go insane over homemade bread. Not once have I served this bread to company without being asked, “Did you really make this?” And questioned: “You mean with a bread machine?” But always praised: “Is there anything more special than homemade bread?”
And upon tasting homemade bread, people act as if you’re some sort of culinary magician. I would even go so far as to say that with homemade bread on the table along with a few nice cheeses and a really good salad, the main course almost becomes superfluous. If you nail it, fantastic. If you don’t, you have more than enough treats to keep people happy all night long.
The Magic of the Peasant Bread
So what, you probably are wondering, makes this bread so special when there are so many wonderful bread recipes out there? Again, the answer is simple. For one, it’s a no-knead bread. I know, I know. There are two wildly popular no-knead bread recipes out there.
But unlike the others, this is a no-knead bread that can be started at 4:00pm and turned out onto the dinner table at 7:00pm. It bakes in well-buttered Pyrex bowls — there is no pre-heating of the baking vessels in this recipe — and it emerges golden and crisp without any steam pans or water spritzes. This is not artisan bread, nor is it trying to be. It is peasant bread, spongy and moist with a most-delectable buttery crust.
Genuinely, I would be proud to serve this bread at a dinner party attended by Jim Lahey, Mark Bittman, Peter Reinhart, Chad Robertson, Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. It is a bread I hope you will all give a go, too, and then proudly serve at your next dinner party to guests who might ask where you’ve stashed away your bread machine. And when this happens, I hope you will all just smile and say, “Don’t be silly. This is just a simple peasant bread. Easy as pie. I’ll show you how to make it some day.”
Peasant Bread Variations
Once you master the peasant bread, you can make any bread your heart desires — this simple no-knead bread recipe is the foundation of many of the other bread recipes on this site, namely this hugely popular overnight refrigerator focaccia and this simple homemade pizza dough. It’s even the inspiration behind this sourdough focaccia and this sourdough sandwich bread and this simple pita bread recipe.
The below post is organized as follows:
- How to Make Peasant Bread, Step by Step
- The Best Way to Store Bread
- Peasant Bread Dinner Rolls
- Peasant Bread Sandwich Bread
- How to Add Seeds and Nuts to Bread Dough
- How to Make Gluten-Free Peasant Bread
- How to Coat the Loaves in Seeds
- How to use Whole Wheat Flour
- How to Bake the Peasant Bread in a Dutch Oven
Many more variations on the peasant bread can be found in my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs:
Bread Toast Crumbs
Love the peasant bread? There’s now a book filled with 40 simple bread recipes plus 70 recipes to use up every crumb of every loaf you bake.
How to Make Peasant Bread, Step by Step
First: You need yeast.
This is the yeast I buy exclusively: SAF Instant Yeast. Instant yeast can be whisked into the flour directly without any blooming or proofing. If you want to stick to active-dry yeast, there are instructions in the recipe notes on how to do so. Red Star yeast is great.
Whisk together flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast. Add lukewarm water.
Mix until you have a sticky dough ball. Let it rise for 1.5 to 2 hours…
… or until it looks like this:
Punch down the dough using two forks.
Then split the dough down the middle again using the two forks.
Because this is a very wet dough, it must be baked in an oven-proof bowl. I am partial to the Pyrex 1L 322 size, but any similarly sized oven-proof bowl will work.
Butter the bowls well; then transfer half of the dough to each prepared bow.
Let the dough rise again until it crowns the rim of the bowl, about 30 minutes.
Transfer the bowls to the oven to bake:
This bread is irresistible when it’s freshly baked, but it also makes wonderful toast on subsequent mornings as well as the best grilled cheese. It’s also my favorite bread to use for these egg salad sandwiches and for this no-tuna “tuna” salad.
The Best Way to Store Bread
If you want to store the bread at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, I think the best method is in a ziplock bag. I’ve tried other eco-friendly options, but nothing seems to keep bread freshest — the crumb the softest — better than a ziplock bag. You can re-use the bags again and again.
If you intend to keep the bread for longer, I would freeze it. I often slice bread as soon as it cools completely, transfer the slices to a ziplock bag, then freeze. This way, I know the bread was frozen at its freshest.
A ziplock bag will not prevent the crust of bread from turning soft, which is why I suggest always reheating day-old bread. I use a toaster at breakfast for slices of bread, and I reheat half or quarter loaves in the oven at 350ºF for 15 to 20 minutes when serving for dinner.
Bread revives so beautifully in the oven or toaster.
No-Knead Dinner Rolls
To use the peasant bread dough to make rolls, simply divide the dough into smaller portions and place in a buttered muffin tin as in these No-Knead Thyme Dinner Rolls (pictured above). This recipe for no-knead buttermilk pull-apart rolls is also based on the peasant bread as are these brioche pull-apart rolls.
No-Knead Sandwich Bread
To make sandwich bread, multiply the recipe below by 1.5 and bake the bread in two buttered 8.5×4.5-inch loaf pans.
Made with half all-purpose flour and half King Arthur Sprouted Wheat Flour, these seed-coated sandwich loaves (pictured above) have a soft and light crumb. I really like KAF’s sprouted wheat flour, which is made from white whole wheat berries that, when sprouted, yield a creamy, sweet, milder-tasting flour. You can use 100% all-purpose or bread flour for an even lighter loaf or your favorite whole wheat flour in place of the sprouted wheat flour.
How to Add Nuts and Seeds to Bread Dough
To add seeds and nuts (or dried fruit and cheese), simply stir them into the dry ingredients. This recipe for Quinoa-and-Flax Toasting Bread will offer guidance on how much to add.
How to Make a Gluten-Free Peasant Bread
Making gluten-free peasant bread (pictured above) unfortunately isn’t as simple as swapping in gluten-free flour for the wheat flour. But the process and recipe is still super simple — in fact, because there’s only one rise, many people find the gluten-free peasant bread to be even simpler than the original. Find the recipe here: Gluten-Free Peasant Bread
How to Coat the Loaves in Seeds
To coat the peasant bread in seeds, as pictured above, simply coat the bowls with everything bagel seasoning or with dukkah or sesame seeds or whatever seed mix you wish. The seed-coated loaves look so beautiful, and it’s amazing how much the flavor of the coating permeates the loaves. Find the recipe here: Everything Bagel Seasoning Peasant Bread
How to Use Whole Wheat Flour
To use whole wheat flour in the peasant bread, simply replace as much as 50% of the all-purpose flour with your favorite whole wheat flour: I like KAF’s sprouted wheat flour, and I’ve been loving the Cairnsprings Mill Trailblazer stone-milled flour. With the Trailblazer, I can use up to 75% of it in the peasant bread, and it yields a beautiful, chewy texture as well as a lovely flavor and aroma.
When using whole wheat flour, you may have to use more or less water — there is no rule as to how much more or less, and it will take some trial and error to get right because all flours absorb water differently. When I use KAF sprouted wheat flour, for example, I don’t change the water amount at all. When I use the Trailblazer flour, on the other hand, I reduce the water by at least 50 grams.
If you’d like to learn more about whole wheat flour and stone-milled flours, read this: Easy Sourdough Bread (Whole Wheat-ish)
How to Bake the Peasant Bread in a Dutch Oven
If you’re looking for more of a crackling crusted boule (characteristic of a loaf of sourdough bread) as opposed to the buttery crispness of the peasant bread, you can bake the peasant bread dough in a preheated Dutch oven.
There are detailed instructions below the recipe in the notes section, but one thing to keep in mind before you begin is dough hydration. The peasant bread is a very high hydration dough, meaning there is a lot of water relative to flour. Because baking the peasant bread in a Dutch oven will require some handling of the dough — to shape it into a round and to create some tension — you may want to reduce the water from the start. Consider holding back 20-30 grams of water to make the process more manageable for you.
My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make
- Total Time: 2 hours 27 minutes
- Yield: 2 loaves
Description
Notes:
The bread:
This is a sticky, no-knead dough, so, some sort of baking vessel, such as pyrex bowls (you need two 1-qt bowls) or ramekins for mini loaves is required to bake this bread. See notes below the recipe for sources. You can use a bowl that is about 2 qt or 2 L in size to bake off the whole batch of dough (versus splitting the dough in half) but do not use this size for baking half of the dough — it is too big.
Peasant Bread Fans! There is now a book: Bread Toast Crumbs, a loaf-to-crumb bread baking book, filled with tips and tricks and answers to the many questions that have been asked over the years. In the book you will find 40 variations of the master peasant bread recipe + 70 recipes for using up the many loaves you will bake. Learn more about the book here or buy it here.
Ingredients
- 4 cups (512 g) unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
- 2 teaspoons (10 g) kosher salt
- 2 cups (454 g) lukewarm water (made by mixing 1.5 cups cold water with 0.5 cup boiling water)
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) sugar
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) instant yeast, I love SAF Instant Yeast, see notes below
- room temperature butter, about 2 tablespoons
Instructions
- Mixing the dough: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast (I love SAF Instant Yeast). Add the water. Mix until the flour is absorbed. (If you are using active dry yeast, see notes below.)
- Let it rise. Cover bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to rise for at least an hour. (In the winter or if you are letting the bread rise in a cool place, it might take as long as two hours to rise.) This is how to create a slightly warm spot for your bread to rise in: Turn the oven on at any temperature (350ºF or so) for one minute, then turn it off. Note: Do not allow the oven to get up to 300ºF, for example, and then heat at that setting for 1 minute — this will be too hot. Just let the oven preheat for a total of 1 minute — it likely won’t get above 100ºF. The goal is to just create a slightly warm environment for the bread.
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Grease two 1-qt or 1.5-qt oven-safe bowls (see notes below) with about a tablespoon of butter each. Using two forks, punch down your dough, scraping it from the sides of the bowl, which it will be clinging to. As you scrape it down try to pull the dough toward the center (see video below for guidance). You want to loosen the dough entirely from the sides of the bowl, and you want to make sure you’ve punched it down. Then, take your two forks and divide the dough into two equal portions — eye the center of the mass of dough, and starting from the center and working out, pull the dough apart with the two forks. Then scoop up each half and place into your prepared bowls. This part can be a little messy — the dough is very wet and will slip all over the place. Using small forks or forks with short tines makes this easier — my small salad forks work best; my dinner forks make it harder. It’s best to scoop it up fast and plop it in the bowl in one fell swoop. Some people like to use flexible, plastic dough scrapers for this step.
- Let the dough rise again for about 20 to 30 minutes on the countertop near the oven (or near a warm spot) or until it has risen to just below or above (depending on what size bowl you are using) the top of the bowls. (Note: Do not do the warm-oven trick for the second rise, and do not cover your bowls for the second rise. Simply set your bowls on top of your oven, so that they are in a warm spot. Twenty minutes in this spot usually is enough for my loaves.)
- Bake it. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375º and bake for 15 to 17 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and turn the loaves onto cooling racks. If you’ve greased the bowls well, the loaves should fall right out onto the cooling racks. If the loaves look a little pale and soft when you’ve turned them out onto your cooling racks, place the loaves into the oven (outside of their bowls) and let them bake for about 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.
Notes
- The bowls: The cheapest, most widely available 1-qt bowl is the Pyrex 322. Update: These bowls are becoming harder to find and more expensive. As a result, I’m suggesting this cheaper option: the Pyrex 3-piece set. You can split the dough in half as always (see recipe) and bake half in the 1-quart bowl and half in the 1.5 quart bowl. The loaves will not be the same shape, but they will be delicious nonetheless.
- Yeast: I buy SAF Instant Yeast in bulk from Amazon I store it in my fridge or freezer, and it lasts forever. If you are using the packets of yeast (the kind that come in the 3-fold packets), just go ahead and use a whole packet — It’s 2.25 teaspoons. I have made the bread with active dry, rapid rise, and instant yeast, and all varieties work. The beauty of instant yeast is that there is no need to “proof” it — you can add the yeast directly to the flour. I never use active-dry yeast anymore.
- If you have active-dry yeast on hand and want to use it, here’s how: In a small mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar into the water. Sprinkle the yeast over top. There is no need to stir it up. Let it stand for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the mixture is foamy and/or bubbling just a bit — this step will ensure that the yeast is active. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. When the yeast-water-sugar mixture is foamy, stir it up, and add it to the flour bowl. Mix until the flour is absorbed.
- Troubleshooting: You can find step-by-step video instruction here.
- Several commenters have had trouble with the second rise, and this seems to be caused by the shape of the bowl they are letting the dough rise in the second time around. Two hours for the second rise is too long. If you don’t have a 1-qt bowl, bake 3/4 of the dough in a loaf pan and bake the rest off in muffin tins or a popover pan. The second rise should take no more than 30 minutes.
- Also, you can use as many as 3 cups of whole wheat flour, but the texture changes considerably. I suggest trying with all all-purpose or bread flour to start and once you get the hang of it, start trying various combinations of whole wheat flour and/or other flours.
- The single most important step you can take to make this bread truly foolproof is to invest in a digital scale. This one costs under $10. If you are not measuring by weight, do this: scoop flour into the measuring cup using a separate spoon or measuring cup; level off with a knife. The flour should be below the rim of the measuring cup.
- Here’s a printable version of this recipes that’s less wordy: Peasant Bread Recipe, Simplified
- How to Bake the Peasant Bread in a Dutch Oven: Preheat a Dutch Oven for 45 minutes at 450ºF. Dust a clean work surface with flour. After the first rise, turn the dough out onto the floured surface and shape it into a ball: I like to fold it envelope style from top to bottom, then side to side; then I flip it over and use the pinkie edges of my hands to pinch the dough underneath and create some tension. Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment paper. Let rest for 20 minutes. If you feel your dough is spreading too much you can lift up the sheet of parchment paper, dough and all, and place it in a bowl of a similar size. After the 20 minutes, transfer the dough, parchment paper and all to the Dutch oven. Carefully cover it. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover. Bake 15 minutes more.
- To bake the peasant bread in a loaf pan: If you are using an 8.5×4.5-inch loaf pan or a 9×5-inch loaf pan, you can bake 3/4 of the dough in it; bake off the rest of the dough in ramekins or other small vessels … the mini loaves are so cute. You can also make 1.5x the recipe, and bake the bread in 2 loaf pans. If you have a large loaf pan, such as a 10×6-inch loaf pan, you can bake off the entire batch of dough in it. For loaf pans, bake at 375ºF for 45 minutes.
- How to Bake at Hight Altitude:
- First try the original recipe as written (preferably with a scale). You may not need to make any adjustments. One commenter, who lives at 9200 ft finds the original recipe to work just fine as is.
- If the original recipe doesn’t work, try adding a little bit more water because it rises fast and it is so dry: about a quarter cup for every 512 g of flour.
- Try decreasing the yeast to 1.5 teaspoons.
- If your dough is especially gooey, try decreasing the water by 1/4 cup. But, if you aren’t using a scale, my first suggestion would be to buy a scale and weigh the flour, and make the bread once as directed with the 2 cups water and 512 grams flour, etc.
- Punch the dough down twice before transferring it to the buttered Pyrex bowls. In other words, let it rise for 1-1.5 hours, punch it down, let it rise again for about an hour, punch it down, then transfer it to the buttered bowls.
- Variations:
- #1. Cornmeal. Substitute 1 cup of the flour with 1 cup of cornmeal. Proceed with the recipe as directed.
- #2. Faux focaccia. Instead of spreading butter in two Pyrex bowls in preparation for baking, butter one 9×9-inch glass baking dish and one Pyrex bowl or just butter one large 9×13-inch Pyrex baking dish. If using two vessels, divide the dough in half and place each half in prepared baking pan. If using only one large baking dish, place all of the dough in the dish. Drizzle dough with 1 tablespoon of olive oil (if using the small square pan) and 2 tablespoons of olive oil (if using the large one). Using your fingers, gently spread the dough out so that it fits the shape of the pan. Use your fingers to create dimples in the surface of the dough. Sprinkle surface with chopped rosemary and sea salt. Let rise for 20 to 30 minutes. Bake for 15 minutes at 425ºF and 17 minutes (or longer) at 375ºF. Remove from pan and let cool on cooling rack.
- #3. Thyme Dinner Rolls
- #4 Gluten-free
- #5. Everything Bagel Seasoning Bread. Simply coat the buttered bowls with Everything Bagel Seasoning. Watch a how-to on Instagram Stories here.
- #6: Whole Wheat Peasant Bread. Use as much as 50% whole wheat flour. I like King Arthur Flour’s white whole wheat flour (see this post) or sprouted wheat flour (see this post).
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 32 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
6,428 Comments on “My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make”
Hi, I made your mom’s bread tonight and it was great with our turkey soup. I only had one 1 quart bowl and one 1and 1/2 quart.they were just different shapes. Since we are only two,people can I only make half the recipe in the right size bowl. The more I make the more we eat so making only one is best.
Wonderful to hear this! Yes, you definitely can halve the recipe!
Hello! I would like to know if I could cut the ingredients in half?
Yes!
Hi, I can’t buy yeast powder in my country. I only use fresh yeast. How much should I use?
I just did a quick google search, and it looks as though you’ll need 3x the amount of fresh yeast as dry.
Can I bake this in my Nu Wave oven?
Sure! What’s a Nu Wave oven 🙂 ?
I Googled it, it is a counter top oven. As Seen on tv. NuWave.
I have tried this recipe on three occasions. The first time it came out better than the other 2 but still not like your photos. My dough does not seem to rise. I thought it might be my yeast, so I bought new instant yeast but it still does not turn out. The dough seems drier in the bowl than everyone speaks of and also in your pictures. It barely rises at all. I just don’t understand. Do you have any idea what could be going wrong for me?
Kathy, I’m sorry to hear this! OK, my first thought is that the bowls you are using might be too large, which is making it look as though the dough isn’t rising. First: are you using two 1-qt bowls to bake the bread in? 2. I think you are using a heavier hand with the flour. This is why using a scale is so helpful—it eliminates human error, which can be dramatic when measuring flour. If you don’t have a scale, I would try being very scant with the cups of flour you measure—maybe even use 3 or 3.5 cups to start. Try that and then report back!
I was always doubtful of “no knead” bread. But, after making this just once, never use any other recipe again. So easy. So yummy. Great texture. Perfect crumb. It’s great for my arthritic hands, too. I wish I could upload a pic. Thanks for sharing this with us!
So happy to hear this, Sheri!! Thanks so much for writing in. Happy holidays.
I’ve been making this bread with your recipe for over a year now, very easy and tasty. It makes the very best French toast and grilled sandwiches. Love it just toasted with butter along with a bowl of cereal. I’ve added caraway seeds for a rye bread flavor and Badia seasoning for a garlic/veg flavor. I’ve always used loaf pans, works well for me. Thank you so much!
I LOVE this recipe! I’m making it for the 4th time. If the dough seems to dry, I add a small amt of water until it looks like your videos. I’m glad to hear loaf pans work but the dough is already in the bowl, and so next time. My oven runs hot so I adj the temp down 25f, and NEXT time will try adding cheese!
So great to hear this, Stormy!
I just made this bread today in a large bowl and it was Fantastic!
I’m making another loaf right now so we have some more for dinner tonight. Thank you for such an easy and delicious recipe for bread.
Full bellies and Smiles here!!
So happy to hear this, Valerie!!
Can I make this with gluten free all purpose flour?
Hi Melody,
Gluten-free bread baking is a little trickier. Here’s my post on gluten-free peasant bread: https://alexandracooks.com/2014/03/21/gluten-free-peasant-bread/
This bread is easy and absolutely delicious. We make I think several times a week. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe.
My dough is rising as I type. Arthritis makes kneading a chore so I am happy to have found this no-knead bread. Thanks!
hello, thank you for the recipe and the detailed instructions. i have been making this bread off and on for the last couple years. i have recently found myself allergic to soy so i have started to make this bread a couple times a week for myself. its fairly easy, i love that its no knead, and its very tasty, but i am having one problem… my bread does not seem to rise as much as yours in the pictures. i am using this as a sandwich bread most of the time so a good rise would be great. do you have any tips for me ?
I would heat the oven on the lowest setting for a few minutes then turn it off and let the bread rise in there…warm and draft free!
In Step 8 you say to preheat the oven to 425, but there are no baking instructions at this step. Then you say reduce heat to 375 and bake for 20-30 min.
Why preheat to 425?
You bake the loaves at 425ºF for 15 minutes. Then, reduce the heat to 375ºF, and bake for 17 to 20 minutes more. Hope that clarifies. Happy holidays! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Do you have a gluten free version of it?
I do! Here you go: https://alexandracooks.com/2014/03/21/gluten-free-peasant-bread/
Can I use gluten free flour?
Hi Lina, I would use this recipe: https://alexandracooks.com/2014/03/21/gluten-free-peasant-bread/
This bread is freaking AWESOME! I made some the other day, me and roomy ate one loaf right away, the other loaf took a couple days but was gone soon. I’m making more today!
Yay, so happy to hear this, Mimi!! Happy holidays!
Hi, First off I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas. Next I sent my granddaughter your mms recipe for bread, she made a half recipe and used a loaf pan, she used olive oil instead of buter. She said the bd was delicious but stuck to the pan any idea why> Thanks Norma
Hi Norma,
I hope you had a wonderful Christmas as well! Sorry to hear about the bread sticking 🙁 Olive oil unfortunately doesn’t seem to create the same nonstick barrier that butter does. Is she looking for a vegan substitute for butter?
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to you, this was my granddaughters first attempt at baking bread, she just chose the oil. She will use butter on her next try, she loved the recipe and my great grandson loved it. I love your recipes, thanks.
Oh fantistic, happy to hear this! Happy New Year!
Would this work in a dutche oven camping?
I think so! Would you preheat the dutch oven or use it as you would the Pyrex bowls? If you are not preheating the Dutch oven, I would be sure to grease it VERY well with butter. That’s all though. Should work well!
Oh my goodness! Packaged wine, salt and looking for easy home made bread recipe for the Bailey – It’s a Wonderful Life- home to home greeting.
Best recipe ever. Made 19 loaves that I turned into Rosemary Focaccia loaves. Baked in round cake pans, used recipe exactly and perfect. Everyone was gobsmacked with their gift with yummy homemade bread and I have a new skill that previously had me to terrified to try. The only negative was my dog stole a loaf twice causing me to question my sanity until I found the evidence in his crate, his comfy bed, and one of the bread bags )I made from Ikea dish towels) was stuck in his doggie door as he was trying to drag another loaf outside. So that’s 20 humans and a very sneaky canine impressed with this recipe.
OH MY GOODNESS!!! You are amazing!! I cannot believe you made 19 loaves. What a gift. My husband and I watch It’s a Wonderful Life every year, and ever year, I learn something new from the movie. I love it. Your home-to-home greeting sounds like a lovely tradition. So happy to hear pup approves, too … so naughty 🙂 🙂 🙂 Happy Happy New Year to you. Thanks so much for writing in.
I made challah this past weekend and my friend,in astonishment, asked, “You really made this? And… Why don’t we hang out more often?”
Yay!! So happy to hear this. I know, people think homemade bread is a miracle 🙂
Can this be made using a Dutch oven?
Yes! Are you trying to create a thick, crusty loaf? By baking in a preheated Dutch oven?
Hello,
I am excited to try making this tonight! It’s only for me and my fiance though, so I don’t think I need 2 loaves of bread. At what point should I put the dough in the fridge – after first rise, or second? And how long do you think it would keep in the fridge? Sorry if these are dumb questions…I’ve never really made bread before. 🙂
Hi Toni! Sorry for the delay here. I’ve been out of town … finally catching up.
Two thoughts: 1. You can make half a recipe. 2. If you want to put half in the fridge, after you punch down the dough with the forks and place one half in a buttered bowl, place the other half in a greased storage container, cover it (not super tightly), and place in the fridge.
Happy Baking!
You have my eternal thanks for sharing this!! I made it just today and the fam went nuts over how GOOD it is. Mine turned out a bit flatter than the photos showed, probably because I used a 1.5 qt pyrex, but the inside was still perfectly soft and springy 😀 I’m so happy to finally find a bread recipe thats so fast, easy to follow, AND undeniably delicious. Feels like a miracle. Hope you have a happy New Year!
So happy to hear this, Estefania!! The 1-qt bowls will make a difference in terms of shape, but it sounds as though everything is working out with the 1.5-qt — yay!! Happy New Year!
I’m not a baker but I made this because it looked amazing. It came out really well. My bread needed to cook for a few more minutes but it came out delicious. And it was really no work to make. Delicious!!!
Yay!! So happy to hear this!
Hi. Has anyone tried this recipe in a bread machine? Just wondering if it would work. Thanks
I haven’t tried it, but I doubt it would work well. This dough is very wet, and doesn’t need to be kneaded at all, which would make using a bread machine for it kinda pointless. It’s super easy to make as written without a machine.
I’m trying the recipe right now, I’m just craving for nice bread (not easy to find were we live) so I’m crossing my fingers for this one to work ??
The dough at the moment is looking very wet and I’m a little nervous, let’s see how it goes.
It’s definitely a wet dough! I’m pretty confident it will turn out OK. How did it?
First, I absolutely love this recipe! My mom and I will demolish a loaf in less than a day! I want to try making rolls in a muffin tin, and I’m wondering if you have any suggestions for how to adjust the baking time? My plan right now is just to check on them early and often. Thanks!
Yay!! So happy to hear this. Check out this post for roll guidance: https://alexandracooks.com/2013/11/26/thyme-dinner-rolls/
I absolutely adore this bread! My family and friends who have had it ask me all the time if I’m making it and if they can come over. I do have one question… how do you store your loaves? It doesn’t usually last long but last week I had a loaf get moldy after 1 day in a ziplock.
Thank you!
I have really taken to the bread box. I bought mine from King Arthur Flour: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/retro-bread-box If I have too much bread on hand, I slice and freeze it so that I can use it for toast, sandwiches as needed. Or I freeze it in quarters so I can use it for dinner bread. I never put it in the fridge. If I do use ziplocks at room temp, I make sure the loaves are completely cool before storing them. Hope that helps! Let me know if there is anything else.
Can I use the Pyrex 1.1L rectangle pans for this? Thanks!
YEs! just be sure to grease the corners really well. I would still split the dough in half — I think if you try to bake all of the dough in the pan it will be too much. You can make dinner rolls in a muffin tin with the remaining dough.
I ended up baking this in one 441 and one 442 and it came out great!
Wonderful to hear this!!