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”
This bread was amazing! I love to bake but have always been hesitant to make yeast bread. I followed the steps exactly like the tutorial and put it in two Pyrex 322 bowls. I baked it for 17 minutes in the final step and it was perfect. I really loved the buttery crunch on the crust. Will definitely make it again. Thanks for the short videos of each step, it really helped.
You are so welcome!! I’m so happy to hear all of this.
I am making this bread as I type. Since I only have one 322 one hand I decided to bake it in the 2qt bowl. However, I am wondering if the baking time is the same if I use only one bowl for the whole dough.
I would bake it for about 10 minutes longer — this bread is very forgiving and it’s best to err on the side of overcooking it than undercooking it. Happy Baking!!
Wow.Za! This recipe is incredible!!! Thank you for including the flour weight…I do not have Pyrex baking dishes so I used two 8″ iron skillets. I buttered them, added the dough for a second rise (about 30 min) and baked. I did plan on following your instructions to decrease the temp after 15 minutes but they were done in 15 minutes. I cut one open when it cooled and it is cooked through.
Mine did not bake as high as they probably would have in the bowls, which explains the decreased bake time, and they look like small artisan loaves, which works for me…thank you again for sharing this great recipe 🙂
So happy to hear this, Jennifer! I love your method and improvisations. So happy to hear the loaves turned out well!
I’m now making my 4th and 5th batch. Doesn’t last very long around my house. Didnt like making bread before this recipe. So easy to put together. Love, love, love!!!
Yay! So happy to hear this!
I am really new to baking bread and this recipe is awesome! SO easy, fast, versatile & Delicious. In the last 24 hours I have made 1 large round loaf, 1 small round & small faux foccacia with herbs, tomato & olives. They all came out great. Thanks so much for sharing & for all the videos. 🙂
Oh wow, so awesome!! I love reading all of this. Happy happy baking!!
I have my first batch doing the second raise in well buttered metal loaf pans, I’m hoping not much different than glass. Has anyone else tried using a bread tin?
I just took them out of the oven after 30 minutes, they browned nicely and smell delish!
Have tried to bake bread a few times, never works for me. Would love to try this, as I live in Australia would I need to adjust the weights and cup sizes. Many Thanks for your time and trouble.
Brenda
Hi Brenda,
I’ve heard cup sizes vary from country to country, so if you have a scale, that’t your best bet for getting the measurement right for the flour — 512 g. If you have a liquid measure, use 470 ml water. As for the 2 teaspoons each of salt, sugar, and yeast, I think you can probably use Australian teaspoons — from the teensy bit of research I did online, they look comparable.
Hope that helps!
Do you think I could use whey (from my homemade yogurt) instead of water?
Yes! Try to bring it to room temperature before using — if it’s fresh, it will be too hot; if it’s cold, the rise will take too long. I have used whey with success and love it. Be patient with the rise — even if it is room temp, it usually takes longer for me — maybe something about the acidity or salt in the whey?
Wonderful recipe, I made it the other day and the family loves it. Love the NO KNEEDING PART THE BEST. Great yeast bread smell, the texture is good for sandwiches and the flavor is very satisfying. I would change only one thing and that is to either put a wash on top before baking or butter it as soon as it comes out of the oven, I don’t care for the tough, chewy top crust but but over all, this is one of my favs and I will definitely make it again. Thank you!
So happy to hear this!
Made this bread the other day-FANTASTIC-!. So easy, wonderful, spongy, soft and just plain delicious. Yes, you do wonder how it will raise because it is such a wet sticky dough, but it does. Then you bake them and the aroma fills the house, when you taste it the crust is so crusty and crunchy but the inside is soft spongy and warm? (maybe) Excellent toasted also! I didn’t have the exact bowls but made due with what I had, now I will go in search of better sized equal bowls. This is a keeper! Thanks for posting it.
So happy to hear this, Shelly!! love the enthusiasm 🙂 🙂 🙂
This is a great bread recipe and it’s so easy. The flavor,crust and texture were really good. I had assumed I would need to do some tweaking to make improvements for next time. I will not change it. Thank you for sharing.
So happy to hear this, Cathy!
Came across this recipe last week and wow, what and easy but very tasty loaf, now made 3 lots of this recipe and all have worked brilliant much to the amazement of my husband who didn’t believe such a wet dough would rise so well.
Yay!! So happy to hear this!
Wonderful bread! Just made 2 loafs and they came
Out perfect. Trying to wait for them to cool, but hubby just can’t wait….one loaf almost gone.
Yay!! Success 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hello Alexandra!This recipe looks amazing. Do you have any suggestions for using a bread starter amounts instead of dry yeast to make this? I realize it will probably increase the proofing time to start.
Hi Leslie,
There was a period when I was using some starter when I was in the process of making my own sourdough starter. This is what I would do: I would throw the discarded starter into a bowl, weigh it, divide that amount in half (I was making a starter with equal parts by weight flour and water), then calculate the required water and flour to add to the starter to get to the peasant bread proportions. Does this make sense? I would also still use 1 teaspoon of yeast to help the rise along, but the slight sourness in flavor was really nice. Do you use a scale to measure? Let me know if you do or don’t, and we can discuss measurements further. I’ve been meaning to post about this because others have asked this same question.
The BEST recipe I have tried. I have just started to cook and bake more at home. This has definitely helped hone my baking skills. Not gonna lie, the first few times making this were edible, but not even close to where they are now. I even went out and bought the bowls! I make a batch once a week and stopped buying bread in the store.
thank you, and I plan on attempting more recipes soon!
Try baking it in 1.5 qt Pyrex loaf pans, Penny! I put the loaf pans on a foil covered cookie sheet, and *everything* else remains the same. Generously butter the loaf pans, and cook the same time and temps. It is FABULOUS!!
I have made your bread once before and it turned out great. My family loved the taste so much I have decided to make dinner rolls with it. So I was wondering how long would you recommend to cook dough in a small muffin tin?
Hi Kelsey! So happy to hear this! Follow the instructions on this post for thyme dinner rolls: https://alexandracooks.com/2013/11/26/thyme-dinner-rolls/
I made this bread the other day and it was amazing! We’re going to a cabin in the mountains soon, do I need to adjust anything to deal with the elevation? Thank you so much for sharing!
I have never baked yeast bread from scratch before finding this recipe on FB, and I LOVE this! Just made my second batch! I love the notes and explanations, very well done, Alexandra!
I made one small change, which I highly recommend – I baked the bread in two 1.5 qt pyrex loaf pans instead of bowls. The baking time remains the same, and for me, it’s easier to slice smallish loaves, and not eat ALL the bread in one sitting! I put the loaf pans on a foil covered baking sheet, and I love that I have a crispy but thin crust all the way around on this bread. And it is FABULOUS lightly toasted in the toaster oven!!
Thanks so much for your kind words, Jill B! I’m so happy the loaf pans without any adjustments work for you. I totally hear you on the smaller loaves, too — they do have their advantages! I love this bread toasted, too.
I also shared the recipe with my best friend, and she has been baking it a couple of times a week! Her family LOVES it, and LaRee loves how easy it is, as well as how tasty!
I made my first bread EVER using this recipe one week ago. I’m now making this recipe for the third time. I was terrified to try bread making, but your recipe was perfect! Informative and easy to follow. Thank you!
I’m so, so happy to hear this, Kristen!! Happy Baking!
I’m having so much fun! This is a great recipe! Thanks forsharing!
Yay!
I just made this bread and it is fantastic! I have never made successful bread before. I followed your steps to a T. I wasn’t sure with the oven-on-for-1-minute trick if that meant the first rise went inside the oven or on top of it. I played it safe and put the bowl, covered with plastic wrap (and a tea towel for good measure) on top of the oven. It rose perfectly. I watched your video for the two-fork-punch-down method, and that worked perfectly as well. The loaves just came out of the oven and they are perfect! I just had two slices. I must … not … eat … all … the … bread.
FWIW I used bread flour (Bob’s Red Mill brand) I know bread flour has a higher protein content, and I’ve heard that gives bread a nice loft and a chewier crust.
Thank you for helping me add ‘home made bread’ to my (admittedly mighty) arsenal of things I can make and brag about.
Eric in Seattle
You are so welcome, Eric! I’m so happy to hear all of this. I know, the oven-on trick for one minute is hard to articulate—I do let the bread rise in the oven. But it sounds as though your stovetop is a cozy enough spot, so that’s great. And thanks for sharing what flour you used—that’s always helpful for other people. I suggest all-purpose just so that people don’t feel they have to run around buying specific flours/ingredients etc. Anyway, thanks so much for writing in!
My house is really cold (65-67°), so I havent been able to get bread to rise without a little encouragemt (instant pot /oven trick as you used in the 1st rise). I have a dehydrator with a temp comtrol that goes as low as 95°. Could I use that for the 2nd rise,or do you think that would be too much heat?
I think 95 should be fine! I would just periodically touch the bowls to make sure they aren’y getting too hot. But, that’s a great idea!
Well, tomorrow is the day to make your bread with some Sunrise Heritage white flour I bought
while in MN it’s milled from organic Turkey Red Wheat~hope it turns out!!!
One question though, I read and watched the directions and it says to use kosher salt~I have
some sea salt or himalayan salt~can I use either one of those?
My daughter was here for Thanksgiving and she made some bread in my crock pot and that is
what got me started making bread, it tasted so good~I usually go to the bakery for a loaf and
now they are going to wonder what happened to me this week!
Thanks so much Sue
Hi Sue! I’m sorry the bakery won’t be seeing you anymore — I have no doubt you’ll be missed! 🙂 Yes, definitely use sea salt or himalayan salt. How fun to make bread in a crock pot?! I’m so curious now. Your flour sounds delicious. I’ve been on a kick buying all sorts of local flour, and I also bought some heritage flour from a place in northern California. Question for you: is the flour stone ground? And do they call if high-extraction flour? or all-purpose? Just curious!
Hi Alexandra~They said their Heritage wheat doesn’t follow all the “rules” for modern wheat but their sifted flour is a high extraction flour where most of the bran has been removed but all the germ remains. Both the sifted and white are all purpose because they are milled very fine and work for just about everything. The owner did mention that the sifted bakes a little tanner in color than the white and they use the sifted for almost everything but white is their biggest seller. I actually am going to use their pizza flour I have left over for your bread recipe and it is a blend of organic Hard Red Spring wheat and organic Soft White Winter wheat so it will give me an Italian style bread. I was so excited to make bread and have the smell in the house I didn’t realize I had too much other bread left so I probably will make mine maybe over the weekend~loved seeing the kids in the kitchen when you did your bread~hope they grow up to love cooking and being in the kitchen. Oh I almost forgot, my daughter just made up her dough and let it rise but did not knead it and put some parchment paper in the crock pot ~put the dough in and put it on high and checked at 45 min and it was done~you can put it under the broiler to brown the top but we didn’t have to do that.~~~Sue
Alexandra~forgot to add, all the flour is stone ground!
Generally this worked well and was excited to crown myself a domestic goddess. However when I added the water/yeast mixture to the flour, the dough was super dry. I had to add 1/4 cup more water to get it moving and that probably wasn’t even enough. I used regular all purpose flour. I double checked my quantities and got it all right but think it may have been the flour.
They’re not a complete disaster but wondering what went wrong. My step son is on his third slice so it can’t be that bad!
Perfect recipe on a sailingboat. Even without a proper oven. I used an omniaoven and it workedout perfect. The dough was a little too wet I think and next time I will ad a little extra salt. We crossing the Atlantic from CapeVerdes. We leave comming sunday so I just foumd the right recipe in time because I was really worried missing fresh bread. So thank you!!
Wow!! Amazing. This, I think, is a first. Thanks so much for writing in!
I can’t wait to bake your bread!! You said that you can bake the whole batch of bread in the second largest bowl (#443) and half of the batch in the smallest bowl (#441). How long would I bake the whole batch for?
Hi! For the large bowl, I would follow the baking instructions the same, adding 15 minutes more to the baking time. Happy baking! Let me know if there is anything else!
Heard you on the radio yesterday and tried the “Peasant Bread”… DIdn’t work. I think it was because I used “Bread Machine” yeast… The bread never rose…
Bummer! Was the yeast old? I’ve used “bread machine” yeast many times with success—it’s the only “instant” yeast I can find at my little grocery store.
Did you do the lukewarm water trick: 1.5 cups cold + .5 cups boiling? Did you let it rise in a warm spot?
Can’t wait to try this recipe! I’m like Oprah from the wright watchers commercials… “I LOVE BREAD”!! I bought a bag of toasted flax seed, and some chia seed today.. think I could incorporate it? If so how much? I’m very new to the world of baking
Yes! Add them right in with the dry ingredients. I would start with 1/4 cup of each.
Thank you! I did it, and it was AMAZING! That toasted flaxseed added such a nice nutty flavor!!
Yay!! So happy to hear this!
And I am the same way!! Can’t live without bread ❤️
that was perfect
Is their a way to just print the recipe without all the other stuff?
Read your post. love the bread. Don’t need to print a novella. Just the recipe.
I mean no disrespect. Just want to print the recipe and nothing else.
I do mean with instructions but without the stories, bowls, where to get them etc.
Got it! I hope this link helps: https://alexandracooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Peasant-Bread-Recipe.pdf
No worries, I get it! Sorry for the delay here. I’ve added a link to a PDF in the notes section of the recipe, and here’s a direct link to it: https://alexandracooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Peasant-Bread-Recipe.pdf Hope this helps!
Hi Alexandra
Thank you for sharing your moms recipe for the pheasants bread…
I did everything you said , and everything is good except
One
I used a loaf pan, came out good
The 2nd one I used was 325 Pyrex bowl
They taste great but neither one rose
Like yours
Especially the bowl
It stays the same size as when I first put it in the oven
Could it be that I didn’t punch it after the first rise
Or is it maybe the bowl too big ????
Other than that I will keep trying till I get it to look like yours :)))
Hi Ann,
I think the pan/bowl is/are too big! I would try baking off 3/4 of the dough in your loaf pan, then using small vessels (custard cups, a muffin tin) to bake off the remainder. You should, however, be punching it down with the forks, and do be sure the second rise is long enough especially in these colder months. Hope that helps!