My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make
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This is the no-knead bread recipe my mother has been baking for 45 years. Start to finish, it can be ready in three hours. It bakes in well-buttered Pyrex bowls — no need to preheat a baking vessel for this recipe — and it emerges golden and crisp with a soft, tender crumb. 🍞🍞🍞🍞🍞
When I tell you that, if forced, I had to pick one and only one recipe to share with you that this — my mother’s peasant bread — would be it, I am serious. I would almost in fact be OK ending the blog after this very post, retiring altogether from the wonderful world of food blogging, resting assured that you all had this knowledge at hand. This bread might just change your life.
The reason I say this is simple. I whole-heartedly believe that if you know how to make bread you can throw one hell of a dinner party. And the reason for this is because people go insane over homemade bread. Not once have I served this bread to company without being asked, “Did you really make this?” And questioned: “You mean with a bread machine?” But always praised: “Is there anything more special than homemade bread?”
And upon tasting homemade bread, people act as if you’re some sort of culinary magician. I would even go so far as to say that with homemade bread on the table along with a few nice cheeses and a really good salad, the main course almost becomes superfluous. If you nail it, fantastic. If you don’t, you have more than enough treats to keep people happy all night long.
The Magic of the Peasant Bread
So what, you probably are wondering, makes this bread so special when there are so many wonderful bread recipes out there? Again, the answer is simple. For one, it’s a no-knead bread. I know, I know. There are two wildly popular no-knead bread recipes out there.
But unlike the others, this is a no-knead bread that can be started at 4:00pm and turned out onto the dinner table at 7:00pm. It bakes in well-buttered Pyrex bowls — there is no pre-heating of the baking vessels in this recipe — and it emerges golden and crisp without any steam pans or water spritzes. This is not artisan bread, nor is it trying to be. It is peasant bread, spongy and moist with a most-delectable buttery crust.
Genuinely, I would be proud to serve this bread at a dinner party attended by Jim Lahey, Mark Bittman, Peter Reinhart, Chad Robertson, Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. It is a bread I hope you will all give a go, too, and then proudly serve at your next dinner party to guests who might ask where you’ve stashed away your bread machine. And when this happens, I hope you will all just smile and say, “Don’t be silly. This is just a simple peasant bread. Easy as pie. I’ll show you how to make it some day.”
Peasant Bread Variations
Once you master the peasant bread, you can make any bread your heart desires — this simple no-knead bread recipe is the foundation of many of the other bread recipes on this site, namely this hugely popular overnight refrigerator focaccia and this simple homemade pizza dough. It’s even the inspiration behind this sourdough focaccia and this sourdough sandwich bread and this simple pita bread recipe.
The below post is organized as follows:
- How to Make Peasant Bread, Step by Step
- The Best Way to Store Bread
- Peasant Bread Dinner Rolls
- Peasant Bread Sandwich Bread
- How to Add Seeds and Nuts to Bread Dough
- How to Make Gluten-Free Peasant Bread
- How to Coat the Loaves in Seeds
- How to use Whole Wheat Flour
- How to Bake the Peasant Bread in a Dutch Oven
Many more variations on the peasant bread can be found in my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs:
Bread Toast Crumbs
Love the peasant bread? There’s now a book filled with 40 simple bread recipes plus 70 recipes to use up every crumb of every loaf you bake.
How to Make Peasant Bread, Step by Step
First: You need yeast.
This is the yeast I buy exclusively: SAF Instant Yeast. Instant yeast can be whisked into the flour directly without any blooming or proofing. If you want to stick to active-dry yeast, there are instructions in the recipe notes on how to do so. Red Star yeast is great.
Whisk together flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast. Add lukewarm water.
Mix until you have a sticky dough ball. Let it rise for 1.5 to 2 hours…
… or until it looks like this:
Punch down the dough using two forks.
Then split the dough down the middle again using the two forks.
Because this is a very wet dough, it must be baked in an oven-proof bowl. I am partial to the Pyrex 1L 322 size, but any similarly sized oven-proof bowl will work.
Butter the bowls well; then transfer half of the dough to each prepared bow.
Let the dough rise again until it crowns the rim of the bowl, about 30 minutes.
Transfer the bowls to the oven to bake:
This bread is irresistible when it’s freshly baked, but it also makes wonderful toast on subsequent mornings as well as the best grilled cheese. It’s also my favorite bread to use for these egg salad sandwiches and for this no-tuna “tuna” salad.
The Best Way to Store Bread
If you want to store the bread at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, I think the best method is in a ziplock bag. I’ve tried other eco-friendly options, but nothing seems to keep bread freshest — the crumb the softest — better than a ziplock bag. You can re-use the bags again and again.
If you intend to keep the bread for longer, I would freeze it. I often slice bread as soon as it cools completely, transfer the slices to a ziplock bag, then freeze. This way, I know the bread was frozen at its freshest.
A ziplock bag will not prevent the crust of bread from turning soft, which is why I suggest always reheating day-old bread. I use a toaster at breakfast for slices of bread, and I reheat half or quarter loaves in the oven at 350ºF for 15 to 20 minutes when serving for dinner.
Bread revives so beautifully in the oven or toaster.
No-Knead Dinner Rolls
To use the peasant bread dough to make rolls, simply divide the dough into smaller portions and place in a buttered muffin tin as in these No-Knead Thyme Dinner Rolls (pictured above). This recipe for no-knead buttermilk pull-apart rolls is also based on the peasant bread as are these brioche pull-apart rolls.
No-Knead Sandwich Bread
To make sandwich bread, multiply the recipe below by 1.5 and bake the bread in two buttered 8.5×4.5-inch loaf pans.
Made with half all-purpose flour and half King Arthur Sprouted Wheat Flour, these seed-coated sandwich loaves (pictured above) have a soft and light crumb. I really like KAF’s sprouted wheat flour, which is made from white whole wheat berries that, when sprouted, yield a creamy, sweet, milder-tasting flour. You can use 100% all-purpose or bread flour for an even lighter loaf or your favorite whole wheat flour in place of the sprouted wheat flour.
How to Add Nuts and Seeds to Bread Dough
To add seeds and nuts (or dried fruit and cheese), simply stir them into the dry ingredients. This recipe for Quinoa-and-Flax Toasting Bread will offer guidance on how much to add.
How to Make a Gluten-Free Peasant Bread
Making gluten-free peasant bread (pictured above) unfortunately isn’t as simple as swapping in gluten-free flour for the wheat flour. But the process and recipe is still super simple — in fact, because there’s only one rise, many people find the gluten-free peasant bread to be even simpler than the original. Find the recipe here: Gluten-Free Peasant Bread
How to Coat the Loaves in Seeds
To coat the peasant bread in seeds, as pictured above, simply coat the bowls with everything bagel seasoning or with dukkah or sesame seeds or whatever seed mix you wish. The seed-coated loaves look so beautiful, and it’s amazing how much the flavor of the coating permeates the loaves. Find the recipe here: Everything Bagel Seasoning Peasant Bread
How to Use Whole Wheat Flour
To use whole wheat flour in the peasant bread, simply replace as much as 50% of the all-purpose flour with your favorite whole wheat flour: I like KAF’s sprouted wheat flour, and I’ve been loving the Cairnsprings Mill Trailblazer stone-milled flour. With the Trailblazer, I can use up to 75% of it in the peasant bread, and it yields a beautiful, chewy texture as well as a lovely flavor and aroma.
When using whole wheat flour, you may have to use more or less water — there is no rule as to how much more or less, and it will take some trial and error to get right because all flours absorb water differently. When I use KAF sprouted wheat flour, for example, I don’t change the water amount at all. When I use the Trailblazer flour, on the other hand, I reduce the water by at least 50 grams.
If you’d like to learn more about whole wheat flour and stone-milled flours, read this: Easy Sourdough Bread (Whole Wheat-ish)
How to Bake the Peasant Bread in a Dutch Oven
If you’re looking for more of a crackling crusted boule (characteristic of a loaf of sourdough bread) as opposed to the buttery crispness of the peasant bread, you can bake the peasant bread dough in a preheated Dutch oven.
There are detailed instructions below the recipe in the notes section, but one thing to keep in mind before you begin is dough hydration. The peasant bread is a very high hydration dough, meaning there is a lot of water relative to flour. Because baking the peasant bread in a Dutch oven will require some handling of the dough — to shape it into a round and to create some tension — you may want to reduce the water from the start. Consider holding back 20-30 grams of water to make the process more manageable for you.
My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make
- Total Time: 2 hours 27 minutes
- Yield: 2 loaves
Description
Notes:
The bread:
This is a sticky, no-knead dough, so, some sort of baking vessel, such as pyrex bowls (you need two 1-qt bowls) or ramekins for mini loaves is required to bake this bread. See notes below the recipe for sources. You can use a bowl that is about 2 qt or 2 L in size to bake off the whole batch of dough (versus splitting the dough in half) but do not use this size for baking half of the dough — it is too big.
Peasant Bread Fans! There is now a book: Bread Toast Crumbs, a loaf-to-crumb bread baking book, filled with tips and tricks and answers to the many questions that have been asked over the years. In the book you will find 40 variations of the master peasant bread recipe + 70 recipes for using up the many loaves you will bake. Learn more about the book here or buy it here.
Ingredients
- 4 cups (512 g) unbleached all-purpose or bread flour
- 2 teaspoons (10 g) kosher salt
- 2 cups (454 g) lukewarm water (made by mixing 1.5 cups cold water with 0.5 cup boiling water)
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) sugar
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) instant yeast, I love SAF Instant Yeast, see notes below
- room temperature butter, about 2 tablespoons
Instructions
- Mixing the dough: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar, and instant yeast (I love SAF Instant Yeast). Add the water. Mix until the flour is absorbed. (If you are using active dry yeast, see notes below.)
- Let it rise. Cover bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot to rise for at least an hour. (In the winter or if you are letting the bread rise in a cool place, it might take as long as two hours to rise.) This is how to create a slightly warm spot for your bread to rise in: Turn the oven on at any temperature (350ºF or so) for one minute, then turn it off. Note: Do not allow the oven to get up to 300ºF, for example, and then heat at that setting for 1 minute — this will be too hot. Just let the oven preheat for a total of 1 minute — it likely won’t get above 100ºF. The goal is to just create a slightly warm environment for the bread.
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Grease two 1-qt or 1.5-qt oven-safe bowls (see notes below) with about a tablespoon of butter each. Using two forks, punch down your dough, scraping it from the sides of the bowl, which it will be clinging to. As you scrape it down try to pull the dough toward the center (see video below for guidance). You want to loosen the dough entirely from the sides of the bowl, and you want to make sure you’ve punched it down. Then, take your two forks and divide the dough into two equal portions — eye the center of the mass of dough, and starting from the center and working out, pull the dough apart with the two forks. Then scoop up each half and place into your prepared bowls. This part can be a little messy — the dough is very wet and will slip all over the place. Using small forks or forks with short tines makes this easier — my small salad forks work best; my dinner forks make it harder. It’s best to scoop it up fast and plop it in the bowl in one fell swoop. Some people like to use flexible, plastic dough scrapers for this step.
- Let the dough rise again for about 20 to 30 minutes on the countertop near the oven (or near a warm spot) or until it has risen to just below or above (depending on what size bowl you are using) the top of the bowls. (Note: Do not do the warm-oven trick for the second rise, and do not cover your bowls for the second rise. Simply set your bowls on top of your oven, so that they are in a warm spot. Twenty minutes in this spot usually is enough for my loaves.)
- Bake it. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375º and bake for 15 to 17 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and turn the loaves onto cooling racks. If you’ve greased the bowls well, the loaves should fall right out onto the cooling racks. If the loaves look a little pale and soft when you’ve turned them out onto your cooling racks, place the loaves into the oven (outside of their bowls) and let them bake for about 5 minutes longer. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.
Notes
- The bowls: The cheapest, most widely available 1-qt bowl is the Pyrex 322. Update: These bowls are becoming harder to find and more expensive. As a result, I’m suggesting this cheaper option: the Pyrex 3-piece set. You can split the dough in half as always (see recipe) and bake half in the 1-quart bowl and half in the 1.5 quart bowl. The loaves will not be the same shape, but they will be delicious nonetheless.
- Yeast: I buy SAF Instant Yeast in bulk from Amazon I store it in my fridge or freezer, and it lasts forever. If you are using the packets of yeast (the kind that come in the 3-fold packets), just go ahead and use a whole packet — It’s 2.25 teaspoons. I have made the bread with active dry, rapid rise, and instant yeast, and all varieties work. The beauty of instant yeast is that there is no need to “proof” it — you can add the yeast directly to the flour. I never use active-dry yeast anymore.
- If you have active-dry yeast on hand and want to use it, here’s how: In a small mixing bowl, dissolve the sugar into the water. Sprinkle the yeast over top. There is no need to stir it up. Let it stand for about 10 to 15 minutes or until the mixture is foamy and/or bubbling just a bit — this step will ensure that the yeast is active. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. When the yeast-water-sugar mixture is foamy, stir it up, and add it to the flour bowl. Mix until the flour is absorbed.
- Troubleshooting: You can find step-by-step video instruction here.
- Several commenters have had trouble with the second rise, and this seems to be caused by the shape of the bowl they are letting the dough rise in the second time around. Two hours for the second rise is too long. If you don’t have a 1-qt bowl, bake 3/4 of the dough in a loaf pan and bake the rest off in muffin tins or a popover pan. The second rise should take no more than 30 minutes.
- Also, you can use as many as 3 cups of whole wheat flour, but the texture changes considerably. I suggest trying with all all-purpose or bread flour to start and once you get the hang of it, start trying various combinations of whole wheat flour and/or other flours.
- The single most important step you can take to make this bread truly foolproof is to invest in a digital scale. This one costs under $10. If you are not measuring by weight, do this: scoop flour into the measuring cup using a separate spoon or measuring cup; level off with a knife. The flour should be below the rim of the measuring cup.
- Here’s a printable version of this recipes that’s less wordy: Peasant Bread Recipe, Simplified
- How to Bake the Peasant Bread in a Dutch Oven: Preheat a Dutch Oven for 45 minutes at 450ºF. Dust a clean work surface with flour. After the first rise, turn the dough out onto the floured surface and shape it into a ball: I like to fold it envelope style from top to bottom, then side to side; then I flip it over and use the pinkie edges of my hands to pinch the dough underneath and create some tension. Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment paper. Let rest for 20 minutes. If you feel your dough is spreading too much you can lift up the sheet of parchment paper, dough and all, and place it in a bowl of a similar size. After the 20 minutes, transfer the dough, parchment paper and all to the Dutch oven. Carefully cover it. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover. Bake 15 minutes more.
- To bake the peasant bread in a loaf pan: If you are using an 8.5×4.5-inch loaf pan or a 9×5-inch loaf pan, you can bake 3/4 of the dough in it; bake off the rest of the dough in ramekins or other small vessels … the mini loaves are so cute. You can also make 1.5x the recipe, and bake the bread in 2 loaf pans. If you have a large loaf pan, such as a 10×6-inch loaf pan, you can bake off the entire batch of dough in it. For loaf pans, bake at 375ºF for 45 minutes.
- How to Bake at Hight Altitude:
- First try the original recipe as written (preferably with a scale). You may not need to make any adjustments. One commenter, who lives at 9200 ft finds the original recipe to work just fine as is.
- If the original recipe doesn’t work, try adding a little bit more water because it rises fast and it is so dry: about a quarter cup for every 512 g of flour.
- Try decreasing the yeast to 1.5 teaspoons.
- If your dough is especially gooey, try decreasing the water by 1/4 cup. But, if you aren’t using a scale, my first suggestion would be to buy a scale and weigh the flour, and make the bread once as directed with the 2 cups water and 512 grams flour, etc.
- Punch the dough down twice before transferring it to the buttered Pyrex bowls. In other words, let it rise for 1-1.5 hours, punch it down, let it rise again for about an hour, punch it down, then transfer it to the buttered bowls.
- Variations:
- #1. Cornmeal. Substitute 1 cup of the flour with 1 cup of cornmeal. Proceed with the recipe as directed.
- #2. Faux focaccia. Instead of spreading butter in two Pyrex bowls in preparation for baking, butter one 9×9-inch glass baking dish and one Pyrex bowl or just butter one large 9×13-inch Pyrex baking dish. If using two vessels, divide the dough in half and place each half in prepared baking pan. If using only one large baking dish, place all of the dough in the dish. Drizzle dough with 1 tablespoon of olive oil (if using the small square pan) and 2 tablespoons of olive oil (if using the large one). Using your fingers, gently spread the dough out so that it fits the shape of the pan. Use your fingers to create dimples in the surface of the dough. Sprinkle surface with chopped rosemary and sea salt. Let rise for 20 to 30 minutes. Bake for 15 minutes at 425ºF and 17 minutes (or longer) at 375ºF. Remove from pan and let cool on cooling rack.
- #3. Thyme Dinner Rolls
- #4 Gluten-free
- #5. Everything Bagel Seasoning Bread. Simply coat the buttered bowls with Everything Bagel Seasoning. Watch a how-to on Instagram Stories here.
- #6: Whole Wheat Peasant Bread. Use as much as 50% whole wheat flour. I like King Arthur Flour’s white whole wheat flour (see this post) or sprouted wheat flour (see this post).
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 32 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
6,401 Comments on “My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make”
If I make a 1.5x recipe does it need to rise 1.5 the time?
I would, yes!
Hi thank you for this recipe it looks really doable! I’ve failed at making bread so many times and I really want to try this recipe. I don’t have the bowls that seem so crucial, I wanted to use my trusty 3-qt cast iron skillet. Can I bake the bread in this, not dividing the dough? How long would it take in the oven?
Your can! Be sure to butter the pan very, very well. I would bake it for at least 15 minutes longer.
I don’t have milk powder. Can I just leave it out? Or do I need to substitute it for something else?
No milk powder in this recipe.
Hi – sorry abt that milk powder Q!! Was supposed to post it elsewhere.
I did try your bread today – made one everything bagel and one plain. The dough wasn’t wet/ sticky at all – it actually was quite easy to shape etc. but I baked it anyhow. It didn’t rise very much, so I left it for a long time on the 2nd rise. It came out too dense 🙁
Hi Anu! Question: are you using a scale to measure the flour? What type of yeast? How long did the first rise go?
OOOOMMMMMGGGGG!!!!!! i’ve been trying to make bread for many weeks now & things keep going wrong. i was ready to give up when i found this recipe. i steeled myself for another failure…but…success! it is delish, quick & easy. believe me, if i can successfully make it, anyone can. i made half the recipe b/c i didn’t want to waste ingredients if i failed again but this recipe works perfectly for making just one loaf. i loved baking it in a round bowl b/c it came out looking very “peasant/olde world country.” i can’t recommend this recipe highly enough. it’s soooo yummy! do yourself a favor & try it. you won’t be sorry! thanks for sharing it with us!!!!
So happy to hear this, Steph!!
I make this bread almost every week & we love it!! The kids would hover at the table to get the big slices vs the small slices due to the shape of the bread. I found loaf shaped Pyrex glass containers at Target that are approximately the same size as the bowls & can be used with the exact same recipe. It is
a 3 container set & you’d need 2 sets but who doesn’t need more containers?! The loaf shape has solved our bread battle at the table. Seriously, it’s delicious. https://www.target.com/p/pyrex-6pc-value-pack-glass-food-storage-containers/-/A-10507546
Oh I love this! Thanks so much for sharing with everyone, Vanessa 🙂
I’ve made this in two loaves and loved it! How long do you bake it for just one loaf?
Yay! For one loaf, I would do: 15 minutes at 425F, and 25 to 30 minutes at 375F.
Thanks so much for sharing. Awesome bread. I appreciate Zoe for leading me to you. Another great bread in the books. I used two 9×5 silicone loaf pans. Buttered them heavily but less than required. They browned and cane out easily. I kind of eyeballed the amounts in each but neither rose above the rim. I think I’ll do it again with everything in one pan.
Thanks again!
Great to hear all of this, Eric!
Made this lastnight, super easy and yummy. Instead of butter used margarine and just baked in a big glass cake pan. Needless to say my teens gobbled it up. Would it hurt if I took out 1 teaspoons of salt out?
Hi Jessica! So happy to hear this! Give the one teaspoon less salt a try and see how you like it … if you do, keep doing that moving forward; if you don’t, try 1.5 teaspoons, etc.
Just love this authentic yet simple bread recipe. Thank you.
Hi I’ve made this bread 4 or 5 times and I can’t get it to rise the second time but I bake it anyway and it rises abit more while it’s cooking, it’s absolutely delicious and I don’t like bread very much and my family love it I just want it to rise more I am going to try cooking in the one loaf pan instead of two and also the flour I use which is a multigrain bread mx says to use more yeast so I do that and it rises abit. Either way it is delicious and I will keep making it thanks for the recipe.
I made this bread for supper last night. My husband and I loved it! We will have the second loaf with chili tonight.
Could I use less yeast and let it rise longer?
I have ordered your book and can’t wait to try more recipes.
So happy to hear this, Jane! Means a lot that you ordered Bread Toast Crumbs …. thank you 🙂 🙂 🙂 And yes, absolutely, you can use a teaspoon of yeast and let it rise longer. You can even use less if you want to let it rise longer. Keep in mind, the second rise will also take longer. So just be patient … stick the bread in the oven when the dough creeps above the rim of the bowl. Happy baking!
Thanks. Just happened to have two of the right bowls in the cupboard. Love the taste and ease.
Wonderful!
Totally suggested! Stir them into the dry ingredients.
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Do you have recommendations for freezing and making large batches? We are a fairly large family and eat approximately 2 loaves a week, at least. I was thinking to make four 1.5L loaf pans by tripling the recipe. Giving approximately 3lbs of flour. Then baking at 375F for 45min, cooling, and freezing 3 out of 4 loaves.
Please let me know what you think and if I should adjust any measurements, times, or temps. Thanks in advance!
Sincerely,
H
That will definitely work. I usually do 1.5 times the recipe for 2 standard loaf pans, so 3x the recipe is a good idea for 4 standard loaf pans. 375F for 45 minutes is also what I do for loaf pans, and yes, the bread freezes beautifully. Go for it!
Thank you so much!! I am planning on trying the recipe this week and hopefully it turns out as good as yours! Also have you ever tried to mix the bread flour with Rye and whole wheat? Wondering, if I try it would the proportions change.
Yes! I never really do more than 1 cup (25%) rye/whole wheat flour, because I like the texture of bread made with white flour, but you can do more if you like.
Perfect! I will try that 1 cup or 25% of rye/whole wheat after I triple that recipe into loaf pans. Thank you!
Just to let you know, last night I tried your recipe as is with the bowls and it worked out well. I just made the 2 loaves with active dry yeast and king arthur bread flour. I have the same flowery pyrex bowls as you but, needed to use 1L and 1.5L. Both, came out with a nice crust and delicious texture.
So happy to hear this!
This was a total fail for us. Followed the recipe absolutely correctly. The mixed dough was hard and not at all moist like the video. The bread barely rose at all. There was no mention whatsoever in the recipe of how much the bread is supposed to rise in terms of volume, so no guidance there.
Hi Dan. Did you use a scale to measure the flour? What kind of yeast did you use? What kind of flour?
Seriously so easy and delicious! You can retire now as a food blogger…nothing can ever be as good as this 🙂
ha! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thank youuuuuuuu
My 13 year old son found this recipe a couple weeks ago and ran downstairs yelling “Mom I have to make this!” I didn’t have the Pyrex bowls so off to Amazon he went and found a 3 piece set of 1 qt, 1.5 qt and 2.5 qt for $12…2 days later bread was in the oven : ) this bread is amazing and easy enough that a 13 year old boy can make it with no problems!
Oh this warms my heart! Thanks so much for sharing. So happy to hear this 🙂
Hey, I’ve been dying to try this, but our landlord got us a new oven and due to weird New York building requirements hasn’t been able to connect it yet. Do you think it’d be possible to make this in a toaster oven?
As long as you have a baking vessel that fits in the toaster oven, go for it! Keep in mind the dough will rise about the rim of the bowl/pan, so be sure to use the bottom rack and don’t attempt if you think the dough will hit the “ceiling” of the toaster oven.
This bread is amazing! And so easy to make.. I will be pairing this with a vegetable barley soup for dinner, should be delicious! Also, I didn’t have the pyrex bowls, so I just used a bread pan and a muffin tin.. it made 4 decent sized rolls. Thank you! Will be adding this to my recipe book 😁
So happy to hear this, Hope!
I made your bread today but didn’t get quite the rise I should have after letting it sit for an hour. Even so, it is sooooooooooooooo good — nice, crispy exterior with a perfectly “spongy” interior (for lack of a better word). Should I have let it rise for longer than an hour on the second rise, or is there something else I could have done differently?
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I can’t wait to try it again …. maybe with sourdough starter. I always seem to have some …
I would let the first rise go longer … try for 1.5 to 2 hours. And play the second rise by ear … wait till the dough crowns the rim of the bowl before popping them in the oven. Question: what size bowls are you using?
So happy to hear this!!
Just made this for supper and was wonderful. Awesome flavour and super easy!A redo!
So happy to hear this, Jennifer!
Hi, Alexandra
Can I use a bread maker to make this bread?
Thanks
I don’t know! Never used one.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It has been my go to for years ever since I first came across it. I felt compelled to share today because I had a big plan this morning to make garlic bread and decided to use my cheater squeeze tube of garlic to mix into the dough. I squeezed a good 2 t of it in there and on my next breath realized I had grabbed the ginger by mistake. Oops! Well I truly hate to waste food, so I decided to try and salvage this. I added 1/2 c sugar, about 2 t allspice, a t cinnamon, and generous pinches of cardamom and cloves, mixed it up and covered it to rise. And it did! So I cooked it and holy cow is it delicious! I love happy accidents in the kitchen.😜 You have singlehandedly made me confident in the bread making arena – enough so that I can play. That makes me so happy and I really do appreciate it.
WOW! That is amazing! Love happy accidents, too 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
I have to make several adjustments for high altitude and also had to knead it for a bit after waiting 1/2 hr for it to show signs of starting to rise. I added a half tsp of additional yeast which i proofed in 2 tbsps or so of warm milk and used my handy dandy kitchenaid to mix and knead for only 5 minutes. I had reduced yeast originally per high altitude instructions but found I needed more. No further problems. Turned out wonderful for high altitude baking. Baked at 450f for 15 minutes and reduced to 410 for 10 to 12 minutes. Had to bake for additional 3 minutes to get it nice and brown. It did not fall like high altitude bread is prone to do. I’ve even had my natural grocery store’s bread fall into a soggy mess. So happy.
So happy to hear this, Richard! I get lots of questions about high-altitude baking, and I never really know how to answer because I don’t have any experience. Thanks for sharing!
You said ” 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.” SAF and Fermipan Instant Yeast come in boxes of five 11g sachets (3.25 teaspoons per sachet – I checked it).
A bread recipe on the SAF box uses 250gm flour per sachet implying two sachets for the 512gm of bread in your recipe.
Should I use the one whole sachet as you suggest or 2 tsps per your peasant bread recipe?
Hi Peter,
Two teaspoons of yeast for 512 g flour is plenty. If you don’t mind having leftover yeast in a sachet, just use 2 teaspoons. Otherwise, I would just use 1 sachet. It will probably rise a little faster, but this is a very forgiving recipe. Hope that helps. Let me know if you need anything else!
Hi Alexandra! I LOVE this recipe! I am experimenting with different bread recipes and am new to bread making. This was so easy to understand and came out fantastic. I loved your site so much that I ordered your book! Came yesterday and already making more bread! Thanks so much…Joanie
Oh yay! Joanie! Wonderful to hear all of this. Let me know if you have any questions along the way. Thanks so much for ordering my book 🙂
I only make half the recipe, more than enough for myself and my husband. Can I use a regular loaf pan to bake this? Do I need to adjust the timing? I have not been able to find 1 quart loaf pans in Canada
Thanks for this awesome recipe
I use 2 loaf pans for 1.5 times the recipe. You can bake 3/4 of the dough in 1 loaf pan and save the remainder (in the fridge for pizza on another night!) or bake off the rest of the dough in some sort of small vessel: such as ramekins or mini loaf pans or a muffin tin.
Amazon.ca has 1 qt oven-safe Anchor glass bowls at a very reasonable price as an add-on item. I just bought two for the full Peasant Bread recipe although because I live alone I will mostly do one loaf at a time. I have one in the oven right now.
For my first attempt at this recipe I made one loaf in a bowl and one faux Focaccia in a square Pyrex baking dish. Both turned out beautifully!
Thanks Alexandra!
Sorry, should have said “Anchor Hocking” glass bowls.
So happy to hear this, Carol! And thanks for the tip on the Anchor Hocking glass bowls. So helpful 🙂
Thank you for this super easy and tasty bread recipe. This is my absolutely favorite to make when I want fresh hot bread for dinner. Your video clearly shows how to make this step by step, I’ve made this recipe at least a dozen times now and perfect every time.
I am also fortunate to have twin vintage 1 quart Pyrex bowls gifted by my MIL which makes two perfect round loaves, my bread looks just like the picture of yours. Right now my house smells fantastic, and my husband just walked in the door…he is very happy!!! Dinner and bread ready in 10 minutes!!!
So happy to hear this 🙂
“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.”
This didn’t work at all. It was nothing like the pictures and the texture was like the Slime that kids play with. Eventually I just poured it out into the bowls.
It’s on the second rise now. The oven is heating…
I’ll keep you informed.
Hmmm. Did you use a scale to measure the flour? It sounds as though the dough is on the wet side. Also what type of flour did you use?
I did. 512gm exactly.
I used all purpose flour.
I must admit that the flour had been there for a couple of months.
Should I have added the water slowly until the dough was the right texture rather than dumping it in all at once?
It’s out!! Pale so I’ll give it 5 minutes more al fresco.
The old-ish flour shouldn’t matter, but all flours vary in protein content, and it’s possible your ap flour is lower in protein then what I am using. Out of curiosity, what brand are you using? No need to add the water slowly. I think it’s possible you just may need to add less water.
Nice call on baking the bread longer al fresco — keep it in for as long as you like until you get the golden color you are looking for. It’s a forgiving bread in that because there is so much water in the recipe, it’s hard to over-cook it.
Question: you’re not using bleached ap flour, right?
Well it tastes pretty good. My grandchildren aged 9, 10, 11 and 12 swooped down and gobbled up the first one. Had to hide the other.
Complaints about diet, weight gain etc.
Gotta make some more.
(Its not bleached AP flour).
I’ll rate the next batch!
Wow! What a crew! Glad to hear it was well received. And great re not bleached flour.
my dough was also watery & not like your picture. I am using unbleached ap flour by gold medal. I am going to let it sit and see what happens. Its Thanksgiving Day and I only have a few cups of flour left!!
Well it rose pretty well & now I have it in the 2- 1 quart bowls.
How did it turn out in the end?
Do you use a scale to measure the flour?
Made this today and it was Perfect!!! I had a similar recipe but this was even easier; and I loved placing the dough in two bowls. I picked up an extra one from the thrift store for a $1.
Delicious bread, can’t wait for my Son to try it. My husband loves it 🙂
Mine looks just like your pictures, Fantastic instructions!!!
So happy to hear this, Beverly!!
Is it possible to substitute something else for butter? We have a dairy allergy in our house.
Yes! Vegan buttery sticks work well. Or Earth Balance … something like that.
I echo those cooks who are amazed how delicious and easy this recipe is. I made this today and totally surprised myself! Now I’m amped to try it again. Thank you for this wonderful bread recipe.
So happy to hear this, Stephanie 🙂 🙂 🙂