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.
6,393 Comments on “My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make”
I’ve made this bread so many times and each time I serve it my guests love it and ask for the recipe.
Charise
Wonderful to hear this, Charise!
I was fortunate to be given a loaf of this bread by a dear friend who has made it numerous times. Was I ever lucky. The bread is delicious! Not a bread baker but am certainly going to try the recipe as it is laid out so well, step by step. Would make a great hostess gift with a jar of jam.
So nice to hear this, Marci! 💕
Has anyone tried this using an air fryer?
Question for you from a newbie bread baker- my first rise seemed to go well. Once I split the dough in 2, the dough rose but not as high as you had described. (I did not put it in the same place to rise, because it was A much shorter time and I wanted to keep an eye on it). After 20min, it rose to maybe 2/3 of height of 1L bowl. After 30, maybe a smidge more. I didn’t know whether to let it sit for longer or not so I tried baking them. It was spongy feeling inside but dense looking. No big holes. And smelled/tasted like flour. Do you have any tips on what went wrong and how I can fix for next time?
Hi EZ! Question: are you using a scale to measure the flour? What type of yeast are you using? And what type of flour are you using?
Hello!! Thanks so much for getting back to me. Yes, I used a a albeit measure the flour. Yeast was SAF instant. Flour was gold medal AP. But might be a little on the older side (best by date was late last year). Would that have caused this? Just thought it was weird that it rose so nicely the first time but not the second.
It is strange. Honestly, I’m a bit stumped. If the first rise is 1.5-2 hours; the second rise should be 20-30 minutes. And the bowls are definitely 1 L bowls?
Yes, 1L and 1.5L bowls were used. I wonder if it’s the yeast. maybe I’ll try a new batch of yeast and try the recipe again. 2Qs for you: 1. If I get the yeast in bulk from Amazon (110F degree temps in AZ now), will the heat damage the yeast? 2. Can I just halve your recipe amounts to try just 1 1L bowl as a tester? Thanks so much for your help!
Hi EZ! It might be the yeast. Often when people make the switch to SAF, they see a big difference.
Regarding your questions:
1. If I get the yeast in bulk from Amazon (110F degree temps in AZ now), will the heat damage the yeast? Nope! It comes in a cryovacked block — it’s totally protected from the elements 🙂
2. Can I just halve your recipe amounts to try just 1 1L bowl as a tester? Yes!
Sorry! That should’ve said “using a SCALE to measure the flour”.
Baking multiple batches during the pandemic.
I usually bake 3 batches (6 loaves) at a time. Then I take them to the big firehouse where my firefighter daughter is stationed. I decided that they need more pampering. 15+ firefighters make it disappear in minutes. Per their preferences I make 1 large plain. 2 small with TJ Everything but the Bagel seasoning, 2 large with olives (I add the dough in 3 laters with green, pimento stuffed olives between the layers.) Sometime I keep one but usually I send all 6 loaves and I sometimes make the last loaf with whatever I feel like—often a new creation. Today it will be: garlic, parsley, and grated pecorino.
While the first batch rises I prep empty flour bags with the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast. When I move the dough to the baking bowls I mix a new batch in the un-rinsed bowl (a very light spray of oil before the first batch and between subsequent ones makes it easier but it’s no big deal if I don’t) and by the time the first batch rises and bakes the second batch has risen. I let the bowls cool and re-butter and add more seasoning to the small bowl for the TJ EBTB. While those rise I mix the third batch. I always start with a large plain so it has no extra flavours—one firefighter likes the plain bread with molasses! Others like jam. I make the TJ EBTB in the small bowls as it leaves essence—the aficionados joke that they dread random drug tests afterward because they swear I put “crack” in those loaves!
I meet my daughter near a retaining wall between the firehouse and a parking lot. I set the bags of bread on the wall and she comes out and we have a nice visit. Then I leave and she takes the bread inside. I wish I could hug her but for now baking bread for her and her “house” will have to do.
Btw, I also find that I need far less butter in the bowls than the recipe calls for.
Lisa! This made me cry. What a lovely thing you are doing, treating your daughter and her colleagues to homemade bread in such troubling times. You are so creative with your flavorings. Love it. Thanks so much for taking the time to write and to share all of this.
At what stage would you add the parsley/garlic etc?
I would add them with the flour!
Almost as satisfying as serving homemade bread to guests is giving it as a gift. Most people equate making your own bread with, I don’t know, manufacturing your own electrical power. You must be some kinda magician!!! Thanks for this recipe. I have something similar already but this looks even easier. And thanks for the tip about the fast disappearing Pyrex bowl. I’ll treat mine with more respect for now on.
This made me laugh: “Most people equate making your own bread with, I don’t know, manufacturing your own electrical power.” 😂😂😂 SO true. So glad you like this one, and I couldn’t agree more regarding gifting bread … people act as if it’s gold!
Hi;
I have been making the overnight bread which is great. But this recipe is even easier, so
I will give it a try tomorrow. Thanks so much for sharing.
Wonderful to hear this, Kari!
I love making this bread! Can’t wait to try all of the flavour options. Such a pretty little shape when baked in the bowls. I’m hooked!
Is there a low sodium adaptation of this recipe?
My husband has just been put on a low sodium diet and we’d like to try this to replace all that salty store-bought bread!
Hi Martha! I don’t know what amount would be considered low sodium, but I think you could probably get away with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt here.
I love this recipe and make for family and friends all the time. Can I freeze the dough prior to baking and if so at what point in the process. After second rising?
Yes! Freeze after the first rise. Split the dough in half; then freeze in two separate containers.
I made this recipe last weekend and followed it completely, I think. Did not have the instant yeast but used active dry yeast instead. The dough rose as expected and the second time as well. I just bought two pyrex bowls as recommended which worked as expected. The bread came out well too. Looked good and smelled good. However, both my wife and I felt that it didn’t taste that good, in fact kind of disappointing. Any ideas why the taste was missing?
Hi Don! Interesting re flavor! Did you remember to add the salt? Are you using a scale? If so, I find 10 g of salt to be the right amount here, and I always weigh it now. Also: what type/brand of flour are you using?
Thanks Alexandra, I did use salt but didn’t weigh it. Next time I will. We used all purpose flour from our local supermarket. I’ll try King Arthur next time if I can find it. Will try again soon. Keep up the good work.
Ok, great, keep me posted, Don!
I have finally figured out the REAL reason this recipe calls for making two loaves: so you can eat one fresh out of the oven and still have one left for later!
After 6 weeks of a broken oven, I am glorying in making this bread again. My favorite part is the crackle of the crust as you bite in <3
So nice to hear this, Abby! And I know … one loaf never lasts very long 😍😍😍
Can i use a loaf pan instead..thanks
Yes! See the notes below the recipe.
Hi thanks so much for this recipe. I have been making it ever since COVID became a thing. My son came home from uni for a visit and took 2 loaves home with him. When I asked if he was sharing with his flat mate, I got a solid no. “That stuff is gold Mum. He can get his own bread!” My question is can you put flavourings in without affecting the bread? My idea was to put half the dough in then put a caramelised onion chutney and cheese layer then the rest of the dough. I should just give it a go but thought I would ask an experienced hand for their thoughts. Any comments would be appreciated. Thanks
Hi Karen! So nice to hear all of this … love it 🙂 And yes, absolutely! My cookbook is all about how you can adapt this master peasant bread recipe in countless ways from focaccia to monkey bread to cinnamon swirl bread. You can vary the seasonings/add-ins however you wish. A caramelized onion chutney cheese layer sounds absolutely amazing! Go for it. 🍞🍞🍞
Thanks for the speedy reply. I will let you know how it goes when I make it late in the week.
Hi. Just wanted to let you know that I made the bread with chutney and cheese and it was so amazing. Yum on a stick.
Another thing, I taught my best friend your recipe. She DOES NOT COOK at all. Ever. She has exploded boiled eggs in the past and lives on boiled plain rice when her husband is away. She was amazed by how simple it was and I cannot convey how excited she was when it came out of the oven. It has been a huge achievement for her. Thanks once again. There is now another novice baker who is hooked on your bread. Thanks once again.
Oh Karen, so nice to hear this P 🙂 🙂 🙂 Truly, I think one of the reasons I enjoy teaching people how to make bread so much is that the end result gives people such a sense of accomplishment. No other kitchen endeavor (in my opinion) gives people such satisfaction. And when people see how easy it can be, well that’s just the icing on the cake. Thanks for writing!
Would it be possible to get the water temperature for this recipe? I’ve made it successfully before, but my last couple of tries haven’t been quite as good. I suspect that it is the water temperature, but since I don’t have an exact number I cannot be sure.
I love this recipe so much that I even bought your cookbook 🙂
Oh thanks so much Nicole! Means a lot. Typically when I mix 1.5 cups cold water with .5 cups boiling, the temperature of the water is 105ºF.
Thank you so much! I was aiming for 110-120 because that’s the range on yeast packets. I live in Florida, so the water that comes out of the cold tap varies greatly. Sometimes it is downright warm. I’ll try the bread with 105 degree water next time. I really appreciate your response and recipes. My favorite so far is the maple oatmeal bread from your book. Have a wonderful day!
Oh Nicole, so nice to hear this. Thanks so much for writing and thank you for the kind words 😍😍😍
Thank you again for responding. The water temperature must have been the culprit because the loaves I made this weekend rose beautifully and had the perfect texture.
Wonderful to hear this, Nicole!
Love this recipe. Finally got around to making it last weekend after it sat in my bookmarks for a WHILE. I have already made it again!
I wanted to also comment that you can buy 1qt pyrex mixing bowls directly from the pyrex website for pretty cheap. $7 today when I bought them.
Of course I know the vintage ones are made of different glass but these newer ones are still safe to use with care (only put into a pre-heated oven and be mindful of temperature changes!)
Wonderful to hear this, Coral! And thanks for the tip regarding buying directly from Pyrex. Thank you!
Absolutely love love love this recipe!! Made it so many times already! Foolproof! Thanks for sharing this recipe with the world!!!
Wonderful to hear this, Hanna!
Hi Alexandra I love your website and plan to order your cookbook today.
Can I add 4 tbsp of olive oil to the dough and if so, would I cut back on the water?
Would the oil change anything? Thanks so much! 💕💕
Oh, LJay, thank you so much 😍😍😍 You can definitely add 4 tablespoons oil. I would cut back the water by 2 tablespoons. Alternatively, you could keep the recipe the same and simply add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
This looks amazing, I plan on making it today. I do have Pyrex bowls that can go in the oven but do have a few loaf pans and a 5 qt Dutch oven. If i use the Dutch oven, does the entire batch of dough go into it or do I still split it up?
Hi Patty! With the Dutch oven, you don’t split the dough. There are instructions below the recipe for baking in both loaf pans and Dutch oven.
Hi Alexandra, I’ve made this many times for my family and have shared it with my neighbors who absolutely love it. When I first started making it I had a terrible time getting it to rise, even though I was following your method of the hot and cold water. I came to think that it was just how it was suppose to be. Then I was reading another bread recipe and the blogger said the water needed to be around 110 degrees. I invested in a digital thermometer and found that 110 degrees was much hotter then what I thought was considered as warm. Since I’ve been using the thermometer I have gotten a beautiful rise and the bread has turned out even better. Thank you for this great recipe. I’m in the process of making some right now.
Susan, this is a brilliant tip! Thanks so much for sharing. I do a lot of troubleshooting, but I have never thought to suggest that the water might not be warm enough for the yeast activation … thanks so much for writing!
if you are curious by luck warm of room temperature they mean like 100 – 110 F.
Thanks for this, Anastasia!
Hi Ali,
I have been casually baking my way through BTC for a quarantine project and recently decided to invest in some vintage Pyrex 441 bowls. I love them but I am not getting great browning on my loaves. I left them in a bit longer and increased my butter on the interior but haven’t gotten a nice golden color yet. My oven temperature is accurate. Thoughts?
Hi Rebecca! Try cranking the oven up a bit. Bake them at 450ºF for 15-20 minutes; then lower the oven temperature to 375-400ºF for the remainder if the top looks as though it is browning sufficiently.
Hi, just curious, can this recipe and the variations like focaccia be made in metal pans instead of glass? Thanks.
Yes, absolutely! Check out this post: Overnight Refrigerator Focaccia = The Best Focaccia
The best, easiest bread you’ll ever make about sums it up! This was delicious, quick, and easy… a winner all around! We had it with red beans and rice for dinner and I’ve been toasting the leftovers with eggs for breakfast. it would make a GREAT panini for lunch too!
Wonderful to hear this, Rae! It does make a great panini … the best grilled cheese, too 🙂
I just baked this amazing bread for the first time today. So easy and Absolutely DELICIOUS. (We ate the first loaf in about 10 minutes) I ordered the bowls online…just a perfect bread.
Oh yay! So nice to hear this, Patricia!
Amazingly easy and delicious and I am not a baker at all. Everyone loves this bread: kids, guests, etc. Thank you for sharing this.
Wonderful to hear this!
My first time making bread!!! Thank you for making baking less intimidating! Was wondering how to store the bread? It’s just me but it will take about a week to go through all of the bread. Any suggestions? Can I freeze the other one after it is already cooked?
Hi Millie! Wonderful to hear this. Yes, you can absolutely freeze the bread. Please scroll up to the blog post itself … more tips on how to store the bread. Thanks for writing! 🍞🍞🍞🍞🍞
Omg bestest and easiest bread to make! I usually measure by cups but I did use the scale for this recipe and every time is perfect!!!
Wonderful to hear this, Michelle! I find a scale to be game changing!
Hi! My family LOVES this recipe & basically only eats bread for 2 days until it runs out 😂 I have a question, though. 50% of the time I make it, the dough isn’t sticky before the rise (more like a dense dough that has to be kneaded) & it doesn’t rise well. But the other 50% of the time, it’s perfect. I can’t figure out what it could be! Any tips?
Yay! and so strange re stickiness. Question: are you using a scale to measure both the flour and the water?
when you say set oven to 425 if I have a convection oven should I drop the temp 25 degrees to 400
Hi Dianne! If you typically lower the oven by 25 degrees for bread baking, then go for it. You could also start it on 425F and just keep an eye on it — if it looks as though it’s browning too much after 10 minutes, lower the oven temperature by 25 degrees.