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.
6,377 Comments on “My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make”
Do I bake 9×5 loaf 45 min at 375 deg entite time/-// not 15 min at 435?
Yes! 45 minutes at 375ºF for the entire time.
Love the pheasant bread. Do you have recipe for sourdough Pheasant bread.
Making the Focaccia bread now I’m going to either make a pizza or my friends favorite,
With very thin sliced onions, pepper, salt,rosemary and olive oil🍞
Hi! Check out this recipe: Easy Sourdough Sandwich (or Toasting) Bread It’s essentially the peasant bread ratio but made with sourdough starter. There are photos in the post of it baked in the pyrex bowls.
Your focaccia sounds delicious!
Thank you!
Hi there.
I don’t have unbleached all purpose flour. How does this affect my measurements?
Also, I am using a smallish bread pan… 20 x 11.5 x 7.5cm. How does affect the baking time and should I divide the dough before baking?
Hi Tanya! What type of flour will you be using? The measurements shouldn’t change.
You will be able to bake some of the dough in your loaf pan. I would fill it 3/4 full with dough. Bake off the rest in a muffin tin or other small vessel, again filling each no more than 3/4 full.
Using all purpose flour, but it isn’t unbleached. Can it still work?
Yes, it will still work. It likely won’t brown very well, because it is bleached, and the flavor may be slightly different, but it will still work.
I have made this delicious bread so many times. Luv it.
Can you replace the flour with Spelt flour? Need to make a non-wheat bread, not necessarily gluten free. Spelt was recommended. Thx
Hi! Yes, you can use spelt flour. Keep in mind a few things: spelt has less gluten, so your loaf may not rise quite as high as when you use ap flour or bread flour. And as a result, the bread may be a little denser. I might suggest starting with half spelt, half bread or ap flour and see how you like the texture; then add more spelt flour next time around based on your results. Hope that helps!
This is hands down the easiest and BEST bread recipe ever. I love doing half in the bowl with everything seasoning and the other half in a small casserole as focaccia with rosemary.
So great to hear this, Brooke 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing.
I agree with Brooke, the easiest bread recipe I’ve ever tried. First time making them today, baked one in an Emile Henry bowl and the other in a small loaf pan. They look and smell wonderful, I can’t wait to try it as soon as it cools down.
Great to hear this, Kelly! Thanks so much for writing 🙂
Hello. Wondering if I can bake the bread in a clay pot?
Hi Diane! Yes, you can. As always: be sure to grease it well with butter to prevent the dough from sticking.
Hi Ali, i made your Mom’s peasant bread yesterday. It’s delicious, i used 50/50 white and farmer ground wheat flour. Quick and easy was what i wanted and this came out so nice.
BTW, you were in a bread making class i attended at Wide Awake Bakery a couple years ago.
My daughters and I use your sour dough bread recipe along with so many other great recipes you have. Congratulations on your success! Mary
Tried this recipe today and I absolutely loved it! The name says it all. I really didn’t have to knead but still managed to make an amazing bread. I’m not really a pro at baking and tried some other bread recipes but this one is my favorite. My family also loves it! This would definitely be my go to recipe.
So nice to hear this, Florie! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
Oh my goodness, Mary! Thanks so much for saying hi! It’s so nice to hear all of this. I think about that WAB class so often … wish I had taken better notes!
Thank you for your kind words … means a lot 🙂
Thank you Ali for this recipe! Delicious.
I baked it a caston iron cooking pot.
Wonderful to hear this, Ana Maria! Thanks for writing!
What if any changes need to be made to make this in a round glazed ceramic bowl?
No changes! Butter it well, as always. What size is it?
Thank you! I have two ceramic casseroles. One is 2.5 and the other 1.5 qts. I also have some nice square ceramic casseroles that I think might work as well.
Hi Daffy! Use the 2.5 quart bowl. Butter it well. Bake the whole amount of dough in it, and bake it for 10-15 minutes longer than directed in the recipe.
Excellent bread! Made 4 batches so I could send to each of my kid’s homes and all turned out delicious and so easy!
Thank you!
Joan
Awwww that’s so sweet, Joan. So nice to hear this!
Why should you not cover your bowl for the 2nd rise?
Hi Pamela! It’s a short enough period that there’s no need to cover the bowl — the dough won’t dry out. Also: the dough rises slightly above the rim of the bowl, and when it does this it tends to stick to a tea towel if the bowl is covered.
Your Peasant bread recipe is my absolute favorite!
I’m a bit confused about the brand of salt that the recipe calls for. I’m assuming Morton salt since 1 tsp. Morton salt = 4.8 gm. However, in your cookbook on p 20 you say you use Diamond Crystal salt (1 tsp. Diamond salt = 2.8 gm.).
Hi Pam! Great to hear this.
I always use Diamond Crystal (when I can kind, which I haven’t been able to recently), but if you have a scale, just go by weight: 10 grams of whatever salt you have on hand will be perfect.
Do you have a scale?
Yes, I do have a scale. Thanks!
Wonderful!
Absolutely brilliant recipe. I have made it twice now, once just white and once part wholemeal. Both times the bread was wonderful. The first time the second prove did actually take two hours. The next time it took one hour. I have no idea why but patience was rewarded when I tasted the bread. Next time I will wait a bit longer before preheating the oven. The only problem is that I can’t stop eating it!
So wonderful to hear this, Annie! And nice work on being patient with the second proof … I will add notes to the recipe. I think in these colder months, the second rises can be slow. Thanks for writing!
Hi, I have made this bread many times and it’s a essential in anything I make. Was wondering if you have made a French onion version using the dry onion soup mix ?
If you have please share how you did it.
Thank you,
Beth
Hi Beth! So nice to hear this. I have not made a French onion version, but I think if you were to just sprinkle a tablespoon of the mix into the flour and whisk it together, that would be a good place to start. Then, add more or less next time around depending on your results.
I just made this bread and it could not have been easier. You notes were very helpful in that I only had a 2 1/2 quart corning baking casserole and the bread turned out great. We are waiting for it to cool as I write this review. It smells divine.
I am a seasoned baker and this bread is so easy that I will make it again with some of the variations that you mention. This recipe is ideal for folks who are afraid to tackle yeast bread.
Well done!!
Wonderful to hear this, Perlita! Thanks so much for writing. Great to hear the 2.5-quart bowl worked out well!
Been making this bread since mid-october. No store-bought anymore. Have made white, wheat, cranberry nut and now have perfected rye. BUT….. sometimes have a slight indentation on top when baked. More flat than rounded.. What am I doing wrong? They are all really delicious. Thank you.
Hi Carol! Question for you: are you using a scale to measure both the flour and the water?
We have been baking this frequently throughout the pandemic. My teen daughter now has the recipe down too. We took a loaf to our neighbors’ 90+ year old mother, who said she thought it would win a blue ribbon at the fair. We came to you via Smitten Kitchen and your focaccia recipe, which has become a dinner party favorite-people love to eat fresh bread!
So nice to hear this! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂 Love Smitten Kitchen 💕💕💕
Hi Ali,
I have already commented on this fabulous recipe. I went ahead and bought your cookbook. I haven’t bought a cookbook in years! Question. Here the recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of yeast in the basic recipe. In the cookbook, it calls for 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast. Which one??? Thank you.
So nice to hear this, Perlita! Thanks so much 🙂 🙂 🙂
The reason is that most yeast packets contain 2.25 teaspoons of yeast so it’s easier to just use the whole packet … no point in stashing the remaining 1/4 teaspoon in the fridge. But, if you buy yeast in bulk, like the SAF 1-lb yeast blocks, you can definitely get away with simply using 2 teaspoons of yeast (probably even less).
Hope this clarifies!
I know this is probably answered in the tons of comments, so sorry if it is. Will this recipe withstand adding feta, olives, or sundries tomatoes, and if so would the bake time be the same. On the sweet side I thought homemade cinnamon chips and raisins would be good. Thank you.
Hi, and yes! You can add mix-ins of all kinds… you may need to increase the baking time if the add-ins add a significant amount of liquid, but otherwise, the timing should be about the same.
I will eventually read every comment and will be adding your book to my Amazon order. Could you tell me how long to bake this in regular muffin tins and also in the Texas sized ones. I purchased the mini popover pan from King Arthur because I saw the cutest yeast buns baked in it but I don’t have any idea what temp or how long to bake them. They are just adorable because they look like toadstools. Thanks for any help.
Hi! I’m not familiar with Texas muffin tins, but I’m assuming it’s larger?
For regular muffin size rolls: Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375º and make for 10 to 15 minutes longer.
I have these instructions on this post for future reference: No-Knead Dinner Rolls
Hope that helps!
Making this for the second time..came out great in one whole loaf baked in bowl..want to use large loaf pan this time ..it is metal not glass..do I have to line the bottom with parchment..?
Hi Ellen! Glass will be fine. As always: be sure to butter it well.
This recipe is fast, easy and turns out DELICIOUS bread! I’ve been baking these sweet loaves for quite a while now and decided I really should give my own “two thumbs up”! Thank you for sharing your momma’s recipe. This baker is VERY appreciative!
Great to hear this, Pam! Thanks so much for writing 🙂 🙂 🙂
First let me say that I am an idiot! I have 2 ovens that have proofing settings but wanted to try out the oven on 350 for ONE minute idea. So I did that, went on an errand for almost an hour and when I was almost home my husband called me and asked me what I wanted to do with the bread. Apparently I had forgotten to turn the oven off and it was “proofing” in a 350 degree oven in a stainless steel bowl with a dish towel over it! He smelled the towel burning. Anyway, I got home and took it out of the bowl and first put it in two smaller bowls and baked for a while longer. Then I took them out, sliced them up, buttered them and put them on a cookie sheet and baked for a while. They turned nice and golden, crunchy, and yummy. I think I ate about the equivalent of a 1/2 recipe! It is delicious, and I’m sure when I make it correctly, will be even moreso!
Oh Barbara, I’ve been there! It’s so easy to make this mistake … I am amazed that you were able to salvage the dough! Nice work. So glad it worked out despite all the extra efforts you made. Next time will be smooth sailing. Thanks for writing!
Would I still use the same cooking time if I baked it as one loaf in a 2 Qt Pyrex?
I would extend the cooking time by at least 10 minutes.
Hi Ali 🙂 Thank you for giving lots of pan options for this recipe! I’ve tried a few, and they’ve all been perfect. I have a related question about the rye bread in your book. Since the overall process is similar, do you think I could bake it in a loaf pan? I love adding rye to desserts, but I’m still getting the hang of it when I use it in bread, rolls, etc. It’s SO sticky! I’ve been looking for an easy, basically hands-off rye sandwich loaf. Then I thought of the recipe in your book! Have you tried putting that dough in a loaf pan, as opposed to the bowls? Thanks for your help!
Hi Erin, Yes, absolutely! It would be great in a loaf pan.
If you have a 10×5-inch loaf pan, you can bake the whole recipe in that pan. If you don’t, I would do 1.5x the recipe and bake it in two loaf pans. I also might consider holding back some of the water to make the dough more manageable. So, instead of 3 cups of water, I might do 2.5 cups of water and see how that works. Adjust with more or less water next time around based on your results.
Let me know how it goes if you give it a go!
Thank you for the advice, Ali! I will definitely report back after the experiment 😉
Hi Ali!
This is not a question about the peasant bread…sorry!! I was reading your “about me” section & was so excited to hear about your time in Philadelphia. I live in Philly now, and was especially curious to know where you went for your 6-month culinary program! I work full-time in Communications, but would love to see if there’s a chance I could do it part-time…please let me know what it’s called! Thanks a ton.
Hi! So fun … I miss Philly so much. Such a great city. The school I went to was called J&A Culinary Arts, and it was in South Philly. I have no idea what the class offerings are at the moment, but they might have night classes.
I made this bread today measuring flour for the first time in my life. All I can say is wow this is so fabulous. I was a terrible doubting Thomas as I scraped the wet dough into my two Pyrex bowls, but I am eating my words along with the best bread I have ever made. I added the Asiago cheese to the recipe and this with the crunchy crust and soft center is so great. I will be making this to give to friends and neighbors. Tomorrow will be cinnamon, raisin and feta, olive and sun dried tomato. Thank you so much.
Oh yay! So nice to hear this 🙂 🙂 🙂 Love the sound of all of your variations, and I adore Asiago cheese in bread. Thanks for writing!
Made Mothers-peasant bread this morning. Had it for lunch and loved it. I would not have made out so well if it hadn’t been for your video. Knowing how to separate the dough was extremely helpful. Thank you.
Wonderful to hear this, Jean! Thanks for writing. So glad the video was helpful 🙂
Hi! This recipe is so delicious and SO EASY! I’ve made it according to the recipe, but it rises better for me in my big black Tupperware bowl. I put out in the sun to rise —I’m I. Costa Rica!!
I’ve also made cinnamon bread with this recipe. I quarter the dough and then spread it out like pizza dough into a rectangle. I spread a cinnamon and sugar mix and roll it up. ITHEn I bake the rolled loaves on a cookie sheet (no pan). t makes wonder and pretty slices to serve with coffee.
Oh I love all of this, Susan! So nice to hear. Very jealous that you live in Costa Rica and can let your dough rise in the sun … what a dream! And your cinnamon swirl loaf sounds lovely!