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.
6,400 Comments on “My Mother’s Peasant Bread: The Best Easiest Bread You Will Ever Make”
Hi Ali,
I just discovered your book and will be purchasing it on Amazon soon. I am so excited to try your recipe. I first heard about your book from Smitten Kitchen. Our daughter is getting married 6/26 and they will be having communion as part of the ceremony. I want to make their communion bread using your recipe. I was thinking about making a small loaf using some Pyrex ramekins size J12, 300 ML bowls that I have. Will this work? How much dough do I put in one of them? Or how many do I need to make half of the dough in these ramekins?
Thank you for your help.
Sorry, I should have done the math before leaving a comment. Looks like I could use 3 of my little 300 ML prep/ramekin bowls. Would you concur? And have you ever baked in these little Pyrex clear bowls?
Oops, just seeing this comment! Yes, 3 should work! I haven’t baked in those particular bowls, but I have baked in ALL sorts of bowls 🙂
So nice to hear all of this, Tina 🙂 🙂 🙂
Over the years, I have baked the bread in ALL sorts of vessels. The key is to simply fill whatever vessel you are using, no more than 3/4 full with dough.
I think you could get 6 loaves if you divide the full peasant bread dough recipe among the 300 ml bowls. And, obviously, if you bake off half of the dough in the ramekins, you’ll need 3 ramekins.
Hope that helps!
Ali,
My loaves turned out great, even the little ones which will be used for communion at my daughter’s wedding. I ordered your book and can’t wait for it to arrive to try other variations.
Oh yay, wonderful to hear this, Tina! Thanks so much for writing. Have a beautiful wedding 💕💕💕💕💕
I’m just starting to get into bread making (a year after everyone else!) First time making this bread. I used 25% KAF white whole wheat with the rest KAF AP flour. The process and consistency were just as described. I made 2 loaves, baked off one right away and put the other in the fridge for the second rise and baked the next morning. Flavor and texture profiles were the same for both. We really liked the bread.
Question – The bread is really soft and difficult to slice. Is this normal for this bread or is there something I can do to make it sturdier in the middle?
Hi Mary Ann! Wonderful to hear all of this! Thanks for writing 🙂
Regarding your question, yes you can definitely decrease the amount of water you are using, which will make for a sturdier loaf. Are you using a scale to measure?
Thanks for your quick response. Yes, I weighed the flour. I live in Florida. Do you think that is contributing to this? Do you have a suggestion on where to start with the water, reduce by 1/4, 1/2 cup, etc?
Great to hear you are using a scale! I would use a scale to measure the water, too. Try using 425 grams of water. Depending on your results, next time around you can use more or less water. You may find that bread flour yields a stronger loaf as well.
Thanks for the tips. I’ll try it all next time!
Hi Alexandra, how would I prepare this for an overnight rise?
Hi Vanessa! You can do this a number of ways. My preference is to mix the dough and stick it in the fridge. The following day, remove it, let it rise until it doubles; then transfer the dough to the bowls and proceed with the recipe.
You also can let it rise overnight at room temperature with the yeast cut way back: a scant 1/2 teaspoon will be plenty.
I didn’t have jalapenos to make the Monterey Jack, scallion, and jalapeno peasant bread with cornmeal from the book but still wanted to play around with it. Instead, I diced up 1/4 of a sweet onion, 1 small shallot, and 5 cloves of garlic to add to it. Also threw in some black pepper, smoked paprika, dried thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, and a handful of pecorino romano. One of the best breads I’ve made!
Vanessa, that sounds absolutely amazing!! Thanks so much for writing and sharing… so helpful for others to see how they can adapt the recipe in so many ways.
Thank you for the super easy delicious recipe. I have a question can I half the recipe?
Great to hear. Yes, you can!
Thanks for sharing. It’s the only go to fresh
Bake bread I make now. I tried several recipes and always comes back to yours. It’s best of everything easy fast and delicious. I bake mine on my air fryer. Just had to make some adjustments on time and temperatures and it comes out great. It’s like a sourdough bread only simpler.
Oh my goodness, amazing! I wish I had an air fryer to try this method out with … so fun! Thanks so much for writing and for sharing.
Hi, Ali—this has been my go-to bread for breakfast for the last year. So easy a d nearly fool-proof If you pay attention to the measurements and rise. I use 3 parts King Arthur all-purpose white and one part KA white whole wheat, sometimes substituting plain whole wheat. Recently, just before the end of the second rise, I’ve brushed the top lightly with olive oil and then sprinkled poppy and sesame seeds.
Wish I could paste a picture of this morning’s batch, which includes two round and two 1.1 liter Anchor-Hocking bread pan loaves. All four rose spectacularly.
Ben
Oh yay! Ben, so nice to hear all of this! Love the poppy and sesame seed idea.
I wish I had a photo-upload feature here… maybe some day as I’ve seen it on other sites. You can always email me a photo if you have the time! I’d love to see it 🙂 alexandra@alexandracooks.com
Hi Ali,
Your entire website is my go to source for cooking; I love your stories, explanations, videos, and recipes! I’ve been using your ricotta cheese recipe and I’m wondering if you have ever used the whey part of it in this peasant bread recipe? If you have, how? I’m thinking that the amount of salt would have to be adjusted but I’m not sure. Or do you advise against using the whey?
Thank you so much! Susan
So nice to hear this, Susan 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thank you.
Yes, you can absolutely use the whey. A few thoughts: let it cool before using bc the hot whey could kill the yeast. If you refrigerate it, and you use it cold (as opposed to letting it get to room temperature or cutting it with some warm water), the dough may take longer to rise, so rely on visual cues (doubling in volume) as opposed to timing. I would use 1.5 teaspoons yeast as opposed to 2. Finally, you may find the whey makes the peasant bread brown more quickly, so keep an eye on it or consider baking it at 375ºF for the entire time.
Hope that helps!
Hi! I am obsessed with this recipe. It’s Wednesday and I’ve already made four loaves this week. After tweaking it a few times to suit my oven and vessel size (1.5L), I find it turns out best when I bake at the higher temp for 17 minutes and the lower temperature for 20 minutes. But sadly it never quite gets as golden as yours and I’m nervous to bake it much longer. I have the same issue with the foccacia as well. It’s delicious but perhaps not as aesthetically pleasing as I’d like haha. Any thoughts on how to ensure better browning? Thank you! Love your site and the book.
So nice to hear all of this, Hazel!!
First, just to make sure, you are using unbleached flour, correct? And if so, which brand?
Second, have you tried baking it at the higher temperature for even longer? My oven is so finicky, that sometimes I bake it at 425ºF for 20-25 minutes; then lower it just for the remaining 8-10 minutes.
You can try baking the focaccia at a higher temperature as well.
🙋♀️ and thank you so much for the recipe. I made it in loaf 🍞 form using the 81/2 X 41/2 Pyrex clear baking pans. I first started using the flour and cup measurements and it turned out to be extremely wet. I tossed that and measured in grams
using a scale. Then I followed your directions exactly. Oh my goodness, the loaves came out beautifully and tasted even better! I gave one loaf to a neighbor and he is raving over it. I had made some Strawberry 🍓 jam so I put a piece in the toaster, it toasts wonderfully also, then I gave it a tiny bit of butter and some of my homemade Strawberry jam and I was in Heaven. I am a self-confessed Breadaholic, and your recipe is the one I will replace my old one with! Again, thank you so much.
So wonderful to hear all of this, Linda!! Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of your notes. I adore strawberry jam and there is nothing like homemade, especially this time of year. Happy baking from one breadaholic to another!! 🍞🍞🍞🍞🍞
Okay. Awesome bread! IMO, literally anyone can make this!!!! Here is what happened – I decided to make bread, have not done that for at least five years. Big bag of self-rising flour in the freezer, and last year I bought, only because it was on clearance, some Fleischmann’s instant pizza yeast. So – I dump four cups of flour in a big glass bowl, notice the yeast says 8 grams, mine is only 7, so I sprinkled in a little from another packet. I am on a low-carb no gluten thing now, bread for son and grandson, but no sugar in the house. So I used two tubes of some monkfruit stevia mct oil blend I got for tea. Added the salt. Then, as I was pouring the warm water, I was aghast to see that I was using the two cup instead of the four cup, so okay, I will just add more stuff. Three more cups of self-rising flour, because I did not sift so thought likely too much in the first place. The rest of the opened packet of yeast, another thingy of monkfruit. Stir stir stir, BIG bowl, but pretty full, I am out of plastic wrap so put a plate on it and stuck it in a microwave (that is broken) to rise. In about 15 minutes, of course, the dough was pushing the plate, so I dump half of it into a big plastic popcorn bowl and skip the covering. I don’t have a lot of bowls, so I buttered two cereal bowls, a 7 inch square glass baking dish, forked down the dough, filled those three thing then cleaned out the big glass bowl, buttered it, put in dough from popcorn bowl. Let all four widely disparate containers rise for 20 minutes, then followed your baking instructions (at least I did that right!) and they all came out perfectly. No pictures, they ate it all, me too, I should not have. Anyway, I am told this was the best bread I ever made. Thank you!!!!!!
Oh, by the way, Bon Appetit has two fab recipes, onion walnut bread and rye salt flutes, wonder if you have ever made that sort of thing. I want gluten-free, it it broke my heart when I found out rye has gluten. Not fair!
Wow, Donna, what an adventure!! So great to hear all of this. I’m so glad you were able to make this work with the ingredients and equipment you had on hand. Thanks so much for sharing your notes — it’s encouraging for others hearing how forgiving and adaptable this recipe is.
I will check out the Bon App recipes today! Thanks for bringing them to my attention — I haven’t made either!
Thanks for writing!
Been making this bread for almost a year. Many different varieties. All fabulous! I have just purchased an aluminum 12″ loaf pan to make one large
Loaf. I assume I will bake it at 375 for 45 mins? Also do you think it will second-rise properly in that kind of pan?
Hi Carol! Yes, 45 minutes at 375ºF should do it … it’s very forgiving so err on the side of over-cooking. If it looks as though it needs more time, go for it.
Regarding the second rise, yes, it will rise just fine. My only concern is that the loaf may be on the shorter side — I’ve never used a 12-inch pan. The largest pan I’ve used is a 10×5-inch pan. I think 12-inches will be great, and I think it’s actually a more appropriate size than the one I am using, but I just wanted to make that note.
Hope it turns out great!
Thank you so much, Ali. I will let you know how it turns out! Carol
Hi there,
I have your Toast Bread Crumbs book and love it!! I was just wondering if there is a reason the dough is left to second rise in the bowl with no cover?
Thanks
Hi Mary! It’s just because it’s usually a pretty short rise, and the dough doesn’t need quite as cozy an environment the second time around. That’s all! You certainly could cover it, but just keep an eye on it — it’s the worst when the dough rises so much that it sticks to the tea towel covering it.
I absolutely *LOVE* this recipe! Thank you so much!! You are right, it has changed my life. I prefer loaf pans, so I use two Pyrex loaf pans, and I brush melted butter on top before I bake the bread, but otherwise I make it exactly as called for in your recipe. Sometimes I have to let it rise longer, as I live in a cooler area, and my house stays chilly in the winter, but I have learned patience. And I will tell you, I found a loaf in my freezer (wrapped in paper towels then a ziplock freezer bag) that was 2 years old, and it still made perfect toast. You would never know it had been in the freezer for more than 2 years. WONDERFUL bread and recipe!!
This is amazing, Jill!! I think that has to be a record 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing and sharing all of this. Love the idea of brushing melted butter on top before baking. Yum!
Hello!
Could you please tell me if I can use sourdough starter instead of yeast for the peasant bread recipe? Thank you so very much! :))
You can! If you follow the instructions on this post for sourdough focaccia, you’ll see it’s essentially the peasant bread proportions but with a sourdough starter.
You’ll of course need to extend the first and second rises by many hours … let me know if you need more instruction or if you have a good general handle on the sourdough process.
Good luck!
The Focus Foodservice #900495, 12×4 breadpan, is perfect for this recipe. Bread slides right out of pan. Wipes clean with paper towel. $9.29 on Amazon right now. Thanks, Ali.
Carol, amazing! Thanks so much for sharing this. I’m including a link here in case anyone is interested: Focus Foodservice Loaf Pan.
Thanks again!
Hi! I would like to make this like an artisan style boule in my dutch oven. I have a 5 quart lodge plain cast iron dutch oven. Should I convert the recipe by any factor so that it yields a nice big boule or is the recipe large enough as is to give me that dramatic instagrammable look? haha. As well can i score this boule? I am not so great at shaping wet doughs and i see that you say i can hold back 20-30 grams of water. Can i hold back even more on my first try or would that change the bread too much? I want to employ my fancy new banneton to impart those nice patterns on the bread, but im worried that when i flip the dough out of the banneton, it will deflate. is there an easy way to do this? Thanks so much I’m a big fan of your recipes.
The banneton is 10″. Is this too big for the recipe?
Nope, that will be great!
Hi! Nice to hear from you again! OK, questions answered below:
Should I convert the recipe by any factor so that it yields a nice big boule or is the recipe large enough as is to give me that dramatic instagrammable look? No need to convert … it will be a large, Instagrammable boule 🙂
As well can i score this boule? I am not so great at shaping wet doughs and i see that you say i can hold back 20-30 grams of water. Can i hold back even more on my first try or would that change the bread too much? Definitely! Hold back 50-75 grams of water … you can always add it back if the dough seems way too stiff. You can reference the video for dough texture.
I want to employ my fancy new banneton to impart those nice patterns on the bread, but im worried that when i flip the dough out of the banneton, it will deflate. is there an easy way to do this? If you make sure the banneton is floured well enough, it should be fine. I like to place a sheet of parchment paper on top of the exposed surface of the dough. Then place a plate on top of the parchment. The flip over the banneton. The dough should release and if it doesn’t, you should be able to gently coax it out.
Good luck!
Love, love, love your peasant bread. Can this be baked in an air fryer?
Great to hear, Mary!
Re air fryer, I can’t say because I’ve never used one. So sorry!
This bread is phenomenal! Easy and delicious, Thanks for sharing Ali.
Great to hear, Suzanne!
Hi Ali, I have tried a few No-knead bread recipes until I found yours! What a pleasant (or is it Peasant) surprise!. I just took it out of the oven and it is absolutely beautiful, the color is golden and the texture is soft and perfect. I used a Pyrex Loaf dish (2L) and baked it for 45 minutes @ 180 deg. Celsius. What an easy recipe, it is definitely my go-to recipe from now on. Thank you so much for sharing and for all the time you took with the detailed instructions. Greetings from South Africa…..
So nice to hear this, Madelein! Such a peasant surprise 🙂 🙂 🙂 Love this. Thanks so much for writing and sharing your notes — it’s great for others to hear how other vessels work out and how to adjust the timing and temperature when doing so.
If making the bread to be consumed by vegans could you use shortening (Crisco) instead of butter to grease the bowls?
Yes, definitely! Or vegan buttery sticks. Oil will not work.
Love this recipe (and every other I’ve tried from your site). It’s simple and delicious- as promised. One small issue: I’ve had problems with the bread sticking to the bowls. The first time I knew I didn’t butter generously enough, but it happened again the second time when I used more butter. Looks like I need even more. Reviewing your recipe, it looks like you are recommending 1 tablespoon per loaf. I probably didn’t use quite that much, but will next time. Thanks for all your great recipes and videos!
Hi Susan, I do probably use close to a tablespoon of butter per bowl, which seems a little excessive, but it does prevent sticking and it creates a beautiful crust. Over the years, I have noticed that problems arise sometimes when I use cold butter or butter that isn’t quite as soft as room temperature. Also, if there is any water left in the bowl — even just a few drops! — it will prevent the butter from coating the bowl.
So glad you like this one! Thank you for the kind words.
I just made it and it tasted very good. My question is could I omitt buttering the pyrex bowl and instead use parchment paper for baking?
Hi and yes! Parchment will work … olive oil will not. Great to hear 🙂
You may need to consider making a double batch….sometimes one loaf doesn’t last until dinner.
So nice to hear this, Heidi 🙂 🙂 🙂
Hi Ali,
I can’t tell you how much we love this recipe. We came across your recipe and site after we tasted a ‘peasant’ bread cooked in coffee cans from a bakery in BigFork MT and just had to figure out how to replicate it. Your recipe is close, but soooooo much better. We have been making it for the better part of 2 years, and often bring it to dinner parties and get rave reviews. I also just discovered making grilled cheese sandwiches with it and hands down – best ever.
I do have a question on a long rise … we are making it this weekend, and I’d like to set it for the 1st rise in the morning while we are running around all day, so I can just split and let the second rise happen late afternoon. How long is the longest the first rise can rise for? If it rises for 6-7 hours, will it still rise the second time?
Thanks so much!
PS – Because of this recipe, we found your site and newsletter. Thank you so much for such great recipes. We love them all. (The Kabucha squash recipe is now a repeat on our Thanksgiving menu).
Oh yay! Karen, I love reading all of this. So fun to hear you’ve baked the bread in coffee tins, too! Love this idea. And totally agree: it makes the best grilled cheese ever.
Ok, regarding the long, slow rise. I would use cold water and only 1 teaspoon of yeast. And don’t place it in a warm place to rise.
Alternatively, you can make the recipe as written the night before and stick it in the fridge. The next day, punch it down and return it to the fridge. When you are ready to bake, transfer it to buttered bowls and let it make its second rise.
For the second rise, you might want to place it in a warm spot because the dough will be cold.
Either method should work great! Good luck. Thanks for writing 💗
Easy and great tasting.
Great to hear, Eddie!
Hi again. Another recipe, another question.
After the focaccia, I plan on trying this bread recipe. I have several 1QT Pyrex bowls, but they’re all older, well-used, and are “cloudy” from metal utensils hitting the sides over the years. I’m a bit wary of putting them in the oven (though I don’t have any problems with them in the microwave).
Anyway, I also have 1QT stainless steel bowls, so I was thinking of using those instead. Do you think that would work, or is Pyrex the way to go?
And if S/S is ok, since metal conducts differently than glass, do you think I need to adjust the temperatures (425°, 375°) and/or the cooking times (15 min, 15-17 min) in the recipe? I don’t mind if the crust gets more crispy crunchy, I’m more concerned about the bread closest to the bowl being done and the interior still being undercooked.
Thanks for all the help. I’m loving the book (and your site)!
Hi Julie!
Stainless steel will be just fine! As always, be sure to butter it well to ensure the bread won’t stick. I think the baking time will be about the same. I would make it once without making any adjustments to the timing — many people over the years have used stainless steel bowls and have reported back with success stories without making adjustments. The dough is very forgiving. Make it once as directed; then adjust next time around if necessary.
Thank you for the kind words regarding the blog and book! Means a lot 🙂
Ali… Can’t wait to try your recipe! I would like to try it adding dried cranberries & walnuts. Any tips on quanties of each, when & how to add them or any other info would be greatly appreciated. Or… Try one of your other bread recipes with the additions? Thank you so much 😁
PS: will rate after making….
Hi Marta! I have a walnut-cranberry variation of this bread in my cookbook: Bread Toast Crumbs! It’s one of my favorites. I use 1.5 cups walnuts and 3/4 cups cranberries. Add them with the flour. Enjoy 🙂
Ali… What an angel! Thank you so very much for providing all of the info I requested 😃 I’ll post my comment after I make it. I’m sure it will be wonderful! Thx again…
Of course 💕💕💕💕💕
Hi Ali
I discovered you on Maggie Green’s Cookbook Love podcast. I loved hearing your story and I look forward to trying your peasant bread! I plan to purchase your book soon.
OH MY GOODNESS. This is soooooooo amazing. I can barely find the right words. I have made this 6 times in the last 2 weeks. It is simple, neat and effortless! The crunchy outside and the soft airy inside make this bread an every day staple! I love it so much I am sharing with my friends!! This will now be my new Christmas gift bread!!! Amazing! Thank you for sharing.
Yay 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 So wonderful to hear this, Patricia 🙂 🙂 🙂 Thanks so much for writing.
I’ve been making this bread for 2 years. We live in a neighborhood with lots of seniors and we give most of it away to them on a regular basis. They, and we, love it.
I’ve made other breads, including 48 hour sourdough, but what they want is this bread, none other.
Now I’d like to try it in a dutch oven and I”d like to know what size you recommend for the full recipe. Thanks.
Phil Koch
So nice to hear this Phil and apologies for the delay here — I find that most of the seniors in my life prefer this bread to sourdough as well. I think it’s the crust… not tought, but buttery and crisp and tasty.
I use a 5 qt. Dutch oven for this recipe. Good luck! Thanks for writing 🙂